Sharp Objects: Final Thoughts

I've resisted reviewing Sharp Objects for the two next-to-last episodes until the finale, because, well I wanted to see how it turned out.  (Spoilers ahead.)

Amma and her friends are revealed as the murderers of the girls - the murder that brought Camille to town - and I'm not particularly happy with that revelation, or the way it was shoe-horned in as a coda.  It's not that I don't think Amma and her friends couldn't have done that - they certainly could - but one of the planks of the investigation has been that it required a man's strength to extract those teeth.  The twist that it not a woman, but more than one woman, strikes me as clever but weak.  Wouldn't a smart detective like Richard have thought of that?

And speaking of Richard, I didn't like how Camille jumped so quickly in bed with Natalie's brother.  I get that this at least was in part designed to show us how hurt and vulnerable she is to anyone who shows her affection.  But, I don't know, it happened too fast, with almost no build-up or prelude.

Back to the murder - I suggested Adora's husband early in my reviews, and I still think he makes the most sense.  He has a man's strength and the motive of protecting Adora. All that was needed to make this work was something that the two victims had over Adora.   Not hard to find or imagine, given that she was all about Munchausening her daughters by proxy.

But hey, I didn't write this, and I assume the TV series adhered to the story in the novel.  Fine acting all around, especially Amy Adams as Camille.  But I can well understand why she said no to reprising the role in a second season.

See also: Sharp Objects 1 and 2: Serial Tennessee Williams ... Sharp Objects #3: Lateral ... Sharp Objects #4: "You Can't Change History" ... Sharp Objects #5: Men in Badges

Sharp Objects #5: Men in Badges

Another mostly lateral Sharp Objects on Sunday night - #5 - which didn't really move the investigation much along, but provided important detail about Camille.

We learn that she's actually carving words into her body when she cuts herself.  It's not clear yet if there's a message in them, but this certainly means she's more than a casual cutter, if we were ever inclined to think that for a minute.  Amma finds out about it, and this has the effect of bringing the two closer together.

About Amma, she goes missing for a little while, and I keep thinking she's going to be the next victim.   But, actually, I hope that doesn't happen, because I'm finding Amma to be a deeper, more important character with every new episode. Kudos to Eliza Scanlen here for fine acting in a pivotal role.

It was good to see Camille and Richard finally in bed together in the end, albeit in Camille's way.  One of the ladies at the Calhoun Day Event remarks earlier that the Crellin woman go for men in badges, which points to the chemistry between Adora and Vickery, and the possibility (even likelihood) that Vickery is Camille's father.  We'll see.

But we get no more evidence or insight into who did the murders.  Which leaves me free to flog my pet theory:  Alan's the killer.   Of course, we have no evidence for that, either.  And until we see the restriction on strength refuted - meaning, it's not the case that a woman couldn't have done the crime - we're left with just a mere handful of suspects.

See also: Sharp Objects 1 and 2: Serial Tennessee Williams ... Sharp Objects #3: Lateral ... Sharp Objects #4: "You Can't Change History"

Sharp Objects #4: "You Can't Change History"

"You can't change history," Mr. Lacey tells Amma, as she tries her little best to seduce him - or begin to seduce him - in the 4th episode of Sharp Objects on HBO tonight.  If this were a time travel story, some character could set forth to prove Lacey wrong.  Well, there is a kind of time travel in Sharp Objects, but it's the metaphysical or mental kind, not what we saw in the recently cancelled Timeless series on NBC.

Not only that, Sharp Objects is one hell of a nasty show, with nasty characters saying nasty things in just about every other scene.   Adora tells Camille she smells "ripe" - the given title of this episode - after Camille puts Richard's hand in her pants after he tries to kiss her in the woods.  Nothing nasty about that - it's all good - but Adora's comment is nasty, and she's easily the nastiest character in this story.

She's hateful to Camille - still not clear why - and is no great shakes to her husband.  She all but carries on with the sheriff right in front of her husband, and generally treats him like trash, including saying no to his meekly amorous requests.  In the final scene, we see, among other things, that he might be getting more aggressive, and it will be instructive to see what comes of this.

