Content Warning: This section discusses murder and violence against women.

When Meghan is first chatting with James on the dating app, she is charmed and excited about meeting him; she discusses her new romantic prospect with her friends, and they give him the nickname “the Needle.” The nickname is intended to refer to James as a “needle in a haystack” and allude to his status as a rare and valuable individual: a handsome, caring, and desirable man. However, the nickname has a dual meaning and symbolizes James’s cruel and deceptive tendencies. A needle is a potentially painful and dangerous object, and part of its danger stems from the fact that it is easy to miss until one has been stabbed. Like a needle in a haystack, James’s violent tendencies are easy to miss until it is too late. He buries his frightening qualities under a veneer of charm and normalcy to the extent that even his own wife doesn’t know that he is leading a double life.

As a phallic symbol, the needle also symbolizes the intersection of sexuality and danger; James’s violent desires and hatred of women are intermixed with the way he exploits sexuality and romance in order to pursue them.