A few years ago I attempted to do something I titled "The Great American Horror Story Rewatch" where I rewatched each season and the current season- which was actually Hotel at the time and talk about the similarities and differences between seasons. That did not work out... so I think over the next few weeks- or months- I'll do a Throwback Thursday of each American Horror Story Season. It will celebrate the new series Cult and Halloween... I'll be alternating between American Horror Story Throwback Thursdays and Taylor Swift because I know I won't be able to watch a full season each week... I'm a little concerned about finishing them all within this time.
Maybe if I don't go on too much- I will leave a little recap of Cult somewhere at the end here too... somehow I think I'll do that separately since some weeks cult is on I won't have a Throwback Thursday for AHS... so yeah. I think I'll do some sort of post on that every week... but it might be in a Throwback Thursday or in a Weekly Wrap Up or something. I'll post it in the info whether there's an AHS Cult Recap at the end or not.
Checking In
Honestly... this is my least favorite season of American Horror Story... but it is still a really impressive season. It was their first season without Jessica Lange- and I love Jessica Lange... but I think the show did fine without her. It's the only season where Lady Gaga is a series regular... and I thought she did a great job. I think my main problem with this season was that the star was Wes Bentley... and he is probably my least favorite actor ever... and American Horror story actors are all amazing... but Wes Bently just doesn't do it for me... after watching "Checking In" i have to say he isn't as bad as I thought and the series isn't as bad... so far at least.
I love how The Countess is introduced. The Countess, we later find out- is a star of silent movies... and she's introduced basically in the form of a silent movie. She's shown getting ready with a song playing in the background and then she goes to a silent movie and she goes back home with a couple (along with Donnovan- Matt Bohmer's character) and it turns out they're vampires.
I liked AHS's approach to vampires. They weren't like vampires we know from other movies... but at the same time they are. The Countess lives in a very dark room with Neon signs, She and Donnovan both look like Nosferatu while they are sucking the blood from their victims. They have the "glamour" effect on people... it's unique and familiar at the same time... which is something I love about American Horror Story.
Also... Liz Taylor is barely in this episode... but damn! She kills it in EVERY SCENE this season... I don't even care if she's just a supporting character. Dennis O'hare DESERVED an Emmy for this season... and I don't think he got it.
I think that is everything I can think of to say for Checking in... onto more episodes! I may not recap each one thoroughly... but I'll Talk about the highlight episodes.
Chutes and Ladders, Mommy, Devil's Night
These are my 3 favorite episodes of the series... 3 of my favorite AHS episodes ever maybe even... Chutes and Ladders is a pretty scary episode and the first time watching that I really thought James March was one of the best villains of the show... he isn't quite Twisty and I think Kai is maybe even a little bit of a better villain... but I still like James Patrick March... it's funny though because I feel like this was really scary the first time I watched it... this time- I thought it was a little silly. Evan Peters is definitely kind of making it as campy as he can and it's in a good way... I feel like it's pretty good getting something different a second time watching it than the first time watching it.
I also really love the episode Mommy, I think that's just a really strong one where we see a lot of the mothers of the show with their children. I also liked the scene at the start of this one with March and Tristan... that was pretty fun. And Mommy is just the perfect title... I do think it loses momentum a little bit with Devil's Night right after... because it takes us a little while to see where Donnovan and Iris pick up... but it is what it is.
And Devil's Night... I like this because the A story is really really strong with the Devil's Night stuff... I Love the B Story also with The Countess and Alex... I really love how that story turned out and there was just A LOT going on there. As brilliant as this episode is... we do lose some momentum with a lot of the bigger stories from the season... Will March, Donnavan, Romona Royale... it's just a little bit of like "Okay we were building up all these episodes... and now we have this random one- off type of thing with all these famous killers and John... so first time watching this it was kind of like "what does this mean? what happened to everyone else?" But second time around- knowing why John is there... it's a little more interesting. I kind of wish they had done that reveal a little sooner... but still. Not a bad episode.
