As soon as Robert Mallory (Homer Gere), wearing leather pants paired with his prep school blazer, walks up to Bret (Igby Rigney), Susan (Kaia Gerber), Debbie (Hayes Warner), and Thom’s (Graham Campbell) lunch table in the first episode of FX’s The Shards, Bret is immediately on edge. He’s convinced that he saw Robert a year earlier at a showing of The Shining, where they shared a moment that left Bret “mesmerized.” (Warning: The Shards spoilers ahead.)
Robert is confused by Bret’s assumption and says he’s never even seen the film. Bret can’t let it go and continues to interrogate the new kid, who was kicked out of his previous school and lost his mother in a “tragic accident.” Bret remains fascinated by Robert Mallory but believes he’s a “complete and utter liar.”
After spotting Robert talking to his secret hookup Matt Kellner (Owen Painter), engaging in a car chase to the mall, and a charged (and downright dirty) private conversation, Bret has his guard up and eyes laser-focused on Robert, especially with The Trawler killing teens across the city. Is Bret embellishing his impression of Robert? Or is his gut feeling about the mysterious new kid spot on?
Ray Mickshaw / FX
“I think he’s trying his best,” Gere tells TV Insider as he defends his character. “I think he’s been dealt a weird hand, and he’s trying to make it work. I think his family’s as weird as anyone else’s, and there’s reasons for what he does, and I think Bret’s being unfair.”
Bret Easton Ellis‘ novel, upon which the show is based, is told entirely through Bret’s point of view. The first-person narration naturally raises questions about whether Bret is an unreliable narrator.
For Rigney, he’s taken the stance that Bret is a reliable narrator. “I think that he’s incredibly reliable,” Rigney says. “I also think that he’s living in a slightly separated world. He’s interacting with these adults in a way that some of his peers aren’t. He’s hiding certain aspects of himself in ways that his peers aren’t. I think he is just more aware of things going on. That doesn’t make him unreliable. That just means other people aren’t clued in.”
Do you think Robert Mallory is a good guy? Or is Bret right about his assumption? Watch the full video above for more cast insight about The Shards, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
— Reporting by Damian Holbrook
The Shards, Season 1, Wednesdays, 9/8c, FX and Hulu