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Let’s Talk About ‘The Sentinel’:
- Gino and Patrick try to save Henry from Whitely but the tables are quickly turned.
- Henry takes a drastic step to save them all.
- Patrick’s interview with the Native calling out the NYPD does not go over well with his co-workers.
- Hannah is still baffled by the disease sweeping through the gay community.
- Patrick is seeing a ghost … or is he just losing his mind?
- Gino and Patrick plan a trip to Fire Island to get away from it all, with Adam and Theo along for the ride.
- Hannah makes a desperate call to her mother but doesn’t realize she’s being watched.
- Gino scraps the Native’s Pride front page in order to send an important message.
The penultimate week for Season 11 of American Horror Story: NYC features two relatively short episodes that dispose of two more characters while they just can’t keep another down. In the first episode, ‘The Sentinel’, the majority of the time is spent with Gino and Patrick, picking up where things left off last week when Gino followed Whitely and Henry back to Whitely’s lair, Gino calling Patrick for help. When Patrick arrives, Gino is surprised he didn’t bring the cavalry along with him and Patrick assured him that no one from the police department would have come even if he did ask. And while Patrick insists that Gino stay outside, Gino has other plans — Whitely tortured him and he wants the satisfaction of hopefully returning the favor.
They find themselves in what they eventually learn was a slaughterhouse, and while they hope to find Henry they are taken aback when Whitely’s Sentinel is lowered for them to gaze upon … a clever distraction so that Whitely can knock them both out. Gino wakes up in another room next to Henry, whose left ear has been removed and attached to the Sentinel. With Gino carrying on, he wishes Whitely had taken his right ear instead. Patrick, however, is restrained on a table next to Whitely’s Sentinel, and Whitely explains that he admires Patrick so much so it’s only fitting that he replaces the Sentinel’s inconsequential heart with the heart of someone who has truly made a difference in the gay community. Patrick doesn’t really want to be a hero or a martyr but he can’t move. Henry, though, has managed to get one of his hands out of the cuff but the other one is too tight. Gino urges him to find something to pick the lock but Henry’s last name is not Houdini so there’s only one option — saw his hand off. And in the nick of time because Patrick was on the verge of losing his heart. Gino was able to hold off Whitely with a chainsaw while Henry helped Patrick get free and then Patrick was able to get his gun which was on the table next to him. Whitely kept trying to explain how his Sentinel was going to be a beacon to the gay community, but they weren’t sold on how a corpse built from different body parts was going in inspire people. Whitely insisted that Patrick’s heart would have been the key to resurrecting the creature, which was being preserved (badly) with formaldehyde, and once the heart was installed Whitely would replace the liquid with a transfusion of his own blood and Patrick’s heart would be the pump to get everything started again (Whitely knows anatomy but he doesn’t seem to know anything about science). Well, Patrick had heard enough and shot Whitely in the head putting an end to the Mai Tai killer’s reign of terror.
After the ordeal, Patrick granted Gino an interview for the Native with the headline that screamed ‘Gay Cop Hero’ but his sentiments about how the police didn’t care about the gay community didn’t go over well at the precinct, finding his desk covered in pink paint. Doesn’t matter because Patrick turned in his gun and badge, even though his captain suggested that they could use him to be a liaison with the community — Patrick said maybe they could start by reopening all of the murder cases that had never been properly investigated — but it’s unclear if he really did quit because the next thing we see is him at the morgue with Adam, hoping he could identify some part of his missing friend’s body on the Sentinel. He couldn’t, but that was to be expected. Adam then went to see Hannah who is still baffled by the disease that is sweeping the community, including herself. They meet Fran and friends at the diner, and Fran insists it’s the ticks on Fire Island and the government is behind it, but Hannah can’t do anything because no one will fund further research. Adam then tells Gino what’s going on, but Gino doesn’t want to hear it. They’ve survived an encounter with Whitely and now he and Patrick just want to get away to Fire Island for the weekend. Maybe Adam should come too, just to stop for a couple of days. Adam does agree and invites Hannah and Theo, but Hannah is too sick and too pregnant for a ferry ride, instead calling her estranged mother and practically begging her to let her come and stay with her a few days. Hannah, however, doesn’t see the spectre of Big Daddy watching right outside her window.
