Why it Was ‘Irresistible’ for ‘Sharp Objects’ to Hide Amma’s ‘Creepy’ Dollhouse in Plain Sight in Every Episode
(Warning: Spoilers ahead for the “Sharp Objects” finale, “Milk”)
If you were surprised that Amma (Eliza Scanlen) ended up being the Wind Gap killer in HBO’s recently wrapped limited series “Sharp Objects,” you must not have been looking in the right places for clues.
Camille (Amy Adams) puts it all together in the final episode when she finds little teeth in the room of Amma’s dollhouse meant to represent the ivory floor in their mother Adora’s (Patricia Clarkson) bedroom. A mark of the mass murderer was pulling out the victims’ teeth.
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Readers of the book have been looking at that dollhouse since the premiere episode, knowing the massive piece of incriminating evidence it contained — and showrunner Marti Noxon and director Jean-Marc Vallée were sure to keep the dollhouse in every episode both as a clue and as a metaphor.
“I think it’s irresistible for a director; it’s such a beautiful metaphor for trying to control the world around you,” Noxon told TheWrap in a recent interview.
“And you know, dollhouses are creepy,” she added with a laugh. “So because it is the key in the end to the girls, I think it was also sort of placed — metaphor intended — to have it in evidence a lot. Because it really is a symbol of Amma’s disorder of this crazy control thing she’s caught from her mom.”
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Noxon is referencing Adora’s murder of Camille’s other little sister Marian, who died by Munchausen syndrome by proxy. In the finale, Adora goes to jail and, for a few minutes there, it’s easy to assume she also killed Natalie Keene and Ann Nash. The finale cuts off just as Camille is realizing the truth about her little sister, revealing Amma as the murderer.
To read all about the crazy ending, read our conversation with Noxon over here.
Jennifer Maas contributed to this report.
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