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

SPOILERS

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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?

Another One Off the Bucket List! Fan Expo 2016

We all have our bucket lists. Some items are secret. Some are obvious. I got to strike off a bucket list item this weekend. After nearly forty years, I saw Mark Hamill in real life. Thank you very much, Fan Expo!

I'm still in outer space and likely will be for another day from being star struck and from reading tarot for so many people! I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it means I'm not recognizing people or making sense so we'll see how this blog goes!

Fan Expo 2016
When I arrived on Thursday, I set up my booth on the last row of the Horror aisle. I was across from Troma and a Walking Dead photo op display. I was happy. I need a better umbrella but this one worked. I hung some banners from it, circus style, as I was going for a freakshow feel to match my presentations.

Many people came by for tarot readings. It was non-stop every time I came back to the booth, which was fantastic. I enjoy being busy.

On Friday, I had three presentations so I wasn't at my booth much at all. Dorian, Brandon, and Kish held down the fort for me all weekend. They were great at helping people wait their turn.

Denis O'Hare

I was returning from the bathroom when I spotted Denis O'Hare chatting to Nancy Kilpatrick at her booth, which was back to back to mine. Of course, I yakked with them as well and took some pictures. I returned to my booth and read much tarot.

Cast of AHS: FreakShow

I was able to look at the cast of AHS all day from my booth. It was pretty cool. I went to their panel even though I should have been at my booth. How often do I see people from one of my all-time favourite seasons of favourite shows? I never did go over to speak with them, I was so very busy running between buildings.

Mark Hamill

Well, I am very happy with how the weekend went with regard to my inner fangirl. I was able to get up close to him and watch him like he was a caged animal at the circus for a few minutes every couple of hours. I hope I didn't creep him out but he's used to black-clad figures lurking a few feet away. I just was in awe to see him in real life. Yes, I meet tons of celebrities and shouldn't be starstruck, but I am. 

I attended both of his presentations. One was on Friday and one was Sunday. He must have been exhausted all weekend, likely from shooting schedule then into these tours.He was in Salt Lake City on Thursday for ten thousand fans. I think we had about three thousand at each presentation.

He's a great speaker, and the time went way too fast.

I'd take a peek at him when I'd hit the rest room as he was on the other side of the building from me. It was so cool knowing he was there.

Tara
The daily ritual reminded me of the week I stayed in Culver City to oversee the photo shoot for one of my books and walked past Tara every day. Gone with the Wind was one of my fave movies and books when I was a teen and to walk past Tara every day was so cool. I'd never been to Culver City before or since.

Walking past Mark Hamill every day gave me that same sense of, "How cool is this?" This whole resurrection of Star Wars over the past year has given me a re-connection to parts of my teenage self that I'd lost for many years because of life stuff, like everyone else. The Force Awakens awakened my interest in all kinds of stuff and of course, launched my new obsession with Kylo Ren's character.

Kylo Ren at Fan Expo 2016
I was reading tarot when a Kylo came by and told me to take his picture. Of course, I asked Kish to do it and I felt so bad for the client waiting for a reading but heck look at this young man. He's a great Kylo Ren. And hey, if you're this Kylo Ren, please let me know who you are so I can tag you on FB or tag yourself!

Then another Kylo Ren in a cool corset came by so three of us posed. However, I wasn't done with poses I wanted with the first Kylo Ren I had spotted days before. I needed to get a grip though and get back to my client. I hoped he'd come back on Sunday so we could take a couple more posed pictures but he never did, not that I blame him. haha

Someone has to keep these Knights of Ren in Order!

I had two panels on Sunday so was away from the booth a lot for a chunk of time. I also had several media interviews over the course of the weekend, which was great!

It was an amazing weekend. Thank you to Fan Expo staff, all the staff on every level, especially Lance. Everything went smoothly for me from set-up to my programming and so on. The celebrities were all nice from all accounts. Venders rocked as always.  And I got to see one of my teenage crushes. What's not to like?

The Horror Writers Association also had a booth and it rocked as well. There were also three panels. I was on one and the rest were with other members of the Horror Writers Association.

One thing about living so long is that I get to knock things off my bucket list. Some things I did years ago but others I'm still trying to get done. And of course, like everyone else, I add a few items to my bucket list as life chugs along.

