11 votes

Did anyone here watch HBO's Sharp Objects?

From start to finish I found the show totally engrossing, tense, and mysterious. It was excellently shot and written, and the twists in episodes 7 and 8 were hard hitting, even if you had an idea that they were possible as early as episode 4 or 5. Plus, those post creditn scenes were haunting. What did you guys think?

I'm currently reading the book so please, no spoilers for the novel! TV show discussion only

12 comments

  1. [4]
    nacho
    Link
    The show was amazing. I keep finding that a lot of these 1-seasons run shows do a much better job than drama series with an open end and continued options that have to be opened. My one criticism...

    The show was amazing.

    I keep finding that a lot of these 1-seasons run shows do a much better job than drama series with an open end and continued options that have to be opened.

    My one criticism is how ...strange... the portrayal of Camille Preaker as a journalist was. Sure, it's common to dramatize and stylize professions in ways that clearly don't reflect what those occupations entail. However, what she does in many cases is just straight up the opposite of what a journalist would do. or how a newspaper would work. I had several journalist friends who ended up just giving up the series because they couldn't suspend disbelief enough to enjoy it.

    But yeah, strongly recommend it for anyone who's in doubt.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      lemon-fresh
      Link Parent
      Interesting perspective. I guess I didn't really think about how inaccurately they were portraying journalism because I know so little about the occupation but looking back that makes a lot of...

      Interesting perspective. I guess I didn't really think about how inaccurately they were portraying journalism because I know so little about the occupation but looking back that makes a lot of sense lol.

      Glad other people are watching and enjoying the show as much as I did. I'll also echo that single mini series is a great format.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. delicious_grownups
          Link Parent
          Right. I'm inclined to agree here. She was, in many ways, sloppy. Considering her trauma, it's not surprising

          Right. I'm inclined to agree here. She was, in many ways, sloppy. Considering her trauma, it's not surprising

          1 vote
    2. delicious_grownups
      Link Parent
      I haven't finished the book yet (I'm about halfway through and I started Sunday night after the finale), but so far she's nearly identical in her behaviors both in the show and in the book. So,...

      I haven't finished the book yet (I'm about halfway through and I started Sunday night after the finale), but so far she's nearly identical in her behaviors both in the show and in the book. So, hopefully you don't let it bother you too much because those things she did appear to have been Flynn's ideas rather than HBO's. And Flynn was apparently a journalist for 15 years before writing the book or something

      2 votes
  2. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
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    1. delicious_grownups
      Link Parent
      Well, and I won't spoil anything because I'm only halfway through the book myself, in the book her boss makes references to her being a mediocre writer, and he's hoping this story will help to...

      Well, and I won't spoil anything because I'm only halfway through the book myself, in the book her boss makes references to her being a mediocre writer, and he's hoping this story will help to make her a good one. They touch on that in the show too, but more subtly

      1 vote
  3. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
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    1. delicious_grownups
      Link Parent
      It's weird everyone says it moves slow. To me it felt fast paced from start to finish

      It's weird everyone says it moves slow. To me it felt fast paced from start to finish

      2 votes
  4. [2]
    travis
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    Oh man... what a show. As others have said, it was just tense and riveting from the start. Even in the episodes where "nothing happened" the characters were developed well and the living in that...

    Oh man... what a show. As others have said, it was just tense and riveting from the start. Even in the episodes where "nothing happened" the characters were developed well and the living in that world with these messed up characters was more interesting than the plot at times.

    1 vote
    1. delicious_grownups
      Link Parent
      I drove through Missouri once and I just did not care for it, but this show really just cemented my dislike lol

      I drove through Missouri once and I just did not care for it, but this show really just cemented my dislike lol

      1 vote
  5. [2]
    tomf
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    I love Gillian Flynn's writing. She consistently provides an excellent twist that is the product of actual clues, but in a first reading / watching, they're not surface level. Week to week I...

    I love Gillian Flynn's writing. She consistently provides an excellent twist that is the product of actual clues, but in a first reading / watching, they're not surface level.

    Week to week I wasn't totally sold on the series. I enjoyed it, but at times I wasn't sure why I did. The world was fantastic and the episodes are beautifully shot. Casting was perfect (both principals and the younger versions of those principals.) After the post-credit sequences, I was speechless at the level of execution of piecing together a puzzle I had witnessed, but hadn't fully connected.

    The /r/sharpobjects sub has been really fun over the course of the series. I loved digging through the threads of the people who read the books and comparing it to those who discussed the series alone.

    I have no evidence of this, but it seems like Flynn is fairly strict with her adaptations, while still allowing the writers to properly tell the story for a different medium.

    1 vote
    1. delicious_grownups
      Link Parent
      She seems to have really liked the adaptation

      She seems to have really liked the adaptation

      1 vote
  6. DanBC
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    It contains irresponsibly dangerous portrayal of suicide and self harm. TV shows like this cause harm, even death. The portrayal of mental ill heatlh feels sub-optimal. I don't know anything about...

    It contains irresponsibly dangerous portrayal of suicide and self harm. TV shows like this cause harm, even death.

    The portrayal of mental ill heatlh feels sub-optimal. I don't know anything about the US system, so maybe it really is that terrible.

    But these flaws were enough to ruin it for me. I stopped watching after ep4.

  7. [2]
    Comment removed by site admin
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    1. delicious_grownups
      Link Parent
      I honestly felt the same. That the twists were almost right there from early on, but it still floored me. No pun intended. I honestly cannot stop thinking about that final scene with Amma's final...

      I honestly felt the same. That the twists were almost right there from early on, but it still floored me. No pun intended. I honestly cannot stop thinking about that final scene with Amma's final line, and both the chilling post credits scenes. I get shivers just thinking about it still

      2 votes