The funny observation I noticed... When John was alone with Aileen Wuonros... he doesn't believe that she is the real thing... won't listen to her- thinks she's just a crazy person... but then he checks her ID and sees that she really is Aileen Wuornos and freaks out and goes back to Liz Taylor... 1) Why is Aileen Wuonros' ghost carrying an ID? Does she need it. 2) Why does John buy this... but nothing else. She's telling him she's Aileen Wuornros... Liz Taylor is also telling him this... it doesn't seem like they're playing tricks on him... but somehow the Ghost ID convinces him? I guess in the episode he doesn't seem that convinced... but still. It was weird.
Room Service
So Room Service was pretty good... not my favorite episode of the season... but it was a good follow up to everything. I was a little disappointed in Darren Criss's appearance... I don't like the stereotyping of millenials... and I think they could have done better with that.
One of the most messed up storylines of all the American Horror Story Seasons is definitely the Child Vampires run amuck around the school. I think in the second episode we see them in... some of them have eaten their parents? It's just such a weird thing... and it's really scary. I kind of love it...it could have panned out better... they could totally do a season about this... but yeah. It was weird and just really good!
Midway Thoughts from Shannon
Just some thoughts midway through the season... I think this season does a great job for what it was. I was skeptical of how it would be without Jessica Lange... but I think they did a great job with Lady Gaga on the show as kind of the lead. It's definitely an interesting choice and I think she did a great job.
This season was also the most expensive season... and it shows! The set and costumes are absolutely gorgeous. It's impressive when you first watch it. It is just really nice and impressive.
The Countess is a very interesting character also...I'm going to reserve my thoughts on her for the episode Flicker... but she's lived a long time through a lot of eras. And I think her "boredom" with her men comes from her heartbreak from Romona Royale... Romona cheated on her and she was heartbroken because she chose Romona... but Romona didn't choose her- she wanted to be with that other guy... so that made sense to me... I don't think Romona's vendetta was really called for.
Room 33
This was a really good episode. I feel like this is when the show kind of lost me... but honestly I really liked this one. It kind of told us a lot about all the characters in the series. The Countesses attachment to her son, her detachment for other loved ones, Donnovan's feelings for The Countess, The fact that The Countess falls for people uninterested in her and then gets angry when she doesn't do it for them... Alex's loyalty for The Countess... John's craziness... There was just a whole lot in this one and I thought it was really great! It was really well done.
I also am interested in this compared with all the other 6th episodes of the series... they all had some sort of play in season 6... and I'm thinking there was sort of an "urban legend" aspect to all of them. 1-Piggy Piggy 2- maybe not an Urban Legend- but the little girl that checked into Briarcliff... we never found out what happened to her. 3- The Axeman 4- ... I don't really remember this one TBH... A lot went on in Freakshow lol. 5- The woman in the bathtub... it's just kind of a cool thing- none of these really connected further on in the season... but they were still really good and really interesting episodes. I just liked it.
I think my main problem with this episode was that I didn't like how they revealed Liz and Tristan together... idk why. I think watching it weekly is different than bingewatching or watching an episode or 2 a day... so the reveal felt like it was better paced now that I'm watching an episode or 2 a day or every few days... I kind of liked it like that. I mean I knew it was coming anyway... but still- it felt like it was an okay time... I didn't really mind that they hadn't shown Liz and Tristan together before.
I really liked the reveal of "The Thing in Room 33", I liked that we knew it was The Countess' son and that she loved him more than anything... and that he was some sort of monster... but then you saw his face at the end... it was pretty cool.
Flicker
I like this episode a lot! I guess I didn't pay the most attention watching it this time around... I watched it while doing my makeup... but I really love Lady Gaga in this episode. I think that this is definitely her best episode.I'm excited that it seems like she'll be acting again pretty soon... I just checked IMDB and she is in a movie with Bradley Cooper... so that is pretty cool. I also really liked the B story with Wren and John... that was pretty interesting... overall this is one of my favorite episodes of AHS... it's definitely one of my favorites of the season. I'm happy we aren't really taking a whole episode devoted to the backstory of characters anymore... but I thought this did a good job of building suspense with this and the Ten Commandments Killer storyline... even though it was pretty obviously John at the end of the episode.
