Cutline
In the first episode of Shining Girls, a young girl is approached by a strange man while she’s playing outside. The man asks her to come with him, and she eventually agrees. What follows is an enigmatic and suspenseful story that will leave viewers eager for more. ..
After plucking the wings from a bumblebee, he hands over a wooden statue of a horse to her, asking her to look after it until he returns. “I don’t want it.” She says defiantly. “You’ll take it. You always do.” He says matter-of-factly in return. ..
As he walks away, the bumblebee writhes in pain on its back while this young girl takes the wooden horse and hurries inside.
Fast forward to when Kirby is an adult and she has a job, but still prefers to stay in her own world. She’s a reserved woman who keeps to herself and often listens to music with headphones. ..
Kirby is meticulous about her desk, moving different items around. Her whole life is about to change, and she doesn’t know what to expect. ..
The city workers who found the body say that it is likely that she was killed. They are still trying to determine her identity and motive.
Kirby is called into the police station, questioned over this. It turns out her assault and Julia’s death are incredibly similar. Although there’s no news on whether it’s “him”, Kirby is encouraged to pick him out from a list of possible culprits nonetheless.
Kirby doesn’t know who she is. The only thing she remembers is what he sounded like when he cursed at her. This explains Kirby’s skittish demeanour, not wanting to be heard. The thing is, she still happens to have that wooden horse trinket from the past on her dresser.
Kirby’s friend at work, Marcus, has been helping her with her mail delivery and he’s given her some great tips on how to improve her work. Kirby passes by Dan’s desk and sees that he’s looking into the case more closely. A breakthrough seems to have been made, as a name is linked to the murder – Pawel Banik.
Kirby confronts the man who called her at her house late at night. She realizes that he is not the same man who called her earlier that night. Kirby leaves the scene, putting away her knife.
Kirby hurries outside, bumping into Dan. He warns her that this isn’t the way to “get a desk.” The thing is, Kirby doesn’t care. She’s leaving soon, intending to head off to Orlando. Kirby intends to crash on her cousin’s sofa so it’s hardly a step up. It’s also immediately clear that she’s running.
Kirby opens up to Dan, admitting that she saw his notes. She knows that Julia was cut up just like she was. Dan takes Kirby down to see Iris, who happens to be an expert medical examiner. Iris shows off her scars, where Kirby tells her story. ..
It turns out that Kirby was attacked the night of her attack. She was also gagged too. As the doctor touches her stomach, Kirby looks up and Iris is gone. Instead, it’s a guy called Howard. Apparently Howard has been there the whole time. Even the pictures up on the wall are different!
Dr Jin-Soon Gwasun, a scientist at a planetarium, noticed that her bumblebee also had its wings cut off. She’s curious to see what happened to it and asks the staff if they know how to fix it.
Jin-Sook’s colleague remarks that Ancient Egyptians claim that bees send messages from the heavens. She thinks little of it and throws it away. ..
Jin-Sook is attacked by a man who left similar scars on her stomach after their conversation.
Kirby returns to Dan in the morning and encourages him to look inside Julia’s body. It’s enough for Dan to change his stance on Pawel, where all the evidence he has thus far links to. ..
Dan tells Abby, his boss, that he’s following an alternate lead thanks to a new witness. “Are they credible?” Abby asks. Dan isn’t so sure just yet.
Kirby returns home that night to find Marcus there. Marcus hugs her and asks what’s happened, and Kirby is confused. She starts to spiral out of control as her whole life starts to crumble around her. ..
The Episode Review
The show starts out strong with a well-done mystery that is sure to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The show then takes a turn for the worse as it becomes more and more difficult to follow what is happening. However, the final twist is sure to leave viewers feeling satisfied and excited about what comes next.
Elisabeth Moss is great in the role of Peggy Olson, while the supporting cast are interesting and have a fair amount of star power between them. ..
It seems that Kirby’s life is unraveling as more truths are revealed, while the whole deal with this killer and what his motives actually are is still unclear. However, with Apple releasing three episodes today, thankfully we don’t have to wait too long to find out what happens next! ..
