Sharp Objects season 1 episode 2 recap: 'Dirt' sends the town to a funeral

Secrets continue to come out in this week’s Sharp Objects.

The episode begins with Chief Vickery (Matt Craven) and Detective Willis (Chris Messina) arguing over theories while the town turns out for the funeral of Natalie Keene, the latest victim.

The main revelation from Sharp Objects is that Ann Nash was found in the forest, while Natalie was propped up in an alley in town, which was a much bigger risk for the killer. Adora (Patricia Clarkson) repeatedly chastises Camille (Amy Adams) for trying to do her job, but she presses on.

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At the funeral, Natalie’s mother gives an emotional eulogy and Camille leaves before the service is over. On her way out, she sees Willis poking around someone’s car.

While encountering Amma (Eliza Scanlen) and her friends after ducking out of Natalie’s funeral, Camille mentions that it’s not safe for the girls to be out with a killer of young girls on the loose. In response, one of Amma’s friends casually mentions that whoever is killing girls isn’t going after “cool girls.”

The funeral brings back bitter memories for both Camille and Adora. It is strongly suggested that Adora clearly favored Camille’s dead younger sister Marian. Camille later finds Adora splayed out on Marian’s old bed, obviously upset. Also obviously upset is Natalie’s older brother John, who’s demeanor strikes Camille as unusual.

Just before entering the Keene house, Camille takes out a needle from a kit she bought at the store where she saw Amma and studies it.

She looks at it like an old friend she wants to simultaneously embrace and run from. While putting aside the needle, Camille raises her sleeve to reveal scars on her arm that look like letters.

But equally lethal are the actual old friends Camille encounters inside the Keene house, who Jackie (Elizabeth Perkins) later refers to as “vipers.” The “vipers” gossip and seem to think John is the main suspect in his sister’s death. Later, Jackie also praises Camille and comments that she turned out so well and she did well fighting her demons.

While talking with Natalie Keene’s father, he reveals that while Natalie’s room was designed like a stereotypical girl’s, in reality, Natalie was a tomboy who loved the outdoors. She also kept a spider in a jar in her room.

This matches what John Keene’s girlfriend whispers to a friend that the girl described at the funeral wasn’t Natalie. Mr. Keene also reveals that Ann and Natalie were friends before having a falling out, something that he confesses he wasn’t unhappy about. Mr. Keene also says John would never have hurt Natalie.

While driving around town after the funeral, Camille can’t help but notice that the town is virtually empty of children. Which makes it all the more surprising when she finds two boys playing catch. One of them mentions James Capisi, who seems to have witnessed who took Natalie.

When she meets him at his house, James tells her that a woman in white took Natalie. Then he reveals to Camille the pistol he has for safety.

When confronting Vickery about Capisi’s story and why they don’t seem to be taking it seriously, Vickery tells her about Capisi’s history of telling tales at school.

He also adds that Capisi’s mother is a cancer-stricken meth addict who works for the hog butchering plant owned by Adora. So Capisi’s story is chalked up to an active imagination and local folklore, at least to Vickery.

Speaking of hog butchering, Detective Willis ends up buying a pig’s head for research purposes. The reason; whoever killed Ann Nash and Natalie Keene also removed their teeth with some ordinary pliers.

Willis uses the pig head to get an idea of what it takes to remove teeth. When he bumps into Camille at a bar later, he reveals it takes some strength. He also asks Camille for help in understanding Wind Gap and the two seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s company in Sharp Objects.

Camille seems to actually like that he tried to re-create ripping out teeth.

Later, Camille comes downstairs to see her sister having a tantrum while their mother attempts to comfort her. When Adora makes a comment about Camille being drunk at the Keene’s, she retorts that she wasn’t and even if she was, everyone is drunk in Wind Gap.

This makes her mother break down and say that she was close to Natalie because the girl reminded Adora of Camille; that if she couldn’t help her daughter maybe she could help Natalie. She also adds that she wants her and Camille to be ok, but she isn’t sure how to make that happen.

Next: Sharp Objects premiere brings in more viewers than Big Little Lies

To Camille, Adora seems just like the exquisite floor of her mother’s immaculate bedroom; appealing, well-groomed, yet inaccessible. She isn’t allowed to get very close to either. Camille goes back up to her room where she consoles herself by scraping herself with the same needle from earlier.

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Sharp Objects season 1 episode 2 recap: ‘Dirt’

By Grant Butler | Jul 16, 2018

Secrets continue to come out in this week’s Sharp Objects.

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