Kirby Mazrachi (TV)

**Kirby Mazrachi** is a character appearing in the first season of the Apple TV+ series *Shining Girls*. She is portrayed by Elisabeth Moss.

## Throughout Series

In Cutline, during the year 1964, Harper Curtis speaks to a young Kirby and discusses the impending rain. After he lies down with her, he leaves her a small gift. Although she says she doesn’t want it, he claims that she will take it as that is what she always does. Then in 1992, Kirby, who lives with her Mom and works in a job with few rewards, goes to work to find that someone is sitting at her desk. Except they’re not, and it seems that Kirby is simply confused.Eventually, a reporter named Dan has a news story after there was a body found in the tunnels of LaSalle. When Kirby hears of the murder, she meets with Detective Lynsky who wants her to go through some photo IDs. She won’t, though, as she never saw him, which means her attacker could literally be anyone. When Kirby returns home, a dog named Grendel appears, and it’s something that she writes in her notebook. Whilst at work, Kirby sneaks into notes related to the murder and finds the address of the possible murderer. She heads over to the house and speaks to the suspect, Pavel. Although hesitant, Kirby steps inside to talk to Pavel. He says that he did not hurt Julia Madrigal and had only known her for five months. Listening to him, Kirby realises from his voice that he is not the same man who attacked her. After Dan spots Kirby near the house, and clearly distressed, he takes her to a restaurant. As she reveals that her attack was six years ago, she also adds that she was cut up just like Julia. The only difference is that Kirby survived. To help aid the investigation, Kirby agrees to be examined by the medical examiner, Iris. However, as her wounds get checked, Iris turns into Howard. It freaks Kirby out, and the examination stops abruptly. Later on, she tells her Mom that nothing is where it should be, and she doesn’t recognise it anymore. It starts with little things, and then big things. Once Kirby comes to believe that the killer may have left something inside of Julia, she asks Dan to get Howard to look into it. After Harper brutally murders Jin-Sook, Kirby returns to the flat she shares with her Mom. Except she mixes up the apartments. When Kirby returns to the flat she lives in, Grendel is now a cat. And her Mom is no longer living there. Instead, Kirby lives there with her husband, Marcus.

In Evergreen, Kirby futilely attempts to process her new reality while Marcus holds her in his arms. Things become even more confusing when her apartment is swarmed by *Sun-Times* employees to celebrate her husband’s birthday. People who barely knew Kirby’s name before now greet her as if they’ve been friends for years. Kirby tries to play along, but is quickly overwhelmed and retreats to the bedroom. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she looks under the bed and finds her journal. The next day, Dan meets Howard,the medical examiner at an arcade to ask if Kirby’s wounds matched the ones found on Julia Madrigal. When he doesn’t confidently confirm it, Dan asks if there was anything left inside her.Dan approaches Kirby and tells her that he can’t locate any articles about her assault. When she claims there won’t be much to find, Dan asks if there was a police report so he can compare it to Julia Madrigral’s autopsy. Kirby responds by pointedly asking if they found something inside Julia’s body.Instead of answering her directly, Dan expresses his ethical concerns about using someone he works with as a source for his story. Kirby doesn’t appreciate having her experience questioned, but understands why it needs to be verified. Dan also asks what it meant when she said her attacker left something inside her. Kirby takes Dan to a laundromat, which has the same address as the one printed on a box of matches the police found inside her torso. Despite his unease over this new revelation, Dan shows Kirby the Polaroid he took of the radium residue inside Julia’s body. He then asks her to walk him through the day of her attack. Her recollection becomes unexpectedly difficultand hostile when Dan asks some basic follow-up questions specifically about her relationship with Marcus at the time of the attack and if she has any family in the area. Kirby becomes even more frustrated and upset when it hits her that the history she and her mother shared over the last six years no longer exists. Kirby sets out on a mission to locate her mother. She eventually finds Rachel leading the music at a church called The Well. After the service, Rachel spots Kirby and tearfully greets her while praising God for the return of her daughter. Kirby asks if they can retrieve her hospital records from the attack, but is drowned out by Rachel’s exultations along with the rest of the church members, who join in and lay hands upon them.Later, Kirby makes it back to her mother’s home, where Rachel struggles to find any of the pictures or documents her daughter needs. She’s also surprised to learn that Kirby is helping with her own assault case.The pair eventually locates some of the photographs along with an old VHS tape from Rachel’s time as a lead singer in a rock band. Rachel pops the video into the VCR, which shows a blonde-haired and much more carefree Kirby singing on stage with her mom. When Kirby asks why they don’t speak anymore, Rachel responds that it was her daughter’s decision. There’s also an unspoken implication that their estrangement is related to Rachel’s newfound religion.

