American Horror Story: Roanoke - Chapter 7

This week's episode of American Horror Story was so brutal, bloody and insane that we are all pretty much Sidney in this gif by the end of it ...

I was left with an overall feeling of 'what is even happening?!' and I loved it. We were told that there would be plenty of deaths, after all there is only one survivor, I just did not expect it to come with so many jaw dropping moments. Oh, and my fave makes his season six debut in this episode!

We start the episode with Sidney and his crew watching events unfold from their production trailer. Sidney is particularly excited about the fight between Dominic and Matt. Good to know he's still trash. 

One of Sidney's assistants asks about Diana and they are concerned that they cannot reach her. Sidney is pretty flippant about the whole thing and brushes the assistant off. She goes outside just as another crew member notices Rory get stabbed on the monitors. Sidney is about to take a closer look when he hears Alyssa (the assistant who went outside) scream. Sidney goes outside to investigate and whatever he sees makes him yell for the other crew member to bring the camera. Turns out that Alyssa was stabbed and Sidney seems to be more interested in filming it than actually helping. Agnes rushes out of the bushes and stabs Sidney. Perhaps Sidney should have looked harder for her when he was warned, just saying. Agnes turns on the camera guy stabbing him as well and takes off with the camera. That is THREE deaths and we're not even 5 minutes into the show. I am totally going to keep an running tally just for fun.

Back at the house Audrey is attempting to locate Rory. Nobody believes the whole 'R is for Rory' thing. Monet snaps that perhaps they shouldn't try to scare Audrey, Rory is her husband after all. They all agree to go searching for him. Audrey snaps at Lee and asks if Lee intends to film her the entire time. Lee admits she is because she wants a record of what actually happened, not what Sidney makes everyone think happened. 

Dominic calls for everyone to come because he's found something. The 'something' is a pool of blood where Rory was attacked. They all agree it is real blood. It's not corn syrup as Dominic quips (he's done enough slasher films to know). Audrey realizes that Sidney must have put Rory up to this before he left for his screen test. We cut to an interview with Audrey in one of those confessional booths you see on reality TV shows. She is crying about how she was silly to have thought it would have worked, and that the age gap must have been too much for them to overcome. Poor Audrey. 

Agnes has taken the camera and set up her own sort of confessional booth. She is arguing with herself about whether the life choices she has been making, mainly murder, are the best choices. She wavers between being devastated for the death of Alyssa and the viewpoint of the Butcher that Alyssa needed to die. It's a powerful scene, and one that shows that Agnes really is mentally unstable. It's not a ruse. It's not some kind of possession. The proof of this comes when the lights go out on their own and there being a bunch of the stick figure things that the colonist love to leave behind when Agnes finally gets them back on. 

Back at the house, Dominic decides he needs to talk to Shelby. He seems to be interested in pursuing at relationship with her. He reminds her of the very good sexytimes that they had. Shelby calls him an asshole just as Matt walks in. Matt misreads the situation and tells Dominic he can have Shelby if he wants. Matt is no longer interested. 

In a confessional Dominic admits he wants to be the 'bad boy' of the house. He did his research and knows that the villain of the group gets the most screen time. He is happy to play the jerk even if he does have feelings for Shelby. Screen time matters more. 

Shelby has run upstairs because she is understandably upset. Her marriage is over. I would be a mess. Shelby sees a camera on her bed that wasn't there before and that is when Agnes shows herself. Shelby attempts to reason with Agnes, but gets cut with the cleaver for her trouble. Shelby, realizing she is about to die, ensures she is recording everything so that everyone knows who killed her. Dominic rushes in just as Agnes is about to land the killing blow and tackles her to the ground. He goes to comfort Shelby and Agnes makes her escape. 

