S01.E04: Ripe

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Camille agrees to show Richard some of Wind Gap’s crime scenes, though the tour opens up old wounds. Alan confronts Adora about her sharing confidences with Chief Vickery, who is concerned about the Crellins hosting the annual “Calhoun Day” attended by Wind Gap’s youth. Fired from his job at Preaker Farms, John shares off-the-record revelations with Camille that raise fresh concerns for her.

 

[LilaFowler]

Seriously, a 48-minute episode? Really?

[ShellsandCheese]

So Camille was gang raped, damn. She also said Adora was a child when she gave birth to her, I'm guessing Camille was born out of wedlock and Adora later married Alan and had Marian and after Marian's death Amma. Also of note, the camera lingered on the floor when Camille was about to enter her mom's room and when Alan was about to enter. It's clear that Adora rules that house and town with a iron fist. Also, Amma still strikes me as a little sociopath. 

[Chaos Theory]

So is Amma in danger or dangerous.

Wow Adora really doesn't like Camille.  There has got to be other places for her to stay.  I mean there was that cheap motel.  Better then content verbal abuse from mom.  I am not exactly sure what the family dynamic was before Marian died but whatever it is I am guess Camille took the brunt of Adora's grief.  

[BingeyKohan]

This episode might have ever so slightly tried my patience.

[zentropa]

OK I rewound the last minute several times... wanted to understand if the girl in the shed was Amma. I came to the conclusion that the murder was real ...only to persevere through the closing credits to see the previews and ...

Amma lives!

I shrieked in frustration. I feel this production is breaking some sort of episodic fiction codes.

[elysium]

13 minutes ago, zentropa said:

OK I rewound the last minute several times... wanted to understand if the girl in the shed was Amma. I came to the conclusion that the murder was real ...only to persevere through the closing credits to see the previews and ...

Amma lives!

I shrieked in frustration. I feel this production is breaking some sort of episodic fiction codes.

I figured that was canny misdirection on the part of the show. There have been several mentions now of Amma being in danger (the Chief says one of Adora's daughters in in danger and the other is danger...clearly Camille is the danger) or being worried over, so it seems like the time to imply that she'd be the killer's next target. Except, we know that the previous two girls are both tomboys who, in Amma's own words in the convenience store scene when Camille buys the sewing kit, not the cool or popular girls. It wouldn't be in character for Amma to be next. Also, the other murders were about a year apart, no? I do think we take away a lot of other interesting tidbits from that conversation with John though -- why is Amma hanging out with these uncool girls anyway? She clearly had some ulterior motive because this girl knows exactly how to manipulate people and enjoys it.

56 minutes ago, LilaFowler said:

Seriously, a 48-minute episode? Really?

Right? Every episode has been getting shorter and shorter! 

[SHD]

I thought it was Amma in the shed but I thought we were just seeing the worst case scenarios going on in Camille's head as she was driving around looking for her. 

Is every week going to end with Adora's husband ominously walking around with headphones on?

Someone tell me this week's words, please. I stopped trying to find them.

[VagueDisclaimer]

i liked this episode, definitely more than last week, as this seemed to actually move the story along, as opposed to just resting on flashbacks. 

So, Camille continues to have things in common with the dead girls — tomboy, rebellious, headstrong, hanging out in that same old shed —and now Adora interestingly mixed up a story about Anne Nash with a story about young Camille and there’s a connection with Amma and those girls too. Obviously not coincidental, but i’m not clear on what it all means. Camille worries for Amma and imagines awful things happening to her, but I just don’t see it. She’s more in control of this town than anyone else and it seems like she knows who might’ve done these kills. Her fearlessness doesn’t come off as naive or brash, but smug and knowing.

I still am unsure what to do with the detective, who I don’t necessarily find interesting, but at least a welcome difference to the rest of Wind Gap. I think that’s all that Camille sees in him as well.

