Too squeamish for all of Sharp Objects. Fill me in on 2 plot points!

March 2, 2019 5:24 PM

I caught most of the miniseries Sharp Objects on a plane recently and know the whole plot, but skipped some of the episodes due to triggers of rape/abuse. Because of this, there were a couple scenes that I did view that didn't make sense to me. If you watched, can you fill me in? Spoilers inside, obviously!

First: At Calhoun Day, Ashley, the girlfriend of John Keene, chastises Camille for... not including an interview with John in her article? Then she threatens that Camille doesn't want to make an enemy of her. What did Camille interview John about and what was Ashley's involvement? Did Ashley figure into the rest of the series? Did she make good on her threat?

Second: In the finale, Camille and Amma pass Jackie O'Neill and Jackie says she might come visit them. After they walk further away, Amma says something like, "I hate her" or "She's horrible." Had there been a plotline of Amma hating Jackie? Did Jackie suspect something about Amma? I didn't understand where that came from.

posted by rogerroger to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

For the first: I think the conversation with Ashley was Ashley being angry that her interview (for which she dressed up in her out-of-season cheerleading uniform in Ep 3) did not appear at all in Camille's article. "You cut my stuff? All of it? I gave you good stuff. I gave you John. We had a deal... I am John's only advocate... No we are not leavin'... You don't wanna burn this bridge. I know things, Camille." Ashley never knew anything about the killings; on the surface she was advocating for John but really she was taking an opportunity to portray herself as an Important Grown Up Woman With Important Information for the big article that's gonna shake the small public that is Wind Gap, the only context she's known. Her attempt was naive grandstanding and Camille saw through it. Ashley represents the next generation of women in Wind Gap who Camille finds so stifling.

POTENTIAL SPOILER

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For the second: The story is infused with Amma's jealousy of anyone who has potential to interrupt her relationships. It makes sense to me that she viewed Jackie as a threat, even if Jackie was acting on behalf of Amma's welfare. Jackie has close bonds with both Adora/Mama and Camille and behaves in ways that are outside of Amma's control. It seems consistent with her character that Amma would continue to try to interrupt Jackie's influence on Camille, especially at that point in time in the story.
posted by juliplease at 7:12 PM on March 2, 2019

I think juliplease is right; like Adora, Amma is always going to be threatened by any two people in her circle forming a relationship. She has inherited a lot of that abusive mindset.

Plus, while Amma is able to see some things clearly, she has been brainwashed for a long time. Jackie has been out of favor with Adora for years, with Adora painting her as (probably) a lying drunken busybody. Which she kind of looks like, early on in the series. (When you join a new group and one person separates from the group, dying to talk to you? That's not going to be a trustworthy person. Camille is wary of her at first, which delays her hearing about what Jackie knows.) Amma isn't going to suddenly feel different about her just because Adora has been busted. Or maybe she's even less likely to feel different.
posted by BibiRose at 8:30 AM on March 3, 2019

Thanks to both of you! Your answers make a lot of sense. What a fascinating character study this miniseries was (and I assume the book was too)...
posted by rogerroger at 5:40 PM on March 9, 2019