‘Full Circle’: What’s Up With the Circle of Rice?

The first two episodes of Steven Soderbergh’s new 6-part limited series Full Circle have been released on Max and left us with a few questions. What’s going on with Savitri Mahabir’s (CCH Pounder) circle of rice? And how does it relate to the giant chalk circle drawing that appears in Washington Square Park during the botched kidnapping? 

Written by Ed Solomon, the new crime thriller features an all-star cast composed of Claire Danes, Zazie Beetz, Timothy Olyphant, and Jharrel Jerome. The show brings forth an exciting mystery that is set to reveal the dark history of multiple characters and how their actions have affected one another.  

The show opens up with a funeral attended by Savitri and her two sidekicks Aked (Jerome) and Garmen (Phaldut Sharma). Together, they run a dangerous gang that, over the two debuting episodes, is responsible for multiple deaths and kidnappings.

Savitri – also known as Auntie M – grows paranoid that bad luck has struck her and her Guyanese community, and sets on trying to mitigate the alleged curse. She is told by a religious figure, “I believe the bad things happening to your family are happening for a reason, but I found the man responsible for your misfortune and he’s willing to allow you to reverse your family’s will. You must be willing to take certain steps exactly as he prescribes.”

He asks her, “Are you willing? You understand that to balance the weight of his pain, to close the circle of his own suffering — suffering which began many years ago at the hand of your late husband — you will have to inflict a similar pain on his behalf?”

After he says “here is where we begin,” the main story starts, revealing that Savitri has advised her gang to kidnap the son of a wealthy family, Jared (Ethan Stoddard), to make his parents, Sam (Danes) and Derek (Olyphant) pay a huge ransom. However, the kidnapping goes wrong and instead, they catch a similar-looking teenager Nicky (Lucian Zanes), who was stalking Jared and stole his belongings before befriending him online and convincing him to meet up. As this goes on, Detective Melody Harmony (Beetz) and her boss Manny Broward (Jim Gaffigan) work to investigate the new wave of crime.

You’re confused? No, I’m confused. The series has tons of moving parts, but what seems to be the most important are the circles that appear throughout the two episodes and seem to be key in breaking the supposed curse. Given that only two episodes have aired, we don’t have all the answers, but we’re happy to break down everything we know. 

Spoilers based on the first two episodes.

So, here’s the big picture: there are two circles. At the end of the first episode, “Something Different,” a man is seen drawing a giant chalk circle in the center of Washington Square Park in New York City, which is where Derek is directed to deliver the large sum of money. The passerbyers are unbothered by the artwork and a handful of them appear to be involved with the scheme. Then, towards the beginning of the second episode, “Charger,” Savitri is sitting at a desk where she places piles of rice in a circular shape, surrounding a photo.

The mafia leader seems to be strategically adding to the circle, according to time. When Garmen informs her that the detective is onto them, she squashes his fear and says they’ve already begun their ritual and it cannot be stopped now.

Meanwhile, Derek and Sam discover that their son wasn’t kidnapped when Jared comes home after sneaking out to meet up with Nicky. The two decide to abide by the demands of the kidnappers in order to save the other child, despite not knowing him. At this point, Derek notes that the ransom is equivalent to the mathematical constant pi after they are told to write down the number “three hundred and fourteen thousand one hundred and fifty-nine” – a.k.a. 3.14159. From here on out, Derek embarks on a wild goose chase as he attempts to deliver the money while facing numerous obstacles. 

As the episode plays on, the characters scramble to achieve their goal, and as they all find themselves at the large park in lower Manhattan, they mindlessly interact with the chalk circle, either stepping on top of it, on it, or over it. As the mission reaches its ultimate failure, the three Guyanese migrants who were hired by Savitri to commit the crime stand in the center of the circle and look at their surroundings.

But what does the circle mean? Well, by the end of the first drop of episodes, we aren’t fully aware of what is going on with the circles. It appears that the mystery will continue to unravel over the next two weeks. But what we do know is that Savitri believes it’s key to breaking a curse that has been bringing bad luck to her community. 

At the end of the second episode, Savitri is unaware that Nicky was kidnapped instead of Jared. She celebrates with her peers about the seemingly complete mission and explains to Garmen, “There is a circle. If the circle is broken, then there’s an opening for misfortune. But, we have met all the conditions, therefore the circle is full, at long last. Therefore, we’re good. And the curse… it’s now lifted. What if the death of Quincey was actually a gift?” 

Savitri continues, “Think about it? Had my brother-in-law not have been killed, I could not have suspected the curse.” She claims their business now can resume as usual and quotes Bobby McFerrin, telling Garmen, “Don’t worry, be happy.”

Well, Savitri answered half of our questions, but not all. Will she find out that Jared is still alive? And how will she react? Does this mean the rice circle will appear again? Hopefully, more answers will be delivered during next week’s two-episode release. 

The first two episodes of Full Circle are currently streaming on Max.