I don’t trust the Chief and I liked finally hearing from Alan, though for him to bring up his grief for his daughter was curious. While it’s clear Adora sucked up all the grief over Marion, leaving Alan and Camille floundering in her dramatics and general guilt, for Alan to throw that at her now seemed odd. But i guess seeing his wife ingratiating herself in the deaths of these other girls and in their cases with the police chief hanging about over drinks, attempting to dominate the grief and using their dead daughter as a gateway, maybe it is timely for Alan to finally say something he’s been sitting on.

Finally, is it a requirement that every episode, someone needs to ask Camille how it feels to be back in her hometown so she can give a sardonic, glib reply? It’s episode 4, we get it. 

Edited July 30, 2018 by VagueDisclaimer

[aemom]

What was John's girlfriend doing jacking up the bed and cleaning something? That whole scene confused me.

I've not read the book or any spoilers.  I'm starting to wonder if Camille was born out of wedlock to Adora and that's why Adora hates her so much. Camille ruined her life and it didn't make Adora's mom love her more.  It's really starting to look like Adora and the police chief had a thing in the past. Perhaps he is even Camille's father and doesn't know. 

The sex scene with Camille and the detective in the woods was a little weird.

Alan appears to have the patience of a saint.

Edited July 30, 2018 by AEMom
Clarification

[TattleTeeny]

This is probably a weird thing to notice (and also probably nothing) but does the police chief have some OCD tendencies?

 

Quote

OK I rewound the last minute several times... wanted to understand if the girl in the shed was Amma. I came to the conclusion that the murder was real ...only to persevere through the closing credits to see the previews and ...

Didn't that part happen while Camille was driving? I figured it was in her head. Also, right before she ran out to look for Amma, didn't she run right past someone (Amma?) sitting in the hallway? Am I loony?

 

Quote

I don’t trust the Chief and I liked finally hearing from Alan, though for him to bring up his grief for his daughter was curious. While it’s clear Adora sucked up all the grief over Marion, leaving Alan and Camille floundering in her dramatics and general guilt, for Alan to throw that at her now seemed odd. But i guess seeing his wife ingratiating herself in the deaths of these other girls and in their cases with the police chief hanging about over drinks, attempting to dominate the grief and using their dead daughter as a gateway, maybe it is timely for Alan to finally say something he’s been sitting on.

Looked to me like Alan thought Adora and the chief had something going on with each other, or had--past tense.

 

Quote

 

why is Amma hanging out with these uncool girls anyway? She clearly had some ulterior motive because this girl knows exactly how to manipulate people and enjoys it.

 

Maybe Amma is leading girls to the killer!

[SHD]

So I guess now we know what story Amma was going to tell the detective, about Camille and all the boys. But how would she even know about that?

[VagueDisclaimer]

37 minutes ago, AEMom said:

I've not read the book or any spoilers.  I'm starting to wonder if Camille was born out of wedlock to Adora and that's why Adora hates her so much. Camille ruined her life and it didn't make Adora's mom love her more. 

 

Agreed. The way Adora said she thought when Camille was born that she’d “save” her underlined that. And it also speaks of why Adora is so attached to this proper behavior for women. She’s obviously always been a hypocrite, through and through. 

7 minutes ago, SHD said:

So I guess now we know what story Amma was going to tell the detective, about Camille and all the boys. But how would she even know about that?

Small towns have looong memories. 

 

Why does the chief refer to Camille as “the Preaker girl” and not just as Adora’s daughter?

Edited July 30, 2018 by VagueDisclaimer

[Penman61]

1 hour ago, elysium said:

Right? Every episode has been getting shorter and shorter! 

It's like they keep CUTTING a little bit more each week...

(I'll show myself out...)

1 hour ago, AEMom said:

The sex scene with Camille and the detective in the woods was a little weird.

Over in The Affair, we occasionally remark on how fast (and generally unsatisfying) the depicted sex would be IRL.

But tonight's scene...was fast but was also apparently exactly what Camille wanted/was comfortable with.  Good for her?  And Good Guy Detective just went with it, I guess?

Edited July 30, 2018 by Penman61

[jeansheridan]

On 7/29/2018 at 9:12 PM, BingeyKohan said:

This episode might have ever so slightly tried my patience.

