While FX will boasts their own numbers, I can tell that it looks like a heavy amount of Bloody Disgusting readers have bailed from the sixth season of “American Horror Story”.
Last week’s episode dropped a monster bomb when the season appeared to end, leaving us with a promo setting up both new characters and settings. When “Roanoke” first premiered, we live blogged all of the reveals, and it was a huge success. I thought, “Shit, let’s do it again.” While last night’s blogging session performed well, it was nowhere near as engaging as the initial experiment. What this tells me is that it’s possible that Bloody Disgusting viewers who watch “American Horror Story” have dipped. Does this mean that FX is losing their audience? It’s a small sample size, so I won’t speak to that, but what I will say is that I’m disappointed that so many of you missed the curveball.
If you’ve been keeping up with my weekly recaps (hidden within video promos), you know that I really didn’t like the first five episodes. I was constantly questioning the decisions being made by characters, their motivations, and also noting how terrible the talking head interview footage was. Still, I found the mystery to be engaging and stuck with it knowing that this season is only 10 episodes (yay!) Man, I am so happy that I did. My initial reaction to the “big twist” last week was negative, mostly because it felt lackluster. But, thinking about the promo shown after, it became a little bit clearer what Ryan Murphy and company were up to. After seeing last night’s “Chapter 6”, I can’t help but to give a standing ovation – this may just end up becoming the best season of “American Horror Story” yet. I can admit when I’m wrong, and can even acknowledge that sometimes we can act like know-it-all assholes. Well, this one bit me in the ass and I’m more than happy to say, “I was wrong, this is awesome.”
I think what’s really resonating with me is the idea that there are so many different ways to experience “Roanoke”, with binge viewing looking to be the best course of action. Knowing what I know about last night’s episode, the first five have such a different context and meaning – but it’s even more important than that. Everything became clear when Evan Peters’ character is murdered by the nurses. You see, the first five episodes – or “My Roanoke Nightmare”, if you will – sets the stage for multiple payoffs. There, the writers have built up the mythology on a level that’s more pleasing to “viewers”. The nurse sequence indicates one thing: the stories told were true, only they’re way more horrifying and not-so forgiving. What will follow won’t be pleasant, it’s going to be brutal, in fact, and as the end card explained…nearly everyone is going to die. They truly have flipped the script and attempted something excitingly new; I’ve never seen nor experienced anything like this, and it’s more refreshing than I can even express.
I couldn’t be more excited for Act II, “Return to Roanoke: Three Days in Hell”. Here’s a look at next week’s episode, “Chapter 7”.