Well, it looks like Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk aren’t quite done throwing new elements into “American Horror Story: 1984” even as there are only two episodes left in this shortened season.
Things kicked off with another jump in time, this time all the way back to 1948 for the “AHS” return of Lily Rabe as the mother of two young boys who worked as the camp cook at Camp Golden Star.
And Rabe wasn’t the only returning star, as Dylan McDermott made a twisted return as well. Actually, neither of the new characters were particularly likable.
Nevertheless, the huge confrontation between all of our stars is still looming at Margaret’s rock festival, though it looks like that might be going down next week which leaves Murphy and company time to twist the knife one more time in the final episode with yet another crazy change. Remember when this was a simple slasher story about kids running around a camp trying to escape multiple serial killers?
As usual, we are overwhelmed with questions and concerns on a surprisingly quiet episode. Don’t get us wrong, people still died, blood still flowed and things got pretty gross, but it was still pretty mellow compared to many of the previous hours, and what we can assume is yet to come. Here’s what we’re left thinking about this week.
Why Is Lavinia So Mean?
We don’t expect there to really be an answer here, but we were uncomfortable throughout the hour with just how mean Lavinia is to her son Benjamin, the future Mr. Jingles. No wonder he grew up kind of messed up. She doted on his little brother and basically treated him like garbage, and even continued that as she made her triumphant return in 1989. But like we said, this is more rhetorical and because it bothered us.
Did Lavinia’s Killing Spree Start the Curse?
We still don’t know why people who die in Camp Redwood stay there as ghosts, but Benjamin seems to think it started with Lavinia. Certainly there is no evidence of any ghosts from prior to her killing spree. At the same time, none of her victims seem to be there, either, so maybe it was Benjamin’s killing of Lavinia, to save his own skin, that created the curse. But why? What is the purpose of these spirits being trapped here?
Where Is Bobby?
At the same time, why isn’t Bobby there? Is it because he died before the curse was created? At the same time, though, we’ve been noticing something in the water since the earliest episodes, so maybe his spirit is out there. In fact, maybe Bobby is the originator of the curse somehow, reacting as an angry child and forcing everyone to stay there in hopes someone will save him. He may yet be trapped under the water.
Why Did Benjamin Kill Himself?
This one really caught us of guard, as we didn’t expect Benjamin to give in to his mother’s plea that he off himself so that he could live forever as opposed to dying for real at the hands of Richard when he comes to claim his soul for Satan. But why would this work? And why would Benjamin throw away his own future with his son?
Is it simply because Lavinia got into his head and twisted him all up inside so that he couldn’t think straight, or is this a strategic move to give him an edge over the supernaturally-powered Richard? Maybe Benjamin is going to team up with the other counselors and ghosts and take down Richard with numbers.
Is Donna Really Trying to Make Up for the Past?
We’re with Brooke, we don’t really trust Donna, either. We were considering it until she just happened to place Margaret’s ad about the Camp Redwood rock festival where she could see it and then pleaded with her not to go in a not-at-all convincing manner. If she is up to something, what is it? Is it just observation and obsession again about serial killers, seeing if what Brooke has gone through can turn her into one?
What Is the Point of Alex?
Dylan McDermott joined the show as a wannabe serial killer, inspired by the Night Stalker and Ted Bundy, so we’re pretty sure we’re not done with him. Or at least, we hope we aren’t as he really is kind of pointless if this was all he showed up for. At the same time, he’s kind of pointless anyway. What do we need another killer for anyway?
Don’t get us wrong, it was kind of funny watching him try to intimidate and be a badass to Donna and Brooke, having no idea what they’d already endured. To them, he was almost cute with his little ultimatums and games he played. But he was out of his league from the beginning. But he also seemed like a distraction, so we hope there’s a bigger plan for the character.
Why Is Lavinia So Scary to Other Ghosts?
Considering we’ve seen Montana and Xavier gut and kill actual living people (and how come they haven’t come back to join the gang?), why are they all so afraid of Lavinia? Sure, they said they can still hurt and feel good and all that, but they outnumber her and have proven themselves ruthless killers as well. Does she have additional powers they don’t? Or is she just more familiar with how to ghost, so she has tricks they haven’t learned yet?
As it stands, they imply she’s just scary and chases them, so what’s that about? Why is Lavinia chasing them now when she’s apparently not bothered anyone in the decades she’s been there? Is it because of Montana and Xavier’s killing spree? Or is it because they needed to introduce her character in the present?
Is There a Way to Free Them?
As we saw in “Murder House,” there really doesn’t seem to be a way to just turn off the hauntings of a specific location, and this certainly seems to be similar to that (only on a much larger plot of land). Montana is hoping to kill the festival-goers in an attempt to lure someone there who might have an actual way to free their spirits. Could that work? If so, will it be another connection to another season? Maybe the witches?
We’re getting more confused than ever as “American Horror Story: 1984” skates toward its conclusion, but isn’t that par for the course. New episodes air Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
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