If there was one word I had to use to describe this season so far, it would be “cavernous”. And that’s not just a reference to the enormous mansion where most of the action of these last two episodes has taken place (kudos to the gorgeous cinematography for conveying that dizzying sense of space, especially in this week’s outing), but because there still feels like a lot of dead space in this story.
Ah, yes, we’re back: another season of TV’s bizzaro sideshow act, American Horror Story. And this is a show that I will always come to with great interest, because, no matter how bad it’s gotten (and it’s been bad), there is always something there to keep me engaged: the camp, the gore, the gleeful evil, the talented actors, the magic direction. I’ve reviewed the last couple of seasons (Roanoke and Cult), and really enjoyed writing about them week to week, because trying to make sense of this screeching mess of a show is just – well, it’s the kind of pointlessly difficult task I like to throw myself into for my own masochistic sense of self-brutality. This season, Apocalypse, brings together seasons one and three, with the promise of a post-apocalyptic nightmare drenched in Ryan Murphy’s inimitable sense of camp horror fun (oh, and since you’re obviously the kind of deviant who would be into that kind of thing if you’re here reading these recaps, check out ALPHA FEMALE, my new femdom erotica series that’s available for download right now!)
So, you know that I’m clinically incapable of saying no to a Ryan Murphy show. I watched Glee. I watched The Glee Project. I watched Nip/Tuck. I watched Scream Queens. I watched so much American Horror Story – God, so much American Horror Story. And I have been disappointing and delighted by each and every one, in various percentages. But every time a new one comes along, no matter how bad that last one might have been, I have to dive into it, whether I like it or not: I have a perfect run so far, and I’m not going to ruin that now. Even if it means sitting through another season of AHS, God help my immortal soul.
Look, there’s ambiguity, and then there’s shit just straight-up being a garbage way to end a story. And, once again, American Horror Story has landed firmly in the latter.
I go back and read all my reviews for a season of TV before the finale, just to remind myself of what has gone before, and looking over everything again, I think it’s safe to say that I liked this season more than I didn’t. I would go as far to say that it’s my favourite season since Asylum – I still dig Roanoke but also frequently forget it exists, which seems problematic. And for all that Cult fucked up (sometimes in spectacular ways) over it’s eleven-episode run, it was, by turns, wildly entertaining, brilliantly incisive, and head-scratchingly and compellingly ridiculous. But, you know, AHS can never land an ending, and this year’s stodgy finale is no different.
We’re rounding the final bend for this season of American Horror Story, and, as ever, things are coming apart. But this season, it feels like they might just be coming together, too. Bear with me: this is going to be a long, odd one.
Look, I want to make it very clear right here and now that I don’t think that depicting historical events should be off the table in fictional movies and TV – hell, I don’t even think they should be stuck with only showing serious events in a po-faced fashion (in fact, I wrote about this very thing with regards to the excellent comedy The Death of Stalin on my newly-launched film site a few days ago). But dammit if American Horror Story has just frequently proved that it can’t treat real-life awfulness with anything close to the baseline of respect it deserves. When I saw that this episode, Drink the Kool-Aid, would be invoking a couple of real-life massacres, I was fucking unconfident, to say the least. I don’t care if Angela Basset is directing: the show just can’t quite get a handle on how to treat tragedy, and so often comes off as lightly camp and disrespectful in the process.
A FLAVORFUL SIDE NOTE: I have updated my Patreon rewards, and for just two bucks a month you can get access to a whole new set of secret TV recaps that I’ll be writing exclusively for my Patrons. And there are a bunch more rewards on top of that (including picking TV shows and movies for me to write about!), so please check out my Patreon and consider supporting this humble blog if you can!
Oh, fucking hell.
Alright, let’s get started on the latest episode of American Horror Story (here’s last week, for those who are new here), Valerie Solanas Died For Your Sins: Scumbag. Right from the very moment that I heard that Lena Dunham would be playing Solanas in an episode of American Horror Story, I knew this episode was going to be a doozy, and I wasn’t wrong.
First off, I just thought I’d let anyone who cares know that Riverdale is back this week and I’m going to be picking up a series of recaps on the second season of the CW’s most CW show, so if that’s something you follow, be sure to check in on Friday for a new recap!
With an episode as good as last week’s one, there’s always going to be a comedown. But, to my pleasant surprise, this week’s outing Holes wasn’t as big a drop as it could have been.
THE DREAM TEAM
The Cutprice Guignol 