It’s apparently Devil’s Night at the hotel which means
some new guests – including Richard Ramirez (his third visit after dying in
2013), greeted by Liz who is quite impressed. They’re both sad that Manson
can’t join them
He’ also been left people to murder in his room with
James helping
He had a pentacle on his hand. Yes, it’s the damn Night Stalker.
Detective John is all sad panda because his daughter Scarlet
isn’t coming to see him on Hallowe’en. Also he has a whole lot of blood pouring
down the wall as you do.
With blood to clean we have to catch up with the merry
cleaning lady Miss Hazel Evers and a flashback to 1925, Hallowe’en and the
kidnapping of her child.
When John comes to ask her why there’s blood pouring down
the walls she claims it comes from her going “a little mad” on the anniversary of
her son’s kidnapping and murder. She breaks down, blaming herself for losing
him – of course John empathises a lot with that having lost his own son. She
asks him to have a drink with her to help comfort her as she tells her story
and her guilt. The body was dissolved in quick lime so, like John, she never
knew what really happened to her son. She also gets manic and rather scary when
discussing preparations for the party.
John goes on to work and reseaches Hazel’s story – and learns
it happened in the 20s – and he has pictures of her in the 20s looking no older
than she is now.
He returns to the hotel and the bar and has decided Alex
is right – he isn’t an alcoholic, just a control freak. Liz approves – “control
is an illusion.” We have another guest of the party join him – Aileen Wuornos. Liz
tells her that John’s a “special guest” and, presumably, off limits. John
thinks she’s in a hallowe’en costume and with that they debate her crimes (and
her ongoing claim of self-defence). John goes to his room with Aileen to have
sex (Liz puts in “you’re too drunk to know how ugly that woman is.” Because
when going to bed with a serial killer, her appearance is really what matters,
right?)
John ends up knocked out and tied to a chair trying to
convince Aileen she’s not really Aileen Wuornos. She welcomes him to Devil’s
Night. He manages to get free and cuff her in the bathroom. Only to find all
her ID says she is actually Aileen Wuornos.
John runs to front desk to call the other cops but Liz
stops him, saying Aileen will have vanished and “Mr. Marsh” is protective of
his Devil’s Night party. Letting John know James March is around – and what
Devil’s Night is all about. And John has been invited to the party. When he goes
back to his room Aileen is gone. But he does have a suit left out for him.
To the party where Aileen makes her apologies. At the
party is also John
Wayne Gacy and
Jeffrey Dahmer. James is also present running the whole affair. John keeps
wondering at all these dead people walking around while James chides him for
discounting the obvious evidence that the normal rules of reality don’t quite
apply to his hotel.
Everyone makes their introductions – and another figure
joins them with a hood on his head (though Ramirez tells him the fun starts
after he is caught – also that he shouldn’t give himself his own serial killer
name). Introductions all round and John again insists they’re all dead. They
hail James as the “master” and a mentor to all of them and how he advised them
all – each of them arrived at the hotel at some point. He lectures them on not
hiding their evidence sufficiently.
The party continues with back stories, dancing and a
random murder (John is cuffed to a chair and even when he manages to shoot he
realises you can’t actually kill the dead). For “desert” Sally brings in a man
she found on the street (which buys her a year of being left alone – I guess it’s
how she survives the hotel) they stab the man together and John passes out
John wakes up in his room with Sally, all confused – and Sally
tells him the Absinthe made him hallucinate. With him gone the party continues
Dr. Alex found Holden last episode and rather than him
eating her, she brought him home – glossing over his low body temperature. She
is frantic, manic and nervous (all excellently done) – which only gets worse
when Holden eats the dog. And he wants his other mummy.
Alex takes him back to the hotel and follows him down to
his coffin to bed. The Countess greets Alex and explains why she took Holden –
claiming she was saving him from “neglect.” She adds that Holden has a “blood
disease” – which grants eternal life. Alex waves a gun around but the Countess
offers her the chance to also be a vampire and forever with her son. Alex
decides to run for the police – and run into Tristan who punches her. But the
Countess lets her go – Alex won’t go to the police and risk her “one true love”.
Tristan is, unshockingly, jealous.
Alex comes back and the Countess transforms her, which
involves kissing bleeding and drinking said blood.
Taking real world serial killers and using them for fun
and games is incredibly tasteless and a terrible appropriation
of the experiences of their victims and their families (several of which
are still alive – it’s not like we’re dragging out Jack the Ripper here). I
would say it’s in shockingly bad taste – but it’s hardly shocking for this
show. After all, American Horror Story
is the show that skated around playing with Anne
Frank. Drag up some damn fictional serial killers if you must, not ones
whose crimes are within living memory.
Despite my misgivings, you have to be impressed by Lily
Rabe’s performance – because that was damn impressive.
I'm curious as to the selection of serial killers - the vast majority of serial killers in the US have been straight, white men - but they rustle up 2 gay men, 1 latino man and a bisexual/lesbian? I'm all for more representation in most fields, but having depicted serial killers largely come from marginalised groups when they really don't? Not so much. Also I'm not entirely sure about Aileen being included here since her MO was rather different from these serial killers - though they did have her insist on self-defence
I also wonder why John was invited – his presence implies
his own involvement in killing
While this doesn’t seem to advance much meta, I do give a
pass for Hallowe’en and Christmas episodes-
these episodes in any show tend to be deviations from the norm.
