What’s next for AHS: 1984? The good, the evil, and the ’80s

In the 100th episode of the series, AHS: 1984 made some big changes with its bold characters to set us up for an explosive ending.

After time spent in murder houses, asylums, and covens, trysts with freaks in shows and extended stays in hotels, wonderfully convoluted runs of reality shows and the hesitant attendings of cult meetings, and sitting through whatever actually happened in Apocalypse, we’ve somehow made it to 100 episodes of American Horror Story. And though it was my instinct to expect something much more intense, unbelievable, and inconceivable for this landmark episode, which aired last night in the middle of an otherwise fairly mild season, what we did get did not disappoint.

Last night’s episode of AHS: 1984 caught us up on the lives of our campers and camp-killers alike, gave us a taste of what’s to come, and ultimately reminded us that, above all else, this has always been and certainly remains a series about those who have been wronged and want to make things right, no matter what the cost.

And for our sexed-up, rage-filled Camp Redwood inhabitants, that means a lot of different things. At the end of last week’s episode, we were dealing with the reality that all of the campers were killed but their souls (or something like it) were left to roam about the campgrounds, wreaking havoc however they saw fit. Brooke was arrested for mass murder, after having been framed by serial-framer Margaret, who got out of dodge scratch-free (besides the self-made scratches she incurred trying to prove Brooke guilty). And the Night Stalker and Mr. Jingles rode off into the sunset together, even though they’d both, in theory, been fatally injured and should’ve been spiritually confined to the camp. In any case, we wrapped it all up. Or so we thought.

This week, we jumped ahead in time and all over the map to learn what our pals have been up to in the meantime: Brooke’s in prison, awaiting her death sentence. The Night Stalker, after having been slyly outed by Mr. Jingles, is also in prison, doing ritual sacrifices to promise Satan his allegiance in return for immortality. Mr. Jingles is in Alaska, working at a video store, happily settled with a wife and son. Margaret Booth and her endured servant slash fake husband, Trevor the Activities Director, are buying up cursed real estate (John Wayne Gacy’s house, Lizzie Borden’s house, Briarcliff Manor!) and running true crime-themed B&B experiences, which honestly, I 10/10 would attend.

And our campers are still at Camp Redwood, serially slashing any mortal who steps foot on the grounds, to the dismay of only Ray, who’s having some moral trouble with using their time in purgatory for repeated murder.

So where does that leave us? With last night’s strategic, well-timed big reveals and well-executed (no pun intended) setups, hopefully, it leaves us in the front row seat of an imminent battle of good vs. evil. Or, maybe more accurately, less evil vs. more evil. Campers vs. Margaret. Jingles vs. Night Stalker. Brooke vs…. everyone? So if you’re like me, and this pivotal episode was the one to really get you invested, excited, and ready for a good, old-fashioned ghoul vs. mortal brawl, here’s what you need to remember as we speed toward the finish line.

The campers can’t leave

Something we sort of learned but didn’t quite get clarity on in the first part of this season was that, if you die at Camp Redwood, you may be stuck at Camp Redwood. The hitchhiker/1970’s camper, who we initially met on the road to camp when our teens came upon him, has routinely showed up throughout the season to remind us that, oh yeah, he’s still there. And now, Xavier, Montana, Chet, and Ray have found themselves stuck within the borders of the camp, having all died grisly deaths (most of them, at the hands of each other) on the grounds. Ray has classified their current situation as “purgatory,” while the others seem content to just run amok and live dangerously while they’re dead.

Themes of religion, goodness and evil, and eternal damnation have underscored this season from the beginning, so purgatory does seem possible. But some fans have posited that, as the season’s title may allude to, they’re actually all living inside some kind of government or alien controlled simulation. And while we don’t really have enough evidence yet to conclusively pick a lane, none of those would be totally out of the realm of possibility. With only a few episodes left, and with Margaret’s plan to host a huge music festival back at Camp Redwood, we’re likely to learn more about the cursed (or expertly coded) summertime hellscape sooner than we might think.

Mr. Jingles Is actually good

One of the most shocking and, frankly, heartbreaking storylines of the season has been Mr. Jingles. We were first introduced to him through lore — he was the now-locked-up former camp employee who went crazy from his time in the war and butchered and entire cabin’s worth of girls in 1970. But we soon learned that not only was he innocent — having been framed by none other than Margaret Booth — but he was often acting in protection of her. He was put away, electro-shocked, and wholly convinced that his entire identity was that of a serial murderer.

Fast forward to the “present,” which in Wednesday’s episode was 1989, and we see Mr. Jingles living as Donald, a family man in Alaska who’s worked hard to forget his grisly, harrowing past, and who has, in my personal favorite mini-twist of the season, coined the phrase “Be kind, rewind.” His redemption story is touching, but of course, it can’t stay that way in AHS.

Back in California, The Night Stalker rises to power again, even from behind bars, with the help of Satan, and he sends a message of revenge to Mr. Jingles, who’d been semi-responsible for his incarceration: he kills Jingles’ wife (or, he has Jingles’ wife killed. Hard to say). In one calculated, wildly brave, and deeply upsetting moment of complicated heroism, Mr. Jingles decides that he has to stop what has started. He has to finish The Night Stalker once and for all. He drops his son off with the neighbor, and he explains that he can’t let the killings go on. He puts his hood up, walks to his car through the rain, and pulls his jinglin’ keys out of his pocket. He’s Jingles again, only his time, we know he’s not a villain. And though he doesn’t seem specifically interested in her antics anymore, I have a feeling that once he’s back at Camp Redwood, he’ll have no problem joining forces with the angry, half-ghost mob of folks who can’t wait to take down Margaret, too.

DeeDee and Brooke are in cahoots

From the beginning, Brooke has been portrayed as a total goodie two-shoes with a complicated, dark past that she (as far as we know) played no part in making dark. Now, she’s taken the fall for a series of horrific murders, and her life was metaphorically (and literally, as of Wednesday) taken from her. So why does it still feel like there’s always some secret, unfinished Brooke business lurking in the background of every scene? Hard to say as of right now, but what we do know is that the artist formerly known as Nurse Rita and currently known as DeeDee was actually lurking in the background of Brooke’s execution, and, surprise! Saved her from the death sentence.

So we’re left with two characters — one who’s innocent and made out to be guilty and one, DeeDee, who’s guilty of freeing Jingles in the first place but for a fairly innocent reason (she hopes to stop serial killers by studying their psychology) — with nothing else to lose and nothing but folks who either want them dead or who they (rightfully) want to kill. Let the games begin.

Tune in next week to see if any of our predictions were right, to learn more about Margaret’s morbid financial goldmine of a business, and hopefully, to see Mr Jingles, the true hero of the season, finally avenged.