Saturday, October 6, 2018

American Horror Story: Apocalypse and Am I Cautiously Optimistic So Far?

SPOILERS



SPOILERS


SPOILERS

SPOILERS

Don't look at this if you've not watched American

 Horror Story: Apocalypse. There are a million spoilers in here. 



As usual, just disjointed thoughts, observations and a bit of recap. I could ramble for hours so I have to stop at some point.

I ended up watching two episodes in a row this week on Wednesday as the previous week, I was in a TV show myself. And then, Rogers never put that AHS:A Episode Three On Demand. Actually, it was there for a couple of days. I watched part of it but there was something wrong with the sound and the picture was a bit hazy. I thought it was my TV or maybe a special effect that I didn't "get". Then it disappeared off the menu, never to return. Luckily, FX always plays the previous week's episode before the current week's so I was able to finally catch up.


Some people made these pictures of Cody Fern as David Marsden in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and the little boy from Murder House playing baby Michael Langdon, whom Cody Fern plays at various ages in Apocalypse. Cool beans, eh?! I love it when Murphy crosses his work over like that.







I thought it might be that I'd watched two episodes in a row that didn't suck so I became a bit hopeful. However, I looked quickly at some reviews, and other reviewers appear hopeful as well. Hopeful that this season won't suck!

However, we've been here before. It's always fucking amazing until around Episode Six although a couple of seasons barely made it that far in my own interest. Some people on Facebook hate this season already. I'm finding it very good. 

Great Cast
Anyway, a lot of my joy with this season is due to the great acting and casting. Everyone is perfect. Ryan Murphy usually does very well with casting. There's only been a couple of times I've wondered about his choices. 

I'm not in love with Jessica Lange as so many others are, nothing against her at all. I just don't really care about the characters she plays for some reason. I find it refreshing that the past couple seasons didn't revolve around the same elderly lady with a jaded view on life in charge of it all. Although we know that is how this one will go for sure, we got a little break from it all in recent years. We know she's coming back and she'll be the Super Deluxe Dream Weaver Demon Voodoo Haunted Supreme Puppet Master Burrito with Extra Spice.

Now What's Going On
I liked the apocalypse. It happened quickly and we were drawn right in. We got to know all the survivors in quick little thumbnails and it worked. 

So far, the story is staying focused even though it's drawing in other seasons. 

The mysterious Michael Langdon is choosing people for another Outpost. It's supposedly a better place than where they are now. Everyone wants to go. We all realize that he's not looking for goody-two-shoes type people. It takes a bit to get past the Tom Cruise Interview with a Vampire stuff but Michael Langdon is far more interesting than a vampire and Cody is far more dangerously sensual and leering than Tom Cruise was as LeStat. 

When Michael's interviewing people to determine their worth at the beginning of the episode, he was downright chilling. I wouldn't know how to answer him either. Cody Fern played an excellent victim in Versace. Now he's playing an excellent psychopath demon creature. I could watch him all day.

He's Rosemary's Baby. He's a demon. Son of Satan. Perhaps Satan. A Witch. A Warlock. A Shape-Shifter. We're not quite sure yet but he's a demon of some sort if not the Anti-Christ himself. 

And what's cool is that if you're into Star Wars, you can see how he's Kylo Ren and Billie Lourd's Mallory is Rey (Billie actually auditioned for the part of Rey) or compare Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. They need to balance the Force. Michael and Mallory are opposites, but not of good and evil. It's all bad, I'm pretty sure. And I don't doubt one will try to entice the other their way is the Supreme Way.


Billie Lourd as Mallory
Billie Lourd is doing a fantastic job this season. Her acting has come a long way since her days in Scream Queens. She really honed her chops last season in Cult. Now she's someone completely different again and doing a great job. 

And boy doesn't she look like her mom here and there?

I love how she's/Ryan Murphy is continuing her crazy hair days, a nod to mom Carrie Fisher. 

Her force awakens when she meets Michael. They have a demon head-to-head and it's pretty cool. They will be battling for Supreme Taco of the Magiverse. 


