Abhiroop Das
Created by Ryan Murphy, FX’s ‘The Shards’ adapts the eponymous novel by Bret Easton Ellis, following the protagonist, also named Bret, along a strangely surreal coming-of-age journey. Set in 1981, this psychological horror series explores the land of riches that is Los Angeles, where unusual happenings themselves are not that unusual. However, when a mysterious, irresistible new student’s arrival coincides with the rise of a serial killer, Bret begins asking some serious questions, part in awe and part in fear. More intriguing still is Bret’s close circle: his girlfriend Debbie, his childhood best friend and crush, Susan, and her boyfriend, Thom, who struggle with interpersonal relationships amidst mysteries that stretch far beyond their imagination. The first two episodes, ‘Pilot’ and ‘Don’t Want Me,’ paint a picture of what is to unfold, as viewed from Bret’s rather twisted perspective. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The 80s in Los Angeles Are the Best of Times, and the Worst of Times
‘The Shards’ begins by setting the scene in the City of Angels. It is the dawn of the 1980s, and Bret, a charming fella stepping into his final year of high school, has a strangely surreal aesthetic. Born in a wealthy family, he cherishes the luxury of wearing the finest clothes and driving a luxury car in LA’s most iconic streets, all to watch an early screening of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining.’ As an older version of Bret narrates over this scene, he claims that this hall experience is seared into his memory, not because of how good the film is, but because it’s the first time he locked eyes with a brooding young man oozing with charm. Bret is spellbound at first sight, but as they walk away from each other, nothing really happens.
The 80s are as infamous as they are glittery in the popular consciousness, and it is no small part due to the rise of several serial killers. As Bret talks about the waves of paranoia that spread through the city, we zero in on a girl, named Katherine Latchford, who cannot help but shake away the feeling of being surrounded. To make things worse, her dog, Shadow, has gone missing, and braving the dark, she heads out to a local store to put up posters of her pet. However, Katherine is not to return home that day, as on her way back to her car, she is ambushed by a masked serial killer, who knocks her out and forces her into his own van, before taking off.
For Bret and his core group of friends, though, life is at a wholly different tempo as of now. This group includes Bret’s girlfriend, Debbie Schaffer, who comes from a family of showbiz giants, as well as his childhood best friend, Susan Reynolds, and her boyfriend, Thom. Bret narrates that his feelings for Susan are somewhat an open secret between the two of them, but that somehow they seem to have found a rhythm outside of it. Most of their days of schooling are spent in leisure, be it hunting for music records, dining lavishly, or chasing the next big film. Behind closed doors, though, Bret, ever the anguished teenager, finds peace in writing. The story he is currently working on is somewhat autofictional, a reflection of the curious times he lives in.
Bret is Reunited With His Mystery Charmer, Albeit in an Unusual Fashion
The night before their final year begins, Debbie hosts a house party for all the students, where we learn that Bret doesn’t exactly have a friendly relationship with all of them, especially a boy named Ryan. The party soon turns into a drag, though, and before long, Debbie teasingly invites him upstairs. On his way there, he meets her parents, Terry and Liz, with the former showing quite a lot of interest in Bret’s creative output. While Debbie and Bret have sex that night, it becomes evident that he doesn’t have a lot of feelings for her. As the narrator, he reveals that he is gender fluid, and on screen, we see that unfold in his passionate sexual relationship with the class loner, Matt Kellner.
Bret wants his secret lover to quit weed and join the fellow students more often, but just as he successfully drags Matt back to school for the first day of the session, they are met with the body of Katherine Latchford, mutilated and hung up on the tennis net in a morbid display. Still, for Bret, this isn’t even the most surprising event of the day, as he learns that there is a new student joining the school, and it’s none other than the boy he met a year ago in the theatre. Surprisingly, though, the boy, who identifies himself as Robert Mallory, seems to have a different air about him, and when asked about the film screening, he refuses to have even seen Bret before. As Bret drives back home, dejected and furious, we learn that Katherine is not the serial killer’s first victim and that he has been terrorizing LA for quite some time under the nickname of the “Trawler.”
Bret Becomes Obsessed With the Serial Killers of the City
The following night, Debbie hosts yet another pool party at her house, except this time it’s only for her core group of friends. Bret, still shaken up by the news about the Trawler and by Robert’s pseudo-rejection, finds his mind captivated by Susan instead. In a state of drunken passion, he has sex with Debbie while thinking about Susan. By the next morning, though, the sense of euphoria is worn off, and he finds himself looking into other serial killers in the region. The name of the Riders of the Afterlife pops up more than a few times, as while they started out with home break-ins and tortures, things seem to have taken a turn towards murder as of late. Bret believes that all of these murders are connected via sacrificial ritual, but doesn’t know what to make of it.
Bret’s obsession with these killings doesn’t come out of nowhere either, as for many days after that, he is shaken awake by the ringing of his doorbell, only to find no one outside. Other times he claims to hear the garage door swing open, but nobody seems to have snuck inside. After some time, he is able to ignore the threat and go out on a normal date, only to run into Robert once again. After messing with him for a bit, Robert reveals that he has a crush on Susan, and while Bret leaves the scene right there, a part of him knows that Susan will likely cheat on Thom sooner rather than later.
Matt is Held Captive by the Hooded Serial Killer
Another thing that Robert leaves Bret with in their ominous conversation is Matt’s present status. He and Bret seem to have broken off after the last time they had sex, but it is only when Bret returns that the full extent of things comes to light. For the past several days, someone has been stalking Matt, be it in the form of suspicious phone calls or racist and threatening posters being left at his house. Matt believes that Bret is the one behind all of this, and refuses to reveal everything he has shared with Robert about their relationship. Bret, by contrast, claims that all of this is actually Matt’s own doing, and he has simply forgotten about it due to his substance abuse. The conversation ends on a rough note, and if there was earlier a chance of them getting back together, it is firmly gone now.
In the days that follow, life seems to have returned to a slower pace for Bret and company. Debbie’s father, Terry, makes an offer to adapt Bret’s script into a film, but one cannot help but feel that there are strings attached. However, all of this gets pushed into the backseat when Susan arrives with rather troubling news: Matt has gone missing from his own home. Bret, who is likely the only person with an idea of what Matt was going through, refuses to connect with the police, as it risks his own secrets coming to light. However, he doesn’t have to wait for too long to get an answer, as a cassette tape left in his mailbox reveals the voice of Matt, in great pain. The man accompanying him forces him to eat something suspicious, and as we get a sneak peek into the scene, it turns out to be the same hooded man from before. Bit by bit, Bret’s life seems to be falling apart, and the identity of the person trawling all these pieces remains in the dark.
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