As A Teacher gets started, Claire Wilson (Kate Mara) gets prepared for the first day of school. When she arrives, she asks Kathryn (Marielle Scott) if she knows where the faculty meeting is being held. They agree to go together while Claire explains she hasn’t gotten used to the school year. Kath is teaching French and Claire is teaching English. Claire tells her that she used to teach at Riverton Middle School. During the faculty meeting, Claire is introduced to the rest of the staff. Kath tells Claire they should get a drink sometime because she can give her some good intel. When that ends, Claire goes to the store to purchase a bunch of stuff.

She ends up stealing lipstick without getting caught. That night, Claire tells Matt Mitchell (Ashley Zukerman) she wishes he didn’t have to go on this trip and he admits he is sick of traveling. She is ovulating but she says they can try again next month. He reminds her they agreed not to use phones in bed and quickly turns the conversation to her day. She tells him about stealing the lipstick at the grocery store and he doesn’t understand that. She doesn’t either and says she has spent a lot of money at the store and felt it wasn’t a big deal. He admits he didn’t know he was married to a delinquent and she immediately regrets telling him about it.

When she returns to the school, she joins Kath and watches as the students cheer for the seniors. Then, we finally get to see Claire in the classroom. She introduces herself to the class and a few boys chat about her appearance. She tells them they’re going to be reading Dylan Thomas before they do anything else. She reads some of his work while we see Eric Walker (Nick Robinson) parading down the halls and cursing to get everyone fired up. When that ends, Eric pays a visit to Mr. Castillo who learns Eric has made captain. Eric explains he has a question about the Travis County Community Scholarship. It isn’t due until December but Eric wants to get a head start so Castillo researches the scholarship online.

They learn that the scholarship is open to students planning to work in a medical environment. Eric is still working at the diner so that won’t be a problem. The only issue is that Eric will need to score at least 1250 on his SATs. At soccer practice, Eric’s buddy asks him about Claire when she walks by. He tells Logan Davis (Shane Harper) about Claire Wilson being his AP English teacher but Logan says she is too hot to be a teacher. Eric complains about the amount of homework she assigned on the first day. Maria (Aina Lordo) asks Eric and his friends if they need anything else. Then, Josh (Dylan Schmid) and Logan begin looking at online profiles for some of the girls at their school. Logan complains that Alison is annoying because she is always complaining about a climate crisis and should just leave for Canada.

Then, they turn their attention to Josh’s sister and that angers him. Josh agrees to give Eric a ride before we jump over to Claire who learns that Matt’s flight has been canceled and he won’t be making it home. Eric works at the diner before getting high with his friends. Once they finish smoking, they go back inside for milkshakes and to laugh about how high they got. They spot Claire nearby and Logan decides to walk over and speak to her. Eric and Josh join them seconds later. Claire asks them about the homework she assigned them before learning about Eric working at the diner. Then, Logan has to leave so Josh agrees to give him a ride home. Claire stays with Eric who tells her that his friends think the food is free because he works there.

Claire agrees to pay for it but Eric tells her she doesn’t have to do that. She also offers him some of her grilled cheese and he takes it. They chat about Claire living in Austin almost her whole life before Eric tells her he has taken the SATs twice but still can’t get the score he needs. They joke about Logan’s intelligence and Claire agrees to tutor Eric. When that conversation ends, Claire offers to give Eric a ride home and he accepts that offer. Claire tells Eric about her brother who is a cop and lives near Eric. Then, they chat about their music interests. Eric arrives home a few moments later.

Claire spends the night alone. She checks her social media and finds a friend request from Eric. Later, Claire dreams about playing with herself and Eric telling her what he wants to do to her but she wakes up from that when Matthew arrives. She tries to talk Matthew into sleeping with her and resorts to pleading with him. It works. The following day, Claire tells Matthew she is going to meet with Kath. She doesn’t. Instead, she goes to the diner where Eric works and helps him with the SAT test.

 

A Teacher Review

I am not really sure what to think about A Teacher just yet. I think everyone can see what is coming and where the story is going to take us over the course of 10 episodes. I suspect it has the potential to be a deep exploration of this subject but I question whether it’ll ever achieve anything of significance.

There are too just many insignificant, annoying side characters that are taking up precious time. I mean this show is only 30 minutes each episode yet we were overwhelmed with school parades, Kathryn cursing like a sailor, and Logan being an overall airhead.

If the show would buckle down and focus more on the two main characters, it could get very interesting. However, I found a lot of the dialogue and action outside of these two characters to be very obnoxious and cringey. There is no need to walk the tightrope. Get rid of the nuisances and focus on the main characters and story. The episode was okay but could’ve been a lot better. It scores a 6.5 out of 10.