When Kirby arrives home, she finds Marcus testing out some new film. He’s disappointed they didn’t spend any time together that evening, but not angry. He is worried, though, especially after Kirby’s odd behavior during his birthday followed by the first visit she’s made to see her mom in months. The next day at work, Dan confronts Kirby about hiding her true name and identity. Fortunately, she now has the evidence (from her mom’s place) to back up her claims and to show why she felt the need to change her name for her own safety. As the two go over the documents and photographs, Kirby explains that she’d been working her way toward becoming a reporter before the attack. After her lengthy recovery, she’d been out of the business too long to pick things back up. Working as an archivist was the only job she could get.

Before the attack, Kirby didn’t experience any overt break-ins or see any evidence of stalking. She could still feel something was off, though. She would come home and it would feel as if someone had just left before she got there. When Dan reveals that Julia had been stalked, Kirby realizes that she was likely being watched before her attack, as well.Dan then asks if there’s anything else he should know. Kirby responds by telling him that she doesn’t want anyone else in the office to know that she’s his source. Dan agrees. Later that day, Dan and Kirby drive to Julia’s home to attend the post-funeral reception. On the way there, Kirby notices an empty liquor bottle along with a Gameboy cartridge. She asks if he has any kids. Dan replies that he has a 12-year-old son. When he asks if Kirby and her husband want to have children, she says they haven’t discussed it yet.Kirby then asks Dan for his opinion of Marcus, who she thinks is incredibly kind. Dan disagrees, believing him to be a martyr who’s “all decency with no compassion”. The pair arrive to find Julia’s home surrounded by family, friends, and news vans. Dan tells Kirby to hang back a bit since he told Julia’s father he was coming alone. He goes to speak with Raymon, but the grief-stricken man slams the door in his face. Kirby then decides to sneak around to the back of the house. She also takes off her earrings and introduces herself to Julia’s family as a friend returning some borrowed jewelry. She easily gains entry and heads up to Julia’s bedroom. After digging around for a bit, she finds one of those old micro cassette tapes that were used with answering machines. She plays the tape, which Julia used to record a 911 call she made to report that someone had been inside her home multiple times. The dispatcher offers to send someone out, but she says it won’t matter since he’ll know they’re coming.

In Overnight,Kirby goes through microfiche files of the paper’s reporting on unsolved murders. Abby (the paper’s editor) commends Kirby on her work, but also warns her that Dan has a severe drinking problem. Later, Kirby presents her findings to Dan, which consist of multiple unsolved murders which are all women over a 25-year span. When Dan says it’s not enough, Kirby responds that she can’t do anything without the police reports, which he can get. Dan agrees to help, but refuses to use the tape Kirby found in Juia’s home. As the pair depart the office, Kirby asks Dan why he took a leave of absence from the paper. He responds that it was to spend time with his son. When she appears to accept his answer at face value, Dan quickly figures out that the question was born from a conversation with Abby. Kirby admits that it was, but still asked in the hopes he’d answer honestly especially since she’d answered everything he asked of her. After hours of sorting, Kirby finds an eight-year-old 1984 case file belonging to a woman named Willie Rose who was cut open in the same manner she and Julia were. A gold pin was also found inside her torso The pair dig into the files and find even more cases with the same modus operandi, including: Summer Francis in 1972, Karen Polachek in 1974, Margot Zelle in 1981 and Catherine Moore in 1983. After a while, Kirby ends up finding her own case file. Kirby then reveals that she found a total of six case files matching the same M.O. as what happened to her and Julia. Dan suggests they pick things back up tomorrow, but she has no intention of stopping. Instead, Kirby asks if they can work from his home. Dan isn’t thrilled at the idea, but agrees when she offers to take the files to her place instead. Later, when Kirby goes to her desk and finds the photo print she requested from Marcus. She opens it and sees that the object next to Summer Francis is from the Adler Planetarium.That evening, Kirby goes to the planetarium and shows the picture to a security guard, who identifies the object as a staff locker key. She can also see the number and says it belongs to Jin-Sook, who still works there. Kirby goes into the current show to find Jin-Sook giving a lecture on how even after stars die, the effect they had on the space around them continues to stay with us. Kirby then begins asking Jin-Sook if she knows any of the other women who were killed. She even throws out her former name (Sharon Leads) to see if that rings a bell, but Jin-Sook doesn’t recognize any of them. As Kirby attempts to process what this might mean, she turns and looks at the planetarium’s glass doors. When her reflection is staring back at Kirby, she now has much longer hair than she did mere seconds ago.

