Well, at least this episode did some stuff, so that’s what we’re here to discuss. We had exploding pets, nude men looking for lesbians, sombreros, a sweet opening with coffins, video footage of a sleeve getting moist, and a chemical truck. That is something. Anyway, I wanna thank Melanie, Cece, and Teddy for stopping by to offer their insight and humor me by answering my inane questions. Finally, any comments in the blog in bold are from Kent.
Please check us out at the actual 9 Deuce website, on Facebook at facebook.com/9deuceblog , on Twitter @official9deuce, or Instagram at Official9Deuce. Share this, like this, write us an email with a question at kent@9deuce.com. Thank you.
- Give me your thoughts on the opening scene with the coffins.
Melanie: The therapist is taking his patients being cured really hard.
Cece: It was kind of a cool way to start the episode.
Teddy: made me hella suspicious of the therapist. (It was the moment where the writers were like “Hey, just in case you haven’t figured it out yet, this therapist guy is going to have a bigger role”.)
Kent: It felt like an opening that you would have gotten from season’s past, if that makes any sense. It was quick, to the point, and cool. I miss that sort of thing happening more frequently.
- What do you make of the chemical truck? What do you think that they are spraying?
Melanie: Is it wine? I hope it is wine. (Oh man, I hadn’t considered that but I am totally in favor of it being wine!)
Cece: Truck was weird. I think they were spraying some sort of hallucinogen. (So you are also on board with my Joker gas. See people, I’m not 100% crazy.)
Teddy: they were clearly spraying gmo’s that turn people into clowns (bet thats what Ally legit believes xD) (If that happens, I would laugh, and be incredibly sad at the same time.)
Kent: I feel that The Joker is behind all of this. Yes, Ryan Murphy has made a deal with DC and that’s what we are seeing. I guess it could be the Riddler, but the Joker seems more likely. In all seriousness, this is actually the most interesting subplot so far for me.
- The detective that has been at Ally and Ivy’s place numerous times, Jack Samuels, is also friends with the “Neighbors From Hell”, Meadow and Harrison. Give me your thoughts on this.
Melanie: The detective is Harrison’s boyfriend or someone he wants to be his boyfriend.
Cece: He is Harrison’s boy toy and he is also part of what I think is the cult forming.
Teddy: I believe that everyone including the cop and the therapist are part of this cult. I believe they’re torturing Ally and her wife due to the coffee spilling incident with Kai (he’s already shown how vindictive he is) (This reminds me of the ludicrous plot to the remake of Shaft with Samuel L Jackson. Basically the whole plot revolves around a guy’s lunch or dinner being spilled on him. As always, I am up for randomness.)
Kent: Jack is Harrison’s buddy with a butt. More importantly, Jack has some good connections and will hopefully be involved with the clowns giving them a big time “inside guy” in certain capacities. He could be a big character.
- How does Kai have that much control over the protesters, that he can simply say “enough” and they all scatter?
Melanie: He paid them.
Cece: I think Ryan Murphy was making a nod at all the ‘paying protestors’ stuff that is happening in today’s political climate. So, I believe Kai paid them. (Teddy gets credit for realizing this, although, I agree) (Alright, then your answer is disqualified. You get the consolation prize. teddy moves on to the next round.)
Teddy: I told cece last night that its a reference to the real world claims of paid protesters. Kai is trying to either groom or terrorize Ally
Kent: I got nothing. Everything about it was inane. Even if the paying protesters thing is legit, think about how fucking dumb that shit is. The reality of it, baffles me. I’m also apparently the only person who didn’t know that paying protesters was a legitimate thing. I don’t watch the news when at all possible.
- Was the microwave scene a little too much or over the top for your tastes?
Melanie: I was still focused on the terrible way the boy said I would rather be saying goodbye to you from the previous scene. (Yeah, that was a pretty awful thing as well. He’s still my #2 fav character so far.)
Cece: I mean, it is what it is. It didn’t bother me as much as it could have, but the idea was gross.
Teddy: I bet peta has an annuerism from this. Personally, I hate guinea pigs xD while I would never do this, I wasn’t heart broken
Kent: Over the top for me considering how this season has played out. In other seasons, an exploding guinea pig would fit right in. Over the top for the sake of being over the top rather than caring about the story. It’s like jump scares in a movie just for the sake of having a jump scare that doesn’t add any value or merit to the film (cough…Insideous…cough cough). Or Saw 7……in it’s entirety minus anything involving Cary Elwes.
- Kai talked to Meadow and Harrison separately. In the end, we know(assume) that something bad has happened to Meadow. Was this Kai’s doing or somebody else’s?
Melanie: I don’t think anything happened to Meadow. (This answer intrigued me most of all. )
Cece: I believe since Kai spoke with Harrison, he was behind the incident but maybe not physically.
Teddy: it was definitely Kai’s hand that gave the order. He is a very vindictive person as he shows time and time again.
Kent: Kai seems to be the one in control, but I think he’s at best, second in command. The real answer is in my response to #7.
- Do you think that Dr. Rudy Vincent (Ally’s doctor) is a protagonist or antagonist in this season?
Melanie: He is both. He is working both sides of this terrible coin.
Cece: I literally believe he is THE antagonist. We see Kai being the voice, but maybe he is the brains behind everything. (Pet Peeve alert. I’m sorry, but you used literally. How does literally fit the sentence? We are through the looking glass, people! Literally has been so overused that people just flippantly toss it in to sentences and it makes zero sense. Parents, punch your children in the face every time they utilize the term literally improperly. This is a fight that we can win! Also kick your children for improperly using the term epic. Together, we can make a difference.)
