The actors behind Susan Reynolds and Thom in FX's "The Shards" have offered insights into the filming of a pivotal home invasion scene in the show's finale, acknowledging the on-set tension and the fan theories surrounding the attacker's identity.
In the ninth episode, titled "Stairway to Heaven," Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber) is attacked in her home, with her ex-boyfriend Thom (Graham Campbell) arriving to intervene. However, the episode leaves viewers questioning Thom's true involvement, given his association with the cult known as the Riders of the Afterlife.
Campbell described the filming of the scene as a "point of tension," while Gerber noted that the intensity was amplified by director Ryan Murphy's intention to reference the iconic Shelley Duvall scene from "The Shining."
"I was there on set for the first, like, ten hours by myself filming the invasion with our incredible stunt man, Troy," Gerber told DECIDER. "When you're screaming and hyperventilating like that, your body does get freaked out. Also, it’s my nightmare — literal nightmare — walking by my closet and someone jumps out and attacks me with a knife. It’s hell on earth."
Gerber added that Campbell's character's entrance was intended to be a point of calm amidst the chaos, but that the ambiguity of the situation led to her own uncertainty about the attacker's identity during filming. "I felt like when we were shooting it, there’s no way it was Thom," she said.
Campbell, however, suggested that the series is expertly crafted to foster this very ambiguity. "That’s what’s so expert about the way this series is put together, is that it’s the right look in the eye or the head tilt or the lingering on a shot where you’re like, ‘Holy fuck, it could be anybody,'" he stated.
Both actors expressed anticipation for fan discussions and theories that will emerge on platforms like Reddit, with Gerber stating, "I'm very excited for the Reddit threads about it because I felt one way when we were shooting it and then watching it, I kind of felt a different way."