‘All Her Fault’ Keeps you Guessing
Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning in All Her Fault | Credit: Peacock
When Marissa Irvine (Sarah Snook) goes to pick up her five-year-old son from a playdate and he’s not there, she and her community seek to find her son. This leads them down a strange and winding path, uncovering horrifying secrets in the process.
All Her Fault boasts a fantastic cast, headlined by Snook, who is still at the top of her game, following her rise in popularity after Succession. It’s been really fun to see what projects she has taken on in the years since that show’s successful end.
Dakota Fanning stars as Marissa’s acquaintance, Jenny, another mom who struggles to balance working full-time and being a mom and wife. She doesn’t seem to fit in with the other moms and seems to thrive the most when she’s working, which shows how different she is from the other parents at her child’s school.
Jenny is a great foil to Marissa, who is much more sure of herself and headstrong in many ways. Jenny is confident in her work, but struggles in some social situations. These two make for a powerful pairing as Marissa walks through the most difficult moments in her life. Jenny provides moments of respite for Marissa, where she shows up to help without needing anything from this grieving mother. We, as the audience, feel that sense of relief when Jenny shows up, too. She provides a much-needed break from the grief, heartache, and family drama swirling around Marissa.
This show is big and dramatic (as it should be, given the subject matter), and the entire cast handles these moments with ease. It could’ve been really easy for these moments to feel over the top, but the cast is able to keep even the most dramatic moments grounded in reality. You absolutely feel the pain that this family is going through and want to know what happened to this child.
Sarah Snook and Jake Lacy in All Her Fault | Credit: Peacock
All Her Fault unpacks this mystery deliberately. Detective Alcaras (Michael Peña) spearheads the investigation methodically, tracking down each lead they can. We follow his investigation, while also watching this family discover information of their own along the way.
What I found particularly interesting is how each episode reframes who the “her” is in the show’s title. At times, it seems like Marissa is the “her,” and other times it’s Jenny. Sometimes it’s Lia (Abby Elliott), Ana (Kartiah Vergara), or Carrie (Sophia Lillis). There are so many women to blame for a series of misfortunes at the heart of this story. So many of the people in this show have experienced various types of tragedies, and we see how the women are blamed by themselves, each other, and the men around them.
I loved how each new revelation shines a light on a new facet of blame and shame that the women in this show have been living with. In one particularly jarring scene early on in the series, the Irvines hold a press conference, begging people to help share any information they know about the missing child.
The press conference quickly goes sideways as reporters begin blaming the Irvines for their child going missing. They accuse the parents of staging the kidnapping for a book deal. They blame Marissa because of her line of work. And when she understandably responds with shock and horror, lashing back at them, it only makes it worse. That’s just one scene in the show that really helps to emphasize how difficult it is to be a woman and how unforgiving others can be, especially for a woman with any power or following.
All Her Fault also showcases a few characters with different disabilities or types of neurodivergence. This isn’t for show, but these characters are important to the plot.
One of these characters is Detective Alcaras’ son, Sam (Orlando Ivanovic), who has a number of disabilities and requires a higher level of care. We see the toll that his care takes on his parents, and they express some of their fears about how he will move about in the world and who will take care of him. But they are also so thrilled that he is their son. In one episode, we spend a significant amount of time with Sam, and we fall in love with him, too. He’s a sweet kid, a helper, and has the biggest smile. It’s wonderful that characters with disabilities are being portrayed more often in shows like this. Sam’s disability isn’t something negative, but a beautiful part of who he is.
We also meet Brian (Daniel Monks), who was injured as a result of an accident as a child. He’s now an adult and lives in immense daily pain, but pushes through the best he can. He is reliant upon his family’s help and struggles with what the next steps should be for his own care. Brian grapples with maintaining some level of independence while also receiving the care that he needs. He also acknowledges the pressures he feels from his family that he tries to live up to, even though they are sometimes unrealistic or even harmful expectations.
It’s also fascinating to contrast the care that Sam is able to receive, coming from a middle-class family, versus the care that is available to Brian, coming from a more wealthy family. This isn’t a large focus of the show, but the difference in class is always present, enhancing this story.
Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning in All Her Fault | Credit: Peacock
All Her Fault is a twisting mystery that uncovers many secrets along the way. The story keeps you guessing from start to finish. Throughout, it reframes what you think you know and makes you want to keep watching to see what happened to the child and what will happen to this family.
If you’re in the mood for a dramatic family mystery filled with twists and turns, consider checking out All Her Fault, which is now streaming on Peacock.