Florence Pugh Multiplies Into a Mirrored Dream in New ‘East of Eden’ Portraits
Florence Pugh has had a very busy week. Netflix’s ‘East of Eden‘ arrived Oct. 1, and the actress has been front and center in a promotional campaign that has delivered one memorable image after another. Her latest set of ‘East of Eden’ portraits takes a softer, more dreamlike turn.
The seven-episode limited series adapts John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel, with Pugh playing Cathy Ames and serving as an executive producer. It reframes the multigenerational Trask family saga from Cathy’s perspective. Before getting to the new photos, it is worth looking at how the project came together.
Zoe Kazan wrote and executive produced all 7 episodes. She is also the granddaughter of Elia Kazan, who directed the 1955 film adaptation starring James Dean, which gives the project a notable family legacy. Pugh was Kazan’s first choice for Cathy and joined the project in 2021 after reading the first two scripts and the series outline.
New images of Pugh photographed by Emilio Madrid for ‘East of Eden’ press have been shared. In one photo, she looks over her shoulder with her hair swept into an elegant updo, wearing a blush satin slip gown with a long ribbon-like drape and sparkling earrings. Warm bokeh lights glow in the background, giving the image a golden, cinematic feel.
Florence Pugh photographed by Emilio Madrid for ‘EAST OF EDEN’ press. pic.twitter.com/LoEZulhfB9
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) October 1, 2026
The second image is the showstopper. It shows Pugh repeated across a series of mirrored reflections, creating a kaleidoscopic effect that multiplies her figure across the frame. Fiction Horizon described the set as a softer, more dreamlike take on the campaign, and called it one last dreamy glimpse at Pugh’s Cathy before audiences meet her for themselves.
The mirrored imagery is a fitting choice. Cathy is a character who has always been difficult to pin down, and the multiplied reflections suggest a woman with many faces. It is the kind of visual metaphor that fits a role defined by mystery.
The Madrid portraits add to an already varied lineup of ‘East of Eden’ imagery. Netflix has released photos of Pugh in a vintage off-shoulder gown on a patterned sofa, as well as reclining in a vintage chair in a dimly lit, moody setting. Pugh also attended the series’ New York premiere on Sept. 30 at the Plaza Hotel, alongside castmates including Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Ciarán Hinds, Tracy Letts and Martha Plimpton.
Netflix’s Tudum has framed her performance as more than a role. A piece on the site says Pugh does not simply play Cathy, she fights for her. That fits the way the series treats a character who has often been sidelined.
Florence Pugh is Cathy Ames.
— Netflix (@netflix) October 1, 2026
EAST OF EDEN is now playing. pic.twitter.com/7Hn40S92uU
In the 1955 film, Cathy was played by Jo Van Fleet, whose minutes onscreen total fewer than 20. In Kazan’s reimagining, Cathy is as much the focus as any other character. TheWrap describes Pugh’s version as a simmering force of pure, often destructive will, frequently cruel and unrelentingly single-minded.
Kazan looked to letters Steinbeck wrote to his editor while he was writing the novel, in which his opinion of Cathy seems to change and his curiosity about her grows. Kazan describes the character as private, to the other figures in the story, to readers and even to Steinbeck himself. That approach gives Pugh room to show a woman who is more than a villain.
The story follows successive generations of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, in the Salinas Valley of California, who are destined to reenact the story of Cain and Abel. Netflix’s official description says that in the early 1900s, a fiercely independent woman drives a rift between two brothers, igniting a saga that unfolds across two generations. Abbott plays Adam Trask and Faist plays his brother Charles.
The series also stars Hoon Lee, Joseph Zada, Joe Anders and Costa D’Angelo, among others. It was filmed in New Zealand, including South Island locations Dunedin and Oamaru. Now that it is streaming, viewers can judge for themselves whether the adaptation lives up to the polished campaign.
For Pugh, the series arrives in the middle of a busy period. She is also set to return as Princess Irulan in ‘Dune: Part Three’, which hits theaters Dec. 18. If the portraits are any indication, her run of striking images is not slowing down.
Which ‘East of Eden’ Florence Pugh Look Is Your Favorite?
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