This week, we had the season finale. We had final girls. We had a happy ending. Most of all, we had a huge surplus of disappointment. This is the season finale blog, so it is lengthy. 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. Who was your favorite “surprise” return to the show: Finn as Bobby, Dylan as Bruce (despite the closed captioning still calling him Alex), or Lily as Lavinia?
Kristi: Lily as Lavinia. She’s a solid actress. Bobby was annoying as hell. How stupid do you have to be to go back?! And don’t even get me started on the happy family garbage at the end. So stupid. (I feel like I am going to enjoy your responses throughout this blog.)
Raylene: I liked Lily and Dylan the best. (Quit cheating and pick one! This isn’t the Burger King 2 for $6 menu. I want a Whopper.)
Eric: Dylan as Bruce or Alex. (I hope that he returns next season as a character named Alex.)
Melanie: I love to see Lily as Lavinia. She plays crazy in such an amazing way. (Out of the people who have been in 6 or more seasons, I feel like Lily may be the most underappreciated talent. She has better range than most of the stars, in my opinion. Sarah gets all the attention, but Lily is a better performer, in my opinion.)
Kelly: Finn, I wasn’t expecting him so when I saw his face I got excited. (I got excited. Then the episode happened. I hate to say this, but I have to attach him to this episode. It makes me sad.)
Kent: This is tough for me. I was just thinking about Dandy Mott and then Finn shows up. I like Finn, but this role wasn’t exciting. Lavinia didn’t remain super crazy or else she would have been my choice. Bruce was consistently amazing every time that he was on screen and I am a big fan of Dylan, so he is my choice here.
By the way, this article points out a big missed opportunity that could have been super fun. Of course, the biggest thing that I took away from it was that Jonas Shevoore was an anagram of Jason Voorhees.
2. For an episode called “Final Girl”, we ended up with 2 Final Girls. Do you feel underwhelmed by that? Did you like that Brooke somehow made it out alive but never contacted Donna?
Kristi: So underwhelmed! I had high hopes for this season. It started out well, but really? Worst last episode ever. Brooke should have died. And the fact that she didn’t contact Donna. The chic that saved her ass, not cool Brooke. (Would you consider this worse than the finale for Roanoke?)
Raylene: I felt the whole finale was extremely underwhelming I would’ve loved if Lange somehow was final girl. (I would have enjoyed Jamie Brewer or Alexandra Breckenridge.)
Eric: There should have been a final girl. I do feel underwhelmed. (Really, how hard is it to just pick one? There are two girls. Just kill one!)
Melanie: Brooke is the final girl because she really left it all behind finally. (That’s very poetic. I honestly would have said Donna because she owned what she did. )
Kelly: I’m glad they both survived. I understand why Brooke didn’t contact Donna because I think that kept them safe in the long run. (Were there further threats out there?)
Kent: Lame as fuck! We could have had this cool opportunity at the end where Brooke or Donna turned on the other to give us a true final girl. This was so F’N lame, I was pretty damn angry. We never got my crazy Brooke theory which would have been so much fun. You may get sick of me writing this, but what a missed opportunity. I liked that Brooke didn’t contact Donna because I thought it was setting up for a true final girl showdown. Now that I know the outcome, no, it was just stupid as hell.
3. How dumb were the ghosts in how they disposed of Margaret? Did they seriously think that putting her head in the wood chipper was a smart idea? Also, how the hell did she hide for all of these years?
Kristi: Freaking idiots! This whole episode pisses me off. I think they thought it was a good idea. To be fair, they are mostly still kids without the opportunity to learn more than they knew when entering there. I’m trying to make sense of this. She is freaking crazy, I’m sure it wasn’t too hard to hide from them. They are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. Plus they were laser-focused on keeping the devil dude dead. (I feel that this was actually a big reason why Real Rita wasn’t around. She clearly would have been the smartest one there.)
Raylene: I was like there is no way she wouldn’t be left haunted to this campground. (It was so obvious, like punch you in the face obvious.)
