FX
The most shocking moment of the eleventh episode of American Horror Story: Hotel was when the voice over guy said that the next episode was the season finale. What?!?! The last three seasons have all been 13 episodes long, but we haven’t had a 12 episode season since the first. That news was a bit disappointing, but the episodes definitely were not.
When the show took a break for the holidays, the last thing we saw was Iris and Liz Taylor enter The Countess’ suite, guns a-blazin’. We picked up just before that moment with Episode 11, “Battle Royale,” as the two prepared to take out The Countess and take over the hotel. Unfortunately, Donovan got in the way and took more bullets than the intended target. Iris and Liz got Donovan off the property before he succumbed, and The Countess found herself a new ally – Sally. Unfortunately, the only way to bring The Countess back to health was to feed on the blood of her own kind, and that meant a few of her babies (who willingly sacrificed themselves for her).
FX
What’s a pair to do when their nemesis refuses to die? Get her nemesis, in the form of Ramona, who was all to pleased to help … even if it was Iris and Liz asking. But Ramona was still weak from being trapped in the walled off corridor, badly in need of some fresh blood. Luckily for her, a new guest arrived to try her luck on The Price Is Right. But she really didn’t need luck since she was a witch. Specifically, a witch from season three! Yes, Queenie arrived, and was quickly put on the menu for Ramona. Unfortunately, her ability to reflect any damage done to her by the assailant was taking its toll on Ramona. But you can’t inflict pain on a ghost, and Mr. March helpfully incapacitated Queenie so Ramona could feed. Bonus: witch’s blood make a vampire even more powerful (and we can assume Queenie is now a permanent resident of the Hotel Cortez).
FX
Planning to put an end to the Countess once and for all, Ramona went to her suite but there were obviously still some feelings between the two and The Countess seduced Ramona and made a deal with her — let her leave the hotel for good and Ramona could have it all. It worked but just as The Countess was preparing to enter the elevator, John was its occupant and he was the one to take her out, bringing her head to March as the final piece of his Ten Commandments legacy. For The Countess, however, this meant she was now stuck for eternity with March and the others, much to the chagrin of Miss Evers, whom March banished from his life when he found out she was the one who clued the police in to his murderous activities. But after an afterlife of servitude to the man she secretly pined for (and died to be with), her parting line was uplifting for her and a slap in his face, “I feel strangely free.”
So where does this leave everyone else in the Hotel Cortez?
We never did find out exactly what happened between Ramona and The Countess or if Ramona did indeed get control of the hotel, because as the finale opens, Iris and Liz have sold off The Countess’ various pieces of art and have been refurbishing the hotel in the hopes of making it a destination once again. The only catch — the ghosts are still killing the guests. When people check in but don’t check out, it kind of deters others from wanting to spend a night.
FX
In one of the finale’s terrific scenes, Iris and Liz call a meeting. Of the ghosts. We get to see a few familiar faces, namely the Swedish girls and their earlier victim, the recently deceased critics, real estate agent Marcy (who really hates people checking into her room while she’s trying to relax and read her smutty romance novels), Will Drake and Sally. None of them really give a rat’s ass about the demands to stop the killing, but Mr. March appears and tells them if they don’t stop, the hotel will be demolished and who knows what will happen to them. (If they can keep it going until 2026, it can be designated an historic property and can never be torn down.)
FX
But what are Sally and Will, who have been having too much fun killing the guests, to do? Sally is just looking for someone to spend eternity with, so Iris introduces her to the internet, hooking her up to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites. Sally becomes “the ghost in the machine” connecting to people around the world who hang on her every photo and comment. She feels wanted now and even give up the needle.
FX
Will finds out his company is on the verge of collapse, so Liz convinces him to start sketching again and give her authority to speak on his behalf. No one knows he’s dead, so the plan is to make him like Howard Hughes, living in his own little world but “without the crazy.” The plan works, and the company is on the rebound, while Liz orchestrates the mystique of Will Drake by holding invitation only events at the hotel with very special models … who just happen to be the hotel’s permanent residents.
FX
While the others are getting their happy endings — the surprise mentioned in the title, as it’s rare for a season to end on an upbeat note — Liz is enduring more tragedy. Knowing Liz has been heartbroken over Tristan’s death, ans wondering why no one has seen him since he died, Iris brings in a psychic. Not just any psychic, mind you, but Billie Dean Howard from season one, played again by Sarah Paulson. Billie Dean does make a connection with Tristan but he refuses to talk to Liz, making her think he resents him because her love is what killed him. But Billie Dean also connects with Donovan, who tells Iris that where he is smells like her pancakes and is Saturday morning every day. Then he tells her he loves her.
While Liz was upset about the psychic reading, she found new life with her son’s new baby, but tragedy strikes as she becomes “the first woman with prostate cancer.” Her condition has spread to a point where no treatment would make her better, and she has steadfastly refused to be turned, not wanting to have to start killing to live at this point in her life. There’s only one other thing to do.
FX
In the finale’s most poignant scene, Liz gathers her ghostly family to help her cross over, supplying them with various guns, knives, ropes and drugs. This was Denis O’Hare’s Emmy moment for sure as Liz spoke with great dignity about life and death and family. As everyone took their weapon, the door burst open and we see The Countess for the first time. It’s the first time Liz has seen her since she died. The Countess said Liz was her very favorite creation and she came to help her transition. One. More. Time. (Of course, this leaves us with one little plot hole: how can Liz be the voice for Will Drake if she is also now trapped in the hotel?) In death, Liz finally gets her happy ending as Tristan appears, telling her he truly does love her and he didn’t want to show himself because she still had a lot of living to do. Now in the afterlife, the two are reunited for eternity.
