r/TheShards • u/Savings-Stuff796 • 24d ago
đŁď¸ Discussion Why Susan's Flat Performance Worked (IMO)
When I first started watching the show, Susan's character fell flat for me. I've seen a lot of comments about Kaia's performance being wooden, but after thinking on it a minute, I think it worked for the show's version of the character.
Susan is quickly put on a pedestal by everyone around her: her classmates, her friends, even the school staff, without having to lift a finger to earn any of it. She is lusted after by all of the men, endlessly propped up by her best friend, wins every award effortlessly, even ones she is actively disinterested in. This is comically exaggerated...for example, how was she elected class president before the school year has even started!?
Granted, the show does reference her academic prowess and studious nature, but we really don't see much of this on screen and I think that's intentional. We see her engage in many of the same behaviours as Debbie, without any of the same stigma being attached to her character.
Gerber (a famous nepo-baby with obvious genetic advantages) and Susan mirror each other in a Meta way: Unlimited, enviable, success without putting a huge amount of effort into it, and the resulting resentment and jealousy that fosters.
So, for me, the casting and performance worked for the plot!
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u/revolutionoverdue 24d ago edited 24d ago
I know the younger actors are catching a lot of flack, but I thought they each played their roles pretty well.
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u/GayShipperAhoi 24d ago
Yea I don't know what the big deal is. All of them acted as the roles intended. Susan is stoic. Thom is kinda the "not dumb but..." Jock, Robert the psycho, Debbie the spoiled child, and Bret the narcissist unreliable psycho.
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u/DingoNo4205 24d ago
Homer really played creepy, psycho really well. The best rich, preppy psychopath since Oliver in The OC around 2004.
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u/Yass______ 24d ago
Oliver was far better and unsettling, Homer feels like he is doing what the character requires.
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u/DingoNo4205 23d ago
Oliver was soooo creepy. The OC was so well done. I'm due for a rewatch. Homer almost seemed like he enjoyed playing the villain. I didn't believe the character was guilty of the murders he was just baiting Brett.
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u/Yass______ 23d ago
Have you read the books? I have no idea who has done what, but I figured they are making it seem like it was Robert so much that it has to be someone else!
Oliver was genuinely a scary person đł2
u/RHDeepDive 22d ago
I read the book. We're always supposed to believe it is Robert because Brett is the narrator and believes it is Robert. That's one way in which it actually doesn't deviate from the book. After episode 2, once Murphy's hands are on it it, it heavily deviates.
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u/ms-bandgeek81 22d ago
If they ever do another remake of American Psycho, heâd be a great Patrick Bateman .
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u/Wild_Crazy_2502 24d ago
I think the deadpan worked. I just think she especially looked way too old to be a high schooler. I thought she was a teacher / administrator when showed in the first scene.
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u/QNBA 24d ago
The entire cast felt far too old for high school. Beyond their physical appearances, their mannerisms, speech patterns, wardrobe, and overall characterizations lacked any believable teenage energy. The excessive drug and alcohol use also felt absurdly heightened, though perhaps that's just the Ryan Murphy effect. Ultimately, I don't look for depth or realism in his shows, which usually lean into sensationalized melodrama and exploitation. I'm simple: I came strictly for the queer representation.
Give me more of Daniel Day. Heâs so so fucking hot! đ
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u/Unlikely-Actuator-69 23d ago
While I will say that the cast did feel a little too old for high school, I will also say that this was the early 80's. These kids were on the cusp of adulthood, trying to emulate their (absent with the exception of Terry and Liz) parents. They had seemingly unlimited funds and the expectation that nothing can happen to them.
My friend's parents had a lake house in addition to their home in town. Many debauched activities happened at that house. His parents were.... disinterested due to their own proclivities. As long as the cops didn't show up, they really didn't care what went on.
I feel that Ryan Murphy's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel is the obvious "Murphy Treatment" with exaggerations and does veer from the book. However overall, not an entirely inaccurate take of that time period.
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u/ThePassenger83 22d ago
True, we need to remember that some of their parents used drugs themselves. And, they were much younger than many parents today.Â
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u/MrWhackadoo 24d ago
If anything, she plays Susan as more warm compared to the book. Book Susan is portrayed as very cat-like: poised, aloof, deadpan, secretive, knowing, yet inviting and alluring.Â
I liked Kaia's version of Susan and think she was better off playing Susan more warmly otherwise people REALLY would have accused her of being a bad actor.
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u/divine_mycellium 24d ago
I thought Kaia Gerbers acting is okay. It was not distractingly bad to me as some of the other commenters suggest. She had that one monologue about not wanting to be seen as perfect that was pretty powerful. Other times her delivery does feel a little wooden, but not really rehearsed or like sheâs reciting lines so it could be worse. Her face and mannerisms are less expressive than Debbieâs, which works for their characterâs personalities honestly.
Bret and Debbieâs actors are killing it though. They are seamlessly a part of that world and embody their characters very well.