Melanie: So dumb!! They should have cut her throat and threw her over the fence to die on the other side. She hid in her own little spot like Ben. (Hypothetically, if she didn’t hide, I don’t think that they would have done to her what they did to Richard. I think that they would have killed her if she came around them, but I’m not sure how many would have kept bothering her.)
Kelly: Yo, it was pretty gory for me! (Though I have pointed out that I can’t handle much gore anymore.) (You may not want to ever watch Fargo.)
Kent: There are a number of things in this episode that absolutely pissed me off. This was in the top 3. Just toss the damn head off the campgrounds and be smart. Not a single ghost there was intelligent enough to say something? Where was Nurse Rita who could have chimed in? It doesn’t appear like this was a huge chunk of land, and after all of these years, I think it is safe to assume that the ghosts had covered all the possible ground, numerous times, especially the ones like Jonas who had been trapped there even longer. There’s no way that Margaret hid all of this time. Stupid!
4. Are you good with the idea that all of the ghosts are super friendly to each other now?
Kristi: Nope. I don’t watch AHS for a happy ending. I mean, I guess them not getting along wouldn’t make sense, since they have to live with each other for eternity. I guess it’s better than the gates of heaven opening for them. (Don’t give Ryan Murphy any ideas. I can see a heaven ending.)
Raylene: I’m ok if AHS doesn’t return this whole happy ending has thrown me off. (Yeah, it has soured many of us.)
Eric: Lame! (You’re not even a horror fan and you find this lame. Imagine my disappointment.)
Melanie: Yes because I like a solid heartwarming ending. (Do you like the Hallmark Channel? I don’t mind a happy ending in a horror, depending on the story. Slashers are tough to do a happy ending. Ghost stories can have happy endings though because usually you are helping a ghost tell its story. I recommend The Pact for an interesting ghost film.)
Kelly: I’m glad they all settled their anger and are at peace with each other. 30 years, let alone eternity, is a long time to be vengeful. (I feel like this video is a better response than whatever I have to say. Spoiler alert, this is the bloody end of an amazing film. Go to 2:20 in. In general, I wish more people saw this film and actually took something from it.)
Kent: No! And why the hell is Montana somehow the leader and moral compass of the group? Trevor, I could get behind, or Bertie, or Ray, or Xavier, or Jonas, but Montana, really? No! I get it, they may have decided to try to forgive because they were cursed to remain there. Still, I didn’t like it. Also, why the hell was the stage still set up after all of these years? It didn’t appear that they added any new people to the cursed crew, so it seems like someone could have cleaned up the area. But I also felt like the ghost continued killing for years. Where the hell were the rest of the people that they killed? A complete and total lack of continuity!!!
5. Did you think that Richard’s story wrapped up properly with him simply being killed over and over again?
Kristi: That’s his name! I prefer Devil dude. I mean, I guess it’s appropriate. Now that they are a happy family, they don’t want to see him kill again and yet they get to kill in messed up ways daily. Win, win? (I feel that you can go on and call him Devil Dude if you would prefer. I actually want to learn more about him. Fascinating guy.)
Raylene: Now they have Richard and Margaret to keep killing over and over. But Richard is actually more of a threat because he can actually leave. (Yeah, Margaret is truly a minor threat at this point. She wasn’t exactly strong, she was smart and conniving. That won’t get her far in her current predicament.)
Eric: Yes
Melanie: The whole thing didn’t make sense. Like, if the devil could untie his ropes, couldn’t the devil just kill everyone permanently so Richard could kill Bobby? (Damnit Melanie! Why are you trying to take this one thing away from me? It’s true though. In theory, he has these powers. He got to escape prison. But he can’t overcome this minor obstacle? Seems like BS. But it is a little poetic. I don’t want to say that word again the rest of this blog.)
Kelly: I guess so considering they couldn’t actually kill him for good. I actually really enjoyed that actor, too. I was thinking about it as I watched this episode. He did a great portrayal! (Oh yeah, I really thought that he did a great job. I can’t imagine that to be an easy role and he nailed it.)
