Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
She writes the inside words on the outside, naming and defining her story on her body.
They hide in plain sight, suddenly visible in one frame and disappearing in the next.
Theyre barely visible versions of everythingSharp Objectsis already showing us, made explicit in language.
Dont think of them as hints; think of them as labels.
Troubling, alarming, deeply scarring and scarred labels.
Vanish (Episode 1)
The first hidden word we see seems completely innocuous.
Camille (or someone else) has used thumb tacks to spell out ASK!
on the divider of her cubicle in her St. Louis newspapers office.
Its exactly the sort of meaningless, mindless thing youd do while sitting at your desk.
And its message reads as a chipper reminder for Camille to do her job.
Once you see it in the context of the rest of the episode, though, ASK!
OnSharp Objects, it surely cant be a mistake that the word is spelled out with literal pins.
Now we get into the less cheery vocab.
There are many words scratched onto Camilles desk, but the two most visible are BAD and A DRUNK.
This is the first of the clearly hallucinatory words.
(The image also returns in one of Camilles memory flashback sequences.)
Based on the layout of the house, it hangs right outside Camilles room.
At Natalie Keenes funeral, a church banner that previously read Hope changes to Hurt.
The license plates on the surrounding cars read BUNDLE, PUNISH, and TANGLE.
We then get another shot of Camilles car door.
This time, the word shifts to SACRED.
(Its shown from multiple angles in more than one shot.)
This scene is from Richards point of view, and the words around him are stable.
Abusing yourself is also abusing others, is the one most visible here.
When Camille talks to Meredith about interviewing John Keene, the teenagers purse is embossed with the word PERKY.
Wind Gaps major industry is hog farming, with Preaker Farms as the towns dominant business.
As Camille drives into the Preaker hog farm while following Amma, a tractors Caterpillar logo briefly becomes CATFIGHT.
(Is it Marian?
The woman in white?)
The road sign to her right, which usually reads St. Louis, briefly becomes SPITEFUL.
The clearest one is WORM, a word behind it looks like SUCK.
She sees it as she and Richard explore the woods around the town.
Here, a street sign reads FALLING.
Closer (Episode 5)
Episode five begins with Camille dreaming about her frenzied search for Amma.
It begins with WRETCHED.
Then it becomes TRASH.
Then BITCH, at the moment Amma turns around to face Camille in the dream.
This one is the hardest to make out, but it seems to read CRY.
And then finally, NAG.
The photo included with the article features Adora and Marian, but Camille is notably absent.
This is the first episode where we see all of Camilles body and extensive scarring.
FUCK U was seen earlier, as well as BLADE, kindly, AFTER, and PROPER.
(WRONG was previously hidden on the stereo system from Camilles car in episode one.)
The shot is notable for the words placement.
If all the other words make up a constellation of meaning, WRONG is the North Star.
(Also notable: RIP is directly beneath it.)
The ribbon around Ashleys hat has a label that reads HATCH.
Wind Gaps Calhoun Day celebration has signage everywhere, but for the most part, the words remain stable.
What follows is one of my favorite hidden-word sprees the mini-series has done so far.
Most of these words are from Camilles imagination, but theyre a short step away from a plausible reality.
Then CUPCAKE as part of a vintage poster.
BABYDOLL may not be a vision.
Appetizer bowls on the table, which spell out COCK.
LIPSTICK printed on a vase.
In the aftermath of the cheerleader reunion, Camille and Becca pull up to a liquor store.
For one moment, the open sign reads OMEN.
The episode title, CHERRY, is printed on the back of the DJs laptop.
The words return as Camille and Amma get high and roller-skate through Wind Gap.
Here, we see DOSAGE on the side of a building.
Very quickly, the word DUMPLING flashes on the railroad crossing sign.
BOTTLE is graffitied on a passing train.
Another pattern thats become clear is that the hidden words tend to cluster around Camille driving.
The words are labels and accusations and assessments, and a lot of that comes from Adora.
Even more, though, the words come from the claustrophobic, intrusive pressure of Wind Gap.
I went back and looked at this word several times, because it only appears for a moment.
Then the word SEW is written on a board, illuminated by a red lamp.
John reads several of them aloud: drain, cherry, sick, gone, wrong, and falling.
Its just too personal.
Ill note just one: The word John kisses on Camilles back is MERCY.
The easiest hidden word to spot from episode seven.
Its the sickness that Adora creates, and the sickness Camille feels.
Theyre just exactly what the words say: WRONG and FALLING and CATFIGHT.
But one thing they do remarkably well is put us inside Camilles point of view.
Representing a characters perspective onscreen is notoriously difficult; it often requires resorting to the blunt weapon of voice-over.
(Or, in the case of a show likeMr.
Robot, an unreliable narrator, which meanseverythingis destabilized.)
But when we see the hidden words, were pulled back into Camilles mind.
It also makes you wonder what happened to Camilles father.
Camille wakes up and looks around her mothers room, contextualizing the house with the horrors its contained.
In particular, she recalls her sister Marian, killed by Adoras caring.
SICKLY is printed on the green chair.
While Camille looks into Ammas room, the wall of the dollhouse reads TICKLE.
(Or is it PICKLE?)
Finally rescued from their mothers clutches, Camille and Amma listen to Richard explain the facts theyve put together.
The word ICEBOX is printed on the door plate.
Its one of my favorite hidden words of this episode.
Camille tries to move ahead, but shes not finished yet.
The episodes title, MILK, is printed on Maes hand.
Its not clear if theyre actually there or if the words hallucinations.
It doesnt matter if theyre real, in the end.
Amma sees Camille looking at Mae intently, and that attention is enough to doom her.
Related
Tags:
