TV Review: ‘American Horror Story’ Season 11, Episode 5
by Frank Martin
American Horror Story is known for playing in a lot of different sandboxes all at once. It has showcased traditional slasher horror as well as horror of the supernatural and even sci-fi variety. While a lot of the details for this season are still emerging, it seems as if the plot is dabbling in a lot even as its primary focus seems to be the standard hero killer trope. At least, that is what a lot of the characters continue to circle. But this week’s first episode seems to steer a bit towards the supernatural, which provided a bit of refreshing change.
The hour was mainly separated into two halves. The first dealt with tarot cards as both Adam (Charlie Carver) and Gino (Joe Mantello) experience supernatural events in the midst of having their fortunes read. It’s unclear exactly what was going on with them, but it was definitely not normal. It also appeared separate from the standard serial killer plotline they’ve been involved in so far. The other half of the episode focused on Patrick (Russell Tovey) as he was attacked in Barbara’s (Leslie Grossman) apartment. His time in this episode culminated when Barbara was eventually killed and he had to deal with having her death on his conscience.
Right now, the show is spinning a lot of plates at once. It has so many that one of the main characters, Sam, wasn’t even in this episode at all. In fact, the serial killer plotline just had a minor moment at the end. There’s also that virus brewing in the background. It seems as if that is what will take over as the show moves towards its finale. But so far, it’s throwing a lot of things at the audience. For the most part, it’s doing a decent enough job having them share the spotlight. However, if the show is to really succeed in the end, it can’t keep this act up forever.
American Horror Story airs Wednesdays on FX.
