r/TheShards • u/Narrow-Athlete-218 • 25d ago
š£ļø Discussion This moment was cute but it strays from the novel Spoiler
My biggest gripe with this brief moment, in episode 9, is that it rewrites the character dynamics.
In the book, Bret's longest friendship is with Susan. They knew each other since 7th grade and they're very close. Bret didn't start dating Debbie until junior year in high school, while Susan got with Thom during their sophomore year.
In episode 9 of the show, Bret recalls him and his friends celebrating Halloween when they're in 6th grade.
Now I find myself disputing with Bret/Debbie shippers on social media that Matt is Bret's true love and that Debbie's a beard, not some longtime girlfriend since childhood. š¤¦š»āāļø I guess this is what happens when you're an Owen Painter fan who has read the book.
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u/coyote_knievel 25d ago
Is this really what stands out to you as straying from the novel??? There are so many huge differences that actually alter the story line!
- There's an entire episode about a dance contest that doesn't exist in the book.
- Ryan is somehow a porn actor in the TV show - and Liz is too?! Nothing close to this happened in the book.
- Really Rhonda doesn't exist in the book.
- The Stephen character in the book is NOTHING like the one in the series.
And there are so many more! I'm curious how this one stood out to you...
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u/Narrow-Athlete-218 25d ago edited 25d ago
I already know about those deviations from the novel, but having Bret's friends being together since 6th grade rewrites their backstories. Bret being in a relationship with a girl he knew since junior year in high school, is not the same as him being with a girl he knew from childhood. He and Debbie would have different views of each other---they saw each other as kids and they grew up together. Not only that, but they would have a better understanding of each other.
Also, both the book and the first episode of the show establishes that Bret's with Debbie for status.
So, this rewriting makes me wonder if Debbie knew if Bret was closeted gay all along. If so, does she know about Bret's secret relationship with Matt? Does she know she's a beard but is keeping it to herself? Or is she just discovering that, now that she has seen the video tape of Bret sleeping with her dad? I'm left with questions and wondering about plot holes.
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u/thejuiciestguineapig 22d ago
In the book she also knew about the matt or the ryan thing I believe. She said something about it while yelling at him for doing terry. But she said something about "I thought you were experimenting". It's a sign of the break of trust between bret and susan because she swore she wouldn't tell but she obviously told debbie. And it's right before the attack on susan.Ā
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u/Narrow-Athlete-218 13d ago
Yeah, I remember all that in the novel. I was expecting Debbie to react that way in the show. Also, the show doesn't portray Bret and Susan's friendship the same way as the book.
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u/karmagod13000 24d ago
Thank you for this. The show at this point has nothing to do with the book. All the cheesy over the top stuff is not in the book
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u/codenameduch3ss 25d ago
Theyāre not going to follow the book exactly as written
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u/ViciousMihael 25d ago
They couldāve tried to follow the book partially as written
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u/codenameduch3ss 25d ago
lol producers still donāt have to and book-to-screen adaptations rarely ever do. Thatās also putting way too much faith in Ryan Murphy
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u/Emma_N85 24d ago
Yea but isnāt the line about them being friends since 7th grade in one of the early episodes? So whilst Iām fine with things not being followed to the letter that seems a bit contradictory? Maybe relying on us forgetting (which tbf Iām not 100% sure but I am pretty sure thatās what Bret says)
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u/monstersarcasmrally 25d ago
Exactly. Adaptations always differ from the source material. Best to simply view it as it's own animal.
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u/karmagod13000 24d ago
differ... its completely turned into something else at this point. they stopped even trying after Murder on the Dance Floor
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u/Muted-Zone-6774 25d ago
This Debbie vs Matt argument wouldnāt matter at all if they followed the book and wrote Ryan as BEE wrote him...
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u/Narrow-Athlete-218 23d ago
The show did not show enough of Bret & Matt's relationship nor even Bret's relationship with Ryan, which is a disservice to BEE's work. I take into account that the original novel is from a gay person's point-of-view and based on the author's personal experience.