Kent: I felt that out of everything in this episode and this season, Richard was the one thing that was consistent and made complete sense with his whole story. At no point did I think that his story felt tacked on or out of sorts. This is my positive answer. Now back to me being cranky.
6. Do you feel that the original Nurse Rita deserved some retribution?
Kristi: Yes, where did she go? (I have no idea. It’s like they didn’t care.)
Raylene: Yes she was completely forgotten about. (Much like Dr. Dre in the mid to late 90’s.)
Eric: Sure
Melanie: Where did she go? How come she didn’t come back? (I would love to have this explained. She had a legitimate reason to be there and be pissed off. I hated the lack of continuity.)
Kelly: No, she was a dumb 5-minute character honestly. (So she doesn’t get to come back but the fake Jingles guys do? While she was dumb, they totally made up the rules as they went. Where was peeping tom guy or Stacey? As you know, a major gripe that I have is that once the rules are established, then the story should abide by them.)
Kent: Hell yeah she did. She was only in one episode. She gets killed by Jingles by the oar shoved down her throat. Why wasn’t she around beyond that episode? Was it because they were too busy trying to make Donna a better character? They missed such a huge opportunity for Rita to kill her. I bet a lot of people would have been like “Ohhhh yeah, I forgot about her” and it would have been a nice surprise. Shit writing, shit continuity.
7. Was Ben, Lavinia, and Lil Bobby hiding all of this time, just like Margaret? What the hell was the point of the scene from the previous episode when the person leaped out from the lake to capture Ben?
Kristi: There were several things that there was no point to this season. I haven’t a clue. Yes, I think they were all hiding. Probably just staying away from the drama that was devil dude. Bobby clearly didn’t want to kill anymore and wanted nothing to do with him. All he wanted was a happy family, which he got. Happy endings and shit. (It is baffling how quickly Lavinia went from crazy to calm and loving. I think that maybe she should have been introduced earlier if that was the arc that they wanted to give her.)
Raylene: It was, I think, Bobby pulling him to his safe haven with him and mom. (But where was this safe haven? I agree, but was it in the lost city of Atlantis? Fucking A, they need to explain shit.)
Eric: No clue (I hope that the next season of AHS is AHS: No Clue. At least they’d be honest with us.)
Melanie: Who was the swamp person? Was it Bobby? If it was Bobby, then why the dramatics to bring him to a picnic in Lavinia and Bobby’s spot? (If it wasn’t Bobby, then I have no clue. I had to assume it was Bobby for a couple of reasons. They were copying Friday the 13th, so in this case, Bobby = Jason. Secondly, I feel that they were trying to draw some attention to the lake. Not many people died in the lake, from what was shown. I would go so far as to guess that they cut a lot of lake stuff that would have given a better perspective. Why they cut it when they could have just done a 10 episode season and fleshed out some things, I just don’t know. I haven’t bought any of the seasons on disc, but I wonder if they have deleted scenes and such. I do have 1-7 on digital though.)
Kelly: Your guess is as good as mine on that lake scene. It was as if they did it JUST to tie in another head nod to Crystal Lake. I figure they were hiding, didn’t want to be bothered. They just wanted to “rest in peace.” (I’m going to apologize in advance that my comment has very little to do with your comment. I do agree with what you say here. But when I read your comment, I read “rest in pieces” and that alone is still normal in the scope of a horror genre. But no, I imagine resting on a cloud of Reese Pieces. My mind goes to special places.)
Kent: I suppose that they all hung out together at the shack, but that doesn’t make much sense. It wasn’t a hard place to find and I’m sure most of the ghosts knew its whereabouts. Not only that, they seemingly knew because they tried avoiding the lady in white. So is it possible that we are dealing with multiple death dimensions? If so, why was it only Lavinia, Ben, and Bobby and why were they able to show up later on? Nope, multiple dimensions theory is stupid. The whole bullshit Jason Voorhees jumping out of the lake scene from episode 8 now makes even less sense. I would love to know what bullshit people try to rationalize this with. I was wondering if the lake had some special properties. You could have made this argument, but the fact that they all showed up on again makes that appear null and void. So how the hell was this family not seen for all of these years?
