SPOILERS are ahead for East of Eden, now streaming with a Netflix subscription.
East of Eden aptly opens with Florence Pugh’s Cathy talking about monsters. The discussion is raised in a voiceover as Cathy’s multi-generational saga with the Trask brothers starts with her crawling to their doorstep after almost being beaten to death.
Is Cathy a monster herself? And, did the show soften the classic book character? This is one of the big debates of the series as we watch the character burn her parents alive, poison a woman and abandon her sons as babies. Naturally, I had to ask one of the show’s directors about the big, popular East of Eden topic.
The Director’s Take On Cathy In East Of Eden
East of Eden is one of the most excellent series I’ve seen on the 2026 TV schedule, and Garth Davis shared directing duties with Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre on it – specifically tackling the first four episodes. He's also very familiar with the Cathy “monster” debate. Here’s where he stands:
When I first met [series creator Zoe Kazan], we talked about this, and I think we're both aligned in the sense that there's a lot of trauma that Cathy lived through… She is a monster, there's no doubt about it. Her behavior is incredible. So I don't know, I think I find it more compelling when I really don't feel like I've got the character worked out. And, I think that's what I loved about this whole series is that I'm never really gonna understand Cathy completely.
I think it's obvious Cathy’s behavior would earn her the label "monster." But, it’s also more complicated than that. As the series communicates throughout, being human means things are seldom black and white. Two things can be true at once. Cathy can be a monster, and she can be a severely wounded person, worthy of the audience's empathy. She can also be softer than the book and still be monstrous, which is something I'm not sure the online discourse has totally acknowledged.
From Davis's point of view, it's complicated.
So, there's moments of empathy and moments of just complete horror, in the way that she's behaving. So, I kind of love that weave of not knowing where I stand with her. And, I think that's what made her a really interesting character. Very haunting.
This is exactly where I found myself by the end of East of Eden. On one hand, I was completely terrified and appalled by Cathy's actions. On the other hand, I could understand where she was coming from by the end as well.
Yes, she’s a sociopath, but I think the show does an excellent job of examining how human nature creates monsters rather than “evilness” being an uncomplicated trait thrust upon people at random. Davis’s comments to CinemaBlend reinforce this.
There's Also More To Cathy In The Netflix Series
I think there’s also an important distinction that needs to be made between what the series does with Cathy and what’s in John Steinbeck’s classic novel when speaking to this debate. Book-to-screen adaptations always have changes from their source material, and East of Eden is no exception.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Pugh confirmed that in her version of Cathy, she was abused at the age of five, and that’s the real reason for her lack of empathy for others. In Pugh’s own words:
Her version of safety has been damaged from the moment she was abused. And she told her parents, and her parents didn’t listen. This isn’t someone that understands family life is necessarily a good thing... This child was raped when she was tiny. And her distrust for men, it was ignited then.
Florence Pugh Was Separated From Her East Of Eden Co-Stars For Weeks To Amplify One Moment
While this part of Cathy’s backstory is never explicitly mentioned in the book, there’s certainly some parts that could point in that direction. It explains how people who may have read the book first would think Cathy might be born evil, whereas TV show viewers can perhaps sympathize more, simply because her character was given more context.
I know I won’t be forgetting Florence Pugh’s excellent performance as Cathy in East of Eden anytime soon. Or the continued resonance of John Steinbeck’s classic story, now told through a new lens.
