TV Recap: FX's "The Shards" Episodes 6 & 7 — Homecoming Ends in Horror
FX’s The Shards has been teasing Homecoming, and it finally arrives in the two-part episode fittingly titled “Homecoming.” Shorter than the usual hour-long episodes, I’ve chosen to combine these recaps into one for clarity.
Episode 6: “Homecoming Part One” - Written by Charles Rogers & Juli Weiner
Rhonda Fox (Ivy Wolk), who did not die, sits in the police station between her parents, Ben (Bradley Snedeker) and Claire (Alex Lombard). Detective Fregosi (Chris Conner) and Detective Donaldson (Constantine Malahias) questions. Rhonda doesn’t seem to know who took her, but there’s one detail she shares: “Girlie smell.” She repeats that phrase over and over.
Bret Ellis (Igby Rigney) knocks on Matt Kelner’s door, asking his dad, Jon (James Wolk), if they can talk. Bret starts to share what he knows, but Jon interrupts, saying that the police believe Matt ran away. He talks about how reclusive Matt had been from him lately. Bret asks if Matt ever mentioned a student named Robert. “No, but I did meet him,” Jon reveals, sharing that Matt had him over before dinner. Jon hired a private investigator and learned that Robert is troubled, adding that his psychological evaluation is missing. “Robert’s family, they are very powerful,” Jon says. Jon shows Bret a journal with a pentagram from the Riders of the Afterlife on the cover, which he found under Matt’s mattress. Bret opens it and sees “Let me die” scribbled on a page. “I loved him,” Bret tells Jon, before correcting, “He was my friend.”
Debbie Schaffer (Hayes Warner) and her parents, Terry (Wes Bentley) and Liz (Evan Rachel Wood), meet with Principal Croft (Cortés Alexander) for a conference about Debbie’s behavior. He informs them that Debbie’s behavior has been disruptive and that she skipped her college application meeting. Debbie’s excuse for the latter is that she had an engagement at the stables with her horse Spirit. Croft adds another concern: Debbie’s cocaine usage. Surprisingly, Liz comes to her daughter’s defense, examining a serving tray in Croft’s office and finding evidence that he snorts it, too. She blames the school for her lack of admission to college, threatening to put him in jail if he fails.
Outside of school, Debbie is surprised that her mother had her back with Croft. “She’s a good mother,” Terry says, another surprise. Liz asks her daughter to find an activity that looks good on a college application. Debbie sees a student hanging posters and gets an idea, thanking her parents as she walks away. Terry kisses Liz, and she asks if he’s wearing perfume. “It’s unisex from Georgio,” he insists. Terry sees Bret and tries to talk to him, but Bret is in a hurry.
We find Bret in Croft’s office, sharing what he learned about Robert from Matthew’s dad. Cox is confused when Bret asks for Robert’s psychological evaluation, and Bret realizes the school didn’t get a copy. Croft insists that Robert is a good kid from a good family and threatens Bret with detention if he doesn’t get back to class.
At Hamburger Hamlet, Debbie and Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber) meet with Steven Reinhardt (Jordan Roth) as he shares his vision for the seniors homecoming float. He calls it “Decadent Restraint.” The girls are confused by the abstract design of the float, which Steven commissioned by a Hollywood production designer. Susan wants to do something purposefully bad to break her perfect image, but Stephen says this has to be good for Debbie’s college application. He bemoans this type of work, vowing that people will listen to him one day. As he gets up to leave, Debbie asks if he’s wearing perfume. “Giorgio,” he says.
Debbie leads Susan into a lounge in the restaurant where Rhonda is waiting for her. Debbie pitches her vision: Rhonda as homecoming queen. Susan loves the idea, pledging to encourage everyone to vote for Rhonda, telling Rhonda she deserves it. Rhonda is reluctant, not feeling pretty enough to be homecoming queen. But Debbie encourages her to accept.
Later that night, Detectives Fregosi and Donaldson arrive at a crime scene. A teenage boy was found dead on a playground, tied to a swing. A pentagram was carved into his back, and he had dead fish sticking out of his corpse. They question if this was the work of the Nightstalker or the Trawler.
Having seen the story on the news, Bret goes to the police and claims to be a reporter with the LA Times. While he waits for the detectives, he enters an office and sees their Nightcrawler crime board. Fregosi and Donaldson enter and threaten him with trespassing charges. Bret points out errors on their board, saying that Cha Cha Rodriguez isn’t the type of victim the Nightcrawler seeks out. They tell him they believe she was the victim of a lover’s spat. Pointing to the mascot defacement, Bret shares his theory that it’s a student at his school. “He’s mutilating his peers because of how we make him feel,” Bret shares, likening it to Manson’s personal vendettas. The detectives try to dismiss them, so he tells them about Robert Mallory’s past, suggesting he killed his own mother and Matt Kellner. Curious if Bret really knows something, the detectives decide to tail him when he leaves.
We see Thom Wright (Graham Campbell) meeting the mysterious man with the knife from the party (Gus Halper) on the bleachers after school. “You still care what people think, don’t you?” the man asks Thom, telling Thom that his friends aren’t part of his enlightenment journey. Thom tells him his life has fallen apart, saying he feels broken. “I will guide you,” the man promises. “The day that we allow ourselves to die is the day that we are finally born,” he says, getting Thom to repeat the death cult’s mantra with him: “Let me die.” This culminates in a final phrase: “Sacrifices must be made.”