8. Was this whole season basically about ghosts coming together to make sure that Bobby lived? What other conclusions did you draw from this?
Kristi: Yeah, I guess so. And to make Margret suffer from here on out. You know they are going to mess with her now that they know she’s there. She did basically start them being condemned there for all eternity after all. (Technically the counselors who weren’t paying attention started the curse, which brings me to another rant. IF that was the starting point for the curse, why wasn’t there more focus on it? Why wasn’t the curse explained in any capacity? 2 nights ago, I had a nightmare about being cursed. I can assure you, it was better than this finale.)
Raylene: It has appeared that this was what the whole story lead up to. (Sigh)
Eric: Yes (More sighs)
Melanie: I think the whole point of the season was to kill off Limahl of Kajagoogoo. (I would rather this be the whole point. Like, if I made a horror movie and the whole point was to insult Nickelback and kill them off, people would watch that, right? My biggest question is would the members of Nickelback agree to play themselves for the publicity? Aww man, I could call it “How You Remind Me”. I am claiming full ownership of this idea and technically that’s as good as copyright.)
Kelly: I think the whole season was an attempt to redeem itself but it didn’t do the greatest job of it. I personally think it was better than Roanoke, and Cult, but I know a lot with disagree with me. But to actually answer your question, I can’t. (I preferred this over Cult. I’m so sick of anything political. This is probably better than Roanoke too. I liked the first half of Roanoke a lot, but that second half was really rough. I felt that only the last 2 episodes of this season truly let me down. I really do plan on binge-watching the older seasons to see how I feel watching the full story in a day. With my memory, it’s just the best way to do it.)
Kent: Yeah, that sums it up. Pretty much, a bunch of people got fucked over and murdered, some by people who were also murdered, and came together to help a guy who killed some of them because there was another killer who was worse. The fuck did I just type? They could have at least broken the curse when Ben got to say goodbye to his son, right? That’s a way better ending than that shitty song. Of all 80’s songs, that’s what you pick? I am giving my computer screen the middle finger.
9. Tell me your 3 favorite characters of the season and your least favorite character(s).
Kristi: Mr. Jingles, Devil Dude: I hated him so much that I dug him, and Donna: I enjoyed watching her go from nice lady to crazy bitch to the black chic never lives to ultimately saving the day. (Donna, by and large, was one of the best-written characters. She had a really unique story with many twists and turns compared to the others. I really hope the actress returns.)
Raylene: Donna, Leslie Jordan, Dylan, Bertie and least favorite is Brooke, Ray, Chet (Bertie was really solid in the little time that she was given and I feel that was another missed opportunity. They could have given her a cool backstory.)
Eric: Only two favorites Bruce (Alex) and Mr.Jingles/Ben. All the rest were my least favorite. (I love this response.)
Melanie: Favorites-Montana, Ben (but not Mr.Jingles), and Lavinia. Least favorite- Margaret, Brooke, and Chet. (I feel that Leslie Grossman is destined to never play a well-liked character. Granted, I am a sucker for her as an actress, and I have enjoyed her roles, but I don’t think the general population likes her characters.)
Kelly: As I mentioned earlier, I think the actor who portrayed Ramirez did a fantastic job! I came around to Trevor too after the first few episodes where he seemed like just a horny ass. I also liked how JCL had a bigger role this season compared to his Twisty days. That was a great chance for him to show off his acting which I think was pretty decent! And honorable mention, I also liked when Brooke and Donna teamed up at the end. They were pretty great together considering how it all began. I didn’t care for Margaret just because she was a bitch honestly. I also didn’t care for the two jugheads from the pit. I can’t remember their character names. Sadly they didn’t get HUGE parts, but that’s kind of what makes them disposable for me. (I thought that they could have done more to help Chet’s character stand out more. Ray was lost once we had his backstory. Xavier wasn’t really well developed either. I definitely think a 10th episode could have helped them and Bertie. I think Trevor grew on a lot of people as the season progressed. They did well with him.)
