Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Netflix’s Eric.
Netflix’s Eric weaves a complex web of lies as the fate of two missing children is slowly revealed. First, we have Edgar Anderson (Ivan Morris Howe), a white kid who vanishes while walking to school.
Then, there’s Marlon Rochelle (Bence Orere), a Black boy whose vanishing remains unsolved for more than 11 months. Eric eventually reveals the details of what happened to the two, showing how the world treats people differently according to the color of their skin.
What happened to Edgar Anderson in Eric?
Before he goes missing, Edgar lives in fear of his father, Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch). A genius puppeteer responsible for creating a popular TV show, Good Day Sunshine, Vincent is presented in Eric as a negligent father who often abuses alcohol and other drugs. In addition, Vincent has frequent and violent fights with his wife, Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann).
Since he feels unsafe inside his own home, Edgar begins to fantasize about the supposed freedom that comes with being homeless. Edgar starts to follow a homeless man named Yuusuf (Bamar Kane), who uses spray paint to tag different walls in New York City. Yuusuf lives in a homeless camp set inside the subway trains, and, in Edgar’s mind, the man could take him to a place that’s better than the apartment he shares with his parents.
In the morning he vanishes, Edgar goes alone to school after Vincent gets too busy arguing with Cassie. Vincent tries to repair his mistake and runs after his kid. They meet in an alley, but Vincent only scares Edgar even more. After that, Edgar follows Yusuuf into the sewer drain. However, since the boy is not used to navigating the tunnels, he slips and falls.
Yussuf uses a rope to rescue Edgar, taking the boy to his makeshift house in the homeless camp. Yussuf feeds Edgar, cleans his wounds, and keeps him safe inside his home, locking the door when he must leave. After he finds out Edgar’s family is offering a $25 thousand reward for information on the boy’s whereabouts, Yussuf decides to give Edgar back to his mother. Unfortunately, Cripp (David Denman), the police captain overseeing Edgar’s case, releases a sketch of Yussuf to the press after finding footage of the homeless man. Yussuf becomes a wanted man, which leads him to ask his friend Raya (Alexis Molnar) to take the boy.
While Yussuf wants to make some money, he also cares about Edgar’s safety. Raya, on the other hand, wants to use the boy to pay her debt to a drug dealer. The dealer, TJ (Stefan Race), is also a pimp who has a clientele avid for underaged boys, which makes Edgar a coveted prize.
On their way to meet TJ, Edgar slips again and drags Raya down into the lowest parts of the sewers. Raya drowns, but Edgar uses the rope Yussuf left behind to climb back to the surface. Hungry, Edgar looks for shelter in a diner, where he sees his father wearing Eric’s costume and asking him to return home. Edgar decides to give his father a chance at redemption, and the family is reunited.
What happened to Marlon Rochelle?
While Edgar gets a happy ending in Eric, Marlon’s fate is way more disturbing. At 14 years old, the poverty of Marlon’s upraising has already pushed him into the world of drug abuse and prostitution. Trying to make some money, Marlon has accepted TJ to pimp him to powerful clients, including Deputy Mayor Richard Costello (Jeff Hephner). Marlon has also tried to make some money by meeting clients in the back alley behind The Lux, the nightclub TJ uses as his base of operations. Sadly, these side encounters would seal Marlon’s fate.
The Lux is constantly watched by Vice detectives Nokes (Ryan Hunter) and Kennedy (Bobby Schofield), who demand TJ pay them so that he can keep running his dirty business. Nokes and Keneddy get enraged when they find out Marlon is skimming their profits, so they confront the boy in the alley. Moved by his rage, Nokes beats Marlon up to death.
Costello, scared of how the murder might affect his political career, calls his brother-in-law, Bruno di Barri (Gerard Monaco), who owns the cleaning company that deals with public waste in New York City. Bruno sends a garbage truck to retrieve Marlon’s body and take it to the dump. Everyone involved decides to keep the horrible secret, including Captain Cripp. That’s why, when Kennedy’s consciousness and drinking problem make him talk about the dead kid, Nokes kills his partner, faking a hit-and-run accident.
By the end of Eric, Detective Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III) finds out the truth after getting a security tape from Gator, the owner of The Lux. Gator skips town to avoid heat and asks Ledroit to unleash hell upon all the responsible people. Ledroit grants Gator’s wishes, arresting the men involved in the murder and bringing closure to Marlon’s family.
By the time the credits roll, Ledroit is still looking for Marlon’s body in the dump. TJ is also on the loose, as he flees before the security tape is delivered to Ledroit. Still, that is the best ending we could hope for in Eric‘s grim and realistic world.
Does Benedict Cumberbatch’s Vicent find redemption?
At the end of Eric, Vincent commits himself to becoming a better father. He goes to rehab, gets himself clean, and gets his job back at Good Day Sunshine. Vincent also agrees to a divorce and maintains a friendly bond with his former wife.
While Eric is the manifestation of everything monstrous about Vincent’s behavior, he takes his life into his own hands and turns everything for the better. Because of that, Vincent and Edgar begin to build a trusting and healthy relationship. So, while many disturbing things are happening in Eric, the show ends on a hopeful note.