'Little Fires Everywhere' premiere has fans shipping Pearl and Moody's budding friendship
Hulu's 'Little Fires Everywhere' sees the Warren mother-daughter duo - Mia (Kerry Washington) and Pearl (Lexi Underwood) arrive in the Shakers Heights community in Ohio to what looks like a fresh start after a past Mia prefers to keep undisclosed. But with the stigma surrounding a homeless artist entering the social circle of the elites, there is also one of the most wholesome friendships blossoming at the core of the story based on Celeste Ng's book of the same name. And as the two vastly different worlds of Pearl and Moody Richardson (Gavin Lewis) collide, fans can't keep calm about the prospect of it turning into something more.
Moody and Pearl find each other through their respective mothers, Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) and Mia. No, it's not a matchmaking situation, but the influential writer at the local newspaper - Elena, rents out a rather spacious yet affordable rental to Mia, after observing her borderline destitute situation. Soon she also gives Mia a job as the house-help, thus inviting the mother-daughter duo deeper into their daily lives. But before any of that could happen, the vivacious and confident Pearl chances upon the shy and introverted Moody to spark of friendship right away.
It happens in a somewhat creepy manner. After moving into Elena's rental, Pearl is trying to assemble what is the first proper bed she has been gifted in her entire life. As she sprints and dances around the pieces of the bed laid out on their lawn, her mother captures her carefree and joyous laze in her camera, while Moody slowly lurks in the background, more of an amused bystander rather than a creepy stalker. He's a typical shy guy who gets plenty of fun made at his expense, mostly coming from his older brother Trip Richardson (Jordan Elsass).
So when Moody spots Pearl, he is mostly taken by the dynamics between her mother and herself - something that's clearly lacking in the hustle and bustle of the packed four-children Richardson household. But instead of shooing him away, Pearl invites him in. The two spark an instant friendship over fixing beds and quaint poetry - a very indie set up with the coyness of the Victorian era lingering somewhere.
It's funny, and it's touching, as the two evolve their relationship into more poetry and writing and even though Pearl's wandering eyes linger on Trip a bit too long for fans' liking, they can't help but gush about this pure friendship that's not as common on TV as it should be. Taking to Twitter, fans expressed their adoration for this budding friendship, with one of them gushing: "Oh my God! Pearl is reading her poem out loud for Moody." Another fan wrote the inevitable, tweeting: I'm already shipping Pearl and Moody so hard, nobody can convince me otherwise!!!"
But well, there is some major convincing to be done, because like we mentioned before, Pearl's got the eyes for somebody else - specifically, Moody's elder brother Trip. Noting that, a fan simply remarked: "I can already tell where this Pearl and Moody storyline is going and I don’t like it." And as for the imminent possible heartbreak to come Moody's way, especially since Trip seems to like Pearl back as well, a fan shared: "Trip likes Pearl. Moody’s heart is about to be broken, I cannot take it." Let's just hope Moody realizes this before it's too late!
'Little Fires Everywhere' premiered on Tuesday, March 17, with the first three episodes only on Hulu. Later episodes will air weekly, on Wednesdays, on the same platform.