little house on the prairie netflix 2026 thoughts so far. i'm in the middle of episode 6.
for context: i was way into these books as a kid, and also went on an absolute tear rereading them last year and also reading my favorite book of last year, prairie fires: the american dreams of laura ingalls wilder by caroline fraser. i've read almost everything wilder ever wrote and as much biographical stuff as i could.
i really like that they've brought up the whole osage-own-the-land thing and made it a whole contentious deal. it is a historical fact that charles ingalls built his house illegally on osage land. it seems clear to me they've done good consulting with indigenous groups for this adaptation.
i think this show is at its best so far when it leans into the uncomfortable realities of the colonization effort. it's at its worst when it's leaning into the hallmarky when-calls-the-heart-ness of it all.
to begin with, i wish ma were shown to be more prejudiced. the real caroline ingalls was, and had a family history of conflict with the indigenous americans. on the other hand, i like that they've played up that laura's pretty open-minded. obviously her books were written from a racist point of view, but the type of racism where she was fascinated by the osage, rather than hateful. it's an interesting point of conflict for her and her family in the books.
most of all i think it's very telling how much they've let the ingalls family be an actual part of the community in independence. it makes for a much better interpersonal story, of course, but one that's at odds with the reality of the situation. the reality is: they were doing something very stupid. they were squatting illegally, miles from help, destroying the natural ecosystem, and living in extreme poverty. i think it's really whitewashing the situation to imagine a world in which the ingalls family was living in a community, and an inclusive one at that.
this christmas episode that i'm watching while typing this is definitely the worst so far. they've cut to the middle of winter, eliding all the struggle of dealing with the weather and the isolation. it robs the magic of the mr. edwards moment entirely: if the ingalls saw other people all the time, if they regularly got to shop, mr. edwards appearing does not feel like a miracle.
i like the characters they've invented for this adaptation. i'm not mad that they're trying to show the life of osage and black people in this time. but i think there was a way to do that that didn't give this time such a rosy glow.
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