Feel free to expand! What I did like was finally seeing Patricia Clarkson being more overtly powerful. Her firing of John, her smiling threat to the police chief, and seeing how she enforces boundaries with her husband. Honestly I was beginning to wonder if they were actually married and if I misinterpreted their relationship in the first two eps. Oh and her brutal "You smell ripe," was excellent. She's proof that a thousand little cuts can destroy a person. 

Amma needs to die soon. Pretty please dear show. Very, very soon. I hate knowing teens who smirk at adults. I'm also finding it impossible that John would be suave enough to flirt with Amy Adams in the bar. How old is he supposed to be? 21, 22? 

I'm also starting to get intrigued by Camille's awful backstory. On the other hand, I'm deeply frustrated by it in that it's almost too much. Dead sister, gang rape most likely, abusive mother. It's no wonder she cuts and drinks but I'm starting to feel incredulous that she is so highly functioning. And her editor kind of bugs me. I feel like he's pushing her into something without really understanding her life situation.

I did like Chris Messina a bit more this time, but I do wish the show would lay off his hair gel and general air of sweatiness. He looks like he's dripping at all times and it just isn't appealing. He's very appealing in general so well done ruining him hair and make-up people.

And if Camille doesn't haul off and slap the grin off Amma's bloody face soon ...gah! All will be well if she dies soon. Seriously, she's my Joffrey in this show. I feel she exists merely to see her die.

 

On 7/29/2018 at 11:39 PM, Penman61 said:

But tonight's scene...was fast but was also apparently exactly what Camille wanted/was comfortable with.  Good for her?  And Good Guy Detective just went with it, I guess?

I actually thought Camille was gay for some reason. I got that impression in the first episode from one of the flashbacks. Obviously growing up in small town in the 1990s she couldn't be "out" so had sex with boys. Although I'm beginning to wonder about her true reputation. John's girlfriend and other townspeople keep referring to Camille as being some popular, socially adept leader. But we see her looking at bugs at a football party. And see her rudeness/awkwardness over the birthday cake. And she admits to being a weirdo to John. And to the girl in the hospital. Is everyone just being polite to her? Yet I feel like that one lady at the luncheon genuinely likes Camille. She's warm towards her. Her editor clearly likes her. And I think the detective does too, up to a point. He's got to know that fingering a member of the press during an active murder investigation isn't the best choice so I'm assuming he likes her at some level enough to ignore common sense. And his own ambition.

On 7/29/2018 at 11:06 PM, TattleTeeny said:

Maybe Amma is leading girls to the killer!

Ooooooooo. Grooming them. The lure. Very creepy but in line with the vibe of this show.

Edited July 30, 2018 by jeansheridan
Fixing character names. Why did I think John was named Adam?

[Accidental Martyr]

2 hours ago, SHD said:

Someone tell me this week's words, please. I stopped trying to find them.

“BARREN” was carved on the log in the woods when Camille was showing the detective where the suicides/murder-suicide/murders took place.

8 minutes ago, jeansheridan said:

I actually thought Camille was gay for some reason. I got that impression in the first episode from one of the flashbacks. Obviously growing up in small town in the 1990s she couldn't be "out" so had sex with boys. 

Maybe that’s why she didn’t want the detective to kiss her.

[scrb]

Would Camille let just anyone see the carvings on her body?  Maybe there's a reason things went down the way they did in the forest between her and the detective.

Adora called Camille "ripe" but also said something else sardonically that I'll have to rewind to see.  

Alan listened to enough of the old romantic music before he went up to Adora's room, even though she said no when he asked whether there was anything else he could do for her.  Maybe Adora isn't in charge of everything.  

Did they say when Camille started cutting herself?  Maybe the incident with the football team started it.

[jeansheridan]

4 hours ago, LilaFowler said:

Seriously, a 48-minute episode? Really?

I'm preferring the shorter eps actually. It tightens the storytelling. I've enjoyed the last two eps way more than the first two. I'm also reading the recaps at the AV Club (since they can't do them here) and they're helpful. I'm not a big fan of Southern gothic but it's hard to imagine this show set in say, Fargo. And I'm totally here for the utterly evil Patricia Clarkson. But she's evil in such a real way. Her performance makes me long for a remake of Suddenly Last Summer with her in the Katherine Hepburn role. It would be hard to cast the Elizabeth Taylor role nowadays. You'd need a great beauty who is also neurotic and willing to be just a bit naive, borderline dumb.