Kent: Richard and Jingles were my MVP’s. Trevor would probably be my third place with Margaret and Bruce finishing off my top 5. Also, what a waste of Mitch Pillegi’s time. As for least favorite, I want to say Stacey, but she was only there for one episode. I really didn’t like Ray or Chet. The reality is that Brooke was kinda lame all season, in hindsight. That’s a damn shame, right there. I don’t blame Emma because she was great in her role, I just didn’t like the character. I also didn’t like the doctor in the first 2 episodes. I honestly liked far more characters than I disliked. I really liked Xavier, Bertie, Courtney, Lavinia, Donna (for the most part), and Jonas. The one that I am very split on is Montana. Some episodes she was great and other ones, she was lame.
Final Thoughts – AHS is coming back for season 10.
A) Should it be their final season? It sounds like they are going to try to get many previous stars from the show on again.
B) Should they keep delving into the past or is it smart to use a few and continue adding new talent? Take this article for what it’s worth (thanks Melanie for sending this to me).
C) Name 5 actors/actresses that you want to see in the next season that we have seen from previous seasons.
D) Name 2 people that haven’t been in AHS that you think would be fun additions.
Kristi: A) I hope not. I have hope for the future. I’m also a Giants fan that thinks they are not going to suck next year, so that’s the person I am. (I’m a Bills fan. Trust me, I get it.)
B) I do enjoy seeing new faces. It brings a little more to it. That being said, I would like to see old faces. I love Kathy Bates. (The odd thing about Kathy is that she can do so many roles. Yet, I have only seen her in a handful of films, but she is always consistently great.)
C) This is too much for a girl that can’t remember names.
D) Let’s get some metal band members. Namely, Corey Taylor and Kerry King. This would please me. (Corey Taylor? You don’t want Adam Levine to come back? Haha, I’d actually love to see Corey do something on this show. That would be fun as hell.)
Raylene: It should be the last season. I want Lange, Frances, Bates. I think Vinnie Jones would be a good addition. (You’d think that Murphy would want anybody who was in a film called Midnight Meat Train. I would be cool with Bradley, Leslie, and Brooke as well from that film. Fun fact: the rabbi on Fear TWD was in this film as well.)
Eric: I am done and have no opinions. (I can’t say that I blame ya. But we have Chick-fil-a to look forward to!)
Melanie: A)I would love to see more seasons, but It should be their last if they can’t wow us anymore. (I think that is the internal conflict that I face. If it ends, I know damn well that I would rather have a mediocre season of AHS rather than nothing. Like most of us, I just want something 20% better than what they give us.)
B) If they are continuing on, I think that adding new people is smart. If this is the last hurrah, I want to see only previously viewed faces.
C) Five of my must haves-Gaga, Denis, Frances, Kathy, Lange
D) Marilyn Manson (just so he could add his strange and unusual) and Milly Shapiro (she is absolutely gorgeous and is a wonderful actress. Also, I must mention she was in a particularly terrifying movie called Heredity. It is on prime now and I highly recommend watching it.) (I don’t know if you and Eric watched Sons, but Marilyn was on that briefly. I think he could be fun. I think musicians could be fun, like Alice Cooper. Milly Shapiro is awesome, as is Hereditary. The same director made Midsommar. It’s long, but pretty good if you like pagan cult stories.)
Kelly: A.) My God, end the madness already! Nothing has been decent since Hotel and it’s becoming like the Saw dynasty for me, it’s just too long with too much filler and not enough quality. (I can’t tell if you were trying to get a rise out of me with the Saw comment. You do know who you’re talking to, so part of me thinks that you did it with a smirk. Here’s the thing, SAW is the best horror franchise of this millennium and belongs in the top 5 horror franchises when considering the scope, story, and amount of decent to good films. This is where I restrain myself because this is already a super long blog.)
