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Eddington: The Early Days of COVID Were Really That Crazy

***Spoilers Ahead***

Do you remember how strange the early days of the COVID pandemic were? People losing their jobs, others being sent to work from home. Crowded emergency rooms. A sneeze or cough was enough to send people into a panic. Long lines stretching outside grocery stores, each person standing six feet apart. Essentials like toilet paper and chicken wings became endangered resources.

The truth is, while many of us shared experiences, we also lived through very different versions of the pandemic. Some people actually enjoyed certain aspects of it. I’ve heard folks say they miss lockdown—being stuck at home scrolling TikTok and watching Netflix all day. Others absolutely hated the isolation, which worsened mental health issues like anxiety and depression. One moment, we were bonding over funny videos on social media; the next, overwhelmed by the rising death toll. And now, in 2025, it almost feels like it never happened.

Ari Aster’s Eddington transports us back to five years ago, to a small New Mexican town of the same name. Somehow, he manages to weave countless early-pandemic experiences into this one quirky location. You’ll laugh, feel confused, maybe even anxious; just like we did in real life. Aster captures political tension, mental health struggles, and social media obsession with eerie precision.

Courtesy of A24


Political Tension

The political connection in Eddington is quite obvious, and humorous at times. You have Sheriff Joe Cross (Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pascal) representing two completely opposite sides of town (and country) politics during the pandemic. 

It’s clear that Sheriff Cross doesn’t take the threat of the virus seriously. He walks around in public without his mask and ignores others when they ask him to wear one. At one point he gets into a scuffle with a homeless man who aggressively coughs on him intentionally; afterwards he goes directly home to hop in bed with his wife without even taking a shower. 

During the real pandemic, I remember watching news stories about healthcare professionals and other essential workers who barely made physical contact with their household members to avoid spreading the virus. Some even immediately removed their clothes to be washed and slept in separate rooms to help limit any possible transmission. I suppose that none of these precautions crossed the sheriff’s mind. 

Mayor Garcia, on the other hand, is all for the masks and encourages people to use them for protection even if they don’t have COVID. This is seen as injustice to Cross, especially because he claims to not be able to breathe in the mask for health related issues.

We see him use his authority to go against the new rules of the pandemic, then watch him purchase groceries for an older man who was kicked out of the store for refusing to wear a mask. This is morally conflicting, and the audience is unsure if he is a “bad guy” or not.

So who’s the good guy in this situation? Is it the sheriff who represents law and order, protection, and trust in the community; or the mayor who is also supposed to be a trusted figure in the community that keeps the public’s best interest. I think we’ve seen a similar story like this before. 

Courtesy of A24


Mental Health Struggles

As the story unfolds, Sheriff Cross reveals deeper flaws. The political climate of the town unveils darker elements of his personality, and he develops a consuming hatred for Garcia. His obsession seemingly derails everything else in his life.

In reality, he’s not really the only one struggling mentally in the film. Many of the characters all seem to find something to focus on to take their attention away from the threat of the virus. 

Cross’s wife Louise (portrayed by Emma Stone) and mother-in-law  find themselves caught up with a strange cult leader named Vernon (portrayed by Austin Butler), along with his conspiracies about what COVID is distracting the world from.

The teenagers seem to not know what to do with themselves out of pure boredom and isolation. Sarah becomes active in the Black Lives Matter movement, bringing protests to the small town. Meanwhile, two guys around her age find themselves joining the movement with her; not because they actually care but because they are competing for her attention. One happens to be Mayor Garcia’s son Eric, and the other is his friend Brian. 

Sarah seems to not be too interested in either guy, but instead seems stuck on her ex-boyfriend Mike; a young Black deputy of the sheriff. Is this girl using the Black Lives Matter movement to get the attention of her ex who is a black cop? That’s pretty wild.

t seems like the characters are dissociating themselves from the reality of COVID as a defense mechanism for the stress and trauma of the pandemic. Focusing more energy on politics, social justice, and even conspiracies can help escape the reality that a new virus is quickly changing the world around you. 

I’m sure many of us did something similar in 2020 as well, possibly without realizing it. I know personally I found myself playing The Sims continuously for months after having not touched the game for years before. In my mind, this was a way to live a life outside of what I was going through in the real world. It probably wasn’t the most productive way to cope, but it got me through a lot of long days.

I also found myself scrolling Tiktok all day, everyday. Social media was not something that I frequented often, but for some reason, Tiktok really pulled me -and much of the rest of the world -in during the pandemic lock down.

Social Media Obsession

Courtesy of A24

Social media went through an evolution during the pandemic. It was one of the most popular ways to interact with the world without the risk of touching one another. Everyone was video calling, posting videos, and streaming. In Eddington, social media becomes the town’s connective tissue, and its chaos engine. It links the characters’ political battles, mental breakdowns, and personal drama.

Cross’s mother-in-law watches Vernon’s conspiracy videos almost religiously.

Sarah uses her platform to post about BLM, while simultaneously using the same platform to try and make her ex boyfriend jealous. Meanwhile, she’s being cyberstalked by one, if not both, of the two boys who have a crush on her. This town is a mess. 

It was actually quite interesting to see how tech savvy Cross was with streaming and posting videos for his political campaign, while still giving the vibe of an old school gritty sheriff. 

Streaming and video posting was a major part of Cross’s mayoral campaign, to the point that he revealed personal and sensitive information about his wife to make his candidate look bad. In more direct terms ; dude really went online and said that Mayor Garcia sexually assaulted his wife in an attempt to destroy his character. This was probably one of the wildest parts of the story, but it still doesn’t overshadow the end.

I probably laughed more than I needed to during the ending shoot out scenes with Phoenix vs whatever militia/mercenaries that came to hunt him down. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a western movie, but something about Cross running around crazy, while dipping and dodging shots was pure comedy. 

The icing on the cake was the cyber-stalker kid Brian saving the day by killing the mercenary fighter that stabbed Cross through the top of his head, all while recording himself on his cell phone. Gotta get those likes by any means I suppose.  

So yes, Eddington is absolutely a wild ride that can be quite weird at times. But honestly, this is pretty much what the world felt like during the 2020 pandemic. Do you remember now? How soon we forget. 








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