With the hotel a success once again, there’s really just one big question left to answer. What about John Lowe and his family? Where are they? How has he been keeping his wife and son alive without them murdering people? He has continued his killing, but only those who deserve to die (in his opinion, at least). It turns out that he hasn’t been quite as successful so he brings them all to the hotel, sending Scarlett away to be cared for at a private school. On a blood run, John is surrounded by the police, and only feet away from the hotel he is gunned down, but apparently he got a finger on the hotel property before he expired, just enough to bring him back to the hotel one night a year. Devil’s Night.
Which also happens to be the night Billie Dean returns to do a TV special every year, hoping to contact the spirit of John to find out why he did what he did. We flash forward to 2022, and John is finally ready to speak with Billie Dean. Liz and Iris get her to the hotel, and during the course of an interview (and he’s never seen or heard on camera) he tells her to leave her camera crew behind and he’ll show her why Devil’s Night is a special night. If you remember back to the Halloween episode, which was titled “Devil’s Night,” that was March’s special evening when the most famous serial killers would arrive.
FX
John, March and company give Billie Dean a horrifying ultimatum — stop investigating and talking about the Hotel Cortez (because it’s simply not good for business anymore) or suffer the consequences. Even with a bit of absinthe in her system, she still calls their bluff. They can’t leave the hotel so what can they do to her? They have a secret weapon … Ramona, who puts a real fear into Billie Dean. The last we see of her, she’s tearing through the lobby and out the front door. Problem solved.
FX
The hotel is now packed with guests celebrating the Halloween holiday, unaware they are actually surrounded by the spirits who call the place home. A handsome man takes a seat at the bar. The Countess is sitting in the lounge and eyes up the stranger. Approaching him, she asks what brought him to the hotel. He’d heard the stories, so he wanted to check it out for himself. The Countess caresses his face saying, “You have a jawline for days.” Fade to black.
I have to say this has been one of my favorite seasons so far. I know the fans and the hate watchers will all chime in that it was terrible and the others were better, and while certainly not perfect (the under use of Angela Bassett being the season’s biggest crime) it was an entertaining season that didn’t leave me feeling unsatisfied or just icky by the end.
This season had some great characters and great actors to recite some very entertaining dialog. I dare say there are several Emmy worthy performances in the bunch as well. There, of course, will be endless debate about Lady Gaga’s performance and the absence of Jessica Lange. I’ll be the first to say that, as a fan of Gaga, I thought she was a mess in the first episode. Obviously scared to death to take on this new challenge and actually speak someone else’s words. I really didn’t have a good feeling about her or the tone of the show. But each week, she grew and became more and more fascinating to watch, for her performance and her wardrobe. I know people are still pissed that she won the Golden Globe over Kirsten Dunst, but I think the Hollywood Foreign Press Association also saw something in Gaga’s performance that proved she was worthy of the award (no offense to Dunst, who is also terrific in Fargo but in a much more quiet and subtle way). The HFPA always seems to go for the underdog, and I agree with their choice this year. The question is, will the more snooty Emmy voters feel the same way?
FX
If not, the certainly have several other propositions among the cast, chiefly Denis O’Hare. He honestly has never really been one of my favorites in any season of the show, not necessarily a reflection on him but on the characters he’s been given. But he obviously relished playing Liz Taylor, giving the character a biting humor and heartbreaking pathos. He could have take Liz completely over the top many times, but he kept the character very even-keeled and he was a joy to watch each and every week. Liz Taylor is someone I would like to be friends with.
FX
Mare Winningham should also be a serious Emmy contender. Having relatively small roles in the past seasons (barely making it past a single episode of “Coven”), Winningham was given a character to really sink her teeth into with the tragic Miss Evers. Winningham certainly had some of the best dialog of the season with her oddly out of place 1920s housekeeper in this modern world, with a hint of real tragedy under the surface, not to mention her unrequited love for March. Winningham was a hoot as Miss Evers cheerfully found new ways to get the blood out of sheets and carpets, delighting over an electric washer and dryer (“No more wringing?”) and magical detergent (“The oxygen is in the detergent?!”), and wearing her heart on her sleeve when it comes to March and her disdain for The Countess. Winningham really sold the character by making her speak as if she stepped out of a 1930s screwball comedy, and she was a joy to watch whenever she was on screen.
FX
Also sticking to that 1930s dialect was Evan Peters, giving us a completely different character than what we’ve seen him give so far. In the past, he’s played younger, a teenager or someone in his early 20s. While still having that boyish look, Peters stuck on a John Waters pencil-thin mustache and talked like Jimmy Cagney in one of his gangster movies. He gave March’s evilness a certain buoyant charm, able to turn his mood from charming to dangerous in the blink of an eye. Peters has long been a fan favorite, and this time he should finally be able to get more kudos even with all of the other big talent around him.
FX
Kathy Bates (and her glasses) also turned in another great performance, giving Iris a whole gamut of emotions, from disdain to snarky humor to the pain of a mother rejected by her child. You believed Iris would go to any lengths to save her son, even willing to take her own life when he pushed her away, and accepting her fate after he turned her to save her life for his own selfish purposes. She really demonstrated that mother’s love by getting Donovan off the property so he wouldn’t have to be stuck there for eternity, even knowing she would never see him again. It wasn’t the flashiest performance of the group, but it was a solid one.
Overall, the writing this season has been spot on, and for once the final episodes did not feel terribly rushed. We got a resolution to the Ten Commandments killer, and for once everyone got a happy ending. Even if they were all dead or undead.
What did you think of this season? Tell us in the comments section below.
Share this post
