Little Fires Everywhere: 5 Times We Felt Bad For Elena (& 5 Times We Hated Her)

Much of the television show Little Fires Everywhere revolves around the character of Elena. Elena seems to be at the center of every major conflict on the show. Elena is immediately established as a forceful and problematic character. As the show develops, her ugliness continues to grow.

At times, it seems this character is irredeemable and that she possesses no positive qualities. But while Elena’s actions are atrocious, the show still manages to provide several moments in which fans can’t help but empathize with her. This list examines the times in which fans empathized with Elena and the times they hated her.

10 Hated: Fight With Lexie

Elena is a perfectionist. She cares a great deal about her image and adores her daughter Lexie for fitting into her vision of the “perfect child.” Though their relationship seems strong for much of the show, it is revealed that Lexie has actually been struggling with the pressure to feel perfect at all times.

Lexie finally begins to take responsibility for some of her problematic behavior. She also stands up for her sister Izzy by listing all of the ways Lexie has messed up, letting her mom know that she is not perfect. Elena refuses to acknowledge this and delivers a bloodcurdling scream letting Lexie know that she is perfect. Lexie’s pain in this moment is palpable and Elena’s parenting skills are atrocious.

9 Felt Bad: Jamie Changed The Plans

Through a flashback, it is revealed that Elena was in a serious relationship with a man named Jaime before her marriage. Elena and Jaime had planned a life together and it seemed as though marriage wasn’t far off.

However, on the morning Jaime and Elena were supposed to travel home to Shaker Heights after spending a semester abroad, Jaime decided to change the plans. He asked Elena to stay with him and travel. Elena, eager to get back to her life returned home alone and it is clear she never fully got over Jaime.

8 Hated: Tells Mia About The Abortion

When Elena’s daughter Lexie decides to have an abortion, she is worried that her mother will find out. She decides to use Pearl’s name when signing into the abortion clinic to protect her reputation. When Elena illegally peeks through files at the abortion center to try to find information on Bebe, she comes across the record with Pearl’s name.

Elena believes that Pearl has had an abortion and is happy to try and rub this information in Mia’s face and scold her for her bad parenting. Her obsession with harming Mia is deplorable.

7 Felt Bad: Found Out She Was Pregnant

Elena has always been very career-minded and ambitious. In a flashback, a young Elena is excited to return back to work after taking maternity leave after the birth of her third child.

Unfortunately for Elena, she discovers her return will be shortlived as she is pregnant again. When Elena confesses her pregnancy to her husband Bill, she is extremely clear that she does not want to have a fourth child. Bill brushes off her feelings, telling Elena that it is going to be fine and ending the conversation.

6 Hated: Tells Pearl About Her Past

In an attempt to destroy Mia, Elena tracks down information about Mia’s past. While Elena hoped this information would come out in court during Bebe’s trial, Bill decides not to use this information against Mia.

Elena is furious and believes that Mia has not been accurately punished for her decisions. She decides to tell Pearl the truth about Mia’s pregnancy. She does this just to spite and harm Mia and does not consider the impact that this revelation will have on Pearl.

5 Felt Bad: Gave Up Her Career

Despite Elena’s ambition and desire to be a successful journalist, she is forced to sacrifice her career for her family. She is encouraged to leave her job at a more established paper because of how often she misses work to care for her children. She begins to work at a much smaller local paper and holds on to the few big stories she has covered.

When Elena visits Jaime, who works for the New York Times, it is clear that she is envious of his position and wonders what would have happened to her had she not decided to return to Shaker Heights and stayed with Jaime instead.

4 Hated: Treatment Of Izzy

Izzy is one of the most beloved and sympathetic characters on the show. She is compassionate and open-minded and artistic. Elena does not appreciate any of this and constantly treats Izzy poorly.

She encourages Izzy to abandon her identity to be liked by others and constantly tries to micromanage her life. She ignores Izzy’s feelings, even forcing her to eat bacon despite her protests. After an argument regarding the family holiday cards, Elena cuts Izzy out of each of the pictures. Elena even goes as far as to tell Izzy that it is hard to be her mother and that she “never wanted her in the first place.”

3 Felt Bad: Struggling With 4 Children

Although Bill had ensured Elena that having 4 children would be no different than having 3, Elena learns that this was not truthful. She struggles to care for all four of her children and rarely gets a second to take a break.

While Bill works to help support the household, it is clear he does little to help at home. In one particularly crushing scene, Elena breaks down as the water in her tiny apartment fails to turn on while she is trying her best to care for 4 young children.

2 Hated: Racism

Elena is a dangerous racist because she does not realize that she is one. Elena believes that she is a champion of equal rights and regularly cites her family’s contribution to the civil rights movement and role in the integration of Shaker Heights. Still, it is clear that Elena is deeply prejudiced.

Some of her problematic behavior includes calling the cops on Mia for sleeping in her car, assuming Mia is in need of assistance and offering her a job as a housekeeper, and serving fortune cookies at May Ling’s birthday party. Elena also makes several concerning statements surrounding affirmative action and her daughter being “punished” for having good parents when Lexie can’t decide on a topic for a college essay on overcoming adversity.

1 Felt Bad: House Burning

At the end of Little Fires Everywhere, Elena’s children have hit their breaking point. Lexie, Moody, and Trip decide to light their house on fire and burn it to the ground as Izzy flees their home. Elena is also suffering a break at this moment and is so busy sobbing on the bed, she does not notice the house is engulfed in flames.

Her son pulls her out of the house as the home crumbles around them. On the street, Elena watches her house burn in a haze. When an officer questions Elena about what has happened, he asks if Izzy is responsible for the fires. For the first time, Elena decides to protect her children and takes responsibility for the fire.

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