American Horror Stories gives us a fresh take on “Bloody Mary”

Season 2 of American Horror Stories has had some highs and some lows (and those lows were really low). But episode 5, “Bloody Mary,” was definitely toward the higher end of these highs.

The thing that made “Bloody Mary” work was that it took the classic urban legend and gave it a fascinating twist. When Mary is called in the mirror, we get a woman who is equal parts beautiful and terrifying. Plus, this version of Mary is willing to make wishes come true, but there is a price to pay for that.

Here’s the thing though, Mary wants blood (she is Bloody Mary after all). In an episode that follows four high school girls who have all called upon Mary at the same time with a variety of wishes. The price for those wishes is something none of them want to consider (even when they do consider it).

But of course, this is American Horror Stories. And that means that at least one of these girls is going to be more than tempted by what Mary has to offer.

American Horror Stories gives us a fascinating take on the Bloody Mary legend

Without giving anything away at all, I have to say that I was shocked by the way things turned out. And I don’t just mean with the girls, but also with Bloody Mary.

The thing about this story is that we learn exactly how Mary became a legend in the mirror. And it had a lot to do with slavery and being captured and betrayed. We learn who Mary was, the magic that she was already gifted with before becoming Bloody Mary, and what led to her becoming the “evil” in the mirror.

It adds depth to a story that could have been boring had it been done in a way that let us get a deeper understanding of what people wish for and the lengths that they will go to to get what they want.

Bloody Mary is an urban legend for a reason and seeing her story unfold in American Horror Stories was fascinating and entertaining, even if we weren’t quite as “scared” as we would expect from this particular horror story.

But what did you think of this episode of American Horror Stories? Were you intrigued by the Bloody Mary storyline? What did you think of what happened with the girls and their fate?