As promised, Ryan Murphy delivered quite the shocking twist in episode 6 of American Horror Story, confirming that nothing is what it seems and that he is capable of providing a terrifying and intricate chain of events, all in the name of good TV.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
To quickly summarize where we're at in the show: We're finally seeing the truth behind the premise of the first five episodes, titled My Roanoke Nightmare, in which a cast of actors reenact "actual events" that happened to a "real-life" couple while living in a haunted house in North Carolina. (Bear with us on the use of "real life," since this is all fake and Murphy is milking as many meta references as he can.) The actors are revealed to be: a British Audrey Tindall (Sarah Paulson) who played Shelby, a promiscuous Dominic Banks (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who played Matt, and an alcoholic Monet Petusmae (Angela Bassett) who played Lee, Matt's sister. They all found success and acclaim through their roles portraying the real Matt (Andre Holland), Shelby (Lily Rabe), and Lee (Adina Porter). The actors (along with Evan Peters as Rory Monahan, who played Edward Phillipe Mott) are asked to return to the house with the real Matt, Shelby and Lee to film a Big Brother-style sequel called Return to Roanoke: Three Days in Hell during the Blood Moon. Sid hopes that the 24/7 cameras will lead to as many new viewers as the first Roanoke installment. Now that we've got that baseline, here are all the twists, turns, and WTF moments that occur during part one of American Horror Story: Return to Roanoke: Three Days in Hell. (Yes, the series name itself has even changed.)
To quickly summarize where we're at in the show: We're finally seeing the truth behind the premise of the first five episodes, titled My Roanoke Nightmare, in which a cast of actors reenact "actual events" that happened to a "real-life" couple while living in a haunted house in North Carolina. (Bear with us on the use of "real life," since this is all fake and Murphy is milking as many meta references as he can.) The actors are revealed to be: a British Audrey Tindall (Sarah Paulson) who played Shelby, a promiscuous Dominic Banks (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who played Matt, and an alcoholic Monet Petusmae (Angela Bassett) who played Lee, Matt's sister. They all found success and acclaim through their roles portraying the real Matt (Andre Holland), Shelby (Lily Rabe), and Lee (Adina Porter). The actors (along with Evan Peters as Rory Monahan, who played Edward Phillipe Mott) are asked to return to the house with the real Matt, Shelby and Lee to film a Big Brother-style sequel called Return to Roanoke: Three Days in Hell during the Blood Moon. Sid hopes that the 24/7 cameras will lead to as many new viewers as the first Roanoke installment. Now that we've got that baseline, here are all the twists, turns, and WTF moments that occur during part one of American Horror Story: Return to Roanoke: Three Days in Hell. (Yes, the series name itself has even changed.)
1. There's a new intro: same house, same blood, but new illustration. It's a minor change, but a crucial one to signify that this is not the same show.
2. It's unclear whether we, the viewers, are being told the truth about everything. Sidney is the most unreliable narrator, but he's the only one we have. He's clearly capable and playing endless mind games.
3. We saw the television crew installing all those spooky booby traps around the house, so who's to say that anything that happens isn't orchestrated?
4. The Big Brother aspect is quickly becoming more and more Truman Show-esque, as the characters forget that they are being filmed 24/7 for other people's entertainment.
5. The new show's purpose is to, A. reunite Shelby and Matt, and B. prove that Lee murdered her husband. I don't think Shelby and Matt will get back together, nor do I think Lee murdered her husband. I feel like Matt is still under some kind of lingering spell from the time he spent with the witch, Scáthach (Lady Gaga).
6. Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters' characters are a weirdly charming pair, until the evil nurses stab him to death (!!).
7. Someone is totally going to be murdered in that little confessional room.
8. Now that we know that there is a wizard behind the curtain (Sid), what else does he control? Is everything being faked in the name of ratings? Are the real Matt and Shelby just making everything up for good TV?
9. Where are Wes Bentley, Matt Bomer, and Taissa Farmiga? Come out, come out, wherever you are.
10. Based on one very important title card, only one person survives the three days in the house (the Blood Moon is rising, which means all the spirits are in the mood to kill). But it's unclear if what we're seeing is the final product of the show (as in, this has all been edited to entertain the viewer and it's all fake), or if there's a deeper layer, and we're going to find that even Sidney isn't able to survive the real-life Butcher (Kathy Bates).
11. My brain hurts.