Edited July 30, 2018 by jeansheridan

[Accidental Martyr]

33 minutes ago, scrb said:

 

Adora called Camille "ripe" but also said something else sardonically that I'll have to rewind to see.  

 

When Adora was complaining about the cut on her hand Camille said, “Momma, it’s barely a scratch.”

Adora replied, “Maybe it is to you.”

[SHD]

34 minutes ago, scrb said:

Did they say when Camille started cutting herself?  Maybe the incident with the football team started it.

She told Alice that she hadn't worn a skirt since college, so I'm guessing around that time, maybe?

Alan seems awfully troubled. Maybe Amma IS Camille's, fathered by Alan. Maybe not-interested-in-sex Adora gave him Camille when she was a teenager.

[Andromeda]

I'm growing bored. This episode wasn't as pointless as last week,  but it still feels so, so slow. I know Adora is nasty to Camille, I know Amma is a piece of work. Let's get on with it. I read the book and it moved faster than this show. Most novels turned into screenplays get tidy edits, rather than transferring every single scene to the screen. It feels like Marti Noxon (EP) is trying for a Big Little Lies type Emmy, but it's not happening. 

The book was about as depressing as this show, so the tone is right. 

Edited July 30, 2018 by Andromeda

[bijoux]

42 minutes ago, SHD said:

She told Alice that she hadn't worn a skirt since college, so I'm guessing around that time, maybe?

Alice showed she didn’t cut below three inches above her knee. From that I assumed that Camille also probably limited her cutting at first. The college years are when I imagine she started cutting more of herself, likely because she ran out of skin that was more easily covered.

[SHD]

3 hours ago, bijoux said:

Alice showed she didn’t cut below three inches above her knee. From that I assumed that Camille also probably limited her cutting at first. The college years are when I imagine she started cutting more of herself, likely because she ran out of skin that was more easily covered.

True. I went and looked at the first episode and young rollerskating Camille is wearing short sleeves. So then sometime after her sister's death is the best guess we can make right now, I think. We've only seen a bit of high school Camille and she was wearing her long-sleeved cheer sweater.

3 hours ago, Andromeda said:

I'm growing bored. This episode wasn't as pointless as last week,  but it still feels so, so slow. I know Adora is nasty to Camille, I know Amma is a piece of work. Let's get on with it. I read the book and it moved faster than this show. Most novels turned into screenplays get tidy edits, rather than transferring every single scene to the screen. It feels like Marti Noxon (EP) is trying for a Big Little Lies type Emmy, but it's not happening. 

The book was about as depressing as this show, so the tone is right. 

I read an interview somewhere with someone who said they felt the series left them room to explore the characters and their relationships more than the book did. So I guess that's what this is.

[ferjy]

Ha ha, cop boy’s line when he looks out the window after he just wakes up: “Sh*t, I’m still in Wind Gap.” 

 

On 7/29/2018 at 8:57 PM, ShellsandCheese said:

So Camille was gang raped, damn. She also said Adora was a child when she gave birth to her, I'm guessing Camille was born out of wedlock and Adora later married Alan and had Marian and after Marian's death Amma. Also of note, the camera lingered on the floor when Camille was about to enter her mom's room and when Alan was about to enter. It's clear that Adora rules that house and town with a iron fist. Also, Amma still strikes me as a little sociopath. 

How did you get that? I couldn’t detect anything in those annoying flashbacks. Did they mention something in the episode that I missed?
 

[Chaos Theory]

I was curious if thestories Camille gave to hot cop were important to the overall story or just local color.    There was something about the story about the lesbians and the “slut” daughter that I found interesting.  

At first I thought Camille was showing him her scars but then she moved his had lower.  

