7.7 Valerie Solanas Died For Your Sins: Scumbag In many ways, Lena Dunham is the perfect fit for Valerie Solanas, a controversial figure who is best known for shooting and nearly killing artist Andy Warhol while espousing a radical form of political philosophy summed up in the man-hating SCUM manifesto. While SCUM might or might not have stood for “Society for Cutting Up Men” in real life, the American Horror Story take on the mentally unstable Solanas is definitely going to take that route, transforming Solanas from a fringe figure in The Factory to a cult-leader and the mind behind the Zodiac Killer’s violent reign of terror in San Francisco in the early 1970s. Scumbag is one of the more interesting episodes of what is shaping up to be the best season of American Horror Story since the first, and the weight is carried by three actors in particular. Dunham, as Solanas, gets to be the force around which the SCUM forms and the inspiration for Beverly and her offshoot group of female cultists. Frances Conroy is the catalyst as Bebe Babbot, who spreads the SCUM Manifesto to Beverly and nudges the women of Kai’s cult into taking independent action (that might not be so independent). And, of course, Evan Peters is his usual enjoyable self, both as Kai and as a brilliantly fun take on Andy Warhol in the Valerie Solanas flashback scenes. It’s a nice counterpoint to Bebe, particularly the confidently cool Frances Conroy version, who takes Solanas’s philosophy and runs with it even after her mentor/girlfriend succumbs to a lonely death in a cheap motel room. When Bebe shows up, she’s instantly cool and eye-catching, as she has absolutely no problem telling Beverly just how badly she’s being taken advantage of by Kai. That she’s some sort of plant by Kai isn’t really all that surprising, as we’ve already seen him manipulate Ally by using Meadow as a plant, and we’ve seen him use Winter and Ivy to bring Gary over to the cult in similar fashion. Bebe has a great story, and a feminist bent that would appeal to the women of his cult. She gives them just enough of the back story to get them to pay attention to her, and to make her a sympathetic figure, while adding in little details about her involvement in the Zodiac killing so they won’t feel quite so bad about joining her in her revolutionary crusade against men like Kai and his blueshirts. Writer Crystal Liu is able to weave in reality and fiction quite well. The furious exchanges between Valerie and Andy Warhol are amusing in a bitter sort of way, and the liberal use of Solanas’s manifesto gives the script for “Scumbag” a resonance. It’s anger coming out of the mouth of an angry woman, and it’s that anger that would speak to Beverly, Winter, and Ivy in particular. Beverly was given a promise that was backed out on. Winter’s never been particularly drawn to her brother’s embrace of nihilism. Ivy is just looking to lash out at the world. None of them want to be used up and spit out like Meadow was, in Bebe’s view of the situation. After last week’s editing, the graphic content in this week’s episode is pretty surprising, but very effective. There’s a brutality to every kill that makes the stabbings more horrifying, as if this group of women (including a returning Jamie Brewer) is trying to stab out their frustrations with the patriarchy with every kill only to find that a man takes credit for the Zodiac murders; possibly, it’s the same man who checked in for a stay at the hotel on Halloween night, further deepening the connections between various AHS seasons. It’s effective and horrifying all at once, but it doesn’t feel gratuitous, even when the dismembered, scum-soaked parts of Harrison keep getting pulled out of the lake. From the final shot of the episode, it’s clear that Bebe’s presence is just another test of the loyalty of the cult members, but to what end? Kai, from the expression on his face, knows that Beverly is sending him a message by orchestrating the killing and undermining Kai Anderson’s law-and-order credentials. He also hints to Winter that he knows she’s secretly meeting with the girls. Maybe he’s looking to thresh out all the weak links in his group? Or perhaps, now that he’s got his personal Project Mayhem, he no longer needs the rag-tag group of followers who got him into his current position and he’s just looking for excuses to take care of them all. Either way, the thought of Evan Peters playing Jim Jones or Charles Manson later in the season is a thrilling one. Cult, as it turns out, is one of the better seasons of American Horror Story dreamed up by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. I can’t wait to see how it ends in a few short weeks. Read Ron’s review of the previous episode, Mid-Western Assassin, here. US Correspondent Ron Hogan was really impressed with Evan Peters in Andy Warhol makeup. He’d make a good Warhol if there ever needed to be another Warhol movie. Find more by Ron daily at PopFi.
