Weekly Recap: American Horror Story, S05E05
By Ross Dickerhoof, Contributor
Okay, will Sally ever have a point? Sarah Paulson is the best actress on this show, it’s episode freakin’ five and they’ve given her nothing to do but die and cackle evilly.
Anyway, stuff did happen this week. Probably not stuff that’ll have much payoff, but…stuff.
We finally know Liz Taylor’s (Denis O’Hare) backstory! She used to be married to a woman who had the same dress size as her, and used business trips as an escape for dressing up like a woman. She met the Countess at the Cortez, who gave her the confidence to live how she really wanted to. O’Hare and Gaga’s acting in the flashback was good, but the musical choices (f—ing “Bette Davis Eyes” and record scratches?), the fact that once again a cis-man is playing a trans woman and Liz continuing to be relegated to sassy wallpaper are disappointing. Just give her and Sally a damn subplot!
Alex (who’s now governess to the Countess’ vampire kids) used her vampire blood to save Max, the dying child of that anti-vaxxer mom from episode two, who immediately turns into a bloodthirsty murderer who knows exactly how the vamp virus works. Why? So we can get a drawn-out, tasteless scene of kids murdering their teachers and drinking their blood, with Max as the ringleader who devises a cover-up. I have no idea what this subplot is supposed to accomplish other than “being gross,” as it’s totally disconnected from everything else. Nice going, Alex. You’re the worst.
John didn’t do anything except turn in his badge (shocker!) and provide us with a quick ass shot after he had blackout sex with Sally. Totally a useful character, y’all.
Iris got the bulk of the focus during "Room Service," after Donovan and Ramona plotted to use her as a spy in the Cortez (which should have happened two weeks ago). She moaned about being “invisible” for a bit, bonded with Liz over a blood-and-triple sec cocktail (ew), and murdered Darren Criss and his girlfriend after far too many scenes of them being dicks to her. I guess it was cathartic to see her give them their comeuppance, but we still know very little about her, so her “taking control” moment felt a little hollow.
We’re close to halfway done with this season and there’s still no clear endgame. Such is life with AHS.