Patrick is seeing a spectre as well, but it’s not Big Daddy … it’s Barbara. Completely unnerved, he has an emotional meltdown when he gets home, blaming himself for her death while Gino tries to assure him that he is not to blame. Before they leave for the weekend, Gino returns to his office and scraps the paper’s Pride issue cover story, instead writing a piece about how their community has been marginalized and how, perhaps, Whitely’s Sentinel could have been a beacon, a protector (which is vividly shows as the creature roams the city taking out anyone doing harm, or attempting to harm a gay man). When the paper hits the streets with the Gay Pride headline, the front page photo is the Sentinel.
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Let’s Talk About ‘Fire Island’:
- Gino, Patrick, Adam, Theo, Fran and friends take the ferry to Fire Island.
- What are the odds that Sam is also on the island?
- And Henry too!
- Gino and Patrick are finally relaxing on the beach but the second Patrick tries to touch Gino and remove his shirt it all goes south.
- Adam is also finally letting his hair down but he seems oblivious to the fact that Theo looks like death warmed over.
- Patrick has another more horrifying vision of Barbara.
- Henry surprises Gino on the beach.
- Sam promises he’ll find someone who can give Henry the pleasure he seeks.
- Sam calls a truce with Theo.
- Fran and her friends confront Big Daddy as he stalks them at their rental.
- Big Daddy turns up at Gino’s rental, putting him and Adam in grave danger.
- Fran is the entertainment at Sam’s bacchanal, doing readings for $50 a pop.
The boys and girls head to ‘Fire Island’ in the week’s second episode, where everyone hopes to get a respite from all the horror they faced in New York City. Whitely may be dead, but there is still another killer out there. He can’t possibly have made his way to the island, could he? A leather daddy in a full mask would be very conspicuous on the ferry. But the ferry ride is a bit much for the ill Theo, puking over the side but sure that it isn’t just seasickness. Adam tries to comfort him but Theo knows there is something else going on inside of him. And as they depart the ferry, who do they see but Sam picking up a few young things for his upcoming party.
Gino and Patrick make it to the beach and they seem great, Gino offering Patrick a mai tai. Well, at least they can joke about that now. Gino wishes every day could be like this, but Patrick says one of them would have to go to work or they’d starve. Things begin to turn romantic, and as Patrick tries to unbutton Gino’s shirt he pulls away, which instantly angers Patrick. Have they come to a point in their relationship where Gino can’t even let Patrick touch him? Gino knows it’s a problem but it’s not Patrick, it’s the visible bruises he’s developed that make him self-conscious. According to the doctor, they are benign growths common in Italian men of a certain age, just take a pill and they’ll go away. But Patrick has them too, and he’s not Italian. But the whole issue sends Patrick into a bit of a rage and he storms off back to the rental.
Adam and Theo are there, and Adam is finally loosening up which makes Theo happy. They’re planning to go out for drinks later but Adam seems completely oblivious to the fact that Theo looks like death warmed over, his skin a bit gray, dark circles under his eyes. In fact, no one seems to notice! They are a bit taken aback by Patrick’s attitude, especially when Patrick asks Adam what Gino is like at work. Adam says he’s fine, a little intense, but he’s a good boss. That doesn’t seem to be what Patrick wants to hear but before it gets more awkward, the two leave him to drown his sorrows. Patrick takes a shower but he thinks he sees or hears someone outside the bathroom. Dressing quickly and going outside, he sees a woman on the deck. It is Barbara again but in a much worse condition than she was when he saw her in the city. He collapses and she moves toward him, bending down for a kiss. He flails around and suddenly she’s gone. Was she ever there to begin with?
