Created by Lulu Wang, the 2024 series “Expats” is an adaptation of Janice Y.K. Lee’s novel, “The Expatriates.” The series delves into the lives of three American women residing in Hong Kong, each grappling with their distinct and profound existential crises.
“People often think that death is the worst resolution. But it’s a resolution.”
If episode 4 of “Expats” was somber in tone, this edition is even gloomier, the mood exacerbated by a rainy setting – Hong Kong is drenched, with a typhoon alert. Hilary (Sarayu Blue) has decided to split with David (Jack Huston). Clarke (Brian Tee) and Margaret (Nicole Kidman) finally confront each other properly over whether they should be moving back to the U.S, the face-off triggered by Pastor Alan’s (Blessing Mokgohloa) visit to their home. Meanwhile reaches out to her new friend Charly (Bonde Sham) and the two girls bond over food, drinks and a swim.
Titled “Central,” episode 5 serves as the penultimate edition of “Expats” and consequently boasts an extended runtime of 1 hour and 40 minutes, nearly equivalent to that of a feature film. The edition opens with a riveting scene of Filipino women singing Katy Perry’s “Roar” while it rains, their vocals are beautifully in sync and one of the singers is Hilary’s help Puri (Amelyn Pardenilla), who dreams of becoming a singer. This edition succinctly captures the awkward and unpredictable nature of the dynamics that exist between helpers like Puri and Essie (played by Ruby Ruiz) and their employers. Despite the employers’ claims of treating them as family, there’s always a palpable divide between the employer and the employee.
In one particularly tense scene, Hilary insists on having David tell her whatever he wants in front of Puri, but she is forced to dismiss the help when David drops a shocking truth about his affair, which proves to be extremely humiliating for Hilary. Their heated outburst and fight are followed by one of the most subtly hilarious scenes in the show – David leaves the flat, but makes sure he grabs his coffee machine on the way. David is easily the most flawed character on the show, but Jack Huston’s earnest performance makes him so much more humane than everybody else on “Expats”.
What was quite distracting for me in this edition was the introduction of a new character, a wealthy expat housewife named Olivia (portrayed by Flora Chan), who is friends with Hilary. Additionally, there is significant emphasis on protests in the city by students and common citizens advocating for universal suffrage. The extent to which this new character’s life and the street protests intertwine with the lives of the main protagonists will likely become clearer in the finale.
Pastor Alan’s visit to Clarke morphs into a tense experience when Margaret returns home earlier than expected, displeased that a religious man is visiting her family. The children pose some pertinent questions to Alan about God and Gus (their missing brother), to which he doesn’t have any answers. However, Clarke makes compelling arguments about the necessity for hope and faith in times of crisis. Depending on the type of viewer you are, the Pastor Alan subplot might irk you, as it does Margaret, or perhaps leave you feeling a little inspired, like Clarke.
It seems like all the major characters are heading towards significant closure and life-changing decisions, making this a particularly interesting penultimate episode.
You can stream “Expats” on Prime Video.
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