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Something Might Be Going On Between Adora & Vickery On 'Sharp Objects'

by Megan Walsh

Adora Crellin is basically the queen of Wind Gap on Sharp Objects. Her wealth and privileged position mean that nearly everyone in town defers to her authority no matter the situation. Whether it's creepy regional holidays or interviews with nosy reporters, Adora feels free to take total control. She also seems particularly close to Vickery, the chief of police, who even stops by to give her special little updates. What's the deal with that? Are Adora and the police chief having an affair on Sharp Objects?

It certainly feels like the show is hinting at the possibility, though there hasn't been any outright confirmation in the first five episodes. At the moment, it just seems like they're friends. They're both important and respected figures in Wind Gap, so they get together every now and then to have drinks and gossip. It isn't even a secret that they're doing that; Adora's husband Alan is there the first time viewers see Vickery stop by, and the whole town is witness to them chatting on Calhoun Day. But despite the fact that nothing is obviously awry, it still feels like there's something more going on with Adora and Vickery.

The other characters point it out, too. Adora's good friend Jackie asks Vickery if his wife Jocelyn is aware of his late night calls to Adora, and his only answer is, "Not if you don't tell her."

And even though Alan isn't ignorant to Adora and Vickery's gossip sessions, he's still very suspicious about them. He and Adora have a little spat in which he accuses her of being more compassionate to Vickery than to Alan himself. Adora refuses to dignify that with a response, but that could have been an answer in and of itself. Alan says that he thought Adora could have talked to Vickery all night, which seems especially notable when she's always shooing Alan out of the room.

Vickery and Adora can be flirtatious when they're alone as well. He wants to skip Calhoun Day considering the entire town is reeling from two very brutal murders, but Adora is hardly going to pass up the opportunity to have her day in the sun. She strong-arms him into letting her go ahead with the celebration, to which Vickery says, "That's what I love about you, Adora. You never pull your punches." Adora responds: "That's the only thing?"

Even if nothing has ever officially happened with Adora and Vickery, it does sound like maybe it could. Perhaps she only flirts with him because having the police chief on your side is a valuable asset, or maybe there's a genuine attraction there that has never managed to cross the line. It's also possible they had an affair in the past or are having one now. The show hasn't expressly said either way, and there are numerous plausible scenarios based on the little evidence that has been presented so far.

When asked by TV Insider if there was actually some flirtation happening between Adora and Vickery, actress Patricia Clarkson was both telling and vague:

Without giving it away, Adora's relationship with Vickery is exactly what you think. We don't have a lot of scenes together, but what's there has to be powerful because it helps define how this town has let things happen.

That seems to confirm that there is something between them without actually confirming anything at all. There's also no help to be found in the Gillian Flynn novel that the show is based on, because there's no sign in the book that Adora and Vickery have any kind of relationship at all.

It may look like these two characters are a little too close, but determining just how close they are is impossible at the moment.