In Attribution, Kirby tells Dan about Jin-Sook's key being found at a crime scene almost 20 years before it was made. Dan brushes this off as an impossibility while making it clear how her refusal to be named as a source has created exponentially more work for him to verify their story. He also reveals that Marcus showed up at the staff meeting, which felt like her husband trying to intimidate him. Dan concludes their awkward meeting by requesting that Kirby pick up Julia’s tape from an audio analyst for him. Kirby is angered at being sent on what appears to be a menial errand, but agrees to do so. Meanwhile, Dan and the rest of the team assisting with the story can’t pin down a reason the killer leaves things inside his victims. One of the writers (Bertie) accidentally leaks enough information to a source that another paper (the Chicago Tribune) starts working on the case, as well. As Kirby’s preparing to leave, she subtly lets Marcus know how angry and insulted she is about him attempting to keep tabs on her. While riding a train to the audio analyst, Marcus begins taking pictures of Kirby. She’s shy at first, but it doesn’t take long for her husband to start making her laugh and smile. After picking up the tapes from the analyst, Kirby asks him to play one of them and describe what he was able to isolate. In one of Harper’s first calls, it sounds as though Julia’s voice is echoing on the line. Kirby then tells Marcus that something similar to what they heard on the tapes may have happened to her; she just didn’t know what it was at the time. Before continuing to elaborate, Kirby stops and tells her husband that he doesn’t need to go down this rabbit hole with her. Marcus counters that not only does he want to help, but he should be the first person she goes to. He then asks if there were any other odd occurrences during that time period. Kirby takes Marcus to Sid’s, the bar where she used to work and her mom’s band played. She brings him into the green room, which is covered in band stickers and graffiti. As Kirby begins to pull at the wallpaper near one of the mirrors, Kirby flashes back to her visiting Rachel before a recording session. In addition to her hair being blonde, she also appears much happier and carefree. After greeting her mother, Kirby looks up at the mirror (the same one she’s standing next to in the present) and notices the words “SHARON’S GONE LIKE THE SMOKE” written beside it.

Kirby responds that it’s not her job anymore, but still does. When she picks up, her ears are assaulted by the sound of her mom’s band struggling through a soundcheck. Everything that happens over the phone, including Rachel swearing in frustration, happens a second later in real life. Back in 1992, Kirby realizes that what she once dismissed as a strange-yet-inconsequential occurrence was a phone call from the man who attacked her. She then scrapes away the wallpaper, revealing the message that she now knows was written by him. That evening, Kirby and Marcus arrive back at theSun-Times to find everyone excitedly getting ready to publish her and Dan’s story. Kirby is surprised they have enough to run it already, but Dan pulls her aside to explain the discoveries that made it possible: which was Summer Francis’ compact mirror from 1972 was found inside Margot Zelle in 1981. Karen Polachek’s nursing pin from 1974 was found inside Willie Rose in 1984. Moreover, Catherine Moore’s campaign pin for Mayor Harold Washington in 1983 was found inside Karen Polachek in 1974. Lastly, Julia Madrigal’s devotional card from 1990 was found inside Anne Lower in 1985. Dan and Kirby then focus on the five years between Julia and Anne’s murders. While presenting their findings to Abby, Kirby explains her theory that the killer used the time between killings to stalk and gather information on his victims.Kirby decides to hang back so she can warn Jin-Sook about what might happen to her. Jin-Sook tells Kirby that she hasn’t experienced any weird phone calls and doesn’t feel like she’s in any sort of danger. Kirby reveals that she didn’t think anything was wrong either until a man attacked her six years ago. Kirby can’t explain what it all means, but still encourages Jin-Sook to be on guard at all times. She also encourages her to carry a knife like she does. Kirby reveals that it was a matchbook from a bar that doesn’t exist. Kirby decides to visit the address where the Bee Happy Bar is supposed to be. Kirby is shocked to hear Harper muttering that she doesn’t look right. She turns around to find him approaching, his voice and demeanor more agitated than predatory. Harper continues to air his grievances, complaining that Kirby’s hair shouldn’t look the way it does and that she doesn’t live where she should. As Harper gets closer, Kirby realizes that he’s the same man who gave her the pegasus when she was a little girl. She also notes that he impossibly looks the same. Harper replies that she looks nothing like he left her before lunging forward. He grabs Kirby in a chokehold, turns her around, and growls that she’s supposed to be dead. Kirby uses her knife to stab Harper in the leg before turning and slashing him across the face. Harper mutters “this can’t be happening” and begins to choke Kirby. She fights back and pulls down part of his shirt, revealing a distinctive tattoo on the left side of his chest. As the two continue to struggle, the wall behind her turns into a mirror. Harper slams her into it, causing both of them to crash through into a fully furnished bar area. Kirby manages to break free and runs outside. Once she’s clear, she turns around to see that the previously empty establishment is now filled with customers…and carries the same logo as the one on the matchbook.

In Screamer, Kirby impatiently describes Harper’s appearance to a forensic sketch artist. Dan tries to get Kirby to check in with Marcus and her mother Rachel, but she says they can meet them later and has Dan take her back to the bar.As Kirby begins looking for a way in, Dan tries to convince her that the police are already canvassing the area for witnesses. Kirby responds that Harper has been watching her for years; even visiting her once when she was a little girl. She also reveals that he looked exactly the same back then as he does now. When Dan tries to rationalize what she saw, Kirby decides to go all-in on explaining the weird stuff that’s been happing to her since the attack six years ago; specifically how her reality has been constantly shifting. Before Kirby can fight back, Abby decides to table what she and Dan are debating for another day and make space for his profile on Summer Francis who is Harper's victim from 1972. Kirby backs off, but silently fumes, believing that Dan’s actions were due to him no longer having faith in her. At Kirby's place of work, she tells Jinny about being attacked the night before and shows her the police sketch, but she doesn’t recognize the man. Kirby then asks if she’s ever experienced bizarre shifts in reality.

When Jinny says she hasn’t, Kirby wonders aloud why she and Harper seem to be the only ones who do. When Kirby comes over, Harper sneaks out via an exterior door to watch them through one of the windows. Their conversation plays out almost exactly the same as it did before until Kirby hears a door (the same one Harper left from) opening and closing. Jinny assumes it’s due to the storm outside and a faulty latch. After closing the door, she heads into another room to get ready for work. While she’s gone, Kirby walks over to the window. She can’t see Harper, but can feel his presence. Kirby looks down and sees that her clothes have changed. Harper notices this as well and steps forward, making his shape visible without completely revealing his presence. A fluttering sound is heard, which is followed by Kirby’s hair going back to the short length it was before she met Jinny, which causes Harper to smile. Later, Kirby's reality shifts once more.Kirby and Dan are about to depart the assisted living home when Kirby realizes that Dan’s car isn’t the same anymore. Instead of brushing her off again, Dan asks what car she remembers them arriving in. Kirby proceeds to describe Dan’s car in perfect detail; right down to the broken passenger-side seatbelt and cigarette burns his ex-wife left near the window. Dan then asks if Kirby always knows when her reality has shifted. Kirby says she does sometimes, but other differences are too random for her to notice.