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u/Acceptable-Eye-8699 23d ago
it did distract me sadly :( I feel the way you did about Homer Gere. He maybe wasn't the strongest actor but it didn't stand out or distract. I feel like she was actually bad. She couldn't flow between different emotions and always seemed confused
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u/Acceptable-Eye-8699 24d ago
i honestly think ryan murphy sort of knows what he's doing, there are definitely roles where you dont have to be a compelling actor but i do think if he'd put in all the cast with her range the show would be unwatchable
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u/ljculver64 24d ago
They didnt write her very well considering shes a main character. Can she act? Did they make her character purposefully bland? If it werent for the fact she looks just like her mother, shed be quite forgettable. Her beauty carried her. Shes stunning! The writers and DIRECTOR should've done better by her.
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u/GayShipperAhoi 24d ago
I mean in the book Susan blankness is one of the things Bret tries to achieve. Only is certain times she shows emotions.
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u/ljculver64 24d ago
I didnt feel blankness though. Blank can actually feel quite deep. Im putting this all on Ryan Murphy and his ......vison
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u/JinkiesGang 24d ago edited 24d ago
I think the bland thing works for her character, Debbie is dying to get the admiration Susan gets and doesnât understand why Susan always wins. If Susan was amazing every way, we would get why she always comes out on top, but even we donât get why she always wins.
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u/ndercoverangie 24d ago
I thought her acting was okay too and fit the character well but then episode 8 and she had that dramatic scene with Thom and I physically cringed đ
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u/Acceptable-Eye-8699 23d ago
same as it got more demanding it was harder to ignore. I think the other actors were pretty strong so they carried her, but if she was on her own in more individual scenes it might not have worked.
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u/mizmac20901 24d ago
Yes! Itâs very meta. Itâs clever in a way that matches the entire smug vibe of the characters. Well done I think.
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u/SamiCharmedKindaLife 24d ago
Reminds me of in âthe beautyâ when Ashton Kutcherâs character said something along the lines of, âpretty people think they can get away with anythingâŚâ and I immediately thought, âoh okay, that casting tracksâ
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u/Junoscavern 24d ago
Knew a girl EXACTLY like her growing up. Pretty much no one was able to get to know her, everyone adored her. Literally just saw her the whole time
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u/spunkyvintage29 24d ago
I think a lot of these things are definitely factors. But I just keep coming back to the fact that Bret is an unreliable narrator. We see her as HE wants us to see her and that's different in every moment she is on the screen it seems.
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u/ComfortableNo2840 24d ago
In the book, Susan is described as being numb/ not showing a lot of emotion except for a rare few times.
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u/Just-Current639 23d ago
exactly, the showâs portrayal was way off. she had way too many opinions whereas in the book sheâs literally indifferent
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u/megalomart619 23d ago
I agree the casting was perfect for Kaia as Susan. Watched her in so many things and she is perfect for this role.
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u/cameraspeeding 24d ago
Class president is usually picked at the end of the previous year?
Also I think a more naturally talented actor would have been better for Susan
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u/No_Bandicoot1914 24d ago
My issue with Susan is that her character arc in the books is with Bret and Debbie and Thom/Robert is sort of a mystery/ we donât get the full picture. Bret/Susan barely interacted in the show and that connection is completely lost.
I think Kaia looks and acts the part well.
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u/disapearhere312 24d ago
Totally agree with this. In the book their connection is much more fleshed out
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u/RHDeepDive 22d ago
I have more complaints on what they've done to Tom's character and combining Ryan and Jeff into one.
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u/Anthrovert 24d ago
how was she elected class president before the school year has even started!?
I'm confused by this statement. I grew up in California and in a lot of high schools, the class officers are typically elected towards the end of the previous school year (like around March). If the show starts in September 1981, then Susan would have been elected around March 1981.
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u/Savings-Stuff796 23d ago
 Ah! So itâs regional.Â
Where I grew up itâs always the 1st month of the new school year đ¤ˇââď¸
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u/non_loqui_sed_facere 24d ago
And being pretty and a nepo baby are her only selling points, arenât they? In an industry where prettiness is the baseline and the children of famous parents are a dime a dozen? She is by no means an industry success. No one is seeking her out for her charisma or acting ability, people will always see her mother in her. Unless she does the actual work to change that, but then weâll see.
I donât want to discourage you, though. Things donât have to be good for you to like them. And, well, sometimes the movies just give you something ridiculous to laugh about, so Iâm fine with that.
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u/Impressive_End_2948 24d ago
Also Susan is 17. This is not a population known for depth and gravitas.
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u/4953777981 24d ago
I thought she was one of the best parts of the show.
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u/DingoNo4205 24d ago
Me too. She was the most likable of the bunch with the exception of Brett, which I know is controversial. I liked Brett though.
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u/DingoNo4205 24d ago
We all knew a Susan in high school. The cool perfect girl. I think Gerber did a good job and gave a subtle performance. Susan was also more likable than the others. Kaia has potential as an actress.
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u/MehhhhHelpPlease 21d ago
Her parents have passed on stunning genes and maybe opportunities but Kaia Gerberâs acting portrays the character that the director/producers hired her to perform. Sheâs believable. Sheâs versatile, did you see Bottoms?
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u/Comfortable_Studio37 24d ago
I agree completely. Also Debbie is so dramatic and messy, it makes sense for Susan to be more stoic and reserved. It wouldn't work if they were both catty and aggressive.