'A Small Light' Episode 1 Review: Miep Gies finds a job to evade marrying her foster brother
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Heroism isn't about finding an opportunity and having the resources to make a change, but it is about doing the right thing despite the circumstances. The story of Anne Frank became classic literature which inspired people to look at the brighter side despite being in survival mode. National Geographic's new series 'A Small Light' isn't about Frank but about an essential figure in history, Miep Gies, because of whom the literary texts of Frank reached the world. 'A Small Light' tells a story of survival, humanity, and friendship that was formed in the worst of times.
'Grey's Anatomy' alumni Tony Phelan and Joan Rater are the creators of the limited series 'A Small Light,' which follows the lives of Miep Gies (Bel Powley), her husband Jan (Joe Cole), and the Franks over the course of more than ten years. The series is also available to watch on Hulu and Disney+.
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What secret is Gies' foster brother keeping?
Episode 1 starts with the audience getting a look inside the life of Miep Gies, where she is living with her foster parents. There is a deep history behind Gies ending up with foster parents. Miep searches for a job to avoid an unavoidable fate. Her foster parents love her, so much that they want her to get married to their son. The highlight of the episode comes out when Gies realizes that her foster brother is secretly gay. The story then pans to Gies stepping out in the world in search of a job and getting hired by Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber), a successful businessman preparing to bring his family to Amsterdam to join him.
A Stirring and heart-wrenching mini-series
The episode slowly delves into the life of Miep Gies and how she finds love in Jan Gies. The format of the show allows the characters to take the time to get to know the various aspects of the Nazi-led part of Europe, including Miep and Jan Gies' sweet, awkward courtship. That pays dividends later as the two are tested, separately and together, as they seek to help those displaced and endangered by Nazi atrocities.
The stirring and heartbreaking mini-series, 'The Small Light' is now available to watch on National Geographic, Hulu, and Disney+ exclusively.