Here Are a Couple of Items I've Crossed Off My Bucket List Over the Years
See Mark Hamill in Real Life (he's been married forever so that's as far as that wish goes! lol but...there's always A New Hope according to my inner fifteen year old)
Stay at Stanley Hotel (finally did it Oct. 2015)
Be in a movie that premieres in NYC (Slime City Massacre)
Be reviewed in Fangoria
Be interviewed in Fangoria
Be published by Leisure
Meet Peter Straub
See Stephen King speak in Real Life
Meet Shirley Temple (and I got her autograph on her autobiography)
Meet Judy Blume (I got to see her speak and got her autograph in 2015)
Go to England and see Shepherd's Bush ( 1976)

Scorpio Actors Playing Psychopaths

It does tickle me on some level and so I thought I'd share what other fans of these actors have also likely figured out.

As followers of my blog know, I took great delight in the Dandy thread on American Horror Story: Freakshow. Dandy was my new favourite obsession for a while there.

Then Dandy was gone.

Now, Kylo Ren from Star Wars: The Force Awakens has tickled my psychopath bone as we can see from my growing toy collection and daily Instagrams.

Scorpio
So like any fan, I long ago checked out a bit about actors Finn Wittrock and Adam Driver and find it amusing that they are both Scorpios close in age and both recently married their sweethearts from when they attended Julliard.

It's interesting that these young Scorpio actors scored iconic roles and also married their sweethearts and all four attended Julliard. The two Scorpios brought great acting work to what could have been really cheesy roles for either one. But they both brought a depth and compassion to their psychopaths that keeps/kept the audience engaged and sympathetic to the story.

I don't know what it means, if anything, It's just one of those things that makes me go, "Hum."

Aquarius
I also managed to figure out the volatile nature of Emma Roberts and Evans Peters relationship and why they keep reconnecting though anyone can see they aren't good for each other.

They are both Aquarians. As an Aquarian myself, I will vouch for the fact that Aquarians have a mean streak. It's usually with our sarcastic tongue. There's a reason this air sign is signified by the suit of swords in the tarot deck. We're the kindest, nicest people in the world until you cross us. Then it's all over. Roberts and Peters keep going back and forth despite domestic violence issues. They are still young and need to realize they can and should move on from each other. Of course, it doesn't help that they are always working together or near each other, that their worlds are always touching, so I can see how they want to ride that "famous couple" wave while it lasts as well. Absolutely. I hope they can work through their issues as they mature. We'll see.

That also explains why they are so compelling to watch even when their acting may not be at its strongest. Peters blew it out of the water this year as psychopath Mr. March in American Horror Story: Hotel. I give him 100 stars for his role and he kept continuity throughout the entire series. A great feat in what is an uneven show.

I'd like to see Emma Roberts back on American Horror Story as a bitch actress/model/rich girl like she was on Coven. Something where she can be mean and cold and doesn't have to act much. Some kind of serial killer would be good.

At any rate, it's fun to see how star signs and celebrities may or may not have patterns.

Do you find any similarities in celebrities or characters?

American Horror Story:Hotel Now What?

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Another episode will soon be upon us.

Reviews about last week's episode seem to vary between "eh" to "the best thing ever."

Personally, I found it slow. I guess I got used to all the blood and mayhem and sex and though this episode, Room Service, certainly was gory, it wasn't exciting for me.

However, here we are.

The little boy who was saved from measles has turned his entire class into vampires that aren't vampires who have the measles but don't have the measles.

How are the writers going to deal with all of that?

Then there are the most selfish parents in the world.

Ms. Doctor who gives the dying measles child the not-vampire blood which causes him to become a blood-sucking freak but does she even go to check on her daughter? She's so enamoured with her son and meddling with playing God that she forgets about her kid. If she connected with Miss Scarlett, we don't know.

And then there's dear old dad, who's too busy having a nervous breakdown or something to remember he has a daughter. He'd rather dwell on himself and his dead or not dead kid than worry about a girl with a depressed mom and loony tunes dad.

That cop detective storyline is getting so boring. We got he was descending into madness from day one. So now what? No surprise he lost his wife and job. Hurry up and do something already. Is he the serial killer? Is that why he was at the dinner party?

We got hammered home with more mother stuff, and weird mom and son connections.

We didn't get to see Finn Wittrock naked but briefly saw him a la Gary Oldman in Dracula on the arm of Lady Gaga as they sniffed Kathy Bates because she smells different.

Ho hum.

We learn about Elizabeth Taylor's transformation and that she's not dead nor a not-vampire but actually someone who works at the Cortez on her own free will. Mostly because she can cross-dress without having to kill anyone over it. A segment was devoted to the back story about how a simple salesman from Kansas got swept up in the Countess' tornado and became a permanent living employee of the hotel. Oh, and Liz likes girls. Perhaps something will happen between Liz and Iris.