I liked when Camille asked the maid why she stuck around and her answer was that there weren’t that manny jobs in Wind Gap.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[WaltersHair]

Something's not adding up for me. Adora seems like such a control freak about her 'good' daughters and appearance for appearance's sake. She controlled their clothes, right down to the bows in their hair. How is it she doesn't seem to have any idea or care that Amma is running around town drinking, staying out at all hours, etc? Camille got away with it because Adora didn't love her.

What was that remark about the recycling occurring on Wednesdays in Wind Gap? Is that a crack about Camille's drinking? (I'm a diet Pepsi fanatic and the number of bottles in my weekly recycling could be only more embarrassing if they were beer bottles)

Edited July 30, 2018 by WaltersHair

[luna1122]

7 hours ago, jeansheridan said:

 

I did like Chris Messina a bit more this time, but I do wish the show would lay off his hair gel and general air of sweatiness. He looks like he's dripping at all times and it just isn't appealing. He's very appealing in general so well done ruining him hair and make-up people.

 

It's Camille who always looks as if she reeks of last nite's vodka and sweat to me. After sleeping drunk in her car all nite and then retrieving her phone in a muddy field, I really just wanted to see evidence she'd showered before she met with the ladies who lunch. I assume she has more than one pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt but it's hard to tell, so it always looks as if she's wearing the same clothes. And sliding hot detective's hand into her jeans...again, all I can think is she really does probably kind of smell, you know, ripe. The sex scene was the equivalent to a guy just putting a woman's hand on his dick, which is usually kind of a...well, dick move,  but hey, I guess they were both into it enough. Amy Adams is clearly appealing, but I'm kind of wondering what the detective would SEE in her. Then again, we're privy to her strangeness and issues, and he is not., quite ..yet.

The images of Amma dead in the sex porno shed were clearly, I thought, just fears in Camille's head as she drove.

I did take Adora's remark about recycling to be a barb about Camille's drinking.

My stupid DirectTvNow decided to buffer at some point for about 10 minutes, cutting out just as the sheriff told Adora that one of her daughters was dangerous and the other in danger, and cutting back in as Ashley was...wtf was she doing? Cleaning, jacking up the the bed with books? if anyone can let me in on what I missed between those scenes, I'd be really grateful.

 

52 minutes ago, ferjy said:

How did you get that? I couldn’t detect anything in those annoying flashbacks. Did they mention something in the episode that I missed?
 

that appears, at this point, to be a matter of perspective. We've seen the flashes of Camille running thru the woods in her cheerleader garb, with boys in pursuit, and the story she told hot detective indicated she'd been one of those girls who got gang banged by the football team. The detective clearly saw that as a rape of a girl too young to know the ramifications of consenting to something like that, Camille took issue with his interpretation, but whether that's to try to convince herself of her own autonomy in the situation or because she actually invited it or because she's in denial about it all, I don't know. I read the book, but I can't honestly remember this particular detail.

[Dminches]

What was John's girlfriend doing jacking up the bed and cleaning something? That whole scene confused me.

She seemed to be cleaning up what looked like a blood stain.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Dminches

[lion10]

Given how sexless and loveless their marriage is and how much Adora treats Alan like the help, I'm genuinely surprised that he hasn't divorced her or killed himself yet.  Only thing that man's got to live for is his sound system.

 

Looks like Natalie and the other girl were a lot nastier than what we were led to believe.  Poking out a girl's eye? Yeesh, that broadens the motive from "powerless person lashing out" to also include a revenge killing.

[ferjy]

1 hour ago, luna1122 said:

It's Camille who always looks as if she reeks of last nite's vodka and sweat to me. After sleeping drunk in her car all nite and then retrieving her phone in a muddy field, I really just wanted to see evidence she'd showered before she met with the ladies who lunch. I assume she has more than one pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt but it's hard to tell, so it always looks as if she's wearing the same clothes. And sliding hot detective's hand into her jeans...again, all I can think is she really does probably kind of smell, you know, ripe. The sex scene was the equivalent to a guy just putting a woman's hand on his dick, which is usually kind of a...well, dick move,  but hey, I guess they were both into it enough. Amy Adams is clearly appealing, but I'm kind of wondering what the detective would SEE in her. Then again, we're privy to her strangeness and issues, and he is not., quite ..yet.

