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East Of Eden Villain Is A Netflix Hero Because She Has No Sexual Mores

Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of ‘East of Eden’ trades literary truth for cheap moral ambiguity.

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Hollywood wants you to “fall in love” with one of the most evil characters ever conceived by the human imagination. 

In a recent viral clip from an interview with The Atlantic, actress Florence Pugh sits in a gray-and-white collared dress against a dark backdrop, glaring intently at her interviewer as she describes her experience portraying the villainous Cathy Ames in Netflix’s upcoming East of Eden series. But “villainous” is not quite the name of Netflix’s game.

The new series “East of Eden” doesn’t try to make the character Cathy Ames “a monster,” Florence Pugh says. It was “my job to try and get you guys to sympathize and maybe fall in love with her a little bit,” Pugh adds.https://t.co/YN8Rjzs1aY #TAF26 pic.twitter.com/RjNDnqI3kJ— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 18, 2026

The new series “East of Eden” doesn’t try to make the character Cathy Ames “a monster,” Florence Pugh says. It was “my job to try and get you guys to sympathize and maybe fall in love with her a little bit,” Pugh adds.https://t.co/YN8Rjzs1aY #TAF26 pic.twitter.com/RjNDnqI3kJ

Writer Zoe Kazan, Pugh explains, “wasn’t interested in making [Cathy] just a monster. She was interested in understanding her.”

Fans of Steinbeck’s beloved novel were rightfully outraged.

“This new Hollywood trend of ‘every villain is sympathetic’ is the worst,” wrote one commenter.

“Did she even read the book?” asked another.

But to Pugh, Kazan’s reinterpretation of Steinbeck’s antagonist was “thrilling.” “It’s my job,” she added, “to try and get you guys to sympathize and maybe fall in love with [Cathy] a little bit.”

The video, which gained over 1.6 million views on X, raked in fewer than 400 likes. The message is clear: no one wants a sympathetic Cathy —........

© The Federalist