I wonder if Lady Gaga will be happy or angry that Chloe turned that kid who turned a whole bunch of kids?

Lady Gaga made it pretty clear that Chloe is expected to keep the rules so there is likely some kind of consequence to her action.

Iris was torturing tourists in the early episodes to provide blood for the children  yet it seemed like she had no clue what was going on with regard to the Hotel's dark secrets in this episode. There was odd character stuff this week for her.

Well, hopefully next week will be a kaleidoscope of mayhem. Two weeks of exposition is enough for me!

What do you think about American Horror Story: Hotel so far?

American Horror Story:Hotel Thoughts for This Week

You KNOW there will be SPOILERS!!!!!

Last night I watched two episodes of American Horror Story: Hotel as I had missed it last week due to being in the most terrifying haunted house I've ever experienced. It's in Denver Colorado and called The 13th Floor. Check it out if you get a chance or rather, if you dare!

I love it when I have to watch two or three episodes of a show at a time. I can become more immersed that way. But it also means I often don't realize where one episode ends and the other begins.

Lucky for me, episode three began with Finn Wittrock so I was able to remember that much of the order of the stories.

We might as well discuss Mr. Wittrock first as there's not much to really say. He plays petulant model turned "vampire" Tristan Duffy and after last night's viewing, is vying to become apprentice serial killer to Evan Peters' Mr. March. The apprenticeship serial killer idea totally echoes/copies  Dandy learning from Twisty in Freakshow. However, whereas Dandy is a highly intelligent gaslighting master manipulating sociopath, Tristan is a dumb druggie model manipulating boy toy, or at least appears to be, so far. That being said, Tristan is naked a lot and I have zero complaints about that nor about the hot man on man action. Tristan isn't going to last in this story. His pretty looks won't get him very far in this den of undead and he doesn't have much else going for him. However, he does have some great one-liners, much as Dandy did, so that's a great plus. I think it would be cool if Jeffrey Dahmer pours acid into his brain and eats him but I doubt they'll kill him like that.

Kathy Bates character echoes the mother motifs of a mom who wasn't there like Chloe and the maid. The Countess likely has child issues as well since she steals other women's children.

I had a brief thought last night that the major serial killer is Sister Mary Agnes from Asylum and Freakshow even though Lily Rabe is playing Aileen Wournos this week. Doesn't mean that the nun couldn't be behind this. However, I'm leaning toward the detective himself. Actually there are a couple of other characters it could be as well.

The serial killer dinner was fun but I'm not sure if it was a waste of time or a progression. On Twitter, many people are calling John Lowe (Wes Bently) the stupidest cop in the world, and he sure is. I keep waiting for him to break out a Spiderman outfit as he looks like Toby McGuire to me. I hate his character, almost as much as I hate crying chain-smoking heroin addicted demon ghost Sally. This is one dumb cop. He loses his own kid. He doesn't seem to think there's anything fucked up about this hotel. He somehow doesn't believe his own kid when she sees Holden yet he saw him himself. His return to alcohol makes zero sense just because one person said one thing once over the past few years. He passes out way too fast from the absinthe, he should be hallucinating pleasantly at first. He hardly had any, it doesn't work like that.

At any rate, Lowe is nice to look at, as all the AHS men are, but man his character is boring. People have pointed out in other reviews about how most of the men look the same, and they do. They all are beautiful and interchangeable except Evan Peters.

Peters is still holding his character which is great. Hopefully there will be more to come besides hosting a dinner party with serial killers who torture and eat people at the dinner table while a "good guy" watches.

Chloe Sevigny continues to be a not great actress but fascinating to watch. Thank god she's going to stop being a dowdy downer mom and now will hopefully get her groove on as minion to the Countess. She was totally unbelievable as a cold doctor mom who doesn't notice her kid is cold and barely reacts when he eats the family dog. Even if she's in shock that he's alive, she should have more reactions to the horrors of her own son. Boy oh boy.

I was excited to read about how Chloe is involved with a new Lizzie Borden movie. I saw a picture of her visiting the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast many years ago when MySpace existed. I always hoped she'd do something and now she is! I can't wait to see how it goes.

So, I'm still checked in at the Cortez, waiting to see what debauchery is occurring next. I don't find this story scary at all but perhaps I'm just jaded when it comes to haunted things. That being said, I did jump a couple of times at recent movies so I can still be scared. However, this show does deliver on eye candy, gore, and twisted morals. It's keeping me on my toes for now as the initial story unfolds..