In Bright, Harper and Klara Meiser meet Kirby in the past when she was going her real name of Sharon Leads. As Sharon is pouring their drinks, Klara compliments her earrings and asks where she got them. Sharon says they were a gift from an ex-boyfriend who got them for her on their first date instead of flowers. She then notices Klara’s nice coat and correctly guesses that she recently went shopping — thanks in no small part to the tag Klara forgot to cut off. Later, during one of his time travel trips via the house, Harper is now sitting alone at the bar in Sid’s, but this time it is during a trip in which Klara was never brought with him into the future. Leonard Cohen’s “The Ballad of the Absent Mare,” which was Sharon’s favorite song and part of Harper’s message to her (SHARON’S GONE LIKE THE SMOKE) before his assault plays. Sharon notices Harper eyeing her and says he can order one more drink before last call. When he tells her to pour him the same one as last time, she doesn’t remember his order, which visibly annoys him. Harper then offers Sharon $100 if he can “guess” where her earrings came from by holding them in his hands. Being the kind soul that she is, Kirby decides to go along with the game. When he correctly “guesses” how she got them, however, Sharon is visibly creeped out. She lies and says they were a purchase she made for herself from the dollar store and lets him keep them. Harper accepts the earrings, but tells her that he knows he was right. Sharon playfully responds “I guess we’ll never know” before walking away to clean the stage area.

In Offset, sometime before Sharon was attacked by Harper in 1986, she appears happy, confident, and unafraid. After taking the subway home from work, she arrives to find her mom Rachel has popped by to take a shower since the water at her place was turned off. The pair bicker for a bit, but that doesn’t keep Rachel from being happy for Sharon after learning that her daughter’s been assigned her first solo byline at the *Chicago Tribune*. That evening, Sharon takes her dog Tokoyo for a walk near the beach. Seconds after Tokoyo pulls the leash from her hand, Harper lunges at her from behind. In 1992, Kirby is relaying the details of her attack to Jinny while Dan sits with them. When Kirby says it felt like Harper was one step ahead of her, Jinny replies that her encounter with him the night before felt the same. Later, Kirby watches the tape she got from Leo with Dan and his son Freddie. As they’re leaving, Dan mentions that Kirby seems much happier/accepting of her marriage to Marcus despite barely knowing him a couple of weeks ago. Kirby responds that she recognizes how strange it is, but now sees their union as a choice she was potentially going to make one day.Kirby sees Marcus and decides to update him on the story. When she mentions Teenie’s, Marcus is immediately able to recall that it’s an old meatpacking plant. He also did the photo work for a unionization story at the plant that Dan wrote. When Kirby counters that Dan never wrote about Teenie’s, Marcus replies that he likely just can’t remember the assignment due to his severe substance issues.

Kirby then decides to sit Marcus down and explain her bizarre shifts in reality; specifically how she doesn’t remember any of their history together prior to his birthday party.Realizing that Marcus is nowhere near ready to understand what’s happening to her, Kirby squeezes her husband’s hand and leaves. When Kirby and Dan arrive at Teenie’s, Kirby notices that the cutwork on the pigs matches the precision of Harper’s cut into her and his other victims. at Teenie’s, Kirby hears/feels the vibration that proceeds a shift in reality. Seconds later, the defunct slaughterhouse she and Dan are standing in morphs into a cold storage unit 10 years ahead of schedule. That evening, Kirby and Dan sit on his front stoop. Both of them struggle to wrap their heads around the physical proof of Harper’s existence and murderous activities since 1920, and that he looks the same now as he did then. Meanwhile, Kirby heads downstairs and finds that Marcus has already cleared out her desk. He pleads with her to come home and work on rebuilding the good life they had together. Kirby replies that the life he knows isn’t hers. She also refuses to give up on the story; even if it means doing it on her own without the backing/resources of the *Sun-Times*. The pair part ways with Kirby saying she’ll get her belongings out of their apartment that evening. Rachel comes over to help Kirby pack so they can take everything over to her place. As the two talk, Kirby remembers that she was attacked on the same night she learned about getting her first solo byline at the Chicago Tribune. She then realizes that Harper specifically and maliciously chose that day to kill her.

