Welcome to Camp
Crystal Lake Redwood. This season of American Horror Story takes a page from classic 80's slasher films and goes to summer camp.
Here is your official spoiler warning before we dive into the events of episode nine - Final Girl.
Here we are at the final episode of this season. We're about to say goodbye to Camp Redwood along with all of its inhabitants.
I am just excited that Finn Wittrock is in this episode! Pretty sure I've already guessed who he is playing.
The episode begins with someone pulling up to the camp. The car looks really modern. Turns out we're in 2019 and Finn Wittrock has taken an Uber to the campgrounds. The car can only go so far though because it's all overgrown. Finn's character says's he'll get out and walk and the guy offers a "be sure to give me 5 stars" as he pulls away.
We next catch up with Finn's character hiking through the grounds surrounding the camp. He comes across a bloody wood chipper and eventually the entry sign to the camp. He sees the run down stage from the concert and stops to snap some photos of things around him. It isn't long before he draws the attention of Montana though. She wants to know what he has in his hands. He tells her that it's his phone. She laughs and doesn't believe him. He questions how she doesn't know what a phone looks like. She asks him if she can see it and he hands it over. She's delighted.
Montana's a big fan of modern cell phones. She's adorably clueless on how to use it. He is confused/concerned the whole time. She asks what year it is and has her mind blown when he tells her it is 2019. He's the first person to show up at the camp in a LONG time. She muses that people stopped coming and now she understands why. She quickly tells him that he needs to leave because everyone he meets is likely to kill him. She asks if she can keep his phone which gets a very prompt 'no' from whoever Finn is playing. He tells her that he is not leaving until he gets some answers. He wants to know what happened to his father and the answers are at the camp. When Montana questions him he reveals that his name is Bobby Richter - aka the son of Jingles. Montana's eyes light up and she gets emotional and hugs him saying that he is Mr Jingles' son. I entirely called this because who else would care enough to go to this place in modern times? Also, Finn is around the right age to play a grown up Bobby Richter.
Montana, I guess, decides to give Bobby a tour because she takes him to one of the cabins. It turns out that Bobby has done his research though, and Montana looks super familiar to him because she looks exactly like Montana. Bobby is confused because it is not possible because Montana Duke died (and if she didn't she'd be in her 50's). He demands to know what is going on. She promises to tell him but he has to answer her questions first. She adorably rapid fires questions at him about what is going on out in the world. She wants to know what everyone thinks of the 80s, if aerobics is still popular, who the president is. Bobby explains that the 80s are having a bit of a resurgence. People are into the music and fashion but shares that aerobics are a bit of a joke now. This brings out Trevor who makes a quip about breaking into the camp just to break their hearts and kisses Montana. So, Trevor obviously died. Bobby, who is not dumb, recognizes Trevor immediately and his mind is so blown he has to sit down. Montana fills Trevor in on Bobby's parentage. Turns out that Bobby's Aunt told him the truth about his parents on her death bed. Oh, and someone has been sending Bobby money in the form of cheques. He thinks it is his dad and he wants to talk to him. Montana gently shares that Jingles is dead. Bobby wants to know all about his father. He cannot reconcile the guy from the video store with the vicious killer he has read so much about. Montana shares that dark forces took him away and that she hasn't seen him since. Trevor chimes in that none of the other ghosts have seen him. This catches Bobby's attention who thinks they are bullshitting him (which is fair). Montana and Trevor decide to prove it to him. They taunt him and tell him to go ahead and kill them, when Bobby refuses they kill themselves and come back a few seconds later (much to Bobby's surprise).
Bobby has a lot of questions (as would I) and that leads into a flashback of what happened at the infamous concert of 1989.
Margaret is freaking out because the talent was supposed to have arrived 45 mins ago. She wants to know what the hold up is and for the contracts they have signed to be enforced. Bruce is upset because he wanted to kill Debbie Gibson. Richard just wants what he was promised ...
He is going to be upset if Billy doesn't show up. Courtney rushes in and declares that he knows why nobody has arrived yet - Trevor. Trevor has created a road block and is turning everyone away from the camp when they arrive. Courtney hypothesizes it is because Trevor hates her and wants her to fail. That, and the fact that he told Trevor about what happened to Kajagoogoo. This causes Margaret to shoot Courtney and she tells Richard and Bruce to clean it up while she goes and deals with her husband.
Trevor is turning people away by telling them that the fire department shut them down when Margaret storms up in her car. They argue and she reminds him that he was fine with her using death to make money when it benefited him. He says that she is evil and he was corrupted by her but now he wants redemption. He's found love and that has shown him the error of his ways. He is going to bring in the authorities and plans to file for divorce. Margaret handles this the same way she handles everything else - by shooting Trevor. Trevor tells her that she won't get away with this. Margaret tells him that she will because he is outside Redwood grounds. This means that if he dies he won't be coming back. She shoots him again, this time in the penis. She storms away and Montana appears. She is hysterical and begging him to crawl to her. Trevor tries, but it doesn't look like he'll make it. Brooke comes walking up and helps Trevor up and brings him close enough to the campgrounds so that Montana can grab him. Montana questions why Brooke would help her and Brooke bitingly replies:
Brooke basically gave Montana eternity with the guy she loves so I say Brooke has grown. Montana tearfully tells Trevor he can die and he does but reappears right behind her and they embrace.
