We’re almost there, folks. After quite possibly the best season of American Horror Story yet, we’re at the next-to-last episode of Roanoke. We’ve been assured that there’s still one more twist in play for the season that we haven’t gotten to, so let’s take a look at what happened in this week’s penultimate episode, “Chapter 9.”
The episode opens with our introduction to Taissa Farmiga’s character, finally bringing the actress back to American Horror Story for the first time since Coven. It’s a welcome return for one of the best actresses the show has used, and I’m so happy that she’s back in the fold. Meanwhile, back at the house, Audrey and Lee are dealing with Dylan’s (Wes Bentley) return, and they find it pretty difficult to explain to him that everything happening to them has been real (we also get a great callback scene to Dylan in an Uber with the driver that we met a few episodes back, and it’s a wonderful little lighthearted moment that breaks up the darkness). They do manage to convince him, and all three set out for the Polk house for what Dylan believes is a rescue mission for Monet.
Audrey, Lee, and Dylan’s story is interwoven with the story of Taissa Farmiga’s Sophie and her friends that begin to find the evidence of what took place at the house, and I have to admit once again that I’m impressed with the way that the writers are adding another wrinkle into the mix for the season. We’ve already discovered in episode 6 that we weren’t watching what we thought we were watching, and that ends up being the case again. While there will surely be people in the audience that don’t appreciate the twisty nature of the season, I have to give it a ton of credit for mixing up the typical American Horror Story formula in such a successful way.
I can’t compliment this series’ pacing more than I already have for the past nine weeks. It’s obvious that the twists and turns are what help the pacing out more than anything else, but that explanation doesn’t detract from how great that pacing has been (the ten episode limit also has a lot to do with that, honestly). This is the first season of American Horror Story since Asylum that hasn’t suffered from a massive mid-season slump, and the way that Roanoke‘s quality has been sustained for this long is incredibly commendable.
In the end, thanks to some police bodycams, we discover that the survivors of the Blood Moon are both Audrey and Lee, but, as we know from episode 6, only one of the two can make it out alive. Because of an unfortunate sequence of events, we end up leaving the episode with Audrey dead and Adina Porter’s Lee making it out alone.
The narrative is, essentially, over, but we still have one more episode of American Horror Story: Roanoke to get through. What will the season’s final twist end up being? We’ll have to wait one more week to find out. As for this episode, though, “Chapter 9” was an outstanding entry in the season that accomplished everything that was asked of it in an admirable way. Let’s see how Ryan Murphy sticks the landing a week from now.
What did you think about this week’s episode of American Horror Story: Roanoke? What do you think Ryan Murphy has in store for us for the season finale? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
[Photo Credit: FX]
