Carrie Layden

Carrie is the mother of Mare's grandson, Drew, and the two women are locked in a custody fight that has curdled whatever family feeling once existed between them. She's trying to get clean and rebuild a stable life, showing up hopeful and defensive in equal measure, aware that everyone in Easttown already has an opinion about her.

Sosie Bacon plays Carrie without asking for sympathy, which is what makes her so quietly devastating. The show could easily flatten her into an obstacle or a cautionary tale, but Bacon finds the stubborn love and wounded pride underneath the mess, so you feel the custody fight from both sides at once.