Shining Girls – Episode 5, Screamer

Sharon / Kirby Mazrachi, Elisabeth Moss (“The Invisible Man”, “The Square”), is with a police sketch artist as he attempts to draw the man who attacked her last night, who we know as Harper, Jamie Bell (“6 Days”, “Rocketman”).

Harper himself wakes in a hospital, restrained to the bed by his wrists. He’s panicking and struggling. Another patient comes over, toys with him, until Harper threatens him and the other patient unties him. Harper hobbles back to his house.

Dan Velazquez, Wagner Moura (“Narcos (TV)”, “Sergio”), is at the police station waiting for Sharon/Kirby when he sees the composite drawing that’s been done and recognises the man as the one who spoke to him outside Julia’s house all that time ago.

Dan and Kirby leave, she wants to go back to the bar, he’s not happy, but they go. They can’t get in and Sharon/Kirby tries to tell Dan about the changes that happen around her, things shifting. Naturally, he doesn’t believe her and says when they came to this place the first time, it was a bar, though she knows it was a laundrette.

Jin-Sook, Phillipa Soo (“Dopesick (TV)”, “The Bite (TV)”), is at the planetarium and reading the story in the paper. She goes to see security and asks when she reported her key missing, the guard tells her that it’s still being used, it looks like she is being followed into the building.

When Dan and Sharon/Kirby get back to the paper the place is buzzing with people calling about the story. They talk to Abi, Erika Alexander (“Black Lightning (TV)”, “Wu-Tang: An American Saga (TV)”), the editor with Kirby wanting to run the composite of Harper she took from the police, Dan isn’t sure.

Jin-sook goes to see Sharon/Kirby at the paper. She isn’t seeing the strange changes that Sharon/Kirby is having but she does tell her about entanglement, which is what it sounds like.

The composite also contains a drawing of a tattoo that Harper has, which, whilst looking at old army photos with her husband Marcus, Chris Chalk (“Perry Mason (TV)”, “Godzilla vs. Kong”), Sharon/Kirby realises it’s a tattoo someone would have if they served.

Sharon/Kirby goes to the same veteran’s place that Dan had been to previously and the nurse recognises the composite as Harper has been coming to see Leo Jenkins, Christopher Denham (“The Gilded Age (TV)”, “Utopia (TV)”).

Sharon/Kirby tricks Leo into giving her a VHS tape that he’s taken from Harper. He warns her off Harper multiple times but she doesn’t seem phased.

We see a few of the scenes we’ve seen previously, though this time it appears that it’s the Harper from now, with the stitches across his face from his altercation with Sharon/Kirby. One of those scenes is with him and Jin-sook on the roof of the planetarium where he asks her to send Sharon/Kirby a message.

Shining Girls continues to impress and bamboozle in equal measure. The replaying of scenes we have previously seen, with small differences, I confess have me thrown. It seems like Harper knows as little about what’s happening to him as Sharon/Kirby does.