American Horror Story: Episode Review
By Shayla Stringfield
As you might have noticed, the new season of American Horror Story has now been released, with its theme being “My Roanoke Nightmare.”
In case you did not know, Roanoke Island (now known as North Carolina), was a colony founded by English settlers in 1587. While the town was starting to flourish, the governor, John White, was sent back to England for more supplies. Upon his arrival back in 1590, White discovered that the citizens had all vanished, but the colony itself was still there. Although the Lost Colony is a mystery of its own, the main mystery comes from what the producers of American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, have in store for us this season.
Now that you know the background of the theme, let’s talk about what know so far!
With episode 1 airing just two weeks ago, we found out that this season is set up documentary style. The documentary follows the stories of Shelby Miller (played by Lily Rabe and Sarah Paulson) and Matt Miller (Andre Holland and Cuba Gooding Jr.) in their “mystery” house. When they first purchased the house, they believed it was the perfect setting to start their new life, but they soon realized it was the worst mistake they could have ever made.
Soon after moving in, the couple starts to hear and see strange things. They naively believe that it is their racist neighbors harassing them, but is it?
In episode 2, we meet Matt’s sister, Lee (played by Angela Bassett and Adina Porter), a recovering drug addict and ex-cop. In order to help the couple ease their nerves, Lee moves in the house. However, she starts to experience the same problems as her brother and sister-in-law, with her own added on top.
This episode starts to get crazy when Lee decides to bring her young daughter, Flora, to the house. While Lee and her husband play a game of hide and seek with their daughter, they find her in a small room talking to an imaginary person, but that’s not the scary part!
To add on to the suspense, Lee’s daughter disappears at the end of the episode, with only her yellow coat being left at the top of a tree.
With all of this, I’m starting to wonder what else do these producers have up their sleeve to scare us? But after watching the third episode, I realize we have only scratched the surface.
In episode 3, we learn more about the history of Roanoke Island. Although the FBI has been searching for Lee’s daughter, Flora, they are unable to come up with any leads. However, a psychic comes in the picture and leads them to the woods where her child could be. What shocked me the most was the fact that a ghost abducted her and hid her in the woods. In order to get her back, they have to understand what happened to the settlers.
Not only do I find this to be the scariest season of American Horror Story, but also the eeriest. But with ghost and all, I cannot wait for the next episode!