YMMV / A Teacher (2020)

• Catharsis Factor: There's a certain level of catharsis to be found in Eric's final talk with Claire, where she tries to justify her actions and get Eric's sympathy by saying she lost everything, and he calls her out for how traumatised he is as a result of her grooming him, and he walks away from her even as she begs him to come back, especially for any fellow survivors of sexual trauma.
  Eric: I saw my brother the other day. He's 17 now, the same age I was... He looks so fucking young... I was just a kid.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: The 20-25 minute runtime on each episode means certain plot points and character arcs get sped up just to fit neatly into each chapter. Most viewers agree that a drama such as this needs at least 40 minutes per episode for some breathing space.
• The Woobie:
  • Eric once the affair is outed. From that point onwards nobody sees him as anything more than the kid who had sex with his teacher. He's able to bask in his friend's admiration for awhile, but that soon becomes tiresome when he realises they don't have any interest in him outside of that. What's worse is that when he does eventually start going to therapy, Eric manages to come out even more scarred. The poor guy just wants to move on with his life but nobody will let him.
  • Claire's husband Matt. He was cuckolded because his wife finds him even less mature than a high school student. While it's not given any attention, he's probably spent the next few years being haunted by the affair. Made worse by the fact that, up until she attempted to run away with Eric he was willing to forgive her, provided they go to couple's counselling and work on their marriage of ten years. Scenes prior to that show him being the more engaged and attentive partner - he tries to check in and reassure her when she seems distant or down, reassures her that he's willing to pursue IVF so they can have children but also that he's happy to wait to do it when she's ready, and even misses indicators that she's having an affair (one scene has her come home from a meeting with Eric and is seemingly so guilty she can barely look him in the eye).

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