'Little Fires Everywhere' Finale sees Elena become a hateful mother as she drives Mia and Pearl out of town
The 'Little Fires Everywhere' finale shows that there really is no redemption for Elena Richardson, at least not in this season of the show. Her toxic behavior reaches an all-new height when she finally learns about how her kids have each been hiding very important details about their lives and all that she cares about is "the perfect family image" that they have all maintained so far.
She is not worried about how the pressure that she is putting on her children is causing irreparable damage, especially to Izzy who used to feel more comfortable speaking to her father than her mother. Not only is she selfish, manipulative, and racist. She also has a sense of self-entitlement where she expects her husband to be okay with everything, even if it includes her trying to find solace in her ex whenever things get tough.
In the previous episode, Elena in an attempt to get back at Mia ends up revealing the truth, or the part of it that she knows, to Mia's daughter Pearl. All that Pearl knows is that Mia lied to her about her father not wanting her and how he believes that Pearl is not alive. She is unaware of the circumstances that pushed Mia to make the decision that she did. Pearl doesn't know about Mia's brother Warren, she doesn't know about Pauline, or how Mia's mother and father had disowned her.
As Pearl doesn't know the complete truth, she continues to believe that Elena's the one who thinks of her best interest and not her own mother. That is, however, only until Elena is forced to face her flaws as a mother and as a wife. The more she feels out of control in her own life, with Izzy rebelling and Bill finding out the truth about Jamie, the more Elena tries to target and bully Mia into feeling as hopeless as Elena herself does. Why should Mia, a single mother who acted as if she was not worth a penny, be blessed with a life that includes a beautiful daughter and a fulfilling career?
Elena did everything right, and that included not giving up on Izzy despite not wanting a fourth baby because that was what was expected of her. Mia, on the other hand, has done nothing but go against the rules that their society had set for women and yet she seems to have a fulfilling life and this is something that Elena is incapable of comprehending. She believes that having provided the material things that her children required makes her the best mother, but what she doesn't realize is she acts nowhere close to how a mother should.
For instance, the most horrifying scene in the show happens to be in the finale when Elena has to face the wrath of Izzy after she runs Mia out of town. This happens because Elena learns about how Pearl has been dating Trip behind Moody's back and she also sees Pearl's patient record in the hospital while trying to find Bebe's weakness resulting in her confronting Mia about the quality of her upbringing. It didn't take Elena too long to speak in such a demeaning manner despite initially acting as if Pearl was different from her mother.
However, what Elena is not aware of is that it was her daughter Lexie who was pregnant and had an abortion. It is when Mia brings this up that Elena tells her to move out of the house. Pearl is also going through a tough time because she believes that by hiding her relationship with Moody, she is becoming a liar -- something that she had accused her mother of being and so Pearl too doesn't want to deal with the brothers anymore. Once Mia manages to confess the complete truth to Pearl, the teenager is moved and she decides to stand with her mother and that's how Mia and Pearl ended up packing up and leaving Shaker Heights.
Izzy sees Pearl and Mia when they stop by to leave the house key in the postbox. Just hours ago, Izzy had finally found someone who had understood her emotions and feelings about being isolated for who she loves and what she believes in. At a moment when Izzy is hopeless, Mia manages to instill hope in her by telling her that she must believe in herself and just as Mia managed to live through heartbreak and loss, Izzy would too.
This camaraderie is not a crush, but much needed support and understanding from an adult that Izzy had needed but never found. So when she sees her only friend leave, she throws a tantrum and tries to burn everything that her mother forced down her throat in her life. When Lexie, Moody, and Trip try to stop her; she tells them about what their mother had done. When Elena hears all the commotion, she confronts Izzy and tells her to not go overboard for a crush that she has developed. Izzy is unable to stand it anymore and tells her mother that she did have a crush on a girl who was, in fact, her girlfriend and that was April, which her mother did not have an idea about.
It is really shocking that Elena is unable to comprehend even the most intense of her children's feelings that are clearly visible to everyone else. Since Bill also walked out on her a few minutes ago, Elena is under pressure and she tells Izzy that she is done dealing with Izzy. She also reveals that she never wanted Izzy in the first place, and this truly is the most appalling thing a mother could tell her daughter and this is also the moment that she alienates herself from all of her children. So the 'Little Fires Everywhere' is her children's response to all the toxic parenting that they had to deal with all this while.
'Little Fires Everywhere' episodes can be streamed on Hulu.