The Ten Commandments Killer
Love/ Hate relationship with this episode. Love it because it is a very well written episode- the reveal of John being the killer isn't overplayed... but it is quite shocking. This is really the only story in this show- aside from a scene at the beginning that showed Liz crying because she lost her love- she lost Tristan... and this was just a good one. I thought Iris was good in this too... I just liked the episode.
The "hate" aspect of this episode for me... I've mentioned before- Wes Bentley is not my favorite actor on the show... so having a whole episode with him isn't necessarily my favorite thing in the world... but I did like this one!
Also I really like Evan Peters this season... his characters aren't always my favorites but I think he's a talented actor... I think James March might be my favorite character of his... I feel like that might change at the end of Cult because Kai is a really awesome, super creepy character... but I didn't like his storyline on Asylum... his character wasn't terrible in Asylum- just didn't like his storyline. I didn't really like the Kyle storyline in Coven either... but I think he did a good job at that... and I did't really like Jimmy that much... so I think as far as Evan Peters Goes... my favorites are 5,1,2,6,3,4... Tate's a great character... but I like that March is sort of the villain of this season but he is still kind of a protagonist... he's interesting. And this episode kind of highlights that.
She Wants Revenge / She Gets Revenge
These two kind of blend together for me... I actually liked Wes Bentley in these episodes too. His character is very complicated at this point... he's functioning normally... but he knows that he's the Ten Commandments Killer and he's accepted that... hasn't given up killing- but he's stuck on his last one...plus he wants to be with Alex and Holden and get their family back together... it's just really good.
Plus this is when a lot of stuff happens with The Countess and Donnovan and Romona Royale... I liked it all. I'm still #teamcountess I don't understand why Romona is so angry at The Countess still... when really- it's been Romona's awful decisions that got her where she is right then.... so that's just kind of how I see it..
I also noticed what I believe to be hints towards season 6 in this episode. Romona mentioned Hulu... there were kind of a lot of pop culture references in it... which reminded me of Roanoke. It was interesting.
And the part with Iris's video and Matt Bohmer dancing to Hotline Bling... it was good!
Battle Royale
What a great episode. Idk why I liked it so much... there was a lot I didn't like and actually 1 part I definitely HATED the first time I watched this... which I'll get to. But after ignoring that part a little and paying more attention to what was going on with The Countess... I liked it a little more. I like her relationship with Ramona- I think she really does love Ramona and I think Ramona kind of understood that in this episode and realized that part of why she wanted revenge on The Countess was her own heartlessness. They're both kind of the same.
I didn't love that John killed The Countess... I forgot about that entirely... but it fit to see her on his shelf because James March was obsessed with her and with killing... and with John... so it all kind of fit that obsession.
The part I hated was that they killed Queenie... and this is kind of why I'm never too excited about revivals of TV shows anymore... This episode ruined the end of Coven for me. I was so happy Queenie was okay and she made it out alive because she was a good character and deserved to live... and AHS is usually pretty just in who lives and who dies... or what happens when someone lives or dies... so this put a damper on that season and now I'm sure when I rewatch that whole season I'll be less involved in Queenie's story because she died.
It's like the Sex and The City Movies... I liked that Samantha was with Smith and now she's not with him... and I feel like that took something away from the show.
Be Our Guest
I feel like this is maybe the biggest shift in tone for a series finale... I guess there is still some darkness to it because the ghosts are still killing and they show Devil's night again at the end with Billie Dean Howard... but the first part where Liz was narrating was pretty light and comical... and I don't know. It's not the most exciting finale- but I think it's one of my favorites. This and Murder House are the only 2 seasons I've seen 2 or more times in their entirety... and actually- I'm not 100% sure I've ever finished murder house a second time around... so I think this might be the only one. And it's a really good one to watch a second time. I forgot a lot that happened... I forgot John didn't die at the Cortez, I remembered The Countess reunited with Liz... but I forgot if she killed him or what the reasoning behind that was... and I forgot about Iris and Donnovan reconnecting through Billie Dean... I also wasn't sure if Billie made it out alive or not... so there were all sorts of surprises here... and I just thought it deserved a second watch. I liked it a lot.