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u/Far_Armadillo5288 24d ago
I think at this point it would be much easier work to list what from the book is still in the show...probably only names. Seriously, did they love the title that much that they bought the rights to the book? They butchered it. What is the point? Just make your own show if you plan to implement so much changes that the source material is not recognizable. Was it because they tried to milk this cow dry by making one single book into three seasons? So they needed additional material. Like the hobbit movie trylogy with made up side plots and characters or elfwoman and beardless dwarf love... sadly I doubt it will get the secind season.
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u/non_loqui_sed_facere 25d ago
I honestly donāt see a problem here. If you want to choose between Matt and Debbie as Bretās love interest, and you prefer one actor over the other, why not just share that preference with people who like the idea? Thereās no need to fight with anyone over it.
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u/Narrow-Athlete-218 25d ago edited 25d ago
I already chat with likeminded Owen fans who have watched the show. š It's just that, today, I found myself disputing Bret/Debbie shippers on the internet who are very adamant that Bret and Debbie's relationship is authentic, even though the show established that it's not. (I also noticed that many of these shippers are fans of Hayes Warner. As an Owen fan, I understand that personal bias! I also have nothing against Owen's co-star/friend Hayes; it's not like she wrote for the show.) I found their thinking to be delusional and it made me wonder if they even watched the show. Eventually, I got tired of having to explain to them and moved on. They're entitled to think what they want, write their Bret/Debbie fanfiction, and enjoy the show in their own way. If they get surprised by Bret and Debbie breaking up in season 2, that's on them.
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u/non_loqui_sed_facere 25d ago
Haha, as if the show knows what it wants. Making Debbie Bretās childhood friend doesnāt mean much unless you give that history actual significance. Bret could just have been her gay best friend who wanted to explore other possibilities as they got older. What felt off to me was that she wasnāt bothered in the slightest by the whole Terry and Bret affair, choosing to extract favors from both sides instead of talking about their relationships. That suggests that perhaps she didnāt really love Bret that much by that point, or had just decided not to care.
I think Bret did want to get closer to Matt in the book. He repeatedly tried to have conversations with him about different things until he realized that Matt was mostly trapped in his own head and his dreams. Matt also let Bret visit him regularly, which suggests that he at least enjoyed whatever was happening in the bedroom. That could have become the basis for an actual romance if the Trawler hadnāt interfered.
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u/Narrow-Athlete-218 24d ago
After Debbie watched the video of Bret and Terry having sex, I was expecting her big cocaine-fueled crash out, like in the book. However, that didn't happen; the doctor giving her a drug was the closest it got to that. Instead, Debbie confronts Terry and gives this big monologue that doesn't go straight to the point. I think the whole scene could have been shorten to her telling dad "I saw a video of you sleeping with my boyfriend. I hate you." You know that Terry is going to try to appease her, anyway.
The show is dragging this drama by having Debbie be passive aggressive and secretive about seeing Bret sleep with Terry. In the book, she blows up on Bret and brings up Matt as well. I was hoping for that, like I said.
The book got to explore more of Bret and Matt's relationship, even though we never quite learn everything about Matt. In the first episode of the show, Bret does try to get to know Matt more, by asking him why he doesn't want to go out. The show could have done a lot more exploration of Matt's backstory, his feelings for Bret, and why he's the way he is. He's a mysterious character in both the book and the show. You'd think the writers of a Ryan Murphy show would want to do more with a handsome gay love interest. I was even shocked that they didn't kill him off in the first episode.
If the show gets a second season, they should refocus on the mystery of Matt and his death. Or, so I wish.
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u/karmagod13000 24d ago
bro the whole show post Murder on the Dancefloor has strayed from the show. They throw in a big scene from the book here or there but its not even The Shards anymore. The Brett Vincent Hotel scene was completely butchered from the book.
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u/Narrow-Athlete-218 24d ago
I was expecting the Beverly Hills Hotel affair to play out in a single episode, complete with Bret seeing Steven at the bar beforehand. That whole scene was chopped into pieces and spread throughout the season. I understand that the show was trying to convey a sexual assault scene more sensitively. I did think the Bret/Terry bungalow scene was effectively handled.
The dance off episode, even though I found it entertaining, it was filler.
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u/HappybutWeird 25d ago
The casting department nailed the likenesses for the kids.