Meanwhile, Gino contemplates following two young men into the wooded hook up area but thinks better of it. Good thing because Big Daddy was lurking in the foliage. Yep, he somehow made it to the island which makes one wonder if Big Daddy is actually a manifestation of the disease that is ‘stalking’ the gay men of the city. It’s the only logical way to explain how he can get from place to place so quickly and without anyone detecting him … until it’s too late. But Gino heads back for a long walk on the beach where he’s surprised by Henry, who is there to remind him that he’s too old for Patrick, he needs someone with more experience, someone on his level, and Henry drops to his knnes and proclaims his love for Gino. Okay, that came out of nowhere. He tells Gino how he spared his life, because his bosses wanted him rubbed out, but it turned out Gino and Patrick both were good for business. Henry then tries to tell Gino that if he can’t have him, no one can but Gino stops him before he finishes that sentence and tells him not to go there.
At the bar, Theo is obviously not well but he’s trying to be a good boyfriend for Adam. Yeah, they’ve pretty much made it official, Theo is ready to be a one-man kind of guy. But Sam is lurking nearby. Unfortunately, Adam forget his wallet so he has to dash back to the rental, leaving Theo alone. Sam, meanwhile, surprises Henry at the outdoor bar, buying him a drink and telling him that he needs to let go and indulge in all of his carnal wishes while on the island, and he promises to find Henry someone who can fulfill his needs. Just meet him in The Pines at 9:00. Sam then spies Theo on the dock and goes over to make a peace offering, a shot and a truce. Theo isn’t buying what Sam is selling but he finally agrees to the truce. Sam offers him a shot, but Theo takes the other one he’s holding, suspicious of Sam’s true intentions. Theo! You just fell for the oldest trick in the book.
Fran and her friends are chilling at their rental. Fran is on the island as Sam’s hired entertainment, to offer readings to the boys at his party. But Big Daddy shows up outside their house and one of the women actually confronts him with a knife and tells him to beat it. And he does. But as the sun sets and Gino returns to the house, he’s surprised when the album he just put on suddenly stops. Looking to find out why, he’s attacked by Big Daddy, who body slams him to the ground. While Gino is being tossed around like a rag doll, Adam appears (it has taken him a really long time to find his wallet) and surprises Big Daddy with his own attack, giving them just enough time to run to another room and lock the door behind them. But Big Daddy is able to smash the door in and suddenly … a shot. Big Daddy collapses and Patrick is in the hallway behind him, gun in hand (so he didn’t quit the force?). Patrick insists they have to call the sheriff, but Adam wants to see the guy’s face first and Patrick agrees. But when they return to where the body was, he’s gone. How? Again, reinforcing the idea that Big Daddy is actually a manifestation of the disease, which is why he didn’t kill Fran or her friends.
Meanwhile Fran is at Sam’s party and every card she turns for one of the boys is Death. Sam has snuck away from the party to meet Henry and he takes him to his prize … a shackled and drugged up Theo (yes, he took the drugged shot which Sam knew he would, and two of Sam’s pals took Theo to the wooded area and shackled him to a tree, arms spread, wearing nothing but his black bikini briefs. He looks almost like Whitely’s Sentinel, the way he’s been posed. Sam leaves Henry to indulge himself but he finds it a bit difficult to remove his own clothing with just one hand. And before he can really do anything with Theo, he hears something behind him — Big Daddy. Henry makes a hasty exit, leaving Theo hanging but Theo doesn’t see Big Daddy. Instead he sees a crowd of young men wearing sparkly antlers, and he recognzes them as all the men he’s photographed. They approach him and release him from his shackles, one of them telling him he will be remembered. They carry Theo off as he looks skyward, smiling as he’s bathed in a bright, white light. RIP Theo.
What did you think of these episodes? Sound off in the comments below!
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