American Horror Story Season 6: My Roanoke Nightmare
Season 6 Episode 2 “Chapter 2”
Directed by Bradley Buecker
Written by Tim Minear
Created by Brad Falchuk & Ryan Murphy
Starring Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Wes Bentley, Chaz Bono, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Cuba Gooding Jr.
FX Network
Air date: Wednesday, September 21, 2016, 10pm

Last week, we discovered the top secret theme of Season 6 of American Horror Story — My Roanoke Nightmare. The infamous first colony that disappeared hundreds of years ago is the new home to Shelby and Matt Miller. The show is different from prior seasons in that it’s done “Unsolved Mysteries” style with the “real” Shelby (Lily Rabe) and “real” Matt (Andre Holland) narrating their experiences to the camera, while we watch actors in a re-enactment, Sarah Paulson and Cuba Gooding Jr. After a big city scare, The Millers retreat to Matt’s home state, and buy a huge colonial in Roanoke, NC. They instantly become targets for the locals who attack Shelby while Matt is away on a work trip. There also, of course, is a mysterious force lurking in the woods around the house. When Shelby finally takes off, she veers off the road and ends up in the middle of the woods witness to a bizarre cult.

Spoilers below for this week’s AHS.

Ah the Roanoke woods, what better place for a campfire? Of course by campfire I mean a cult scalping people, fitting them with severed pig heads, and roasting them alive on a spit. The leader of the cult is AHS veteran and Oscar winner Kathy Bates. She’s joined by Wes Bentley, who is appearing in his third straight season. After being seen, Shelby takes off and finds the road, only to pass out and be taken to the hospital. No drugs in her system, but no evidence of the craziness she witnessed. Matt decides it’s time to leave, but Shelby is emboldened by her traumatic tale. She thinks it was an elaborate hoax by the locals to scare them off, and she won’t cave to them.

Matt’s sister, Lee (Adina Porter for the real life version; Angela Bassett for the dramatization), is staying with them, and her young daughter Flora (Saniyya Sidney) is visiting. Almost immediately, Flora starts talking to “her friend” in the dark basement. More things keep happening, and it’s getting harder to brush them off as the actions of deranged locals. First, there’s a flaming pig totem burning in the woods near their home. Then Matt wakes to find a pair of nurses gleefully murdering an old female patient IN the house. “I must be dreaming” is the only rational explanation.

When Lee’s ex returns to pick up Flora, they think the girl is just playing a harmless game of Hide & Seek. Instead, they find her bargaining with “Prescilla” for her life. “They’re gonna kill us all, and save me for last,” Flora says. Flora is dragged away by her dad and Lee is left to fall off the wagon. There is too much supernatural stuff happening too fast. Lee senses she’s being watched and sees a Pig-Man in the house. Shelby and Matt go to where they see a woman outside, and find a hatch to an underground bunker.

They find a video camera and tape left by Dr. Elias Cunningham (AHS regular Denis O’Hare). He was there for two months researching a true-crime story about, you guessed it, two nurses who murdered seniors. Shelby and Matt are stuck in a haunted house owned by murderous sisters, and just when it can’t get worse, Lee brings Flora back, and Flora promptly goes missing.

A few friends were discussing this season so far, and were unhappy about the haunted house being somewhat redundant of past AHS seasons. Season 1 was Murder House, 3 was Coven, and last season was a haunted hotel. But I say… if ain’t broke don’t fix it. This show has a penchant for getting under my skin. I think the “dramatic re-enactments”/narrations are interesting. And point of fact, the show continues to be scary. There were several moments where the noises and sounds got to me. The video stuff with Denis O’Hare was great and as a parent of a small child, anything involving missing kids legitimately terrifies me.

American Horror Story: My Roanoke Nightmare returns next Wednesday night at 10:00pm ET only on FX.

Video

American Horror Story Roanoke – 6×02 “Chapter 2” Trailer