After last week’s apparent sudden conclusion, we look ahead to a promising and sure-to-shock Chapter 6.
Courtesy: twitter.com/AHSFX
How far behind the scenes will we go?
Though we only have literally one line of dialog to go off (thanks a lot, promo!!!! RUDE!!!), it seems like this week’s episode, Chapter 6, is the one we’ve been waiting for, folks. In the clip, we see returning cast member Cheyenne Jackson trailing a camera and telling its crew not to stop rolling for any reason. And that’s it. But, considering the only behind-the-fake-scenes peek we’ve had so far came in the form of our Talking Head cast directly addressing their show’s producer (not that exciting tbh), this one-lined promo is HUGE.
So how much dirt are we going to uncover in this first post-reenactment episode? Will the new story be about the actual making of the “series,” instead of the series itself? And does this mean our reenactment cast is gone forever because if I don’t get to see Sarah Paulson in yoga-lady clothes for the remainder of the season I will LOSE IT, MR. RYAN MURPHY!!!!!
Was the reenactment story the truth at all?
Speaking of our Reenactment Cast, ummmm, what’s up with them? Now that we’re delving behind the scenes and it appears clear the making of My Roanoke Nightmare (our series-within-a-series) is legit, what happens to the other half of our story? It seems we’re supposed to believe that “Real” Matt and Shelby wrapped up the re-telling and, therefore, Reenactment Matt and Shelby are no longer necessary. But that would be way too easy.
It’s unclear where this narrative shift will take us, but it seems as though we’re bound to re-encounter our Reenactmentland cast at some point. Then, the real question becomes will we meet them as “actors”? And, if so, with THOSE versions of Cuba Gooding Jr./Matt and Sarah Paulson/Shelby add YET ANOTHER complicated layer to this already impossible web of story? It’s not unlikely.
Should we trust this turning point?
Since the beginning of this season, creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have been dropping hints about the nature of AHS: Roanoke. They’ve said that this season could conceivably be viewed as two separate seasons, and that a major shift around episode 6 (HELLO. HI!) would disrupt the audience and change everything. Okay. Easy enough. They said it would happen and now it’s happening. I can accept that.
EXCEPT they’ve ALSO said that yet another earth-shattering shift comes around episode 10!!!!!!!! So, here’s where my trust issue rears its ugly head. This supposedly crucial episode 6 shift, a structural and narrative shake-up we’ve been anticipating and counting on since the first episode, is NOT EVEN GOING TO BE NOR DIRECTLY LEAD TO THE END OF THE MADNESS. We’re going to have to adjust to the new situation that’s presented to us this week, reconcile whatever new information we’re given with the old reality we’d come to accept in watching the first half of the season, ALL IN ANTICIPATION OF PROBABLY DOING THE SAME THING AGAIN IN 4 EPISODE’S TIME.
I know living within the American Horror Story world seems nightmarish and stressful, but has Ryan Murphy ever considered what it’s like having to watch it every week? IT’S ALMOST WORSE!!!! Okay, not worse. But at least the same.
If you can handle the emotional toll, American Horror Story continues this Wednesday at 10PM E.T. on FX.