Sharp Objects episode 2 recap: The woman in white

Last night, Sharp Objects picked up the pace and we got to learn a little bit more about Wind Gap and its residents. Here’s everything that happened in “Dirt”.

Sharp Objects Episode 2, titled “Dirt,” opens up on Camille seemingly dreaming. We see a series of flashes, including some disturbing imagery. She awakes in her childhood bedroom.

Detective Willis checks the window where Natalie Keene was found and finds flowers there. He asks a local barber who placed them; it might be someone with a guilty conscience.

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Adora, Alan, and Camille prepare for Natalie’s funeral. Adora orders Amma to stay home with the maid. At the funeral, Camille takes notes for the article. Her mom visibly disapproves and tries to stop her. Camille flashes back to her sister’s funeral.

During the funeral, Camille’s dress tears and she leaves. She goes to a general store to buy a sewing kit and runs into Amma, who is sneakily drinking with friends. Camille tells her to make sure she is home before their mother is.

She updates her boss, Curry, about the article. After Curry hangs up, his wife reminds him he can’t fix everything.

As Camille pulls up to the Keenes house, she is about to self harm with a sewing needle, when she hears a commotion coming from the house. A man is kicked out.

At the Keene house, people whisper about Camille. She sees Ashley, John Keene’s girlfriend, gossiping about Natalie. A group of women who grew up with Camille approach her. They think John is being too emotional over his sister’s death.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Camille investigates Natalie’s room. There, she sees a spider in a mason jar. Outside, she finds Natalie’s dad. He tells her Natalie and Ann had a falling out before their deaths. She questions him about where he and John were the night of the disappearance. He responds he was in Philly and John would never hurt her.

Adora finds Camille in Natalie’s room and chastises her. She tells her to leave the family alone and report somewhere else.

Episode 1, debut 7/8/18: Amy Adams.photo: Anne Marie Fox/HBO. Acquired via HBO Media Relations site. /

At the morgue, Willis learns someone removed Natalie’s teeth with household pliers. Willis buys a pig’s head and tries extracting its teeth using pliers, presumably to see how tough it is to do.

Camille comes across two kids playing by themselves. She asks them about Natalie. One says a boy named James Capisi told him a “woman in white” took Natalie.

Camille goes to James Capisi’s house. She learns he mostly takes care of himself because his mother is sick. He is also in possession of a gun. Camille also tries to talk to his mother about the woman in white, but she says she will only talk for money. Back at the house, she sees Adora crying in Marion’s bed.

In town, Camille questions Chief Vickery about Capisi’s claim. He says the boy is not to be trusted. Capisi has been making up stories to cope with his mother’s cancer and meth addiction.

Camille goes to the bar and talks to Willis. He tells her the killer has to be male with the amount of strength it takes to pull out teeth; he’s tried it.

In her childhood bedroom, Camille updates Curry again. He asks her if she got permission to search Natalie’s room as it could be an ethics issue. She responds there will be no problem.

Camille begins to work on an article about the case. She carves into her jeans with a sewing needle. As she is about to delete the text that explains Natalie’s room, she hears Amma screaming.

In the living area of the house, Amma is having a fit over the murders. During it, Adora chastises Camille for being drunk at the Keene’s. Camille is in disbelief. Adora says she wants to think things can be nice for them. With a sly smile, Amma says she thinks Camille can be good.

Back in her room, Camille begins to carve on her stomach.

“Dirt” was a definite improvement from Sharp Object‘s premiere episode. In contrast to the last episode, there were no pacing issues.

Next: Sharp Objects mental health check in: Dirt

If “Vanish” was a character study of Camille, “Dirt” was a character study of the town of Wind Gap itself. In it, we see the gossip behind its friendly veneer. Through grotesque imagery (the pig head), we really see the grittiness of the town. The town even has its own creepy, gruesome folklore- the woman in white, a woman who kidnaps and murders children. Though definitely unsettling at times, “Dirt” was fascinating to watch.

Sharp Objects airs Sunday nights on HBO.

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