Last week’s episode of American Horror Story: Roanoke left our remaining characters in some pretty dire situations, and it’s getting harder to decide who the final survivor will end up being. We’re almost to the end of the season, though, so let’s see what happened in tonight’s new episode, “Chapter 8.”
The episode opens with Dominic and Shelby in shock after witnessing the death of Agnes at the hands of the real-life Butcher, and Dominic is, obviously, panicking as he’s never witnessed the house’s real evil like Shelby and the real Matt did. The work on trying to get out of the house somehow (encountering Matt’s mutilated body in the process), but they end up getting spooked in the tunnels by more spirits.
Meanwhile, Lee, Audrey, and Monet are still in the clutches of the Polk family, and we get to learn a lot more about the cannibalistic hillbillies. It turns out that their “tradition” has been in the family for generations, and the Polks believe that it gives them a special “power.” We also learn about the Pig Man, revealing even more of this season’s mysteries, and it comes through a surprisingly great monologue by one of the Polk kids. Speaking of the Polk family, Finn Wittrock is nearly unrecognizable in the role of Jether (I didn’t realize it was him last week until the episode credits), but his brief appearances in Roanoke have been so fun. One thing that I don’t think anyone can complain about this season is the quality of the acting, and the second half of Roanoke has been among the show’s best in this aspect.
One of my favorite moments in the episode is when Lee manages to trick a Polk just enough to get away from him, and it showed me that one of Roanoke‘s very, very few flaws is its underuse of Adina Porter. It makes sense when you consider that she was never billed as a lead on the show (even though Evan Peters was and died in his second episode, but c’est la vie), but Porter has been absolutely phenomenal during the Return to Roanoke half of the season, and I really hope that Ryan Murphy can wrap her into a larger role later on in American Horror Story. The other big (new) treat this season has been Cuba Gooding, Jr., and his role in “Chapter 8” may be his best episode of the season. I love that Roanoke has brought so many great new actors to the series while still taking advantage of the regulars, and it’s a very good sign for the continued success of American Horror Story.
By the end of the episode, only two of the house’s guests are still alive (or so it seems…), and their story is set for the final episode before the finale. We’ve been told by Ryan Murphy that the season finale will contain a second twist on the season, and after what we saw a few weeks ago, there’s no telling what will happen. If the season’s quality up until now is any indication, though, I think it’s safe to say that Roanoke is going to stick the landing.
What did you think of tonight’s new episode of American Horror Story: Roanoke? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
[Photo Credit: FX]
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