Category: American Horror Story

I've been an on-and-off fan of American Horror Story since it first debuted back in 2011. In my opinion, some seasons have been great, some meh, and some so resoundingly awful I couldn't get past the first couple episodes (I'm looking at you, 1984.)

Before I get into opining on Double Feature, let me just get my ratings for the previous seasons out of the way:

Good
Season 2: Asylum
Season 5: Hotel

Outstanding
Season 1: Murder House (simply because it was so new and different)
Season 3: Coven (Jessica Lange—and in fact the entire cast—chewed the scenery.)
Season 8: Apocalypse (Ditto from above.)

Meh
Season 4: Freak Show
Season 6: Roanoke (To be honest, I gave up on this one but eventually returned.)

Awful
Season 7: Cult
Season 9: 1984
(In the interest of transparency, I only made it 4 episodes into Season 7, and half that with Season 9; I just couldn't, and in fact 9 almost turned me off of the entire series.)

And that brings us to Season 11: Double Feature.

This year was a different format, cramming separate two stories into a single season. I suffered through the first story, Red Tide, just to get to Death Valley, the long-awaited alien/UFO story that fans have been clamoring for since Asylum.

Red Tide wasn't bad. It became engaging, although I found myself several times wishing they'd just wrap up the story and get to some sort of resolution.

I wouldn't put Area 51—the second half of Double Feature—in the outstanding category, but it was definitely entertaining. Murphy and Falchuck drew upon every bit of UFO legend that's out there, and somehow managed to weave it into a fun little thriller containing Easter eggs at almost every turn. Filming scenes in black and white that happened in the 50s thru the 70s was genius, giving the whole thing a sort of camp It Came From Outer Space vibe. Even the scenes filmed in the present were camp, drawing on even more UFO lore. My biggest complaint, however, was that it came to an abrupt end without any real resolution. Area 51 could've—and should've—been a full-length season in and of itself.

But that's just my opinion, so it probably is worth squat. Apparently everyone else hated the entire season.

"Neither was I until I got head from a guy."

Ryan Murphy has revealed that he isn't done telling the story of the residents of Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies…and I am overjoyed at the news.

After Apocalypse wrapped, I went back and rewatched Coven, simply because I'd forgotten so many of the details that ended up figuring prominently in the latest installment of the anthology. I enjoyed Coven when it was originally broadcast, but after Apocalypse, I think I love it, counting it the second-best season of the series (Apocalypse being the best.).

For those of you who've seen the final episode of AHS: Apocalypse…

I beg to differ on the point of Cordelia not getting sick. According to AHS canon, when a new Supreme rises, the existing Supreme must die. Since we know Mallory proves herself to be the next Supreme, Cordelia will–at some point–have to die.

Whenever you're in a room with the American Horror Story witches, you're all but guaranteed of hearing some fucking amazing burns, but this season's finale really outdid itself. These surely raised welts on their recipients…and had me screaming like a schoolgirl!

Did I miss any?

God, I love Myrtle Snow.

AHS: Apocalypse has wrapped up, and I have to say—despite a few hiccups along the way, this was in my opinion, the finest season of AHS so far.

The series been—for the most part—enjoyable. That being said, I couldn't make it through last year's Cult (perhaps its themes struck a little close of home with the arrival of the Orange Menace in the White House) and stopped watching about four episodes in. I thought Freak Show and Roanoake were the weakest from a series standpoint, while Murder House, Asylum, Coven, Hotel, and Apocalypse were the strongest.

[spoilers ahead]

The hiccups in Apocalypse I referred to concern Mutt and Jeff, along with the last ten minutes of the final episode. That episode in particular would've been much so stronger if they'd just left those ten minutes off altogether, leaving the now Apocalypse-free future open-ended,

Apparently I'm not the only one who feels that way. Regarding the ending (and a ton of other unanswered questions), Digital Spy opined:

Ever since season one, it's been established that the Antichrist can only be conceived through the union of a living woman and a dead man, so how did Emily (Ash Santos) and Timothy Campbell (Kyle Allen) give birth to Satan's spawn in the new timeline? We've known for some time now that their DNA is "perfect" or special for some reason, but they're not that special, right?