The images of Amma dead in the sex porno shed were clearly, I thought, just fears in Camille's head as she drove.

I did take Adora's remark about recycling to be a barb about Camille's drinking.

My stupid DirectTvNow decided to buffer at some point for about 10 minutes, cutting out just as the sheriff told Adora that one of her daughters was dangerous and the other in danger, and cutting back in as Ashley was...wtf was she doing? Cleaning, jacking up the the bed with books? if anyone can let me in on what I missed between those scenes, I'd be really grateful.

 

that appears, at this point, to be a matter of perspective. We've seen the flashes of Camille running thru the woods in her cheerleader garb, with boys in pursuit, and the story she told hot detective indicated she'd been one of those girls who got gang banged by the football team. The detective clearly saw that as a rape of a girl too young to know the ramifications of consenting to something like that, Camille took issue with his interpretation, but whether that's to try to convince herself of her own autonomy in the situation or because she actually invited it or because she's in denial about it all, I don't know. I read the book, but I can't honestly remember this particular detail.

Thanks. I did get all that, but I thought, by the post I quoted, that they confirmed the gang rape. 

Edited July 30, 2018 by ferjy

[BingeyKohan]

there was a quick cut of a hand with a bite-mark scar on it. I wasn't watching closely enough and interpreted it to be Alan's. Or Adora's? The scene may have been edited oddly on purpose. ("May have been," listen to how naive I am...of course it was edited to be obtuse.) Did anyone else more definitely attach it to the hand's owner? 

Making sure I have the ending sequence correct: Camille at the bar learns from John that the dead girls played in the same shed where she had her sexual experience with multiple boys AND that Amma played there with them ... she staggers out, rushes home to check Amma's room, sees she's not there, runs out to her car, starts driving around looking for Amma, while imagining the worst (the scene in the shed, a projection of Camille's fears for Amma) Amma is actually roller skating in front of a car full of boys, pretending to shoot at her, we're challenged to wonder (just as in the scene with the cop and Camille at the shed, him calling what happened to her rape) who's in control, the boys, or the girl they're "pursuing." Is that right? Camille never actually finds anything, right? She's just in for another sleepover in her front seat?

 

On 7/30/2018 at 12:06 AM, jeansheridan said:

Feel free to expand! What I did like was finally seeing Patricia Clarkson being more overtly powerful. Her firing of John, her smiling threat to the police chief, and seeing how she enforces boundaries with her husband. Honestly I was beginning to wonder if they were actually married and if I misinterpreted their relationship in the first two eps. Oh and her brutal "You smell ripe," was excellent. She's proof that a thousand little cuts can destroy a person. 

 

I think I'm going to watch it again, actually. Commenters here and recappers alike seem to feel this was something of a turning point in the arc of the season, act I into act II. This was the only episode I've watched on a human sized tv rather than my laptop with earbuds. It's also the first episode where I did not catch one single word appearance. I actually think the laptop and earbud viewing is best with this show unfortunately.

[jeansheridan]

And thus the first time it seems to matter what device you use to watch a show! I have never seen so much discrepancy in viewing experiences from TV to devices. I did watch Sherlock on my iPad for the first series and preferred the experience so maybe there's something to it. 

[preeya]

11 hours ago, AEMom said:

The sex scene with Camille and the detective in the woods was a little weird.

It would be even weirder if she had to disrobe in order to have "real sex" (intercourse) and expose all her bodily cuttings. 

Edited July 30, 2018 by preeya

[Dame sans merci]

1 hour ago, BingeyKohan said:

there was a quick cut of a hand with a bite-mark scar on it. I wasn't watching closely enough and interpreted it to be Alan's. Or Adora's? The scene may have been edited oddly on purpose. ("May have been," listen to how naive I am...of course it was edited to be obtuse.) Did anyone else more definitely attach it to the hand's owner? 

