Sharp Objects

Sharp Objects is a limited series that is based on a novel by Gillian Flynn of the same name.  It is centered around the murder of two young girls in Wind Gap, Missouri. Camille Preaker is a St. Louis reporter that is assigned to write about the murders. We learn that Camille is from Wind Gap, and she has some serious reservations about going back. She is an alcoholic and struggles with self-harm. Camille clearly has a troubled past, but it is shrouded in mystery from the very beginning of this story.

From the moment viewers are introduced to Wind Gap, it is clear that the people in this town don’t address anything unpleasant – which is pretty difficult to do when two girls have just been murdered. As Camille interviews citizens about the murders, they ooze with southern charm but decidedly lack substance or real concern. Even the local police seem convinced that the murderer must have come from out of town, only the “big city” detective on the case, Richard Willis, seems to be interested in investigating Wind Gap citizens.

While she is on assignment, Camille stays with her mother, Adora, stepfather and half-sister, Amma. It is clear right away that Camille has a strained relationship with her mother and practically no relationship with her stepfather and half-sister. What isn’t clear is the cause of all the family tension.

Camille has a lot to manage as she reports on these murders. She is haunted by demons from the past, struggles with her mother’s constant disapproval, and battles her own self-destructive behavior.

SPOILERS AHEAD

There is so much going on during each episode of Sharp Objects, that at times it’s easy to forget that the main storyline of the show is the murder of two young girls. Each scene is so rich in detail and backstory to get caught up in, that you almost forget there’s a murderer on the loose the whole time. Our protagonist, Camille, has such an interesting past and it is only shown in flashes. I found myself spending more time piecing together her story than thinking about who the murderer was.

At the beginning of the investigation, Camille befriends Detective Willis and the two of them develop a romantic relationship. They share their insights on the case and try to help each other solve it. There are details that aren’t easily explained, like the differences in the body disposals and the fact that one of the victim’s teeth were ripped out, so their investigation is pretty slow moving. The slow pace of the investigation is what allows viewers to get distracted by the much more detailed story of Camille herself.

Simply put, Camille has some issues. We learn from her flashbacks that she had a sister, Marian, who died of illness during childhood, always had a strained relationship with her mother, was sexually assaulted in high school, left Wind Gap to become a reporter in St. Louis, and spent time in rehab for her self-harming tendencies. As Camille tries to suppress these issues, or at least hide them from people, she is met with excitement and curiosity from her estranged half-sister.

Amma poses as a sweet and innocent girl, but when her mother isn’t around we see her transform into a rebellious teen who has got the whole town wrapped around her finger. Amma is intrigued by Camille because she isn’t like anybody else in Wind Gap. Camille tries to be a responsible older sister for Amma and relate with her about the way their mother treats them.

On the outside, Adora is the picture-perfect mother. She cares for her daughters and holds them to high standards. As the story unfolds, we learn that Adora’s desire to care for her daughters is to the extreme of Munchausen syndrome by proxy because she was secretly poisoning them so they would always be sick. Adora had to feel like a needed caregiver, and so she made every effort to ensure that her children would always require her attention. Camille only survived the abuse because she refused her mother’s “medicine”. Adora killed Marian by poisoning her every day, Amma received the same poison but her body developed a tolerance to it that kept her alive.

Adora is arrested for the murders of the two Wind Gap girls and Camille takes Amma to live with her in St. Louis. The season comes to an end showing the two sisters living a normal life, that is until Camille discovers human teeth in Amma’s dollhouse and realizes that she was the killer all along. Amma finds Camille and understands what she’s thinking, and the episode ends with Amma whispering “Don’t tell Mama”. As if that ending isn’t chilling enough, there are also mid-credit scenes that show flashes of Amma murdering her friends. This disturbing ending leaves audiences jaw-dropped and immediately considering re-watching the series.