I loved the debut of “American Horror Story: Hotel”, yet didn’t watch a single other episode. The “American Horror Story” seasons are just too long, and all of them ended with a resounding thud. It just didn’t seem worth my time and effort. Yet, here I am two episodes into “American Horror Story: My Roanoke Nightmare”, which I absolutely hate, and plan to continue watching. Why? I feel like I don’t have a full grasp on what they’re planning and want to give them the benefit of the doubt, which is hard for a handful of reasons.
As we discussed multiple times before, the docu-style storytelling has one major flaw – we know that the protagonists are all going to survive, otherwise how else could they be telling their story? This means that the show has nothing at stake (nobody is in any real danger), thus removing all suspense.
Last night’s episode also really got under my skin when Shelby (Sarah Paulson) and Matt (Cuba Gooding Jr.) argue with the bank over being tricked into buying a house with a tormented past. The bank tells them they’re shit out of luck and the duo accept it. They’ve been through hell and their lives are in danger but they’re just going to accept it because they don’t want to be in debt? Get the fuck out. Furthermore, there are options that any homeowner will tell you – whether it be by insurance fraud (burn it down, baby) or refusing to pay their loan and just leaving. There’s no reason for them to stay in the house and no reason they can’t find a way out of their situation (they don’t even call a lawyer). I understand there needs to be a level of suspension of disbelief, but in a series claiming it’s based on true events, maybe they should have thought this through a little more? “Roanoke” is going through the same motions as previous seasons, and proving they have no idea where they’re going…again. By the seat of their pants? Yup.
But I’m watching next week’s episode, so I guess they’re winning this fight. Let’s see how long I last before I cancel this series for good…