There are so many things done incorrectly in this show that have made it such a mess. I believe the overall main story is quite good and could have been a big hit but it fails due to two major reasons:
1. Too Many Side Stories: the main subject here is a father who is trying to find his lost son using a puppet that his son has created. That's where the title of the show comes from. This is what the focus of the show should be on. However, so many irrelevant and uninteresting subplots are added that make it hard to appreciate the relationship between the father and Eric. For example, what was the point of the detective's old and sick boyfriend who dies after 4 episodes and has nothing to do with the story or even the detective's character development. Actually, his personal life is so irrelevant and uninteresting and doesn't add any depth to the story. Even his being gay.
2. Very Slow Pacing: at times it gets really annoying how slowly everything occurs. I think one episode worth of runtime could have been cut. Why does it take the detective so long to watch the CCTVs?! Episode 3 takes place one week after the disappearance and yet he hasn't watched the first 50 seconds after Edgar leaves the apartment. Moreover, the episodes, especially the first three, do not provide enough information. What has actually happened to Edgar and what he is doing should have been revealed much sooner, probably at the end of episode two. Same with the father's personal search for Edgar.
Benedict Cumberbatch's performance is probably the only thing in the show that is great from start to finish. His fight with Eric in the final episode was the only scene in the whole show I found fascinating. Everything else is a let down. The story of the 14 yo kid is also interesting and a nice add but I think it is not shown in the best way which lowers the effect of it.
All in all, there some good ideas displayed in Eric; the relationship of a father and his son that leads to him running away, the father's struggles after that, the creation of Eric in the father's mind, and the story of an African American kid been killed by the police. If the focus of the show was completely on these concepts and everything else was put aside and the storytelling was improved, I think we would have witnessed much higher ratings and more positive reviews here.
A short note on the bad storytelling; one major issue here is supposed to be the fact that in the kid's eyes, the real monster is his dad based on his behavior but that's not what is shown in the beginning. Their relationship seems very good and they have great with each other. Also, if this is in fact the main issue, then adding another big one like the coverup of the murder of an African American kid by authorities is a mistake. The show is indeed a mess in storytelling. It's like the writers had 5 important but different issues to display and made a mess in combining them. It is really such a shame that they didn't stick with the first priority and wasted such good performance by Cumberbatch in such messy show.