So that is it! I hope you guys watch this in the next few days... I will try to finish freakshow for next Throwback Thursday... I do things other than watch American Horror Story though- so no guarantees... but yeah. It's not going to be on Netflix in October... so I'm glad I finished this one... and Freakshow is another great season so hopefully I'll be able to finish that also.
Byeee!
-Shannon
Maybe if I don't go on too much- I will leave a little recap of Cult somewhere at the end here too... somehow I think I'll do that separately since some weeks cult is on I won't have a Throwback Thursday for AHS... so yeah. I think I'll do some sort of post on that every week... but it might be in a Throwback Thursday or in a Weekly Wrap Up or something. I'll post it in the info whether there's an AHS Cult Recap at the end or not.
Checking In
Honestly... this is my least favorite season of American Horror Story... but it is still a really impressive season. It was their first season without Jessica Lange- and I love Jessica Lange... but I think the show did fine without her. It's the only season where Lady Gaga is a series regular... and I thought she did a great job. I think my main problem with this season was that the star was Wes Bentley... and he is probably my least favorite actor ever... and American Horror story actors are all amazing... but Wes Bently just doesn't do it for me... after watching "Checking In" i have to say he isn't as bad as I thought and the series isn't as bad... so far at least.
I love how The Countess is introduced. The Countess, we later find out- is a star of silent movies... and she's introduced basically in the form of a silent movie. She's shown getting ready with a song playing in the background and then she goes to a silent movie and she goes back home with a couple (along with Donnovan- Matt Bohmer's character) and it turns out they're vampires.
I liked AHS's approach to vampires. They weren't like vampires we know from other movies... but at the same time they are. The Countess lives in a very dark room with Neon signs, She and Donnovan both look like Nosferatu while they are sucking the blood from their victims. They have the "glamour" effect on people... it's unique and familiar at the same time... which is something I love about American Horror Story.
Also... Liz Taylor is barely in this episode... but damn! She kills it in EVERY SCENE this season... I don't even care if she's just a supporting character. Dennis O'hare DESERVED an Emmy for this season... and I don't think he got it.
I think that is everything I can think of to say for Checking in... onto more episodes! I may not recap each one thoroughly... but I'll Talk about the highlight episodes.
Chutes and Ladders, Mommy, Devil's Night
These are my 3 favorite episodes of the series... 3 of my favorite AHS episodes ever maybe even... Chutes and Ladders is a pretty scary episode and the first time watching that I really thought James March was one of the best villains of the show... he isn't quite Twisty and I think Kai is maybe even a little bit of a better villain... but I still like James Patrick March... it's funny though because I feel like this was really scary the first time I watched it... this time- I thought it was a little silly. Evan Peters is definitely kind of making it as campy as he can and it's in a good way... I feel like it's pretty good getting something different a second time watching it than the first time watching it.
I also really love the episode Mommy, I think that's just a really strong one where we see a lot of the mothers of the show with their children. I also liked the scene at the start of this one with March and Tristan... that was pretty fun. And Mommy is just the perfect title... I do think it loses momentum a little bit with Devil's Night right after... because it takes us a little while to see where Donnovan and Iris pick up... but it is what it is.
And Devil's Night... I like this because the A story is really really strong with the Devil's Night stuff... I Love the B Story also with The Countess and Alex... I really love how that story turned out and there was just A LOT going on there. As brilliant as this episode is... we do lose some momentum with a lot of the bigger stories from the season... Will March, Donnavan, Romona Royale... it's just a little bit of like "Okay we were building up all these episodes... and now we have this random one- off type of thing with all these famous killers and John... so first time watching this it was kind of like "what does this mean? what happened to everyone else?" But second time around- knowing why John is there... it's a little more interesting. I kind of wish they had done that reveal a little sooner... but still. Not a bad episode.
The funny observation I noticed... When John was alone with Aileen Wuonros... he doesn't believe that she is the real thing... won't listen to her- thinks she's just a crazy person... but then he checks her ID and sees that she really is Aileen Wuornos and freaks out and goes back to Liz Taylor... 1) Why is Aileen Wuonros' ghost carrying an ID? Does she need it. 2) Why does John buy this... but nothing else. She's telling him she's Aileen Wuornros... Liz Taylor is also telling him this... it doesn't seem like they're playing tricks on him... but somehow the Ghost ID convinces him? I guess in the episode he doesn't seem that convinced... but still. It was weird.