Kathy Bates
Once again, Kathy Bates has a unique role. She's a robot! 

We see her trick-or-treating as a human kid dressed up like Rosie the Robot. Then we learn it's just a false memory planted there for whatever reasons. 

The robot carries along the theme of dolls and puppets that are in every season of Amercian Horror Story, some more in the forefront than others. Remember Dandy making puppets out of corpses? The Doll Collector? Frankenteen? and more?

 So Kathy Bates is a robot companion and we assume to be programmed to Sarah Paulson, but is she?


When You're a Jet
The plot has now become about a battle between The Sharks and the Jets, or rather, Witches and Warlocks. 

I wish they'd named the covens instead of saying Witches and Warlocks. Not everyone believes there's a difference between a witch and a warlock. Many witches are males. But at any rate, here we are. The apocalypse involves the end of the world and a final showdown between surviving witches and warlocks. 

"Witches (always female) have always been more powerful than Warlocks (always male) because they don't have testosterone," this particular theory apparently espouses. Alrighty, then.

I wish there wasn't a battle of the sexes theme but it's not a new theme for AHS, which was way ahead of the #MeToo movement in examining sex roles and wars. With the current onslaught of news, everywhere, it would be nice to escape into entertainment. Just have two battling covens and give them funky names. But the show is shot months in advance, they don't know what will be in the headlines. 

The warlocks believe that Michael is more powerful than the current Grand Burrito Supreme, Sarah Paulson reprising Cordelia. But Cordelia shuts it down, no Seven Wonders ritual exam for Michael. She may or may not know or expect to meet the Antichrist or whatever Michael is. Not an angel, that's for sure. Or is he? So we're not sure why she shuts it down except for the obvious reason, she doesn't want to NOT be Grand Supreme.

Cody Fern Rocks!
Michael, skyclad, called upon the dark spirits while smearing himself and the floor with his own blood. That was a great scene and I think it was in Episode Three. I can't remember, I was too hypnotized.

There were a lot of great scenes in those two episodes. 

At some point near the end of Episode Four, Michael wants to show he's King Bee so he goes to the Hotel Cortez to find Queenie. Cordelia's biggest regret as Supreme Burrito was that she couldn't release Queenie from eternity in the Cortez. But Michael leads Queenie out, with Mr. March's blessing. Evan Peters plays March as magnificently as he did in Hotel. Queenie has been playing chess with March for eternity. But now Michael has swooped in like an angel and saved her from damnation. 



Emma Roberts
I'm so happy to see Emma Roberts back as her nasty-ass self. I don't know if she's that much of a bitch in real life (and wouldn't blame her if she was as her dad is hunky bad boy Eric Roberts who's not exactly a shrinking violet).  But she's a damn fine bitch. I loved her being in hell at Walmart or wherever it is. Hilarious and perfect for rich bitch superstar Madison. 

Michael saves Madison after Queenie.  The three of them go to gloat at Cordelia and the rest.  

No doubt the next episode is all a double-triple-cross but we'll see.

The Coven of Warlocks was a mighty fine group of very handsome men where the brooding Cheyenne Jackson is chomping at the bit for ultimate power. He's a scary warlock for sure. I couldn't find a picture to do him justice but I'll keep looking!

They are like Hogwart's but aren't, of course.



Tons of other stuff happened as well. I could have done without all the puking, but hey, it's a horror series. I just kept looking away until they were done. I can deal with spraying blood, but not puke. UGH. 


The Last Horror Show
I'm sure where there are witches and warlocks, there are others who have also survived the Apocalypse! I bet there are soldiers and others who are going to show up and more chaos will ensue. And are these the only witches and warlocks? Or only the ones in California or Nevada? Wherever they are, I've forgotten. We already know that there ARE other survivors and not just in Outposts but they are all likely dying from radiation or each other.

I'm still hoping for aliens as well!

I really hope Finn Wittrock shows up but I doubt it. 

What parts did you like?

What parts did you think were stupid?

Are you excited to see what happens next?