5.9 She Wants Revenge The inconsistent nature of time has been a big discussion point for the last couple of episodes of American Horror Story, and She Wants Revenge is no different. The show opens with Lady Gaga giving a monologue on the nature of aging, the very physical changes that happen in men and women that don’t happen to someone like her, and a big chunk of the middle of the episode is dedicated to Ramona Royale’s time spent with her aged, ailing parents and her failed attempt at using the vampire virus to arrest her father’s Alzheimer’s disease without success. Countess wants to build something durable, a place out of time to keep the modern world at bay for her and Valentino; Ramona had that in her family home with her aged father, but the passing of decades like minutes did little to dull the pain of loneliness she felt. They have all the time in the world, and absolutely no way to make use of it without attracting attention, at least without some sort of shelter from the prying eyes of the temporal. Most of the behaviour of the people at the Hotel Cortez must be conducted away from public view, so it’s natural that their ersatz leader would want to transform the hotel into something more like a safe haven for the troubled. Liz Taylor was transgender before that was a thing most people even thought about. March and John Lowe are serial killers. Pretty much everyone else is either a ghost—the ultimate in things conducted away from public view—or a vampire, and as Countess Gaga has said, vampires must go about their work in secret, unlike, say, a pack of feral kids draining homeless people for their blood and killing pizza boys. That’s the kind of thing that attracts attention, unlike a decaying hotel/murder trap. Director Michael Uppendahl puts in some interesting visual work this week. The Countess’s torture wing is fun to behold, with everything covered in a fine layer of dust, and the neon and steel cages are nice to see back again. There are several great shots, particular the final shot of Ms. Evers fulfilling her promise to watch Will Drake die, that help fill out the episode. There are a few other fun visual touches, like the flourish with which March uses his cane to apparently scare contractors into moving faster, and the subtle way in which March drinks with a pinkie extended, even at his own bar. However, the focus tonight is on the words and less on the montages that accompany them. American Horror Story has moved its pieces into position. Will Drake is gone. Alex has finally come into contact with her gang of measles vampires. John knows he is the Ten Commandments Killer. Gaga has been reunited with her great lost love Valentino, but here sworn enemy Ramona Royale is there in the confines of her hotel. Iris, Ramona, and Liz all have an axe to grind and/or use on Countess. She’s keeping her enemies very close indeed, and she doesn’t have a lot of friends left aside from Donovan (even his allegiance is doubtful). Read Ron’s review of the previous episode, The Ten Commandments Killer, here. US Correspondent Ron Hogan is glad to see that AHS: Hotel isn’t afraid of wrapping stories up. The pacing could be tighter, but it’s fine by television standards, maybe not binge-watch standards. Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi.