Room Service
So Room Service was pretty good... not my favorite episode of the season... but it was a good follow up to everything. I was a little disappointed in Darren Criss's appearance... I don't like the stereotyping of millenials... and I think they could have done better with that.
One of the most messed up storylines of all the American Horror Story Seasons is definitely the Child Vampires run amuck around the school. I think in the second episode we see them in... some of them have eaten their parents? It's just such a weird thing... and it's really scary. I kind of love it...it could have panned out better... they could totally do a season about this... but yeah. It was weird and just really good!
Midway Thoughts from Shannon
Just some thoughts midway through the season... I think this season does a great job for what it was. I was skeptical of how it would be without Jessica Lange... but I think they did a great job with Lady Gaga on the show as kind of the lead. It's definitely an interesting choice and I think she did a great job.
This season was also the most expensive season... and it shows! The set and costumes are absolutely gorgeous. It's impressive when you first watch it. It is just really nice and impressive.
The Countess is a very interesting character also...I'm going to reserve my thoughts on her for the episode Flicker... but she's lived a long time through a lot of eras. And I think her "boredom" with her men comes from her heartbreak from Romona Royale... Romona cheated on her and she was heartbroken because she chose Romona... but Romona didn't choose her- she wanted to be with that other guy... so that made sense to me... I don't think Romona's vendetta was really called for.
Room 33
This was a really good episode. I feel like this is when the show kind of lost me... but honestly I really liked this one. It kind of told us a lot about all the characters in the series. The Countesses attachment to her son, her detachment for other loved ones, Donnovan's feelings for The Countess, The fact that The Countess falls for people uninterested in her and then gets angry when she doesn't do it for them... Alex's loyalty for The Countess... John's craziness... There was just a whole lot in this one and I thought it was really great! It was really well done.
I also am interested in this compared with all the other 6th episodes of the series... they all had some sort of play in season 6... and I'm thinking there was sort of an "urban legend" aspect to all of them. 1-Piggy Piggy 2- maybe not an Urban Legend- but the little girl that checked into Briarcliff... we never found out what happened to her. 3- The Axeman 4- ... I don't really remember this one TBH... A lot went on in Freakshow lol. 5- The woman in the bathtub... it's just kind of a cool thing- none of these really connected further on in the season... but they were still really good and really interesting episodes. I just liked it.
I think my main problem with this episode was that I didn't like how they revealed Liz and Tristan together... idk why. I think watching it weekly is different than bingewatching or watching an episode or 2 a day... so the reveal felt like it was better paced now that I'm watching an episode or 2 a day or every few days... I kind of liked it like that. I mean I knew it was coming anyway... but still- it felt like it was an okay time... I didn't really mind that they hadn't shown Liz and Tristan together before.
I really liked the reveal of "The Thing in Room 33", I liked that we knew it was The Countess' son and that she loved him more than anything... and that he was some sort of monster... but then you saw his face at the end... it was pretty cool.
Flicker
I like this episode a lot! I guess I didn't pay the most attention watching it this time around... I watched it while doing my makeup... but I really love Lady Gaga in this episode. I think that this is definitely her best episode.I'm excited that it seems like she'll be acting again pretty soon... I just checked IMDB and she is in a movie with Bradley Cooper... so that is pretty cool. I also really liked the B story with Wren and John... that was pretty interesting... overall this is one of my favorite episodes of AHS... it's definitely one of my favorites of the season. I'm happy we aren't really taking a whole episode devoted to the backstory of characters anymore... but I thought this did a good job of building suspense with this and the Ten Commandments Killer storyline... even though it was pretty obviously John at the end of the episode.
The Ten Commandments Killer
Love/ Hate relationship with this episode. Love it because it is a very well written episode- the reveal of John being the killer isn't overplayed... but it is quite shocking. This is really the only story in this show- aside from a scene at the beginning that showed Liz crying because she lost her love- she lost Tristan... and this was just a good one. I thought Iris was good in this too... I just liked the episode.
