Although there had been talk of big twists, and possible double stories, this episode felt strangely final. It was also a bit anti-climatic if I’m being honest. Is this a symptom of a desensitisation to deaths in shows? Was there not enough death for me to be particularly moved by those side characters that did leave? Or is it just that this episode’s supposed resolution is just setting us up for a twist. Perhaps even the concept of everything being okay is the twist. The episode felt weaker but there were definitely moments I had to hide my face.
Downfalls of the Documentary Format
The last episode left the audience in cliff-hanger mode and I was somewhat put off by the failure to return to this moment in the story. Not only does the testimonial format of the episode threaten to ruin the mystery by showing the Millers very much alive, but a new element this time round has the same effect; the expert testimonial. This episode opened with a rather long detailing of the founding of the house by an expert historian. This not only killed the tension, but felt a little forced. It almost felt as a vehicle to bring Evan Peters into the show and nothing more. Peters does return in the actual story but it still doesn’t feel quite necessary.
Edward Phillip Mott
One thing I did like was the diversity brought by Peters’ character. Our historian talks about how the first owner of the house, Edward Phillip Mott, was a rich and eccentric nobleman who settled in the secluded area to be alone ‘with his beloved artwork’. Mott is indeed eccentric but not antisocial. Edward is simply a private man, who keeps a forbidden lover in his staff member Guinness (Henderson Wade). Peters is on fine acting form as always, particularly as his new abode in turned upside down and his eccentricity turns to paranoia and madness. His priceless artworks are destroyed by The Colony.
Gore and Fear
Once we return to the actual story, with the Millers surrounded by ‘The Butcher’ and her colony, it feels like we’re finally to the good stuff in this episode. This episode, is one of the more horrifying ones. Gore is really on show as faces and ankles are battered in. This episode also connects again to the badness of humanity. The horror, for the main part, is caused not by the dead but by the fearful acts of the living. The ‘hicks’, who we met in previous episodes, do what they must to keep the vengeance of The Colony from knocking on their door. The Polk family is truly messed up, and not just in the case of the two strange boys from an earlier episode. To be honest, although they add a new level of horror, this family’s backwardness is a bit too stereotypical.
Never Safe From Fear
Something I did like about this episode was the feeling of nowhere being safe. When the Millers are locked inside to escape ‘The Butcher’ and her cronies, they are attached by the various ghosts inside who are afraid of her. They get away from The Colony and the house in the surrounding area, but the woods are not safe. When they escape the woods, the Polks are their new threat. Even when they seem safe, in their minds they will never escape, as Shelby talks about towards the end of the episode. Fear is a huge theme in the episode, as even supposed allies work alongside The Colony out of fear. There is also the loss of hope and various points where the characters feel unable to act as another is attacked.
Loose Ends
The talents of Kathy Bates and other colony members almost felt under-utilised although their confused accents were not. Accent is something I have mentioned in previous reviews. Bates, in particular, hangs somewhere around Leprecaun/ Leeds/ Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus when she is on-screen. Lady Gaga is mysteriously missing from this episode. The episode felt very wrapped up; almost too wrapped up.
The question is; what will be done with 5 more episodes? Let us know in the comments what you guys think so far and what will happen in the remaining episodes.