Back in 2019, Bobby's mind is understandably blown by all of this, and questions Brooke surviving death row. Brooke's kindness changed Montana forever. She decided to become a better person. The killing had to stop. They rounded up the rest of the ghosts and they all bonded as a community over their shared fate. They just had to take care of Margaret, Bruce, and Richard before they could have a happily ever after.
One of the ghosts of the counselors that Margaret killed is being chased by Bruce. He thinks she is still alive and is excited at the thought of getting his seventh solo kill. She trips and while Bruce is distracted Trevor comes out and attacks. He admires Bruce's mustache but he needs to ensure that Bruce dies off property so they kick him down a hill and away from the campgrounds.
Montana muses that killing Bruce was easy, it was Richard that was difficult. We are shown that she approaches Richard and flirts with him. She tries to get him to stay but he wants to go kill 'this kid in Alaska' but she grabs him and embraces him. She starts to move the flirtation into a more sexual territory but tells him that she knows a better place for them to hook up. She wants to take him to meet Billy Idol first. Billy is apparently a big fan of Richard's and wants to meet him. Richard calls her out for lying because he knows about the roadblock. She tells him that only a true rebel could have sang 'Rebel Yell' and Billy managed to sneak into the camp. Richard feels that this seems legit so he goes with her. There is, of course, no Billy Idol. It's a trap. All of the ghosts are there and they take turns attacking Richard. Montana gets to have her redemption moment and it is glorious. The entire scene is bloody and gross. As Richard lays dying he tells them that he'll be back. Montana says that she is counting on it as she slices his throat for good measure.
Bobby, smartly, questions why they didn't just make sure that Richard died outside the grounds rather than trap him inside with the rest of them. Montana says that since the devil already brought him back the rules don't apply to Richard. If he was outside the camp he would just be brought back by Satan and if he was in the camp he'd be able to walk right out of the camp. They came up with the idea of a literal death watch - they each took turns waiting for him to come back and killing him again and again. Year after year. There is a bloody, over the top montage of all the creative ways they've killed Richard. This montage also offers up the one fun Xavier scene of the finale:
He even revs the chainsaw first. Montana shares that they kept coming up with more painful ways to kill him because of all the pain he had inflicted on others. You see that Richard eventually is entirely over it.
They finally tell Bobby that they are doing it mainly to keep him alive. They tell him that Richard swore to kill him because of the feud he had with Jingles. Bobby thanks them. Montana is basically like "no biggie, but you have to leave". She doesn't want him to be killed on the grounds if Richard wakes up and gets free. Bobby refuses to leave though. He knows that there are ghosts so that means he can talk to his dad because his dad died on the grounds. Montana reminds him that nobody has seen him since the late 80's. Bobby just becomes more determined to find him.
Chet and Bertie are on Richard watch. Bertie gets flirty and starts to straight up proposition Chet. She wants to play strip Pictionary. She has seen Chet hook up with both men and woman so she knows he is up for anything. While Chet and Bertie are distracted, Richard wakes up and gets the jump on them. So, Richard is awake and walking around. This cannot mean anything good for Bobby.
Trevor is telling Bobby the harsh truth - even if he finds his father, Jingles is not exactly warm and fuzzy. Bobby still wants to try. Richard comes crashing in and tries to attack Bobby. Trevor holds him off while Montana gets Bobby to run out of the cabin before helping. Bobby runs straight into Ray who is pissed until he sees that Richard is back. Chet and Bertie run into help as Montana screams for Bobby to run (which he does). He, sadly, doesn't run fast enough. He is hit in the back with a knife that Richard threw. Richard finally catches up to him. Richard threatens to kill him to settle the debt Jingles owes to Satan. All of the ghosts come running up and attack Richard. Montana tells Bobby to leave and never come back. She also tells him to go to the asylum and ask for the medical director if he wants answers.
Bobby heads there next. He is a bloody, tired mess and it is the middle of the night so the staff is less than thrilled to see him. He asks to speak to the medical director and freaks out the secretary when he gets angry when she declines his request. The secretary promises to call the medical director but calls security instead. She is under the impression that he needs to be checked into the asylum. Bobby starts screaming that he needs to speak with the medical director about Benjamin Richter and this brings out .... Donna! She's older, still alive, and apparently the medical director now. She also doens't look like 30 years has passed. She agrees to sit with Bobby. She shares that Jingles was innocent and that Margaret planted all of the evidence. She muses that Margaret almost got away with it all until the night of the concert.
We flashback to the night of the concert. The ghosts, having taken care of both Bruce and Richard, are now ready to take care of Margaret. They all show up outside her cabin with torches and weapons. Margaret locks the door and starts loading her gun, but Donna is already in the cabin and attacks her. When Margaret gets the upper hand Brooke rushes in to help. Brooke is stabbed in their scuffle and Donna gets back up just in time to see this. Brooke is laying injured on the floor. Donna rushes to let in the ghosts and demands they take Margaret. They grab her and drag her out of the cabin. They take her to the wood chipper. Margaret says that if they kill her she'll just come back and be with them forever. They have a plan for that though. They are going to cut her into pieces and put those pieces into the wood chipper which will deposit them on the other side of the campground. Margaret croaks that there is a flaw in the plan ... she's still going to die on this side of the grounds. Montana reveals that the brain can live on for thirty seconds after decapitation and so they are just going to throw that in last.
