Who is The Trawler in ‘The Shards’? Ryan Murphy's thriller leaves fans guessing
'The Shards' recently dropped its first two episodes on FX. The Ryan Murphy series follows a group of students at the elite Buckley Prep School in Los Angeles. Set in 1981, the show focuses on how the lives of privileged teens take an unexpected turn after the arrival of newbie Robert Mallory (Homer Gere). The gang soon finds itself in the crosshairs of a dangerous serial killer known as The Trawler. Ever since the episodes aired, the biggest question on fans' minds has been: Who is The Trawler? Most of Ryan Murphy's serial-killer shows unfold from the murderers' perspective, leaving little mystery about their identity. But this time the tables have turned, and the characters, along with the audience, are now involved in a cat-and-mouse game.
Several stars from the show have tried to guess the killer's identity. “I have an idea,” Igby Rigney, who plays Bret, told TV Insider. “I will say that I don’t know, and Ryan has also told me that I’m wrong when I brought up this idea. But he actually hasn’t told any of us who The Trawler is. He’s the only one who knows.” Daniel Dale, who portrays Ryan Vaughn in the series, has many fingers pointed towards his character. Dale, though, disagreed and has his money on Steven Reinhardt, Terry’s assistant. He believes that if Steven is the culprit, that might be too straightforward a conclusion, which in turn casts doubt on its authenticity. He seems interested in the theory that more than one person acted as the serial killer. “If there’s only one, he’s very efficient. He or she, you know? You never know,” he shared.
Graham Campbell, who plays Thom Wright in the show, loves that it is adding to the lore of the novel it is based on. “I think what’s fun about them is that they are for now and maybe forever theories. It keeps you really, really invested about what may or may not have happened,” he said. For those unaware, 'The Shards' is based on Bret Easton Ellis's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. The book left the serial killer's identity up in the air. Bret's suspicions ultimately prove false, and by the end, even his narration of events does not seem reliable. In a Reddit thread about the book, most fans claim that Bret himself is the killer. Some suggest that he had a split personality, while others think that he was lying to everyone around him and readers. Certain fans think that he was just involved in Susan and Thom's attack, but wasn't actually the serial killer.
The whole fandom, as well as the cast, is waiting eagerly to uncover the mystery. But Owen Painter, who plays Matt Kellner, is not among them. “I don’t think it matters,” he said. “I’d rather not have the answers.” Ryan Murphy may stray away from the book and definitively identify the serial killer called ' The Trawler' in the show. To learn if that is the case, fans can tune in to FX every Wednesday for a new episode.