Apparently the best person to assist Shelby in her medical crisis is Audrey because she had played a nurse once. Dominic and Matt are snipping at each other about who is helping more, so I am sure that is very relaxing for Shelby. Dominic screams at the Sidney (via the camera, obviously) to send an ambulance.  The boys resume arguing about who is going to go attempt to find the production trailer to get help. Neither guy wants to leave Shelby. Lee and Monet are over the guys and their pissing contest so they offer to go. Monet mostly offers because she doesn't trust Lee to actually come back with help. Lee shows that she is carrying a gun and is admits that she is fine with shooting Agnes. Audrey pleads for no more bloodshed and reminds everyone of the secret tunnel that can lead them out. Audrey joins them on their quest to find Sidney (and help). The tunnel is creepy and unsettling. They run into what appears to be the real Edward Mott who does not want company and chases them out of the tunnel as Lee shoots at him.

Meanwhile, Matt is being very sweet with Shelby. They have a rational talk about how the house drove them apart before the cheating or anything else happened. Shelby really wants to try to get back what they had. You cannot help but root for them to work it out. 

Audrey realizes that the blood moon is rising and wants to go back. Monet wants to push forward. They finally make it to the production trailer only to find everyone dead. Audrey does not handle this well, at all.

They attempt to find a phone, attempt to start the car and other incredibly smart things but none of them work. Just as they are discussing what to do next, Agnes runs out of the woods. Lee shoots her and they run. They notice the colonists walking up to the house and so they hide. Their hiding spot also happens to be where Rory's body was strung up in the trees. Poor Audrey has his blood drip on her. As if your husband dying was not traumatic enough. 

While they are giving Audrey a moment to mourn a group of guys come up and start cattle-prodding everyone. Turns out the Polks are real and Finn Wittrock is playing one of them!

It was literally two seconds (which is the gif above) but it was enough for me to confirm it was Finn. His name is, apparently, Jether Polk. I look forward to seeing more of him in the upcoming episodes (even if they have done their best to make him look unattractive). I am pretty sure there is not going to be any swooning happening (like there was with Tristan and Valentino) but I anticipate his character is going to be all kinds of fascinating (and messed up). 

Back at the house, Matt wakes up in the middle of night. He walks, trance like, down into the basement of the house. Dominic follows him and sees Matt having sex with Scathach and so he goes to wake Shelby so she can see it for herself. Shelby, naturally, is not happy about any of this. She takes a crowbar and beats on Scathach. Matt is not thrilled by this turn of events. Turns out he only came back to the house because of Scathach. He loves her. Shelby snaps. She wails on Matt with the crowbar until his head is completely bashed in.  My jaw dropped. I did not expect this turn of events, and Lily Rabe nails this scene. That, also, brings our body count up to 4. Dominic convinces her to give him the crowbar as Shelby completely breaks down. He wants her to turn herself in and points out that there are camers all over the house. He has got a great point, she cannot exactly hide what happened. 

The Polks take the women back to their homestead. Turns out the whole cannibal thing was also not a lie because they immediately start to prepare Lee's leg. They rub peanut oil and seasoning onto the leg. They are basically tenderizing it. *shudder* They cut Lee's leg and she screams. I am going to have nightmares forever. They torture Audrey and Monet by forcing them to eat pieces of Lee's leg. We don't know if Lee is alive but I am assuming she is at this point. The entire scene was horrific and hard to watch. 

Agnes, who has cauterized her own wound and dug out the bullet, comes back to the house and yells about how they have no claim to the land. She is basically behaving as if she is the Butcher. The real Butcher does not take kindly to being impersonated I gather because she walks up with the other colonists at this point and uses her cleaver on Agnes. This brings our death total to 5 for this bloody, insane episode. 

We've lost some big names, and characters already and the death toll is only going to rise. We'll be left with one survivor by the time the tenth episode ends. I predict it'll be one of the women currently with the Polks as one of them could, potentially, get away. 

I am, obviously, happy that Finn is back (even if I am being deprived of my usual eye candy). I cannot wait to see how that entire storyline unravels. It is the most shudder inducing one, at least for me.

Only three episodes left for this season! It's flown by. 

Until next week .... don't go back to the house you were terrorized in. Only bad things can happen.