This week, they gave us many deaths, we learned more about both Rita’s, Ray’s backstory, and learned that Richard and Montana are working together. My name is Kent and I write the questions every week and I have a great group of people who answer them. If you are familiar with some of the other TV Show blogs that we do on the site, then you will recognize most of the names. If you would like to participate in the blog and answer my inane questions, please contact me at kent@9deuce.com. Please enjoy!
1. We learned of Ray’s tragic night with Chan. What was the most logical thing for Ray to have done in the situation regarding Chan?
Raylene: Perhaps check his pulse after he fell instead of assuming he was dead. (Hmmm, so you’re suggesting that you may want to check someone’s pulse before assuming death. Okay.)
Eric: checked for a pulse, called an Ambulance. Not just assume he was dead. And oh yeah……. Don’t be a dick (And you’re suggesting that calling an ambulance may be just another way of doing something rather than assuming. Interesting.)
Melanie: Not be a dick. (Oh, how novel. Don’t be a dick when someone’s life is on the line.)
Kelly: Blame suicide. I thought up an entire scenario in my head reading this question about how Ray talked with Chan who expressed some stress during the party and how he said he was going to take a walk and be back. Then, after a while, Ray realizes Chan hasn’t come back. So he goes out to try to find him and notices his car is gone and drives around to see if he can find him. He finds him at the cliff, gets out of his car to talk to him, and finds out that Chan is suicidal. He was trying to talk him out of it and then Chan starts to drive, Ray tries to grab the wheel and his watch breaks off and he can’t stop the car. I think it’s EXTREMELY plausible! (Note above how everybody is trying to be cautious, aware, and nice. Nope, you just immediately think about how you’re gonna get out of the shit storm. And yes, this is exactly the sort of thing that his dumbass should have done. I wholeheartedly agree with this assessment.)
Kent: First off, he should have been like “Whatever the fuck nude game you’re making these guys play, maybe you stop that nonsense.” Seriously, what the fuck kinda frat does that? Unless that was a gay frat, which I’m not sure if they exist so pardon my ignorance here, but what kind of message is being sent here? I’m fine with all the drinking, that’s the fun part, until it stops being fun, but there are lines. To answer the question, obvious things are obvious. But if he is that oblivious and is now plotting to cover up the drinking death, maybe you get rid of the evidence. Driving a car into shit is not the epitome of getting rid of the evidence. 10 years olds know that. So why was a guy in college that utterly stupid? There are so many ways to get rid of the body. Ray had so many opportunities as the others have alluded to.
2. Nurse Rita wasn’t actually Nurse Rita. The real Rita was murdered because she couldn’t keep quiet. What is Donna Chambers’ (fake nurse Rita) end goal here, do you think? Also, feel free to talk about how Vietnam, pornography, and high fructose syrup can turn you into a serial killer.
Raylene: She wanted to see what triggers Ben to kill. I would like to think that some type of trauma in a person’s life can help along with the murderous traits. (In a lot of instances, yes, traits can be blamed on any number of things. Of course, how many people go through similar circumstances and don’t take up those traits? Sooooo maybe it is the high fructose syrup.)
Eric: She wanted to be able to live vicariously through Mr. Jingles. (This seems like a really good theory to me and I am kinda hoping they follow along this path. I want to see it!)
Melanie: From my extensive research (or fangirling) on the topic of serial killers, the triple threat of Vietnam, Porn, and high fructose corn syrup is strictly the cause of creating serial killers. Just kidding, Fake Nurse Rita is a huge fangirl of serial killers. She is obsessed with seeing what makes them tick, when in actuality I think she gets a second-hand high from serial killers killing like a weirdo.
Also, what is found to be coincidental in almost all serial killers is some sort of traumatic brain injury (a blow to the head) as a child or teen. I read a lot about serial killers and listen to quite a few podcasts about the subject. I find it interesting. (TBI is a hell of a thing. I’ve seen first hand how it can cause a calm person to go absolutely bonkers in the blink of an eye. That shit is scary! See, all that research has finally been worth it because it was leading up to this very moment and this very question. Totally worth it.)
Kelly: I have a few theories that could end up being Donna’s motive but right now none are set in stone. I think the twist was GENIUS and it actually kept me interested in the episode this time. I was pretty bored in the first two so this was a pleasant surprise! She may end up having a background of killing in her youth and decided to go into this field to help her satisfy her desires to kill. And porn… *Eyeroll.* (This was a much-needed twist to maintain my high level of interest. As far as I’m concerned, this twist won the week for AHS. Twas a lackluster week of TV.)
Kent: So here’s the thing. I’m now afraid to visit Vietnam. If I go, will I become a serial killer? Will I simply eat lots of bananas and rice and get the Walken look from Deer Hunter? Will I have some loud Vietnamese man yelling something like “gunsummao!”? I don’t know, but I know that I am not a huge fan of rice, so I am officially declaring to the world that I will not be visiting Vietnam for the reasons that I just stated. This is funny talk in the 80’s, but the 90’s blamed hip hop and video games on violence. People really never learn but it’s fun to have something or someone to blame, right? I do blame hip hop for getting me to say the N with an A word far too often in my teen years because I would sing along with Snoop. That’s on Snoop, not on me.
In regard to Donna, I think there’s a killer and a coward inside of her. So to kinda piggyback on Eric’s response, I feel there is a level of living vicariously through Jingles while keeping her hands relatively clean. But now she has it in for Brooke. Here’s the thing, and to me, it’s obvious. Brooke is also a serial killer and Donna wants to get inside her mind. When I am wrong, I will apologize.
3. Richard Ramirez and Montana are working together to get rid of Brooke. Donna also seems to have an issue with Brooke. What are your thoughts on this intriguing development?
Raylene: I think Montana uses the studio to scope out people to rob intentionally and at some point, Richard turned a robbery into a homicide so now she’s in too deep. Donna may just want as many victims for Ben and the study. (Okay, so you’re going with Montana and Richard being small-time until shit went slightly too far. I can see that.)
Eric: Brooke is an asshole. Donna sees her as Real Rita. (Back to back questions that we in agreement on. What a wonderful occasion! Well…the first part. The second aspect, I’d be intrigued to see where that goes.)
Melanie: I think my previous thoughts on Brooke to be incorrect. Montana’s brother or boyfriend was the groomsman and she finds Brooke at fault for his murder. Fake nurse Rita just didn’t want anyone to leave to get help to ruin her fun. (Brooke is definitely to blame in some way for the wedding massacre that may or may not have happened. I am still saying that it didn’t happen. But, if it did, then this is a very logical path to go down.)
Kelly: I’m clueless. Legit clueless. I can’t wait to see where the connection is made. I loved the twists in this episode though! Even the Montana twist threw me off! (The Montana twist was really the cherry on top. And I love cherries, so this was good. I think we’re all clueless with our rampant speculation. I think that’s why people read this more often than not.)
Kent: Montana likes the bad boys and I feel that is all that is needed to tie her to Richard. Richard just wants to kill, and he feels that Brooke is competition in his territory. Montana is so sick of Richard obsessing over killing Brooke that they hatched this scheme. While Richard may know that Brooke has done some things, he’s not fully aware of all of her deeds. Brooke will kill Montana, that is my bold prediction. I don’t know if Donna hates Brooke. I think she knows what Brooke did and is chasing just as she did with Jingles. If Brooke isn’t a killer or psychopath, I am going to look beyond foolish.
4. As we discussed last week, the main characters seem likely to last deeper in the season (except Ray) so the show comes up with random characters to kill every week. What was your favorite kill of the week?
Raylene: I liked Nurse Rita’s kill
Eric: Real Nurse Rita and the spike,
Melanie: The random Mr. Jingles impersonators.
Kelly: Real Nurse Rita was brutal… but then again, so was Ray. I don’t have a favorite, sorry. And as a bonus answer, I’m sad for the poor guy dressed as Jingles. 🙁 Even though he did seem to potentially actually want to make a kill which is disturbing. So maybe it was for the best?
