American Horror Story: Hotel has, so far, been the most consistent season of the anthology series in its history. Let’s see if things continued with this week’s episode, “Devil’s Night.”
Devil’s Night: A Gory Gathering of the Deceased
This episode, as you can tell by the title, is based around the Devil’s Night, the one night each year in which the most depraved and sadistic (and deceased) serial killers and murders gather at the Hotel Cortez. The opening introduces us to the (somewhat) recently deceased Richard Ramirez, dubbed the “Night Stalker” in the mid-1980s, who has check into the Cortez and immediately takes his “gifts” (victims for his pleasure) that have been left for him by the hotel’s original owner himself, James Patrick March. The scene is brief-but-brutal, and it gives us a great indication of the gory fun to which we’ll be treated in this episode.
Miss Evers’ Tragic Past and Sympathy for the Deplorable
Early in the episode, we get treated to a bit of the history of Miss Evers, the supernatural maid companion of James March. We witnessed her death already and saw how it tied into the history of the hotel, so it’s only natural that we learn more about her now. Her tragic story involves losing a child, something that helps her bond with Detective John Lowe. It’s pretty cool that we know that Miss Evers has done some terrible things and yet the show can still make us really feel sorry for her. American Horror Story really has always done a great job at convincing us to sympathize with deplorable people, and it continues to do a great job at that this season.
Alex’s Journey with Holden and The Countess
After Alex’s sudden meeting with Holden at the hotel last week, she takes him back to their house to do some medical tests (which reveals that he has an incredibly low temperature and aversion to sunlight). I wondered if the show would make her meeting with her son appear to just be a figment of a distressed mother’s imagination, but I like the fact that they’ve chosen to go this particular route with the story. It makes it even better when he satisfies his “thirst” before beginning to pine for his “mother.” There’s a lot of potential to explore the damaged psyche of Alex after all that she’s been through, and I hope we get a lot more exploration of this through the remaining episodes of the season.
After her experience with Holden, Alex finally meets The Countess, who tells Alex all about her “children” and what she’s doing for them. In a familiar flashback, we see the moment of Holden’s disappearance once again, and Elizabeth’s presence is seen as she leads him away. Elizabeth reveals to Alex that the only way she can rejoin her son is by becoming just like him (in exchange for undying loyalty). Alex isn’t too fond of this idea, but ends up allowing herself to become like them.
Lily Rabe’s Incredible Performance as Aileen Wuornos
As announced a few weeks ago, Lily Rabe returns to American Horror Story in “Devil’s Night” as infamous serial killer Aileen Wuornos, currently attending her thirteenth autumnal banquet hosted by March. She comes onto the scene with a conversation with John, and I’ve got to admit that Rabe’s performance is incredible. She not only 100% looks the part, but she completely gives herself into the role to deliver her best performance so far on American Horror Story. Aileen ends up being what finally convinces John of the supernatural occurrences taking place at the Cortez (aided by an explanation from Liz Taylor), and it turns out that John himself has been invited to the event.
The Banquet: A Feast of Serial Killers
The banquet is, as you might expect, a sight to see. Along with those mentioned already, the feast also includes John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the cleverly disguised Zodiac Killer. Evan Peters continues to shine in the role of James March, and I really enjoyed the connection that the writers have given him to the killers. They’re really building up that the Hotel Cortez is extremely important to the American Horror Story universe (as, remember, Ryan Murphy announced that all seasons take place in the same world and are interconnected), and I’m super excited to learn even more of its history over the next few weeks. In the end, John is left not knowing if he really saw everything, and the Hotel Cortez is just as much of a mystery to him as it’s always been.
Hotel’s Unparalleled Set Design, Production Value, and Musical Score
Hotel has had the best set design and production value so far in American Horror Story (as I’ve discussed before), but “Devil’s Night” has shown me that the musical score is also as good as it’s ever been. My favorite track was definitely the Halloween-esque synth track that played after Liz’s description of Devil’s Night, but all of the cues this season have been perfectly suited to the moment.
Halloween episodes of American Horror Story tend to be among the fan-favorite entries, and “Devil’s Night” continues this spectacular trend. It’s incredible to me just how consistent Hotel has managed to be this far into the season, and I’m more confident than ever that this will end up being the best season of the series so far.
What did you think of “Devil’s Night?” Have you been enjoying American Horror Story: Hotel as much as I have? Let us know your thoughts and comments down below!
[Photo credit: Suzanne Tenner/FX]
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