In 30, at the Adler Planetarium, Jinny is understandably freaking out over the major shift in her reality. Kirby takes her wallet and explains that the information inside (where she lives and works) is her life now. After seeing that she has a much less prestigious job and lives where she used to during grad school, Jinny isn’t ready to accept that her former life is gone. Kirby replies that she has to; just like she’s done countless times before. Not going to work, calling the police, or trying to explain what happened will result in her getting committed to a psychiatric hospital. Kirby assures Jinny everything will be okay before heading over to Dan’s house. The next morning, Kirby is awakened by an archivist who knows her name and who she is. After claiming to have fallen asleep after working late, she grabs a cart and heads up to the newsroom. The archivist chases Kirby down and profusely apologizes for not getting her the news clippings she requested in a more timely manner. He then hands Kirby a folder that lists her as a full-fledged reporter. She also has a desk smack dab in the middle of the newsroom, which is filled with other reporters who treat her as a colleague rather than a gopher. It’s disorienting, but a small part of Kirby is quietly excited. This brief glimmer of happiness dissipates when Bertie doesn’t know anything about the story Kirby was working on with Dan — or who Dan even is. Kirby is then called into a staff meeting with Abby. As the editor reads through the previous night’s homicides, she’s shocked to find Dan Valesquez’s name. When a few reporters also express their disbelief, Abby explains that Dan used to work at the Sun-Times. She also says that most people in the meeting wouldn’t know him.

Despite all the changes in reality that she’s fought through before, the news about Dan is too much for Kirby to bear. She storms out of the meeting, heads toward the elevators, and collapses to the floor just as Jinny arrives to speak with her. The pair head to Jinny’s new place of work to assess their current situation. Kirby reveals that Dan is dead, which is why Jinny didn’t die that evening like she was supposed to. Jinny explains that her new life was exactly the same as before until May 15, 1986 — the same day Kirby was assaulted by Harper. At that point, she dropped out of grad school and took a completely different path in life. Jinny then explains her astronomy-based theory about what has happened saying "Do you remember what I told you about particles? How sometimes they can become entangled — like there’s a thread running through them, connecting them?"When Kirby asks how they get off the thread, Jinny suggests this might be accomplished by removing one of the particles, allowing the rest to potentially break free. Neither woman knows what will happen if/when Harper is removed, but Kirby doesn’t care. She just wants the constant shifts in reality to stop. Kirby then notices Marcus’ wedding ring and asks how his wife is doing. He responds that Vicky is great. As Kirby attempts to hide her pained reaction, there is a reality-shifting shudder. When she looks down, the picture of a house that Marcus had been developing before is now a portrait of Dan Velasquez. Kirby then looks around and notices that all the pictures in the darkroom are of Dan. When she asks Marcus about it, he tells her that she’d previously asked him to pull the negatives for a piece the paper was running about Dan’s murder. Kirby then asks if she’s the one covering it.When Marcus says she isn’t, Kirby realizes that this new reality has her working in the Sun-Times‘ archives again. Back in the newsroom, a reporter (Lakshmi) asks Jinny what she’s doing at her desk. When Jinny says that Kirby told her to be there, Lakshmi doesn’t understand why someone who works in the archives would tell a seemingly random person to sit at a reporter’s desk. Meanwhile, Kirby finds someone who’s working on the story about Dan and asks what happened.

A few minutes later, Kirby returns to the newsroom and sees that Jinny is gone. She spots Marcus talking to one of the reporters and asks what happened. He tells her that a woman came in off the street and had to be removed by the police. He then asks Kirby who she is. Reeling and desperate for answers, Kirby heads to the morgue to confirm Dan’s death. She’s greeted by the first medical examiner (this time being Iris). Iris kindly but firmly rebuffs Kirby’s request to see Dan, but is thrown off when Kirby correctly identifies the way he was cut open. When Iris asks how she could have that information, Kirby says it’s because she knows who killed him. Iris encourages her to tell the police, but Kirby explains that she already has. Unfortunately, no one would listen to her. She then asks if Iris can tell her what Dan stole from the man who attacked him. The medical examiner once again tries to gently turn her down. Kirby responds by asking if she really thinks Dan (who Iris was friends with) seemed like the type of person to steal from someone. If he’s the same man they both knew, then she knows he never kept anything for himself. He passed everything on by telling other people’s stories. Thus whatever he took from Harper, he meant for Kirby to have it.Despite being moved by her words, Iris initially looks like she’s going to hold firm on not letting Kirby see Dan’s body or what he was found with. She then decides to “get some coffee,” leaving Kirby alone in the morgue. Kirby first goes through the evidence box, where she finds that Dan managed to steal Harper’s billfold. Inside, she finds the picture of Britta’s husband with The House’s address on the back. She then pulls the cover back from Dan and takes a moment to say goodbye to her friend. On her way out of the building, she bids farewell to Howard, who has shifted back into being the medical examiner.