The only explanation that seems to make any vague kind of sense here is that their so-called "perfect" genetics are perfect precisely for the job of conceiving the Antichrist and the Cooperative knew this all along. While this still flies in the face of everything we've been told up to this point, such a theory does help tie up some of the loose threads that were created by their very existence in the first place.

If this is true, then it's likely that them meeting again in the new timeline wasn't a coincidence either. Through some demonic manipulations from behind the scenes, Satan was able to use Emily and Timothy as a contingency plans of sorts, encouraging them to create a replacement Antichrist in the event of Michael's death.

So is the future simply to play out again and again as a battle between Satan and the witches?

Still an incredibly satisfying season, and I can't wait to see what Ryan and Brad come up with for next year, although if there isn't another season at all, this one left it on a decidedly high note.

A lot of people with very important opinions did not much care for this past season of American Horror Story.

I, on the other hand—in spite of some glaring plot holes you could drive a truck into—found it completely enjoyable and of the three seasons,  definitely the most entertaining. It was always on my "must watch" list and something I always looked forward to seeing.

Whatever shall I do now that this particular story is finished?

Granted, there wasn't much horror (per se) this year, but I loved the scenery chewing, the set design, and the performances of all involved. Maybe I just have low standards.

Or perhaps not.

From tv.com:

Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's American Horror Story is a national treasure. When you watch as much supposed "prestige" television as I do, you realize just how special and audacious something like this is. AHS doesn't care about coherent storytelling or logic or reasonable pay-offs. (Most shows ONLY care about those things.) This one operates firmly in dream logic territory because guess what? That's where horror lives too. And guess who horror's next-door neighbor is? Comedy. Both genres thrive in that weird subconscious level below rational thought. Explain a joke and it's no longer funny. Explain a villain's motivations and he's no longer scary. Anybody complaining about AHS's lack of coherence is not only judging it by an incorrect rubric, they're really just admitting being uncomfortable without the safety net of traditional storytelling and they're mistaking that admission with criticism. This is the rare show where both plaudits and disdain are accurate responses, but the fact that that effect is intentional is what pushes it into genius territory. Nothing is less cool than using someone's self-deprecation against them, and that's what the worst critics have been doing: "It's stupid, it makes no sense, it's silly." THAT'S THE POINT.

The most difficult part of any week was staying away from the spoiler-laden reviews on Thursday morning since we rarely stayed up to watch the show when it was actually broadcast (11 pm is rather late for a school night when one has to be up at 5 am the next morning). I confess, I strayed into one of reviews today without having seen the season finale, and wasn't especially surprised when I read who became the next Supreme. (It was an idea I'd been tossing around in my head for weeks.)

I was sad to see two of my favorite characters meet their ends in this final episode, but was also delighted to see karma doled out to two other characters who so richly deserved it.

Again, from tv.com:

Well, that's that. This season is dunzo. I loved it with all of my heart. What a true celebration of actresses and comedy. Don't listen to bozos who complain about it being "a mess" or "it didn't add up" or "it was not as good as previous seasons." Those are FALSE COMPLAINTS. Television doesn't have to conform to some kind of formula. It doesn't have to set things up nor pay them off. It merely has to set off dazzling fireworks in our brains. I don't know if I've seen a drama as brave and hilarious as this one, nor something that trafficked so heavily in dream logic and, uh, nightmare imagery. I am always suspicious of people who think "it made no sense" or "it was unsatisfying" is a legit criticism. What they are really doing is stating a plain fact of a certain kind of storytelling: Few things are as unsettling as surprises, and that's what this show is about.

It will be interesting to see what Messers Murphy and Falchuk come up with for next year.

I cannot wait.

Thank you, Erik.

I had to change themes, but at least it's displaying the way I want it to now. More or less.