The red tide has turned as part one of American Horror Story: Double Feature comes to a close, and the ending is less than thrilling.
Last week on AHS: Double Feature part one, Doris (Lily Rabe) took the pill to fit in with Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) and Harry (Finn Wittrock). However, the results were catastrophic, as Doris wasn’t good enough and became one of the Providence demons. Though Alma wanted this against Harry’s will, he was quick to come around to the idea of it only being Alma, Harry and their newborn baby, Eli.
This week, Harry decides he and Alma will stop taking the pill once they’re finished with the winter season. Though a full blown argument was clearly about to stem from this, the family becomes distracted when they find out Belle (Frances Conroy) has stolen Eli from Harry, Alma and Ursula (Leslie Grossman), and so they must concoct a plan to get him back.
At the same time, Belle, Austin (Evan Peters) and the Chemist (Angelica Ross) are plotting how they’re going to get rid of Harry and his family. Ursula can sense they’re going to be in danger, so she enlists the help of the town’s failed talents to take their revenge on those who are talented. Right when Belle is about to kill Harry, Eli and Alma, the demons burst in and start eating whatever they can lay their hands on.
The result? Belle and Austin are killed, and Harry and co. prevail. However, Alma and Ursula decide they’ve outgrown the need for him and his lack of want for the pills, so Alma kills him in cold blood.
The three women take Eli and travel to Los Angeles, where Ursula will find and represent the best talent in the industry because of the pills, and they can be some sort of a family. However, Ursula goes overboard, expectedly, and the city erupts into chaos.
As a result, the Chemist takes the baby and leaves Alma and Ursula to deal with the impact of their actions. The Chemist promises Eli she’s going to take him somewhere safe and different and work on creating another pill that will do more good than bad.
It’s a sweet ending, but unfortunately it’s underwhelming. The premise of this season was so promising in the beginning; it even proved frightening in some scenes. But the ending wrapped up too quickly and turned much more into a soapbox preaching moment than anything else.
The best parts of the first half of the season? Easily the Chemist giving the pill to police officers to weed out the bad ones; Austin and Belle’s duets in the Providence bar; and watching two of the most beautiful humans alive, Rabe and Wittrock, play a couple and parents.
The worst parts of the first half of the season? Just one: Ryan Murphy has once again fumbled a great idea. His writing of the ending was super sloppy, and I hope he and the other creators are more prepared for the second half of the season, which is armed with another good idea: aliens.
We’ll see what happens, and though I’m nervous about the results I will hope for the best.
American Horror Story: Double Feature airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.