Seeing Dan’s body caused Kirby to feel an incredibly strong emotion, which in turn caused her reality to shift in a relatively small way.Kirby then goes to visit The House. After going around back, she hears a low rumbling similar to what Harper experienced when he and Leo first discovered the building. After not hearing any human/earthly noises, she decides to break in and explore The House. She quickly makes some disturbing discoveries, including a large bloodstain on the floor (where Leo Jenkins was killed) and a bunch of wooden pegasuses similar to the one Harper gave her as a girl. Kirby then goes upstairs to the bedroom, where she finds even more time-displaced trinkets — including the earrings she gave Harper at Sid’s back in 1986. Kirby’s attention is eventually drawn to the strange light coming through the bedroom curtains. She walks over, opens the window, and stares in awe at whatever is on the other side. That evening, Harper arrives home to find the tape of Klara playing on the television. He hears a sound, turns around, and gets tagged by Kirby with a baseball bat, causing him to drop his knife. Harper attempts to flee down the hall only for Kirby to appear in front of him and smash his head. Their fight continues like this for a while; Kirby using The House to brutalize Harper. At one point, he manages to knock her down and get a piece of rope around her neck. Seconds later, it turns into a string of pearls and snaps. Kirby eventually leads him upstairs to the bedroom. She uses The House to spring a trap, allowing her to stab Harper in the stomach and throw him against the window. The shutters break, causing the room to be bathed in otherworldly light. As Harper struggles to get back up, Kirby points her knife at him and growls: "It was never you. It was always this house!". Harper manages to kick the knife away from Kirby before throwing her on the bed and beginning to choke her. As she struggles to breath, Harper growls at her that it’s “his f\*\*\*ing house.” Just when it appears he’s going to kill her, Kirby pulls a knife from her boot and thrusts it through Harper’s head.

Harper asks how Kirby knows so much about him when he doesn’t even know her. Kirby responds that he may not know her today, but she is always with him. She then instructs Harper to leave The House and never come or she’ll kill him — something she’s already done before. Later, Kirby walks into a bar and sits down next to Dan, who is drunk, despondent, and has no idea who she is. When he rebuffs her efforts to talk, she makes him a bet: If she can guess what’s in his jacket pocket, he has to give her his drink.As expected, Kirby knows exactly what’s in there — Dan’s notebook. She takes Dan’s drink, downs the rest of it, and begins writing something. While she’s doing this, Dan hesitantly declares that he knows her. Kirby changes her attention back to Dan, hanging onto the fraction of a chance that part of his soul remembers their time together in a reality that doesn’t exist. Sadly, when she asks him where he knows her from, Dan is unable to answer. Kirby lets out a heavy sigh and finishes what she was writing. She then tells Dan that if he ever does remember, he knows where to find her. Kirby returns to The House from the bar and hears a clattering at the backdoor. She opens it to find Grendel waiting to be let inside. He walks through and immediately goes to the couch. Kirby sits down beside Grendel and rubs his ears. The act provides the dog comfort, something that Kirby is in dire need of, as well.

## Book Comparisons

* Unlike the book, show creator, Silka Luisa made Kirby the principal protagonist and told the story through her eyes. Luisa felt that focusing on a single character's point of view made the show more compelling. She said, "With one character you see all the puzzle pieces ... You're sort of going through this maze with Kirby and discovering the mystery along with her.
* Moss remarked that unlike the book, in the Shining Girls TV Series, Kirby and Dan do not become romantically involved. Moss said that an eight-episode TV show is not enough time to adequately develop a love subplot. She added, "If you’re going to do it, we really wanted to do it well", and so instead they chose "to hint at it, and the possibility of it" rather than allow it to evolve.
* Other differences between the show and the book have also been reported. In the show, Kirby is ten years older than in the book, and her position at the Chicago Sun-Times is an archivist rather than an intern. In the book the staff at the newspaper know of her attempted murder because they ran the story, whereas in the show Kirby changed her name from Sharon Leads to Kirby Mazrachi in order to keep her assault a secret.
* The shifting realities that Kirby experiences in the show, her desk at work changing position, her cat at home becoming a dog, discovering that she is married, do not occur in the book.
* The items Harper leaves in his victims are also different, like in Kirby's case it is a matchbook, whereas in the book it is a monogrammed lighter.