What do YOU think about this season? Who do you think is the serial killer? Who is your favourite character?

American Horror Story: Hotel Thoughts with LOTS OF SPOILERS

I waited all summer, partly with eager anticipation, partly with dread that I’d be bitterly disappointed. But now it’s here and I’ve seen both episodes.

SPOILERS

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American Horror Story: Hotel is gorgeous to look at. Each scene is a feast for the eyes from shadowed hallways to luscious sets to glamorous costumes. As always, the make-up is perfect if overdone, and hair is always amazing, every strand artfully placed.

As I’ve opined before, I’ve fallen into the worlds of AHS knowing they will be flawed, that I won’t be completely satisfied, that I’ll have to wait through less engaging storylines to get to my favourites but that’s how it is with any show. No one is going to create your exact perfect show and I gave up long ago thoughts about flowing storylines that arc and end. Some do. Some don’t. Such is the Winchester House that is the American Horror Story series.

I was hoping Hotel wouldn’t be just another haunted house show but I knew it would be a combination of several tropes as that’s how it rolls in Murphy’s worlds.

There are several themes happening here as always. The main question is do I like it?

On many levels, I love it.

On a couple of levels, I’m not in love.

Things I Like

I love Lady Gaga as an entertainer so was curious to see how she’d fare on this horror show. She’s fine as a Bathory vampire assembling her minions and little monsters. I have no issues with her acting or character. Her scenes with Matt Bomer are hot, her scenes with Finn Wittrock are hot, her scenes with everyone are hot. She doesn’t overplay the “smoldering looks” or even her dialogue. I rather like her understated blank vampire. She’s not falling into playing a typical vamp which would be easy to do.

I liked how the Countess threw away her lover without a thought. That’s a real vampire! Good stuff! Also, she already told us that she doesn’t want to fall in love, and so, despite her feelings, she moved on to the pretty model junkie. After she turns Tristan, she tells him (Finn Wittrock) that they have immortality but to keep it they have to be smart. Since Tristan isn’t the brightest bulb on the tree, we know he’s going to have something gruesome happen to him, and likely by the hands of Bomer. Also it’s likely to occur within a couple of episodes since Wittrock said in interviews before this season that he doesn’t want to do a full season because of other commitments.

I like the idea of Iris (Kathy Bates) being one of the only real humans in the place because she wants to be close to her son.

Evan Peters blew my mind. He’s playing  the sadistic serial killer magnate who built the hotel. He’s based on real life Chicago serial killer who built a hotel specifically designed to torture, rape, and murder people and to hide the bodies. When we first meet Peters, I didn’t even recognize him. He looked older, his acting was impeccable, he was fantastic as a fifties type character. I hope he doesn’t lose the intensity he had in this episode as the series moves along. I’ve never seen him act so well. His talents were wasted completely in Freak Show. All he did was drink, cry, fuck, and get angry, lobster hands or not. He was wasted in Coven. His Frankenteen character could have been so interesting but they threw him away as a sex toy. So here’s hoping that he continues to rule the hotel with a tight murderous fist and doesn’t lose his accent or his little pencil thin moustache. Didn’t Walt Disney have one of those?

I like the ideas of vampires and ghosts and who knows what else as well as humans living in this hotel.

I was happy they played Hotel California in the first episode since we all knew they would play it at some point, so it was good to get it done. I love that song however it’s such an obvious choice.

All the music is great and really suits the story. Murphy does have a knack for matching music to story. Even if the music is horrible (like some of those AHS singing numbers), it always fits.

I like all the sex.

Things That Bug Me

Well, it’s always easier to complain about things, so here we go.

My biggest plot hole complaint is the Wi-Fi situation. Iris told the Swedish girls that the hotel is a black hole for technology, cell phones don’t work, and there’s no Wi-Fi. There are landlines in the rooms.

So, was she lying to the girls? Did they turn off the internet when they were there? How did they block the cell phones from the satellites? Did the ghosts block the phones?

In episode two, Tristan sits in the lobby flipping through grindr on his cell phone. He hooks up with a guy within minutes from the comfort of his couch. Why does the Wi-Fi work for him? Because he’s a vampire? That makes no sense.