Donna wishes that Brooke had been alive to see this happen. Does this mean that Donna is the final girl?! Bobby muses that Brooke was a patsy just like his father. Donna used to go visit the camp afte but it got hard for everyone seeing that she was able to age and change. She eventually stopped going. Bobby figures that this means that she sent the money and thanks her for her help. Donna is genuinely confused though and says that she never sent him anything. Bobby quickly realizes that this means someone else survived the events of Camp Redwood.
They drive to the bank that the money came from to stake out and see who shows up. Bobby thanks her again and Donna shares that she isn't just doing it for him. She obviously wants to know who survived as well. Someone shows up and it seems that Donna recognizes who it is. They follow the person home and it is, unsurprisingly, Brooke. Brooke greets them at the door with a 'what took you so long'. She also looks like she has barely aged. She claims it is from leaving her previous life behind ... well, that and being married to a dermatologist husband helps too. Donna is angry that Brooke didn't let her know she was alive. Brooke just needed a clean break, which I get. She had to move on. She apologizes and Donna reveals that all she wanted was to be part of Brooke's life.
Brooke survived because of Ray! He came back and found her on the floor. He helped her get outside the grounds because he felt she deserved better than to die there and she ended up getting help. I am not sure this makes up for Ray being a complete asshat the rest of the time. Brooke proves what a bad ass she is by walking out of the grounds on her own. Once she was healed enough she took off as quickly as she could.
Bobby just wants to know why Brooke sent him the money. Brooke did it for reasons that were not entirely unselfish. She wanted to believe that a life away from the camp was possible. She wanted to give Bobby a chance because she needed the hope for herself. She apologizes to Donna again and express the hope that Donna could forgive her. Donna tells her that they are bonded for life. I love their friendship so much. They share a smile and Brooke states that they are both the final girl which is AMAZING.
Bobby and Donna are saying goodbye. Donna wants to buy him lunch but Bobby needs to go back to the camp. He felt something protecting him and he thinks it was his dad. Bobby, please do not go back to the camp. Think of your pretty face.
We cut to Bobby back at the camp. He is at the lake where Jingles was last seen. Margaret shows up! I knew it was too much to hope that their plan worked and she didn't come back. Ugh. Bobby recognizes her immediately and he is pissed. He accuses her of framing his father. She realizes he is Jingles' son and she perks up. She offers to take him to his father and claims that she is able to find him because of their connection. Bobby declines and says that he doesn't trust her. She basically just shrugs and says she doesn't care if he sees his dad or not. Bobby is making all of the bad decisions and decides to follow her. Bobby questions how she can still be there when the ghosts went through great lengths to keep her from coming back. She reveals that she died just seconds before being spit out of the wood chipper. She basically has been in hiding and waiting this whole time so that she could kill him. She goes to attack Bobby but Jingles shows up and stops her. There is a very touching reunion between father and son.
It is a beautiful moment. Jingles asks why Bobby came back to the camp. He doesn't feel like he was a parent to him. Bobby tells him that he is wrong. He did what all good parents do - sacrifice for their child. Bobby says that he came back to thank him. Jingles says that Bobby was worth it. He wants Bobby to run away and forget this place and just live. He tells him that he loves him right before Margaret comes from behind and kills him. Bobby is shocked. Margaret screams that she is always the final girl and goes to attack Bobby who runs away .. and right into his grandmother. The lady in white demands that Margaret leave her grandson alone. Margaret, unsurprisingly, doesn't listen and so Lavinia kills her.
She turns to Bobby and is a way better grandmother than a mother. She's soft, and gentle with him and in awe of how handsome he is.
She muses that he looks just like her Bobby would have if he had been able to grow up. The rest of the ghosts show up and Lavinia tells them to take Margaret away.
Montana approaches Bobby and tells him to leave and never come back. She wants him to not forget them though. She urges him to tell their ghost stories to his children so they can live on forever.
This is both sad and beautiful and tragic. Ugh. I don't understand how Ryan Murphy keeps making me cry over these horrible people. She urges him to go and Bobby takes off running out of the camp. He runs until he reaches the sign (looking over his shoulder the entire way). When he is outside the camp he pauses to catch his breath and feels someone watching him so he turns to look behind him to see his family at the gate. It's beautiful and I am crying as the music swells. One last smile between them and Bobby walks away from the camp ... and doesn't look back.
Other Bobby waiving KILLED me. *clutches heart*.
The ending was emotional in so many ways. It gave the kind of happy endings I have come to expect from some of these seasons. Very bittersweet but cathartic in their own way. They are also endings that are better than some of the characters often deserve, but somehow feel earned by the end. I thought it was a fantastic wrap up and a beautiful way to say goodbye to the 80s.
