Eric - Miniseries

Who is Eric? Considering his role in Patrick Melrose, it is clear that Benedict Cumberbatch can play someone who is heavily intoxicated. In Eric he plays Vincent, an arrogant jellyfish of a father who helps ensure that his son Edgar disappears. In everyday life, Vincent is a puppet maker and puppeteer in a popular children's show. However, its popularity is waning and that causes stress. This only makes the already egocentric Vincent even more vicious. The result is that he loses contact with his family, friends and colleagues. When his son disappears and the pressure increases, Vincent turns to drink and drugs even more.



What follows is a surreal dark fairy tale that manages to combine different styles through its approach. On the one hand, Eric is a crime series. The police are tackling Edgar's disappearance energetically. This brings to the surface various issues that previously remained below the surface. It turns out that nice gentleman isn't so nice after all. By following the police's trail, it also slowly becomes clear what happened to Edgar. Of course, at a certain point the accusations become very close. Especially if people have been lied to about where they are and what they know.

Eric is an interesting series for several reasons.

Furthermore, Eric is also a family drama. The relationship between Vincent, Edgar and Cassie (an excellent role by Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent) is complex. When Edgar disappears, Vincent initially opts for a lethargic escape into forbidden substances. Cassie does everything she can to draw attention to her son. It causes the two to drift further apart. When it turns out that Cassie is in another relationship, the rift becomes irreparably large. As the series progresses, the motives of both become increasingly clear.



Edgar is actually more central than you would expect. His brainchild becomes reality. Eric is a fictional blue monster that Edgar created to popularize his father's puppet show among an older target group. Vincent doesn't pay attention to it at first. Only when Edgar disappears is his interest awakened. Making Eric then becomes an obsession. Vincent is convinced that creating and showing Eric will bring his son back. Vincent goes so far as to make Eric his partner in a completely different way.

What follows is a surreal dark fairytale

Eric is an interesting series for several reasons. It is a mix of different styles. That works fine. Moreover, the style of filming and the color scheme chosen are perfect. It fits nicely with the surreal but also realistic story. However, there is also a downside. Following Edgar removes an important part of the tension. It gives space to the theme of homelessness, but it takes away one of the big questions of the series. The question of what happened to Edgar. That tension could have brought something extra. Nevertheless, the story and the development are ingenious enough to deserve an eight.