B.) Bring back some Murder House style pleaseee! It was the BEST! (Agreed. The thing that Murder House did so well was offer sex appeal to everybody, and I think a lot of us miss that. Instead, Murphy just goes for gay dudes with sweet asses, and I don’t blame him, but he could be appealing to a broader audience by going back to his roots.
C.) Connie, Dylan, Evan, Gaga (it’s not gonna happen), Denis, and Frances. Gave you 6 since Gaga isn’t going to happen, but I’d like to see her again. And honestly I could say Jessica, Kathy, and Angela. (I think Gaga could truly revive the show. I wonder how much money it would require and if it would be worth it.)
D.) I know he was on for a hot second, but I would love some more Neil Patrick Harris. And maybe another actor/actress from a significant horror movie. (I also mentioned NPH because he was good in what little that he had to work with.)
Kent: A)I’m all for more seasons. It’s a horror anthology. They can go to season 20 and I am not going to bitch about it, I don’t think. But even the mightiest of titans have to stop at some point, or get terrible. The Simpsons are the best example. But South Park is in season 21 or 22 and still killing it. TWD is in season 10 and experiencing a bit of a renaissance after having 2-3 lackluster seasons. With it being an anthology, this can go strong for a while, if they want it to. But you have to keep making new stars.
B) A mixture of both. You need the established stars to get people to tune in. The past few years, they have built up Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, and Cody Fern, for instance. Now they can pull their own weight and have fans.
C) Danny Huston, Neil Patrick Harris, Mare Winningham, Shree Crooks, Taissa Farmiga, James Cromwell, Billy Eichner, Ash Santos, Dina Meyer, and Zachary Quinto. Obviously, I want Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Denis O’Hare, Wes Bentley, Cheyenne Jackson, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy, and Lady Gaga back, but I am sure some of the people above have listed them. Evan can return too, Paulson can be back in a smaller role or not at all.
D) Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) for obvious reasons. Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees) or Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) would be a lot of fun. Bill Moseley (Otis Driftwood) or Richard Brake would be a lot of fun. Emilio Estevez or Keiffer Sutherland could be interesting in small roles. Dee Wallace is always a good choice. Brad Douriff (voice of Chucky) is a really talented actor. Liam Cunningham (Davos from GoT), Iain Glen (Jorah), Jerome Flynn (Bronn) Aiden Gillen (Littlefinger), or Rory McCann (The Hound) all would be delightful. Maybe someone from SOA like Chibs, Tig, or Clay. Amy Forsythe is a great actress and would be a strong lead and probably would have been a better Brooke than Emma was. I just want to see some familiar faces from other big shows or the horror world if this is the final season. Have fun with it. Larry Fessenden, Pollyanna McIntosh, Lauren Ashley Carter, Sean Bridgers, Angela Bettis, David Morse, Costas Mandylor, Robert Patrick, and Clancey Brown are all solid choices.
Listen, I know that this was long and all I have done is bitched and moaned, but they really screwed up with this season. I want to love the next season. I don’t know if this blog will be returning or not. There’s the part of me that loves the early intrigue and the possibilities, but I sometimes feel mentally worn out by season’s end by the terrible decisions and direction that the stories have been going. I also like that we have this fun little group that has a lot of different ideas. I love the various ideas. If I say that we won’t be doing the blog next season, I can assure you that I will be doing one. Right now, I am going to say that it is 50/50. Either way, I want to genuinely thank everybody who has contributed this season. I know that everybody has a life and stuff going on, and although this shouldn’t be a priority, this season has probably had the most consistency as far as people staying with the season. That gives me hope. I appreciate the time that you all take in participating. I’m sure by September, I’ll be excited again and will probably be harassing all of you again.
Happy holidays to all of you and if you see a good horror movie or TV show, drop me a line. I love knowing what people are currently watching. For now, my watch has ended.