Teddy: knowing people’s fears is definitely the doctor, but I feel like the doctor is still number #2 in the operation. Kai is this shows Manson and we all know how convincing Manson was to people (Ahh, so you have the top 2 spots inverted from my theory. I can see that working. I would guess that Kai has been a patient and that’s why I think doc is the head honkey.)
Kent: If this guy isn’t the lead puppet master in all of this, I am not going to be a happy Kent. He knows who and how to manipulate. He needs to be the leader. Whether that makes him the antagonist or protagonist is beyond my cares.
- Who was more inane in the moments after Oz showed his mom’s the video of WInter getting her sleeves wet: Ally or Ivy?
Melanie: I was too busy staring at the sleeves to notice. Seriously, such a weird scene. (The sleeves are going to be what I take away from this season first and foremost.)
Cece: Ally. Ivy had every right to be pissed off and leave.
Teddy: i feel like Ally just felt like her fears were justified with all this shit going on
Kent: Ivy saw all of 3 seconds and wasn’t hearing anything. I get it, but it was foolish of her to at least not ask Ally, “Why didn’t she roll up her sleeve?”. I get why most people are going to say Ally. You just got caught in a bad situation and rather than try to explain what happened, you focus on the big issue at hand. Seriously, what’s more important in that moment: hurt feelings over something that you don’t know the full story to OR the fact that somebody is recording shit in your house and mother fuckers are dying left and right in your neighborhood? Women, they’re silly in times of crisis.
- Are Ally and Ivy the worst TV parents of the past 5 years?
Melanie: Nope not even close. (Ohhhh, this is something that we must discuss on the podcast. I don’t watch enough TV to offer alternatives.)
Cece: I mean, maybe. I truly believe Ivy has done nothing wrong though, and frankly, I feel bad for her. (She’s certainly not very firm in the least bit.)
Teddy: Ally is the worst person ever, i feel like she is gonna pass Kai in the crazy scheme. Ivy needs to take her boy and gtfo
Kent: Rick and Laurie Grimes have held this prestige for awhile, season 2 of TWD was a fuckeroo in parenting. I know, let’s all blame ally. She killed wrestling hall of famer, Pedro Morales, in front of her kid. I get it. She should have stayed with Oz rather than simply telling him to wait somewhere because clearly he doesn’t get punished much so he is gonna do whatever he wants, due to shitty parenting. The fact is, Ivy is becoming aware that she is married to a fuckig whacko, and she should have never left Ally alone in such a situation. Also, this is why I am so glad that I do not have kids. Also also, seriously, Pedro Morales???? Look him up. He’s a wrestling great. You could have gone with anything aside from Morales and Martinez and been fine.
Bonus Deuce
- Do you think that AHS is going downhill due to Ryan Murphy spreading himself too thin with American Crime Story as well Scream Queens and Feud?
Melanie: Downhill, no. Boring as fuck, yes.
Cece: I don’t think it’s going downhill because he’s working on other shows. I think he just needs to go back to his earlier seasons in the fictional style. No more real-time. I watch TV to escape real life. But also, I respect him for doing it this way. It just doesn’t play out like his Hotel and back seasons.
Teddy: i dont believe this is the case at all. Hollywood and actors usually have too much down time in between projects and I feel like he is just keeping busy. (I think downtime is absolutely needed when it comes to the creative process as a writer or actor. That shit takes a HUGE ass toll that the common viewer often is like “Well it’s their fucking job, so just do it and move on” but often, you engulf your whole life into certain projects, so the break is needed. Otherwise you just become Nic Cage.)
Kent: I liken this to what happened with Seth MacFarlane. He finally gets to come back with Family Guy, Then, a year or two later, he gets to make American Dad. Shortly after that, he is allowed to make The Cleveland Show. So here’s what happened, Family Guy’s quality went down big time around seasons 7 and 8. American Dad stayed pretty great throughout. Cleveland had one good season out of 4, the rest were hit and miss. Some great episodes, but it didn’t last long for obvious reasons. Of course this is hurting AHS. Take a mental break. The past 2 seasons have not been nearly as good as Hotel, not anywhere close. If you think about it, it’s not like Hotel was GREAT as far as the overarching story, but what it lacked in that regard, it made up for in really great characters. We are missing great characters.
- Would you be okay if the ending of this season showed that this has all been imagined by Ally as she is currently in a mental ward?
Melanie: Sure. Whateves at this point. (Great, I got Melanie and her bottles of wine on board.)
Cece: I think that would be cool as hell, but I don’t think that will happen. I think it’s really going on.
Teddy: I feel like it would be a big fuck you to all the other characters in this show. (Like this season already isn’t a big enough fuck you. I say reach for the biggest fuck you that they can offer. I doubt they can outdo the finale of Roanoke, but I would love to see them try.)
Kent: This would be the saving grace. I’m not going to spell it out for you, but go ahead and watch the past 3 episodes and think about it. Ally is in a mental ward. She sometimes is willing to talk to the doctor, but not always. She has to deal with a crazy nude guy. She has a phobia of clowns. Maybe the election pushed her over the edge. All of this could tie together so well. No, it won’t happen. BOOOOOO!
Were you Kentertained by this week’s episode?
Melanie: No
Cece: Meh. It was a bit more exciting than last week, but, it looks to be getting better as per next week’s preview!
Teddy: I feel like there was alot going on in this episode at least in the murder sense so thats a plus.
Kent: Well at least Ryan Murphy delivered the man ass. Seriously, what took so long? Best episode of the season, no doubt. With that being said, I was bored more often than enthralled unfortunately. I’m close, but not quite there yet. So nay, I am not Kentertained. Bring back the nude guy, name more people after pro wrestlers, give me more HLA in bathtubs, some female nudity, and more Evan Peters slapping bitches, and we may have something here!
All pictures used in this blog are for review purposes. They are the property of the FX Network, Ryan Murphy, and whoever else is involved.