Who Dies in ‘The Shards’, Ryan Murphy’s Twisted FX Thriller?

Ryan Murphy’s latest FX series has captivated audiences with one of the darkest whodunits of the year, and the rising body count in ‘The Shards‘ plays a significant role in this intrigue. Based on Bret Easton Ellis’ prep school thriller novel, the series debuted on FX and Hulu, along with Disney Plus internationally. With a masked serial killer targeting Los Angeles teens and a group of privileged friends slowly unraveling, numerous characters do not survive until the end credits.

The novel presents a fictionalized version of Bret Easton Ellis as a teenager in 1980s Los Angeles, embroiled in a series of chilling murders. As the show airs weekly episodes, fans of the book may already have an inkling of what to expect, even if the series has the potential to alter the storyline as it progresses.

The killer known as ‘The Trawler’ eliminates members of Ellis’ elite inner circle one by one in increasingly disturbing ways. The arrival of new student Robert Mallory disrupts the status quo, coinciding with the emergence of the serial killer known as ‘The Trawler.’

The identity of the Trawler serves as the central mystery propelling the entire show, and it marks a significant divergence from the source material. In Ellis’ book, the identity of ‘The Trawler’ is never revealed.

The book also leaves ambiguous the details surrounding the attack on Susan and her boyfriend Thom, as well as the true circumstances of Robert’s death. This ambiguity is inherent in the source material, so viewers expecting a neat resolution from ‘The Shards’ may find themselves waiting for a while.

The confrontation between Bret and Robert is the novel’s climactic moment, focusing on the character portrayed by Homer Gere in the series. Bret visits Robert’s penthouse, secures the door, unplugs the phones, and grabs a kitchen knife to confront Robert, leading to a knife fight.

Robert ultimately falls to his death, which is ruled a suicide based on Bret’s account. As Robert attempts to escape Bret, he jumps, lands on the garage, and dies, while Bret crafts a narrative for the authorities that positions him as the one who defeated the Trawler.

For a time, Bret’s version of events holds up, and he even gains a sort of local celebrity status for allegedly catching the serial killer. However, the Trawler soon claims another victim, undermining that narrative entirely.

A note sent by the killer further complicates the mystery. The note reveals that the killer was not Robert but rather committed the murders as a sacrifice to Robert, whom they referred to as ‘The God.’

Robert is not the only character in Bret’s circle whose death raises questions. The police classify Matt’s death as an accidental overdose, but Bret suspects foul play when Matt’s father shows him crime scene photos.

Some readers and critics have suggested that Bret himself may be a more dangerous figure than the book initially portrays. One review posits that Bret might have killed Matt, pushed Terry off the balcony, and attacked Susan and Thom towards the end of the story.

This same review proposes a theory regarding Bret’s motive for targeting Matt, suggesting that Bret killed Matt out of anger over their ended sexual relationship, supported by the narrative’s emphasis on a tape that implicates Bret more than Robert.

Susan Reynolds survives the events of ‘The Shards,’ but her journey is crucial for understanding Bret’s unreliability as a narrator. After being attacked by a masked man, Susan bites his arm, leaving a mark that she later notices on Bret’s arm.

Susan requires reconstructive surgery and is on painkillers when she discovers the bite mark, leading to a moment of panic. She confides in Thom about her suspicions regarding Bret, but he dismisses her concerns as a result of her medication.

Whether the FX series will follow this trajectory remains uncertain, especially with the season finale scheduled to air on September 2, allowing Murphy and his writers the opportunity to reshape the conclusion for television. With Igby Rigney’s Bret becoming increasingly unstable and the Trawler’s true identity still a mystery, which death in ‘The Shards’ do you think will resonate the most when the finale finally arrives?