Kirsty Capes reviews the first episode of American Horror Story season 6…
It’s finally back. After months of teasing and misdirection, the highly anticipated sixth season of American Horror Story has returned to our screens, with its first episode airing last night. Unlike previous seasons of the anthology series, creators Bryan Falchuk and Ryan Murphy chose not to reveal the theme of the year’s offering ahead of time, and after watching episode one, it’s still not entirely clear what’s actually going on.
The storytelling is confusing too. Episode one is presented to us as a palimpsest of plot: under the guise of a faux TV show – you know those ‘real life’ horror documentaries, where victims of horrendous events recount their stories alongside dramatic re-enactments – called My Roanoke Nightmare. In the fictional show, a couple named Shelby and Matt recount their very own American Horror Story: Matt is attacked in LA and as a result of the stress Shelby miscarried their baby. The real horror begins when they move to the countryside and buy a beautiful 18th Century property in North Carolina. It’s not long before sinister and disturbing things begin to happen to Shelby, and the couple find themselves up against evil supernatural forces.
The episode leaves more questions than answers. First of all, is My Roanoke Nightmare really the theme title of the season? Or is it another misdirection? I’m inclined to go with the latter, simply because it’s not in keeping with the other season titles – Murder House, Asylum, Coven, Freak Show and Hotel – which are a lot punchier, and speak directly to the setting or character structures of the season in question. Not only this, but there were no opening credits to episode one of season six, which suggests to me that the My Roanoke Nightmare device is simply used as a preamble before the real story kicks in episode two, without the hindrance of the layered reality of the documentary palimpsest. Often, the opening credits are designed to speak to theme too. Take Coven, whose opening credits depicted various images of voodoo, witchcraft and seance. We haven’t seen this in season six, yet, and I believe it’s a deliberate move by creators and FX to keep the true nature of the show under wraps for even longer… to the point where the season has already started and people still don’t know the theme! Clever. That’s my hot take, and if I’m wrong, don’t worry, I’ll grovel pathetically in next week’s episode review. If I’m right, tweet this article to everyone you know (just kidding) (not really).
So, to the actual episode. I was pleased to see some old AHS favourites among the cast of the first episode, including Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson and Kathy Bates. Due to the nature of the documentary style, both Rabe and Paulson play Shelby: Rabe plays the real-life Shelby in interviews, and Paulson is an actress depicting Shelby in the dramatic re-enactments. This raises some questions about the structure of the season. I don’t want (and don’t believe) the entire season to be told in this faux-documentary style, but at the same time I want to see Rabe and Paulson as regulars throughout the entire season, rather than have one of them sacrificed for the sake of a storytelling device which lasts a single episode. The documentary style was interesting and clever at the start of the episode, but quickly wore thin. Oftentimes, Rabe’s AHS characters are secondary to Sarah Paulson’s more central, leading roles, which annoys me because I really rate Lily Rabe and think she is sometimes undervalued by both the creators of AHS and the fans. As usual, both women delivered is episode one. Paulson’s performance was particularly unnerving because, as an audience member I was very aware that she was not the ‘real’ Shelby, but an actress playing an actress playing Shelby. Throughout the episode, I even found myself thinking ‘wow, this dramatic re-enactment actress is really good’. Such is nature of Sarah Paulson’s acting, and of course AHS’s convoluted, mind-bending storytelling. AHS likes to keep people guessing, so I’m sure the two Shelbys and two Matt setup is not as straightforward as it seems. Maybe they will even meet their counterparts later in the season – who knows?
In similar fashion, Matt is played by both Cuba Gooding Jr (dramatic re-enactment Matt) and André Holland (talking head/interview Matt). Both are newcomers to the AHS family and both were fabulous in the episode: warm and likeable, but just enough of an asshole to foretell a fall from grace. Angela Bassett also returned as the dramatic re-enactment version of Matt’s recovering alcoholic sister Lee, whose real-life counterpart is played by Adina Porter, who also starred as Tara Thornton’s mother Lettie Mae in True Blood (and did an incredible job of it too). Porter is a powerhouse for portraying vulnerable, complicated and flawed characters, and I really hope AHS utilises her to her full potential. On character, the closing credits also confirmed some other returnees and newbies for the season. Evan Peters is back (praise the Lord), as well as Denis O’Hare who appeared briefly in the episode as the previous owners of the house. No mention nor sight of Lady Gaga yet, who is supposedly confirmed to appear; and much to my dismay, (so far) no Jessica Lange, Taissa Farmiga, Emma Roberts, Gloria Mott or Zachary Quinto again either :(.
Story-wise, there are some elements that I really liked others that I didn’t like at all. First of all, I can’t help but notice that there are a great number of correlations between the set-up for season six and season one, Murder House. First of all, it’s about a couple that moves in to a house, spending all of their savings (ensuring they can’t leave) only to find that it is in some way haunted. The hauntings, in both cases, are first felt by the woman, there’s something creepy in the basement, and there is some link to motherhood/childbearing. I also thought the house looked quite a look like the re-dressed interior of the house in Coven (is it the same set?). A little disappointing that AHS have repeated these story elements; some of it felt a little recycled. Despite this, I’m completely intrigued by the premise of a season based on (quote-unquote) ‘true events’. Some media outlets are reporting that the season will focus on the real-life mystery of the lost Roanoke Colony, and this backed my the appearance of supernatural townsfolk in medieval garb carrying torches and pitchforks. If this is right, it might indicate that this season is going to delve into Native American history in North Carolina, and may even establish the first link between the AHS seasons, after show creators confirmed that all seasons exist within the same universe. In season one of AHS, Sarah Paulson’s psychic character notes that the word ‘Croatoan’ is used to exorcise bad spirits, and the Roanoke legend has it that the lost colonists actually joined a nearby Native American tribe, named – you guessed it – the Croatoan tribe.
So many questions and very few answers, and I have a feeling there won’t be any more light shed on season six in episode two, either. I plan to occupy myself for the next week by trawling the AHS Twitter feed for more clues and looking up conspiracy theories on Reddit. Whatever episode one’s shortcomings, it definitely delivered on the horror front, and was a compelling introduction to what is sure to be another arresting season.
Kirsty Capes
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
