FX
The latest episode of American Horror Story: Hotel was another winner. After a shaky start, this is turning out to be one of the best seasons yet. And if you’re a classic movie buff, this episode was pure delight as we were whisked back to 1925, the height of the silent era just before talkies arrived and destroyed many a career.
This time period segment also answered one of those questions that so far has had a very elusive answer. When The Countess (Lady Gaga) first met model Tristan (Finn Wittrock), she told him he reminded her of someone very special, and upon meeting and turning him, promptly tossed her then boy-toy Donovan to the curb (and we’re still waiting for him to exact his revenge for that).
In 1925, we see The Countess (although not yet a vampire or The Countess) as a struggling Hollywood starlet wannabe working as an extra on a film starring Rudolph Valentino. She has a crush on him, and her friend tells her that Valentino and his wife Natacha Rambova (Alexandra Daddario) are getting a divorce. Suddenly, she is plucked from the sidelines by Valentino himself … and we are stunned to find he looks exactly like Tristan (with Wittrock also playing the role). He invites her to dinner at his residence at the Garden of Allah, but Natacha is there as well. It seems their break up is a sham to fool the studio bigwigs, and they are both very interested in this young woman.
FX
The three of them carry on an affair until Valentino’s sudden death while in New York City. Devastated she becomes the legendary Woman in Black who delivered a rose to Valentino’s grave each year on the anniversary of his death. She is surprised one year by Natacha, and then by Valentino himself. How could he still be alive? He tells a story of doing a cross-country promotion for Son of the Shiek by train, and noticing a strange man always watching him, never saying a word. The man, it turns out, was F.W. Murnau, director of the classic vampire movie Nosferatu. He comes with a message and a warning for Valentino — talkies are coming, and the silent film stars will not make the transition, but he can keep Valentino eternally beautiful. Turns out Murnau is a vampire himself and he turns Valentino (who then turns Natacha), and now they both want to spend eternity with the starlet (so now we presumable know who turned her) … who, unfortunately, has married Hotel Cortez owner James March (Evan Peters), and when he finds out about this little menage a trois, exacts his revenge by walling the stars up inside a wing of the hotel without his wife’s knowledge.
Kudos to the production team and editors for doing such a great job recreating not only 1925, but using film techniques of the time to give the flashback an authentic feel.
In the present, Will Drake’s (Cheyenne Jackson) remodeling of the hotel reveals a steel plate wall that is not on the original plans of the hotel. Drake orders the men to cut through it, but they unwittingly release two horrific creatures — Valentino and Natacha. When Iris (Kathy Bates) and The Countess discover the bodies of the workmen, she realizes what and who was sealed up and confronts March. Meanwhile, the couple, withered and ravenously thirsty, begin feeding on some of the hotel guests including (gasp!) realtor Marcy (Christine Estabrook) and three Aussie cowboys. Rejuvenated, the two stroll through the lobby and out the front door, much to Iris’ surprise. What havoc will they wreak, and will they ever be reunited with their long lost love?
Meanwhile, John (Wes Bentley) has checked himself into psychiatric care … except it’s all a ploy to get to someone else who is incarcerated in the same hospital facility. He believes this is the Ten Commandments killer he’s been looking for, or at least a link to the killer. What he eventually finds is a young girl, Wren (Jessica Belkin), who confesses to all of the murders, under the orders of “him.” She never reveals a name, but promises she can take John to him if he can get her out of the hospital.
The girl, who hasn’t eaten any of her hospital meals, tells John she’s tired of feeding and doesn’t “want this anymore.” Wren is one of The Countess’ “babies” whom she saved from a hot car one afternoon in 1985 when her father left her inside while he went for some drinks in the Cortez. But after John sneaks them both out of the hospital, she cryptically says to him, “I really like you. I hate to see it end,” then runs in front of an oncoming bus.
Which begs the question — what does she hate to see end? When John came into her room, Wren seemed not at all surprised or frightened by him, almost as if she already knew him. Her final words to him almost make it seem like she does know him, and has in fact been working with him for some time. Could John actually be the Ten Commandments killer? It certainly can’t be March since he can’t leave the hotel, and unless it’s someone else we have yet to meet, this simple line of dialog certainly put a big spotlight on John. He’s never been all that stable since his son’s disappearance, and perhaps one unrelated murder investigation triggered something in him to kill by night while investigating by day. This bit of intrigue make one want to go back and watch the previous six episodes (while they take a week off for Thanksgiving) to see if the clues pointing to John are there.
With only six more episodes to go for the season, I hope they do manage to wrap things up without rushing as they seem to do by the time they get to episode ten. With the flashback to 1925 this week and more information about John’s investigation, many other plot threads were left hanging:
- What’s happening with the school children who were all turned by their classmates now that they’re running around Los Angeles? There must be some kind of vampire epidemic by now and The Countess is going to have to deal with it. But will this plot point be addresses again?
- We haven’t seen Sally (Sarah Paulson) for two episodes now, although she will be back on episode eight. She really hasn’t done much except torment other guests (her only purpose in the afterlife), so will she shed some light on John’s investigation, perhaps revealing the truth to him?
- Where are Donovan (Matt Bomer) and Ramona (Angela Bassett)? The last we saw, they were concerned with finding the coffins that had gone missing from the pool. Iris was supposed to be looking for them, but she hasn’t done much of anything and for all we know, Ramona is still lurking in the halls somewhere.
- Will the heartbroken Liz Taylor (Denis O’Hare) be the one to take down The Countess out of revenge after she brutally murdered Tristan?
- How will The Countess react when she finds out Alex (Chloe Sevigny) turned a child to save his life and inadvertently started the assumed vampire apocalypse? We know she doesn’t tolerate anyone creating but herself, so will we get some kind of a showdown between the two?
There is a lot to ponder and very little time to get things in order before the end, but let’s hope this fascinatingly wild ride continues to a satisfying conclusion.
Share this post