In terms of the mystery of who is the killer, Adora would be a number-one suspect, given her sheer near insanity.  But the physical strength of the killer ruled out a woman early in this story, so that obliges us to look elsewhere.  I'm still thinking Adora's husband has a hidden violent streak, and he still looks like the best suspect to me - though, so far, no one has identified him as such.

Could a woman under some circumstances get the kind of strength necessary to pull out teeth?  I don't know.  But so far, figuring out who did this is like pulling teeth.  (And now it gets so quiet in the room, you can hear a pun drop.)

See also: Sharp Objects 1 and 2: Serial Tennessee Williams ... Sharp Objects #3: Lateral

Sharp Objects #3: Lateral

A lateral third episode of Sharp Objects on Sunday - meaning, the story didn't really move much forward, but we learned a lot more about the characters, mostly about lead character Camille and her family.

Camille was and is a lot more troubled then we may have realized.  Though her editor more or less meant well by sending her back to Wind Gap, it's opened up all kinds of deep wounds.  And all of this intensifies the question of what exactly happened her back then - before, when, and right after her sister died.

And speaking of sisters, Camille's half sister Amma is more a piece of work than indicated in the first two episodes.   Her taunting Camille when she was with Detective Willis was more than good-natured ribbing.  Amma has an underlying hostility and even animus towards Camille, almost a love/hate relationship, given her emulation of her sister, which we've also seen.  (I have a feeling that Amma may be the next victim, but that's just a feeling, with no evidence - as yet - to back that up.)

Camille's mother Adora also comes across as even more vicious than she was before.  Does she have some kind of motive for this, beyond the considerable detritus of her life?  Is she protecting someone, and her motive is just to get Camille on her way, out of town?  If so, whom?  Is Adora the killer? Willis seemed to prove that it couldn't be a woman.  Is Adora protecting her husband?  (As I indicated in my last review, I have a feeling that he's the killer - also on no evidence.)

About the only good thing that happened to Camille in episode #3 was the time that could have been more with Willis.   It will be good to see how that develops.

See also: Sharp Objects 1 and 2: Serial Tennessee Williams

Sharp Objects 1 and 2: Serial Tennessee Williams

Catching up with the first two episodes of Sharp Objects, the limited summer series on HBO.  It's distantly reminiscent of True Detective and Broadchurch, with a little Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and even "Eleanor Rigby" thrown in (one of the victims had a spider which she kept "in a jar by the door").

The victims are either two or three, depending on how you look at it.  One girl murdered, one girl missing for starters - she turns up a dead - and another who died a while ago.  She's the younger sister of the lead character, Camille Preaker, compellingly played by Amy Adams.  Camille's a reporter in St. Louis, assigned by her editor (always good to see Miguel Sandoval) to investigate the case of two girls in her home town, the fictitious Wind Gap, near Tennessee.

Camille comes loaded with problems, which likely came mostly from the loss of her sister.  She's an alcoholic and she cuts herself.  And it's unclear if she knows how and why her sister died - we certainly don't.  It could've been suicide, murder, accident, or death by natural causes.  The only thing we can likely rule out is death from old age.

So Sharp Objects is first and foremost a whodunit, and there are plenty of suspects.  The fathers of the two murdered girls are always possibilities, and the father of the first, well played by Will Chase, is clearly some kind of sub rosa psycho (now we see why Will left Nashville, which will conclude its run next week).   In addition to Camille, Detective Willis (played by Chris Messina - good to see him back after The Newsroom) has been called in to help by local police chief Vickery (Matt Craven). 

So who's my best guess for the killer at this early point?  I'd say Alan (Henry Czerny, notable in The Tudors), who's Camille's stepfather.  Why?  I don't know.  It's not a woman, because it's been established that the killer was too strong.  The character played by Will Chase (Bob Nash) is too obvious, I like Detective Willis, Chief Vickery seems harmless enough, and something about Alan - maybe those big earphones he always has on - bothers me.

Anyway, good dark - and sharp - mystery here.  And I'll be back with more.