One More Time
The truth comes tumbling out as episode 6 of A Teacher begins with Claire lying in bed and telling Matt that she’s having an affair. As he awakens, Matt rolls over and finds her wide-eyed and breathing heavily. Just like she did the previous night, she tells him she’s having an affair with a student. Eric meanwhile is approached by two police officers who show up asking questions about Claire. With his Mother by his side, Eric is forced into admitting the truth that he’s seen her outside school during his “tutoring” sessions. They ask whether she’s been inappropriate and it turns out a report has been filed confirming they were together that weekend. As everything comes crashing down around Eric, the same can be said for Claire too as Matt tells Nate that Claire’s been cheating on him. Nate is confident that the police probably won’t press charges if Eric confirms that it was consensual. Frazzled, Eric phones Claire and asks to meet her after speaking to the officers. She simply hangs up on him though and struggles to hold back tears. News spreads fast and Eric’s friends find out about Claire too. Logan’s incredulous expression completely drops when his Mother tells him who Eric’s girlfriend is. Logan heads over to Eric’s with Josh and tells him that he’s going to be immortalized at school. However, Eric blames himself for what happened given Claire’s now under investigation. Logan speaks to him about the situation and tries to reassure his friend, telling him that Claire has issues. Eric however, refuses to listen and walks away. Back home, Matt speaks to Claire who remains curled up on the bed. He doesn’t want to lose her after 10 years and despite being mad, promises to get her a lawyer and take her to therapy over what happened. He promises they can get past this but Claire is not so sure. She heads out for some air and winds up driving up to Eric’s, where they meet again. Eric apologizes for what happened while Claire admits that she’s scared over what’s going to happen in her future. He suggests they just drive and leave together and begin kissing. Now, it’s worth mentioning the music here which uses uplifting, major key chords – a way of showing hope and happiness… for a teacher/student relationship that’s completely inappropriate. Maybe it’s just me but personally the minor key strums we’ve heard in episodes prior would have been a much better choice here. Anyway, they drive off together and make it to a motel where they check in for the night. Nate rings Claire and warns that she needs to come back home. If she doesn’t then this will look like a kidnapping. Eric and Claire drink together and then eventually hook up just like before. Now the dark music kicks in as Claire convinces Eric to have sex with her again. In the morning, Eric sneaks into the bathroom and checks his phone where numerous messages show his Mum and friends worried about where he is. Sighing heavily, he eventually returns home to his Mum and hugs her tightly. He’s obviously torn up about what’s happened, while Claire makes the difficult walk she’s been dreading all episode long and returns to town alone.
The Episode Review
So with the truth now finally out, Eric and Claire hook up again for old time’s sake with little in the way of repercussions for Claire – yet. It looks like Matt is staying by her side for now and Nate being kind and offering support only backs this up too. Hopefully she’ll start to feel the full force of the law soon after what happened between this teacher and student. Eric’s ordeal at Claire’s hands certainly spell trouble for his future too, with the likelihood that Eric’s future prospects in romance and love will be tainted forever after what happened with Claire. It’s worth mentioning the music too, which for the most part is pitch perfect apart from the car ride together. Eric suggesting they just get away and leave – coupled with the major key chords – hints toward this being a good thing and a romantic gesture. Which it’s not given they’re a teacher and student. Anyway, the ending seems to hint that these aforementioned ruinous issues for Claire will finally come to light so we’ll have to wait for next week to find out what’s in store for her.
