Who is Erin Carter? 1×04 has finally given us the flashback episode we’ve been waiting for. It also deepens the mystery as to who our lead is and what happened to her that made it so she was abandoned by her parents and her undercover boss. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll ever find out why she was abandoned as a kid. She was a kid after all and parents do shitty things. But the mystery surrounding her undercover supervisor and the actual mother of Harper is definitely going to bite Erin in the ass.
I had an inkling that Harper might not be Erin’s kid. But I thought she was a kid who had no parents and was starving for a connection. The truth is that Harper had a mom, Lena. She had someone who would do anything for her and cared for her in the way she knew. And yes, Erin (or Kate) took Harper partially due to the fact that she had her own abandonment issues and didn’t want Harper to suffer the same fate. But she also took her because she thought Lena was dead and she had bonded with Lena to a point where she contemplated running away with her to Spain. I don’t blame Erin for what she did.
Now that Lena has entered the picture as more than just someone random from Erin’s past that they showed for a couple of scenes, we’re ready for that Erin/Lena reunion. Because it is going to be tense. Lena was severely injured and lost her child. That would tear anyone apart. And there is justifiable anger in Lena’s heart at having that time with her daughter stolen from her and that Erin got to live those years with her child instead. My hope is that the next episode of Who is Erin Carter? doesn’t go the stereotypical route. Lena cared for Erin when she was Kate. Maybe they can come together and fight the real boogieman, which I totally think is that undercover boss dude and whatever gang is in Barcelona.
Learning everything I did in Who is Erin Carter? 1×04 also gave me perspective on the kind of mother that Erin is. She’s not one stereotype or another. She isn’t overbearing or aloof. If anything, Erin is kind, funny, fierce, methodical, understanding, and trusts in her kid more than most parents that I see on TV. And most importantly, her kid isn’t everything. She has a husband, who feels the way that Erin is pulling away. And she has a friend at work that blatantly tells her that she needs to get her stuff together as well. Having those elements for women characters is essential and makes for memorable journeys with someone that is easy to invest in. And right now, I’m invested in Erin Carter.
Who is Erin Carter? is now available on Netflix.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Who is Erin Carter? being covered here wouldn’t exist.