The "hate" aspect of this episode for me... I've mentioned before- Wes Bentley is not my favorite actor on the show... so having a whole episode with him isn't necessarily my favorite thing in the world... but I did like this one!
Also I really like Evan Peters this season... his characters aren't always my favorites but I think he's a talented actor... I think James March might be my favorite character of his... I feel like that might change at the end of Cult because Kai is a really awesome, super creepy character... but I didn't like his storyline on Asylum... his character wasn't terrible in Asylum- just didn't like his storyline. I didn't really like the Kyle storyline in Coven either... but I think he did a good job at that... and I did't really like Jimmy that much... so I think as far as Evan Peters Goes... my favorites are 5,1,2,6,3,4... Tate's a great character... but I like that March is sort of the villain of this season but he is still kind of a protagonist... he's interesting. And this episode kind of highlights that.
She Wants Revenge / She Gets Revenge
These two kind of blend together for me... I actually liked Wes Bentley in these episodes too. His character is very complicated at this point... he's functioning normally... but he knows that he's the Ten Commandments Killer and he's accepted that... hasn't given up killing- but he's stuck on his last one...plus he wants to be with Alex and Holden and get their family back together... it's just really good.
Plus this is when a lot of stuff happens with The Countess and Donnovan and Romona Royale... I liked it all. I'm still #teamcountess I don't understand why Romona is so angry at The Countess still... when really- it's been Romona's awful decisions that got her where she is right then.... so that's just kind of how I see it..
I also noticed what I believe to be hints towards season 6 in this episode. Romona mentioned Hulu... there were kind of a lot of pop culture references in it... which reminded me of Roanoke. It was interesting.
And the part with Iris's video and Matt Bohmer dancing to Hotline Bling... it was good!
Battle Royale
What a great episode. Idk why I liked it so much... there was a lot I didn't like and actually 1 part I definitely HATED the first time I watched this... which I'll get to. But after ignoring that part a little and paying more attention to what was going on with The Countess... I liked it a little more. I like her relationship with Ramona- I think she really does love Ramona and I think Ramona kind of understood that in this episode and realized that part of why she wanted revenge on The Countess was her own heartlessness. They're both kind of the same.
I didn't love that John killed The Countess... I forgot about that entirely... but it fit to see her on his shelf because James March was obsessed with her and with killing... and with John... so it all kind of fit that obsession.
The part I hated was that they killed Queenie... and this is kind of why I'm never too excited about revivals of TV shows anymore... This episode ruined the end of Coven for me. I was so happy Queenie was okay and she made it out alive because she was a good character and deserved to live... and AHS is usually pretty just in who lives and who dies... or what happens when someone lives or dies... so this put a damper on that season and now I'm sure when I rewatch that whole season I'll be less involved in Queenie's story because she died.
It's like the Sex and The City Movies... I liked that Samantha was with Smith and now she's not with him... and I feel like that took something away from the show.
Be Our Guest
I feel like this is maybe the biggest shift in tone for a series finale... I guess there is still some darkness to it because the ghosts are still killing and they show Devil's night again at the end with Billie Dean Howard... but the first part where Liz was narrating was pretty light and comical... and I don't know. It's not the most exciting finale- but I think it's one of my favorites. This and Murder House are the only 2 seasons I've seen 2 or more times in their entirety... and actually- I'm not 100% sure I've ever finished murder house a second time around... so I think this might be the only one. And it's a really good one to watch a second time. I forgot a lot that happened... I forgot John didn't die at the Cortez, I remembered The Countess reunited with Liz... but I forgot if she killed him or what the reasoning behind that was... and I forgot about Iris and Donnovan reconnecting through Billie Dean... I also wasn't sure if Billie made it out alive or not... so there were all sorts of surprises here... and I just thought it deserved a second watch. I liked it a lot.
So that is it! I hope you guys watch this in the next few days... I will try to finish freakshow for next Throwback Thursday... I do things other than watch American Horror Story though- so no guarantees... but yeah. It's not going to be on Netflix in October... so I'm glad I finished this one... and Freakshow is another great season so hopefully I'll be able to finish that also.
Byeee!
-Shannon
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