Abhiroop Das
Created by Ryan Murphy, FX’s ‘The Shards’ brings the Los Angeles of the 80s to life in all of its glitz and glamor, but also with its fair share of the macabre. A group of friends walking into their final year of high school find themselves surrounded by news of serial killers like the Trawler and the Riders of the Afterlife, spreading terror all around the city. As paranoia seeps in, Bret, the protagonist, begins perceiving everything and everyone in a new light. There is more to this group than just friendships, though, as Bret seems to have complicated romantic and sexual feelings about some, if not all, of them. While in a relationship with Debbie, he begins wondering about his own sexual orientation and how it fits into his zeitgeist, and the show echoes this all throughout the narrative.
Bret Identifies as Gender Fluid, But Feels Constrained by Society
In episode 1 of ‘The Shards,’ Bret describes himself as gender fluid, and as the story unfolds, his sexuality becomes central to the narrative itself, both on a plot and thematic level. While Bret is in a relatively steady relationship with Debbie Schaffer, from the very first scene of the show, it becomes evident that his real obsession is with Robert Mallory, the eerily, alluringly charming teen, with whom Bret first locked eyes in a theater playing ‘The Shining.’ Though clearly infatuated, he doesn’t dwell on these feelings for much longer, until Robert’s mysterious return as a new student at Bret’s school. Even then, there are more layers to unpack as far as his romantic interests go, and it is here that we are introduced to the character of Susan Reynolds.
Although Bret asserts, from the get-go, that he and Susan have been friends since childhood, many cues indicate that his feelings for her aren’t quite platonic. Soon enough, he not only admits to having feelings for her but also theorizes that she likely knows about it as well. However, away from this internal whirlwind of emotions, the two remain picture-perfect friends, except for the moments when Bret’s passion takes over. On one occasion, he has sex with Debbie while fantasizing about Susan, which strongly points towards him being bisexual. However, throughout all of this, his thoughts about sex, sexuality, and his sexual partners remain largely ambiguous, and we are only left with the perspectives of others to weigh the truth about how he feels.
Bret Has Feelings For Both Susan and Robert, Both of Whom Seem Out of His Reach
The reveal that Bret is cheating on Debbie with his classmate, Max, gives us new insight into how he feels about the people in his life. Though he enjoys having sex with Max, when it comes to truly caring about him as a partner, Bret backs out, immediately weaponizing Max’s substance addiction as a reason to break things off. It is only later, when Robert teases him about things that Max has said, that Bret returns, not to apologize but to hear exactly what was discussed. Hearing things from Robert, a person he secretly idolizes, likely puts a crack in his ego, and to deal with that, he returns to exert pressure on someone he has never truly respected, in this case, Max. While sex is indeed a source of pleasure and joy in Bret’s life, it can also be interpreted as his way of expressing power in a dynamic.
The presence of Robert and Susan in this story serves as a counterweight towards Max’s narrative presence, as in his mind, they are two people he hopelessly wants to be with, but never can. Almost ironically, it is Robert and Susan who begin a secret relationship of their own down the line, almost as if fate is against Max. Instead, his sexual orientation comes into play in other facets of the story, especially in his interactions with Terry Schaffer, Debbie’s dad, and a famous filmmaker. Through their interactions, Bret learns about how instances of sexual abuse are suppressed within the filmmaking industry, especially when it’s the abuse of queer people. Shocked by the fact, he begins reflecting on his own life and where it is headed in such unpredictable times.
Read More: The Shards: Is Bret Based on a Real Person? Is He Based on Author Bret Easton Ellis?
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