Screamer

Episode 5 of Shining Girls begins with Kirby trying to rush along her composite sketch of Harper. Given the man is a ghost, she’s concerned about the sparse details the officer is taking. ..

As for Harper, he’s in the hospital with a gnarly scar across his face. He was cut his flexor tendon and apparently collapsed on Racine. The paramedics brought him in around midnight but it’s at least morning now. Harper demands the man in his room uncuff him, threatening to hurt him if he doesn’t. Well, he agrees and Harper grabs his gear and escapes the hospital.

Meanwhile, Dan notices the sketch Kirby has drawn of the man outside Julia Madrigal’s house. Through this, he realizes that it matches Harper’s description as the guy outside Julia Madrigal’s house. The sketch, plus speaking to him outside Julia’s place, is enough to convince Dan that Harper is their guy. ..

Kirby and Dan discuss Kirby’s recent experiences. Kirby reveals that she has been living in a world where her memories are distorted. Kirby admits that she can’t talk to Marcus about this, as his presence makes her feel like a stranger. Instead, she trusts Dan and tries to make sense of this shifting truth between the launderette and the bar.

Jinny is troubled by the coincidence of the Chicago killings and her old key. She wonders if someone is using her old key to follow her in and out of the building. She knows that Harper is one of the people who could be using her key, so she’s worried about what he might do with it.

Kirby heads to see Jinny at work to find out more about her being followed. Jinny confirms that she is being followed and uses the analogy of two particles to make her point - they could be linked together; their actions are entangled. So Kirby’s next move will depend on what happens to one of the particles.

That night, Kirby heads over to Jinny’s place but Harper is there too, watching from afar outside. Whilst there, Kirby reveals she’s been watched for years by Harper before the attack - and it would appear the same thing is happening to Jinny. “I’m not you,” She says confidently. Kirby though, is not so confident. As she looks out the window, lights reflecting and obscuring her view, Harper happens to be watching. He steps out the shadows, rain soaking his face, and smiles incredulously. ..

Abby is not happy when she finds out Kirby has messed with the evidence at the property warehouse. She also learns that the seal on the evidence bags has been cut and that is, of course, highly illegal. It also brings the whole case into question.

As Kirby heads off, spinning out over this revelation, Marcus is there to help and takes her home. He probes her about Harper and the bar, before going on to make her favourite “happy food” which is a bizarre combination of bacon, grape jelly and peanut butter. Kirby can’t remember eating this though, which only frustrates Marcus as he finds himself conflicted over how best to treat Kirby’s mood.

The soldiers sitting around the table seem to be in disbelief as they hear about Marcus’ past. One of them, a soldier with a lion insignia on his chest, seems to be the most convinced. He starts talking about how Marcus served in the military and how he was able to get away with it because of his connections.

Dan heads to see Rachel, who blames him for what happened to Kirby. After Kirby’s outburst earlier in the episode about forgetting details, he’s questioning the entire validity of her story. Rachel though sticks up for her daughter, pointing out that “someone had to have their sh*t together” back then.

Jinny is paranoid and checking over her shoulder the whole time. This, unfortunately, catches us up to the moments during episode 1 where the wingless bumblebee was left on her desk. Is this the night she’s killed?

Kirby heads to Julia’s work and speaks to the receptionist. When she hangs up the composite sketch, the receptionist recognizes it and points out the guy has been there a bunch of times. And that’s mainly because Leo is one of the patients. Whatever is wrong with him appears to be psychological. He’s got 3 or 4 medals from the war too but he seems pretty despondent and in no mood to talk. “Don’t tell him that you came here, okay?” He pleads. Apparently, Harper won’t let him near the house, as Leo pleads with Kirby to stay away from him as Kirby starts asking questions. The receptionist tells Kirby that Leo has been coming in a lot lately and that it looks like he might have some sort of psychological problem. She also mentions that Harper won’t let him near the house, which leads Kirby to ask more questions about what might be going on with Leo. ..

Unfortunately for Jinny, Harper shows up at the roof and tells her to feed back a message to Kirby. He wants Jinny to talk to him, although he doesn’t confirm exactly what to say. Harper also confirms he’s not looking to kill her right now and walks away, leaving her rattled.

The Episode Review

The latest episode of Shining Girls continues to move this story along at a snail’s pace while also showing that Harper isn’t some ghost after all. It’s a little ironic that several people have recognized him from the composite sketch that Kirby has helped with, and it only reinforces that this guy isn’t so hidden after all.

The show starts off strong but quickly loses its way. While the characters are interesting, the plot is weak.