Thom finds his friends at Hamburger Hamlet. Robert Mallory (Homer Gere) offers Thom some fries and Thom threatens to beat him up. Thom recognizes Susan’s handwriting on posters promoting Rhonda for homecoming queen. Susan and Debbie let him in on their plan, and Thom is sad to not be homecoming king with his girlfriend. “I wouldn’t be so sure of yourself,” Robert threatens, saying the students probably want a literate, well-traveled man as this year’s king. Thom storms off mad. Susan rushes after him. Debbie also takes her leave to make more posters.
“What are you wearing to the funeral?” Bret asks Robert, alone at the table with him. “What funeral?” Robert asks. “Of your latest victims?” Bret responds. Robert mocks Bret’s nosy nature, calling him Nancy Drew before saying he wants to watch Chinatown. He loves Jack Nicholson’s performance in it. “I love him in that movie,” Robert says, leaning into Bret, “even more than in The Shining.” Robert walks away.
Episode 7: “Homecoming Part Two” - Written by Charles Rogers & Juli Weiner
Debbie and Susan help Rhonda get ready for school, dolling her up for the homecoming court votes. Rhonda is anxious as they primp and prod her, freaking out when they try to curl her eyelashes. “No one here is going to hurt you,” Susan encourages her to let them help. Liz enters and gives her input for Rhonda’s makeup tones, reminiscing about her own turn as homecoming queen, which inspired her to enter beauty pageants, win Miss Indianapolis, and move to L.A. to pursue stardom. “A winner’s psychology is complex,” she says to Susan and Rhonda, rubbing salt in Debbie’s wounds. Liz provides the finishing touch for Rhonda’s big night — a spritz of Giorgio perfume that Terry just gave her. “Girlie smell,” Rhonda freaks out.
At school, Debbie brings the box of ballots to Principal Croft. Bret is there to process the count, and Debbie wants to stay, but Croft says she can’t because she’s an eligible candidate. After she leaves, Bret starts to go through them, and they seem to alternate between Susan and Rhonda.
When Bret takes a break from counting ballots, he finds Debbie outside smoking. She asks for an update, and he tells her Rhonda is slightly above Susan. Debbie asks if there were any votes for her; he tells her just one. She gets upset, and he’s confused that she cares. “I was never gonna win because I never do, Susan does,” she laments. She believes their peers see her as a clown. Bret tries to cheer her up by saying he was the one vote for her. “I was that one vote,” she cries, walking away.
Back in Croft’s office, Bret continues to help tally the votes, reading the slips of paper and announcing the names. He begins lying, changing votes for Debbie. And then the results are in. Croft makes the announcement over the PA system: Homecoming court is Rhonda Fox, Susan Reynolds, Debbie Schaefer, Thom Wright, Ryan Vaughn (Daniel Dale), and Robert Mallory.
Robert stops by Susan’s locker wearing a red suit. “They say to dress for the job you want,” he smiles. She asks what job that is. “King,” he grins. She thought he didn’t care, but he says he wants to beat Thom. He promises that even if Rhonda wins, Susan will be his queen. He gives her a gift — Giorgio perfume. “Giorgio is not cheap,” she says in surprise. “Neither are you,” he romantically counters. She spritzes some on her wrist; he takes her wrist and rubs it on his neck, sharing it. “I want to smell like my girl,” he flirts. They hug.
At night, the homecoming parade starts on the football field. Steven brings Liz a Tab with some bourbon as she compliments his float design. “I’m proud of you,” she says, surprising him. Terry smiles as he sees Debbie on the float, now called “The Last Phantasia.” Terry tells Steven this is the first time he’s almost gotten something right. Liz thinks some of her has rubbed off on Debbie as she sees her daughter on the float.
On the float, Thom complains about how weird it looks, while Robert calls it a visionary. Susan tries to encourage Rhonda not to be nervous. They all make their way to the stage for the results. Homecoming queen is… Susan Reynolds. She looks upset, but reluctantly smiles. Debbie is crestfallen. Homecoming king is… Robert Mallory. “Guess they like the new kid, huh?” Robert whispers to Thom, who marches off stage upset.
Susan begins to make a speech, refusing to accept this year and giving the crown to Rhonda. When Susan puts the crown on Rhonda, she smells her Giorgio perfume and freaks out. Susan hands her the microphone, and she makes an announcement: “Susan Reynolds kidnapped me!” Susan says it’s not true, but the police handcuff her and escort her away. She cries as she’s loaded into the back of a police car.
Bret goes to his locker, and Robert follows him. Robert shares that Susan was with him the nights that Rhonda and Matt went missing, and he already told the police. “When did you tell them that?” Bret asks in confusion. “When they took me in and questioned me for six hours because you told them to look into me,” he spits, calling Bret a pest. “You’re a little bit obsessed with me, aren’t you, Bret?” Robert suggests that Bret thinks about him being intimate with Susan. “Your threats don’t work on me, Robert,” Bret responds, calling him a sick rich kid and accusing him of killing his mom. “Consider this your final warning,” Robert threatens before walking away.
The power goes out in the school. Bret slowly walks down the hallway, hearing a crackling sound in the distance, the kind he always hears when the Trawler calls. He follows the sound into the gym where something in the trophy cabinet catches his attention. It’s a severed head and hands arranged like a trophy, and the face is one Bret’s been hoping to see again — Matt Kelner (Owen Painter).
To be continued next Wednesday, September 2nd, at 9/8c on FX and Hulu in Episode 8, “Hamlet.”
Something turns rotten in the state of California, as two blackmail plots reveal two devastating secrets.
Songs Featured in this Episode:
- “I Know What Boys Like” by The Waitresses
- “Seriously” by Hayes Warner
- “Lady (You Bring Me Up)” by Lionel Richie
- “Baby” by Hayes Warner