‘The Shards’ Ending Explained: Is the Trawler revealed? Finale leaves multiple suspects in spotlight
'The Shards' just aired its season finale on FX. Episode 9, 'Stairway to Heaven', featured several twists and turns, but the Trawler's identity remained up in the air. However, that's not surprising, as Ryan Murphy has reportedly planned multiple seasons for the drama. Throughout the show, the serial killer in question has hurt and killed many people. The season ends with all the central characters in a room, invited there by investigators. The authorities inform the characters that they have some evidence regarding the murders of Katherine Latchford (Molly Peyton) and Matt Kellner (Owen Painter) and the kidnapping of Rhonda Fox (Ivy Wolk).
Investigators tell the people in the room that the evidence shows the crimes are not only connected, but someone in the room did all of them. The camera then focuses on Bret (Igby Rigney), who says, "That's when things really got crazy." Before investigators reveal the killer's identity, the episode ends. If the investigators are telling the truth, the Trawler is someone in the group in the room, including Bret, Robert (Homer Gere), Susan (Kaia Gerber), Thom (Graham Campbell), Debbie (Hayes Warner), Debbie's mother Liz (Evan Rachel Wood), her father, Terry's assistant, Steven Reinhardt (Jordan Roth), and student Ryan Vaughn (Daniel Dale).
Debbie's father, Terry (Wes Bentley), a Hollywood film producer, finds himself in danger when someone pushes him from his mansion's balcony. The notorious character is not completely out of the picture. Bret later reveals that he is currently on life support. It has not been confirmed whether Trawler is the perpetrator. It is possible that someone hoping to exact revenge against Terry committed this act. This accident also leaves the future of Bret's novel up in the air, as Terry was backing the novel to get adapted into a movie. Debbie also finds out about Bret's illicit relationship with her father. Rather than getting angry, she presents a list of demands in front of Bret, essentially blackmailing him to keep his secret.
Susan is also attacked in her house, but before things turn fatal, she is saved. Thom enters her home to save his ex-girlfriend, but becomes a suspect in her eyes. Gerber, who plays Susan, loved acting in the sequence. "This was a true horror moment. Even in the script, it said, 'Her Shelley Duvall moment.' It really was a direct reference to 'The Shining', which is funny, because I have on my wall [flipping the camera to show her wall] a signed Shelley Duvall [poster from The Shining]. It's one of my favorite performances and one of my favorite films, so when that was very clear that we were referencing that, I was really excited and also terrified. I was like, 'I'll never reach what Shelley did, but at least I know what we’re aiming for and the level of terror.' So this was probably the most scream queens moment I've gotten to have," she shared with THR.
Bret continues to suspect Robert as the Trawler. However, Robert raises doubts about Bret's reliability when he claims that his parents are not on holiday as he claimed. With so many storylines up in the air, it seems that the team is hoping for another season. Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis, the writer of the novel behind the series, previously shared that they are planning for a few more seasons. "When I first met with him (Ellis), he didn't really want to do it as a limited series," Murphy shared in an interview with Variety. "He always thought this could be a three-year dramatic series, if not longer. I like that idea. You have the space and time and energy. You're not doing nine or 10 episodes. You're going to try and do 30. That's how I could add some of my own personal things in there."
Several events from the book with the same name are yet to be adapted. Fans may hope that a future season includes many of those sequences. Also, the book never really reveals the serial killer's identity. Viewers will tune in to the show's future seasons for definite answers. All episodes of 'The Shards' are currently streaming on Hulu.