Kent: This one is tough because I took great pleasure in every kill for a variety of reasons. The Ray kill was classic Friday the 13th and Ray was what they would refer to as the token black dude back in the 80’s, and they typically fared very poorly in slashers. So I loved the nod to that. The real Rita kill was classic in the 80’s as well, and it could have occurred in a Friday the 13th or Halloween or any number of slashers. She was also the cliched “Had she just shut the fudge up, she’d be alive” kill. The 2 impersonators made me giggle. I am torn on whether I felt bad for fatty impersonator or not. He didn’t have enough going on to know whether his true intent was to fit in or take out some aggression. I know I liked the character, so I was sad to see him go. With that being said, it had the best dialogue surrounding it, so I’m going with Fatty.
5. Does Xavier have an ulterior motive for wanting to save Margaret and Chef Bertie?
Raylene: I think he’s having guilt for getting the porn producer killed. (I agree with guilt, but I am more inclined toward past guilt than current guilt.)
Eric: I’m not sure yet. Maybe he doesn’t. (If my theory is correct, I am inclined to say that everybody there is an asshole. If not, he and Bertie have a strong opportunity to be decent people.)
Melanie: I am not sure about that one. Maybe they have the only recipe for bug juice? (That’s a better response than anything that I’m gonna say.)
Kelly: With all that’s gone on with the twists and turns, I don’t have answers for you today. 🙁 I wish I had better insight, but I was taken aback with all the new turns that my predictions aren’t set yet. I’d rather not give you a bull answer and just be straight with you. (You should look back on previous AHS blogs just to see how often we get things correct versus incorrect. It’s a good ratio.)
Kent: Everybody at the camp is currently a bad person. Not bad in the sense that we have all sinned. Everybody here is an asshole who has done something relatively horrible. They have been brought here to pay for their sins. Jingles is gonna be the hand of God serving out some punishment. My guess is that Xavier killed his mother or grandmother and fled. That’s when he was broke and started doing the porn. See he was a killer before the porn, so take that Donna! My hand of God theory boils down to Margaret’s constant religious talk and last year’s season. Jingles is the unexpected hero of this.
Final Thoughts – Which line from Trevor was better: “His knife versus my guns.” or “Welcome to your own petard, asshole!”? Bonus question, do you think any of the main characters are innocent at this point?
Raylene: His Knives versus my guns for sure. I am going with maybe Chef Bertie. (Bertie is due to play some weird pivotal role, or live long enough for us to believe it only for her to die quickly and then I ask a question about if you were surprised that we didn’t get to learn more about Bertie. She also appeared on ALF.)
Eric: “His knife versus my guns.” None of these assholes are truly innocent. (There’s a film on NetFlix called Death House. It has like the worst of the worst people in a ridiculous prison. I’m not recommending it to you, or anybody for that matter despite the great cast including Kane Hodder who was Jason Voorhees 4 times. But your line made me think about that film. I repeat, it’s not a good film.)
Melanie: His image vs my guns was awesome. I don’t think so. They all have baggage that keeps it interesting. (The baggage is what allows them to spread out a whole night over 10 episodes because we get a never-ending buffet of flashbacks and solid 80’s music. I loved hearing Stroke this week.)
Kelly: For sure the guns! So campy! A part of me feels Xavier really might be innocent (just look at his reactions, he’s seriously terrified), and Pornstash (nope, I didn’t remember his name and I’ll keep referring to him as this over Trevor. He doesn’t look like a Trevor). I’m not too sure on Brooke’s part since multiple people want her gone. And last thought: King Ding-a-ling is actually my fave right now. (Thank you! He doesn’t look like a Trevor, and that I why I keep forgetting his name. They had so many 80’s names to go with and Trevor wasn’t the right call. Unless Trevor isn’t really Trevor like Rita wasn’t Rita. I’d rather call him Gary. I also feel that this video is appropriate after my Gary comment.)
Kent: Where is the love for “Welcome to your own petard, asshole!” Just in case people aren’t familiar with the term petard, I have only ever heard it used in the phrase “hoisted by my own petard” or something similar to that. That means that you are undone by your own ideas or schemes. So this was such a beautiful way for Trevor to go about it, almost Shakespearian. He was going to kill Jingles with his own trap. A true thing of beauty. The guns line was a good funny line. The petard line was a bit more cerebral. As I have said, they are all horrible people. What if Trevor was the only innocent person? Nope, that ruins all my predictions.