Last week’s season premiere of American Horror Story: Roanoke was exactly what this show needed, in my opinion, completely returning to form as a horror series (you can check out my review here at TVOvermind). It had its flaws, sure, but it was one of the best episodes of the show that we’ve gotten in so long, and it was definitely a unique experience. Now that some (but definitely not all) of the season’s mystery has been revealed, let’s take a look at this week’s new episode, “Chapter 2.”
The episode opens with a return to My Roanoke Nightmare, seamlessly continuing the show-within-a-show thematic device that we were introduced to last week. In the show, we see the scene that Shelby encountered in the woods, and it’s properly horrific (welcome back, Lady Gaga!). With that said, though, the reminder that the scenes with Sarah Paulson are a “dramatic reenactment” takes you a bit further out of the story, because it’s clear that “real-life” Shelby, Matt, and Lee are perfectly fine. I love the horror that we’ve seen so far, but, as plenty of people have pointed out already, it really does hurt the stakes of the show. There are plenty of things that can happen to fix this later on (I’m of the belief that the stories will intersect and the actors will meet their counterparts eventually), but, for now, we simply have to let ourselves get invested in something that we’re fully aware isn’t real.
A big plot device in “Chapter 2” is Lee’s daughter visiting the house to spend time with her estranged mother. We only got to see Lee’s history on the surface in the season premiere, so the introduction of a character from her past helps us to relate easier than it would if we were just hearing about all of these things. In addition, Lee’s daughter quickly forms a connection with a spirit of the house, so we gain an even stronger foothold in the (potentially) paranormal aspect of the story. Matt gets in on the spooky action, too, and the whole family finally gets on-board with what’s happening in the house (even if they don’t quite understand it).
After plenty of spooky psychological events, Matt and Shelby are eventually led to a hidden cellar/bunker on the property that contains another tape from Denis O’Hare’s character (the man that we first saw in the tape from the basement last week). On the new tape, the man (Dr. Elias Cunningham) explains his experiences in the house and some of its history. After hearing the history, Matt finally starts to understand more of what’s been going on, and he and Shelby discover the house’s dark past. The tape also offers us (as the audience) a very Ghost Hunters-esque sequence that feels like a nice homage to found-footage horror (a sub-genre that American Horror Story has never tackled), and it’s just another small way that this season is returning to its horror roots. The tape also gives us an awesome performance from Denis O’Hare that completely departs from his Liz Taylor of Hotel. I’m not sure how large of a role O’Hare will have on Roanoke (he’s billed as a series regular, but who knows what that really means for this season), but this character definitely has the potential to let the actor show a side of himself that American Horror Story has never seen.
Newly-minted Emmy winner Sarah Paulson remains the best part about the season so far. It’s odd to say, considering she’s playing a fictionalized version of a fictional character, but she breathes such a full life into Shelby that it’s easy to lose yourself into the show. Oftentimes with American Horror Story, we’re forced to rely on the cast because the story ventures into insanity, so it’s a breath of fresh air to get to experience Paulson’s (and the rest of the cast’s) acting in such a unique and interesting method of storytelling.
Ok, theory time: there has to be some sort of intersection later on in the season between the “real” characters and the reenactors, right? There are so many clues pointing to this, but one big one that stands out to me is the fact that Angela Bassett, the Lee reenactor, is billed as a series regular while Adina Porter, the “real” Lee, is a recurring guest star. This designation could be just a production peculiarity or something of the like, but it strikes me as odd that we would see more of the reenactor than we would of the actual character.
The second chapter of American Horror Story: Roanoke slowed things down a bit, but the change in pace allowed for an exploration of the show’s new mythology that we didn’t really get to see in the premiere. Fewer “things” happened, but the plot progressed in a major way. In addition, it’s almost impossible to complain about the performances that we’re getting this year. I still have so many questions about what’s still to come, but I’m just as invested after this episode as I was after the premiere. Roanoke is a marked change in the typical American Horror Story formula, and I completely support this new order.
What did you think of the second installment of American Horror Story: Roanoke? Are you as invested in the season as I am? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
[Photo Credit: FX]
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