Chapter 8 (American Horror Story)
"Chapter 8" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on November 2, 2016, on the cable network FX. The episode was written by Todd Kubrak and directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton.
| "Chapter 8" | |
|---|---|
| American Horror Story episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Gwyneth Horder-Payton |
| Written by | Todd Kubrak |
| Production code | 6ATS08 |
| Original air date | November 2, 2016 |
| Running time | 40 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| |
Plot
After Dominic and Shelby witness Agnes' murder by the Butcher, the colonists' ghosts surround the house and start their attack. Shelby and Dominic try to escape through the basement's passageway but it is infested by the Chen family's ghosts who attack them. The other ghosts resurface in the house and attack, severely injuring both Shelby and Dominic in the process. The two are forced to hide inside the bedroom's bathroom but Shelby can no longer handle her guilt after murdering Matt and commits suicide.
At their family compound, the Polks continue torturing Lee, Audrey, and Monet as retribution for kidnapping their grandchildren. Mama and her reluctant son Jether then begin to butcher flesh from Lee's leg. The matriarch then explains that the Polks first resorted to cannibalism with a group of pig thieves as their first victims during the Great Depression. The son cuts off Lee's right ear, detailing another family tradition of presenting pickled ears as gifts during Christmas. After Mama leaves Jether to watch over Lee, Lee commiserates with him, insisting that he is being treated by his family as inept, and they are denying giving him the fame and attention that he desires. Jether, who showed an interest in Lee without any intent to kill her, refuses and explains that he will never live up to his ancestor Kincaid Polk who emulated the Piggy Man and murdered several people at the Chicago World’s Fair back in 1893 which gave way to an urban legend thereafter. After refusing his offer of drugs to her; Lee demands Jether to explain more of the Polk's family tradition and in case of her impending fate, requested to record her last message to her daughter Flora on camera. In her message, Lee confesses that she did murder her ex-husband Mason out of resentment at his primary custody of Flora. Afterwards, Lee takes advantage of her freedom by seducing Jether, who had released her restraints, and incapacitates and kills him by stabbing him in the neck with a knife.
Meanwhile, Audrey and Monet tried to explain the truth behind the loss of the feral children to the Polks but they do not believe their explanations and begin pulling out each of the actresses' teeth to craft necklaces as family sacramentals. As they are commencing to take Monet's teeth, her chair breaks and she fights back and manages to escape out of the compound as Ishmael and Lot chases after her into the woods while Mama continued to rip out Audrey's teeth. Lee arrives and knocks out the Polk matriarch from behind with a hammer. As Mama Polk regains consciousness, Audrey grabs the hammer from Lee and repeatedly bludgeons Mama's head, killing her. By the time Lee and Audrey return to the farmhouse through its secret passageway to the basement, the former breaks down in tears at the sight of her brother's mutilated corpse. In the upstairs bedroom, Audrey tries to comfort Lee while nursing her back to health. The former enters the bathroom to fetch some water and is horrified to see Shelby's dead body. When Dominic tries to explain what happened, a fierce argument erupts among the three of them during which a grief-stricken Lee locks Dominic out of the bedroom in the hallway, holding him responsible for the deaths of her brother and sister-in-law, where he is then murdered by the Piggy Man.
The next morning, Lee convinces Audrey that they have to go back to the Polk family compound to retrieve the video evidence of their torture by the Polks as proof of their story. Despite Audrey's protests, they agree to do so but just as they approach the front door to leave, they are confronted by a person dressed in a Piggy Man costume who turns out to be Dylan, the re-enactor who portrayed Ambrose White, much to the women's surprise.
Reception
"Chapter 8" was watched by 2.20 million people during its original broadcast, and gained a 1.2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.[1]
The episode received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds a 63% approval rating, based on 16 reviews with an average score of 6.3/10.[2] Tom Philips of The New York Observer wrote that the episode's "reliance on heavy gross-outs and strong character beats lead to what has to kindly be called a mixed bag".[3] In contrast, Emily L. Stephens of The A.V. Club was more positive, writing, "The grimness of "Chapter 8" is leavened by flickers of tenderness, some of it from unexpected quarters."[4]
References
- Welch, Alex (November 3, 2016). "Wednesday cable ratings: 'American Horror Story' falls, 'Queen Sugar' holds steady". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- "Chapter 8 Reviews". Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- Philips, Tom. "'American Horror Story: Roanoke' Recap 6×08: If You Ain't Polk, You Ain't People". Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- Stephens, Emily L. (November 3, 2016). "Flickers of tenderness lift up AHS: Roanoke's torture". Retrieved November 4, 2016.