Speaking of cell phones, Scarlet takes a selfie with her brother in the kid room and it looks like she used a cell phone. If she had a cell phone, why didn’t her parents call or text her? I don’t recall her ever checking her phone unless I was looking away.  If Tristan hadn’t been using his phone, I wouldn’t have noticed her phone situation. But it bugged me that his phone works and hers doesn’t.  Because she’s human? How about all the travel time away from the hotel? Wouldn’t her phone work then? If her parents are so worried, why didn’t anyone call her or track her phone? Dad IS a cop!

How come none of the cops saw her on the buses or walking home if they’re supposed to be guarding her? Wouldn’t they think to check the hotel since she’d been there before and had made a new friend?

Why did dad dismiss Scarlet’s story so quickly? He saw Holden in the hallways so why wouldn’t he believe that she did as well? Is he pretending to not believe her so that he can investigate by himself? There are so many piddly plot holes in the cop story that may or may  not ever get filled.

When Scarlet speaks to Holden for the first time, the words, the acting, the entire shebang was so ridiculous that I could barely watch it. No children would act like those two did. GAH!

Chloe Sevigny is underused again. She is such an intriguing gorgeous weird actress and perfect for horror movies.  I don’t really like her acting, I always feel like she’s “acting” but I could watch her do anything for hours. That said, her role sucks. I hope she gets to break out into being a lusty vampire or something as the series moves along. Right now, she’s a whiney baby and I hate that character. I will give big points for the measles spiel to the anti-vaxxer. It was appropriate to the plot, a parallel of mothers who think they’ve done right by their sons and yet in the end, failed them. This also echoes Iris' plot line as well as she tries to be close to her dead junkie son.

Finn Wittrock’s casting is disappointing. I’m sure it’s not much of a stretch for him to play a coked up pretty boy model turned vampire sex toy. Of course, there’s hope that he’ll reveal he’s actually an evil master manipulator from another vampire nest or something else trying to infiltrate the Cortez, but I doubt it.  He did a great job in Freak Show and should have a more complex character to play. Well, maybe he will be revealed to be something completely different.  You never know with American Horror Story. In the meantime, I’m not complaining one bit about all those sex scenes.

I don’t like the crying heroin chain-smoking junkie Nancy Spungen ghost. Yes I get she’s the addiction ghost, she likes to watch them die, she’s always sad so she cries and moans, she lures other addicts to their deaths. I get it all, but I don’t like her character. Perhaps it’s how Sara Paulson plays her or the direction or the script, I’m not sure. I don't like how she smokes, it doesn't feel real. Too much smoking that is smashing us on the head with the addictions theme. She gets on my nerves and I hope she gets more monstrous and less weepy as the series goes on. The only truly "horror" part of the show was when she scared Scarlet but otherwise, she just cries and smokes. Of course, there always has to be a weepy ghost in a haunted house so her character is not likely to change.

I feel bogged down with the heavy handed addictions references. Addictions to drugs, booze, sex, blood, murder, cleaning, video games, smoking, and more are like hammers to the head sometimes in these first two episodes. 

At any rate, overall I'm enjoying Hotel and I'm excited to see what's going to happen next! 

American Horror Story Hotel Includes Finn Wittrock

SPOILERS FOR AMERICAN HORROR STORY FREAKSHOW AND HOTEL ALERT SPOILERS

The line-up for American Horror Story Hotel has been announced. At long last, Finn Wittrock fans don't have to wonder any more. He has been cast.

American Horror Story Cast News

I'm very excited to see what is in store at the Horror Hotel. I think a hotel setting will be very cool and allows for characters to come and go without as much notice as say, a house where one lives. I don't doubt there will be a lot of The Shining elements at play at well as Bates Motel.

Wittrock said many times in interviews that he hopes to play a character that isn't like Dandy. We shall see. We know he'll be insane in some way because that's the nature of the series. Can't wait.

Wittrock has the classic psychopath look, as I've opined many times. He has the kind of pretty face that can snap into ugly fury without warning. He plays androgynous sexy asexual narcissist wound tighter than an e-string as if he weren't acting at all. Hopefully he's acting! Only his wife knows for sure!

His acting was fantastic in Freakshow and he was a true breakout star. It will be exciting to see where his career heads next, beyond the American Horror Story circuit. Of course, he should appear on AHS as much as possible while the series is hot. But he will have a great life after-series as well. He's already done amazing roles such as starring on Broadway with the late Seymour Philip Hoffman, so the sky is the limit for this young man.

And now, let's remember a couple of moments from Freakshow as we wait MONTHS for Hotel to premiere.

See you in the fall, Finn!