Making sure I have the ending sequence correct: Camille at the bar learns from John that the dead girls played in the same shed where she had her sexual experience with multiple boys AND that Amma played there with them ... she staggers out, rushes home to check Amma's room, sees she's not there, runs out to her car, starts driving around looking for Amma, while imagining the worst (the scene in the shed, a projection of Camille's fears for Amma) Amma is actually roller skating in front of a car full of boys, pretending to shoot at her, we're challenged to wonder (just as in the scene with the cop and Camille at the shed, him calling what happened to her rape) who's in control, the boys, or the girl they're "pursuing." Is that right? Camille never actually finds anything, right? She's just in for another sleepover in her front seat?

Yep, I think so - we saw him biting down on his hand and screaming silently at the end of last week.

[mirandroid]

12 hours ago, SHD said:

Someone tell me this week's words, please. I stopped trying to find them.

I saw "RUBBER" on one of the town signs or historical site signs, "C*NT" (I think?) as a neon sign in a window, then "FALLING" on a type of traffic sign.

11 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

Also, right before she ran out to look for Amma, didn't she run right past someone (Amma?) sitting in the hallway? Am I loony?

I saw the person too, but thought it was dead sister Marian.

[iMonrey]

Well this episode was easier to watch than last week's, without the cutting and the throwing up of blood. I'll give it that. And it seemed to move along at a fairly brisk pace. But the last few minutes were utterly confusing, and seemed deliberately so. So that's very frustrating. I half wonder if this show is written with the assumption that most people watching it have read the book and will understand what they're trying to do with all these flashbacks and fantasy/imagination sequences. 

[BingeyKohan]

1 hour ago, Dame sans merci said:

Yep, I think so - we saw him biting down on his hand and screaming silently at the end of last week.

Ohhhhh right! There's so much talk of or focus on teeth (specifically pulled teeth) on this show I wasn't thinking they would have been his own. Everybody wields some sharp object, huh? And I guess everybody is a self harmer.

[Dminches]

3 hours ago, BingeyKohan said:

there was a quick cut of a hand with a bite-mark scar on it. I wasn't watching closely enough and interpreted it to be Alan's. Or Adora's? The scene may have been edited oddly on purpose. ("May have been," listen to how naive I am...of course it was edited to be obtuse.) Did anyone else more definitely attach it to the hand's owner? 

Making sure I have the ending sequence correct: Camille at the bar learns from John that the dead girls played in the same shed where she had her sexual experience with multiple boys AND that Amma played there with them ... she staggers out, rushes home to check Amma's room, sees she's not there, runs out to her car, starts driving around looking for Amma, while imagining the worst (the scene in the shed, a projection of Camille's fears for Amma) Amma is actually roller skating in front of a car full of boys, pretending to shoot at her, we're challenged to wonder (just as in the scene with the cop and Camille at the shed, him calling what happened to her rape) who's in control, the boys, or the girl they're "pursuing." Is that right? Camille never actually finds anything, right? She's just in for another sleepover in her front seat?

 

They actually did shoot at the stop sign. Interestingly didn’t the police chief notice a bullet hole in another stop sign in the beginning of the episode when he arrived at work?

[Accidental Martyr]

1 hour ago, mirandroid said:

I saw "RUBBER" on one of the town signs or historical site signs, "C*NT" (I think?) as a neon sign in a window, then "FALLING" on a type of traffic sign.

 

Vulture updates the list each week.

http://www.vulture.com/2018/07/sharp-objects-all-the-hidden-words-you-missed.html

[thenj]

I will never be able to look at an Evian bottle again and not think that there is vodka in it.

[aemom]

4 hours ago, lion10 said:

Given how sexless and loveless their marriage is and how much Adora treats Alan like the help, I'm genuinely surprised that he hasn't divorced her or killed himself yet.  Only thing that man's got to live for is his sound system.

This just made me laugh.  Sadly, it appears to be quite true.

[Chaos Theory]

37 minutes ago, thenj said:

I will never be able to look at an Evian bottle again and not think that there is vodka in it.

This reminds me of the one time my mother got drunk.  When my sister was in her late twenties she use to put vodka in water bottles and the put them in the freezer.  My mom grabbed one of them on her way to go exercise (I forget why and where) opened it and took a big swig.  

Good thing she was still in the house because next thing she was on the ground. My mother has never been a drinker and a gulp of vodka was enough to get her buzzed.    I am thinking she might have chugged it though.

