‘Little Fires Everywhere’ producer explains why this emotional scene is so different from the book
IT’S tough to choose just one significant turning point in ‘Little Fires Everywhere,’ the best-selling book turned Hulu miniseries, but one moment stands out: when high school senior Lexie Richardson gets pregnant.
A wealthy teen who is upset that her college application essay topic is about hardships because she’s never experienced any, Lexie (Jade Pettyjohn) suddenly faces a life-changing decision. At first, the story line on the show follows the book: She keeps the pregnancy a secret from her parents, siblings and boyfriend and decides to get an abortion.
The only person she tells is Pearl Warren, the teenager (played by Lexi Underwood) who lives in the Richardson family’s rental property. Pearl agrees to accompany Lexie to the abortion clinic but is shocked to find that Lexie wrote ‘Pearl Warren’ as her name on all the paperwork.
“Sorry, I panicked,” Lexie says when she notices Pearl’s expression, and gestures to the director of the clinic.
“That woman in there is my mom’s friend. And if it got out, if people found out, it would actually matter, you know?”
After the procedure, Lexie begs Pearl not to take her back home, so Pearl dutifully brings Lexie back to the rental where she lives with her mother, Mia (Kerry Washington).
Although Mia and Lexie don’t have a warm relationship (Mia, also the Richardsons’ housekeeper, is appalled by Lexie’s spoiled nature, while
Lexie virtually ignores Mia’s existence), Mia takes one look and realizes what happened. She gives Lexie a big hug and lets her sleep in her bedroom. That’s where things diverge. In the novel, Mia remains deeply sympathetic. When Lexie wakes up crying, Mia cooks her soup and comforts her as Lexie repeatedly asks whether she made the right decision. “You’ll always be sad about this,” Mia tells her gently.
“But it doesn’t mean you made the wrong choice. It’s just something that you have to carry.”
However, in the show, Mia sees the paperwork where Lexie wrote Pearl’s name and is furious. She makes Lexie a mug of tea, but as Lexie tearfully asks whether Mia thinks she did the right thing, Mia gives her a harsh lecture about privilege.
“My daughter skipped school to help you, and you thanked her by using her name and then demanding that she take care of you,” Mia says.
“I spent two months cooking your dinners, working in your house, you never so much as uttered a thank you. And now you want more. Pearl may love to give and give to you, but I do not. I’m done.”
“I’m sorry,” Lexie says through tears. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“You have plenty of places to go,” Mia retorts.
“And plenty of people who care. You have no concept of what it’s like to not have anyone. Don’t insult your own intelligence by pretending otherwise. When you’re done, wash out your own mug. For once.”
Liz Tigelaar, the executive producer who developed the series, said the writers had long debates about how to handle the scene.
They decided to change the tone because the show’s Mia is a black woman. (Mia’s race in the novel isn’t specified, but author Celeste Ng pictured her as a white working-class woman.)
“We talked a lot about how a black woman would feel about what this white girl — whose house she worked in yet has never once acknowledged her or had a conversation with her — has done to her daughter,” Tigelaar said in an interview.
“Mia knows Lexie wrote Pearl’s name down and truly believes it doesn’t matter. And, by extension, that Pearl doesn’t matter.”
“I’m so glad we landed where we landed because it feels so authentic,” Tigelaar continued.
“It doesn’t feel like Mia is attacking her. What happens is Mia gives to her, and then gives again, and Lexie keeps taking. Mia gets pushed to a point: ‘Come here, I can help you, lend you clothes, take care of you and give you tea, but I am not going to make you feel better about your decisions and the kind of person you are.’
That is not her job.” Tigelaar said the scene also led to a conversations in the writers’ room (composed of seven women and one man, with four people of color) about how black mothers raise their daughters.
She loved how the reworked scene revealed how Mia tried to protect Pearl. “Those were the really great changes to make,” she said.
And although the scene doesn’t specifically address it, Mia is also thinking of Bebe Chow, the young immigrant mother fighting to regain custody of the infant daughter she left outside a fire station when she had no money or resources. Part of Mia’s reaction is because while Lexie says she had nowhere to turn, Bebe’s situation is actually what happens when there’s no safety net.
So, Tigelaar explained, Mia has to tell her: “Don’t be ridiculous, of course you have people, you’re never going to fall, no matter what happens. Whether you got an abortion or you had the baby, you would have been OK. You have a whole sea of people, including society.” — The Washington Post