by Alex Greenberger
This week on “American Horror Story:” Zachary Quinto as a gay ghost! Frankenstein babies! Mysterious pregnancies! More of the gimp suit-clad Rubber Man killing people! Intrigued yet? Is it possible not to be?
In its fourth episode, “American Horror Story” retains its signature weirdness, enriching the show with its bizarre style and layered characters. While this episode may have been significantly slower than the last three, it is also one in which we learn a lot more about our protagonists, a necessary part of understanding their fear. The final ten minutes of this episode are undeniably intense, twisted, and scary. In fact, the last quarter of this episode even held some of the biggest plot twists of this show yet.
The fourth episode is set around the idea that Halloween is a night when the line between the living and the dead is blurred, as revealed by Constance’s boytoy. And naturally, that means a lot for the Harmons because in their house, Halloween is every day for them. The main ghosts in this one are two gay designers, one of which is played by Zachary Quinto (damn, was his recent gay outing well-timed!), who lived in the house only one year ago. The couple met their deaths at the hands of the Rubber Man, who also makes several appearances in this episode.
The show’s central mythology proves to be Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s strong point again. Tate plays a major role in this episode, as he gets to be the lucky character that has the deus ex machina sequence in which he gets to reveal the story of the Infantata, that thing in the basement. The sequence is, as you may expect, a pretty nasty one.
The characters of “American Horror Story” are also further explained. While I won’t say much about Hayden’s storyline, all I’m going to say is that Kate Mara is still listed as a “Special Guest Star,” if that gives any hint as to what her role is in all this. Even worse, one of the protagonists meets its death in this one. It’s certainly surprising and very chilling. Just when you think you know where “American Horror Story” is going, you realize you have absolutely no clue at all.
But it would seem as though this character’s demise isn’t the only one that will happen in the show’s near future. Within the last ten minutes, just about every character is placed in some sort of jeopardy. Next week’s opening should prove interesting as each character’s fate is unveiled.
All I can say is that I can’t wait for next week’s episode because of all this and that I’m praying that FX reaches some sort of deal with DirecTV. If I don’t get my weekly fix of “American Horror Story,” I’m going to be able to sleep normally on next Wednesday night, and that means something is very, very wrong.
Alex Greenberger is a staff writer. Email him at entertainment@nyunews.com