Knowing she is ok and nothing bad happened it is still one of the funniest ‘mom’ stories we all tell.

[thesupremediva1]

So.. looks like the Chief and Adora have a little thing going? Makes me wonder how much he's covering for her, and what that relationship really entails. I love how Alan came alive a bit at the end - he's not as much of a dunce as she makes him out to be.

Adora's comment about recycling was such a mom thing to say. For all Camille's precautions, you can't hide anything from good ol' Adora. 

Adora is such a Norma Desmond. Lying in bed due to a few small thorn cuts, and running down the stairs in a freaking gown and heels, then claiming she needs to "get herself together." WTF lady, this isn't a debutante ball. No wonder Alan is annoyed.

Camille and KC detective are both sweaty and gross looking. I'm not surprised they're attracted to each other. They literally are dark spots on the bright colors of Wind Gap. I commend Camille for getting exactly what she wanted and nothing else in the woods. He didn't seem too bothered by it.

The whole "Is Camille a lesbian?" question is making more sense as the weeks progress.

All this talk of "one daughter is dangerous; one is in danger" really makes me think it's a giant red herring and Camille is the one in danger while Amma might actually be the dangerous one. As an overall motif, Camille is definitely in danger (cutting, drinking, drinking and driving, behaving recklessly at every turn) and Amma seems like a baby sociopath, but I wonder if this will turn into a real plot point with narrative consequences.

[weaver]

Am I looney or was Camille’s boss getting some sort of transfusion when Camille spoke to him on the phone?

[Penman61]

25 minutes ago, weaver said:

Am I looney or was Camille’s boss getting some sort of transfusion when Camille spoke to him on the phone?

Presumably chemo-therapy?  There were meds on his dining room table in a previous episode, and other bits of conversation with the wife suggested that he's fighting some serious medical condition.

[jeansheridan]

I think he is on chemo.

[Accidental Martyr]

9 hours ago, ferjy said:

Ha ha, cop boy’s line when he looks out the window after he just wakes up: “Sh*t, I’m still in Wind Gap.” 

That seemed like a reference to Apocalypse Now.

[freebie]

I thought this episode was boring, easily the least engaging so far. I was actually shocked to see it had only lasted 48 minutes, because it sure felt longer to me. Four episodes in, and very little has happened to move the ball forward toward any kind of a resolution. If this was a 20-episode season, that might be OK, but ... Interestingly, one of my co-workers, who has read all of Flynn's books, said that you could read at least *half* of the book and still not be spoiled by anything we have seen on screen so far. I mean, there's slow burn and then there's glacial!

Where to begin? Camille's "tour" of Wind Gap's seedier side in exchange to answers to her questions was just pointless. Did she really waste one of her questions on why Det. KC became a cop? And the answers about the actual crimes she is there to cover were just not helpful at all. Honestly, I felt like nothing new happened at all. Amma still annoyingly enigmatic? Check. Adora still ridiculously melodramatic? Check. Alan still pathetically wimpy? Check. They even relied on some of the same visuals to ... make some kind of point, I guess ... like young Camille putting one toe over the threshold to her mother's room echoing Grown-Up Camille doing the exact same thing a couple of episodes ago. Why? Who knows?

As for the things that did happen -- more on the police chief's cozy relationship with Adora, the brunch bunch opining on who they thought murdered the girls, the maid explaining why she stayed in Wind Gap, the crazy Calhoun day pantomime rehearsal complete with new teacher character -- what was the point? And after all that, the catalyst for actual action is a completely chance encounter between Camille and John wherein Camille passively absorbs information about little Natalie's own penchant for sharp objects and Amma's relationship with the dead girls. Come on, a reporter should have been asking those questions on day one -- were the girls friends, did they hang out together, who else did they spend time with, was there anything unusual in their backgrounds? The pace of this is just excruciating.

[SarahPrtr]

19 hours ago, LilaFowler said:

Seriously, a 48-minute episode? Really?

With crazy-long credits!

[JoeyCrown]

Did they ever show or tell us why or how Marion died?