American Horror Story: 1984 - The Lady In White

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 seven - The Lady In White.

This episode has been hyped as it is the return of fan favourites Lily Rabe and Dylan McDermott. I know I am excited to see both of them return even if it is just for this episode.

We don't have to wait long to see Lily Rabe. She appears in the very first scene. It's a flashback to 1948 when Camp Redwood was called Camp Golden Star. Lily Rabe's character works as the cook as a means of supporting her two sons. The basically free child care probably doesn't hurt either. She takes a break and meets with her two sons Bobbie and Benjamin. Her youngest, Bobbie, tells a lame joke which delights Lily Rabe's character but she nags Benjamin about his reading comic books and being so serious. It's obvious that Bobbie is the favoured son while Benjamin takes the brunt of his mother's anger.  Bobbie eventually asks if he and his brother can go swimming. Lily Rabe's character, naturally, agrees and it is obvious that Bejamin really doesn't want to go. He tries to chat up some pretty girls who tease him for being fat when he asks how the water is. He tells his brother that they are not going swimming. They are going to do nothing instead. Bobbie is not a fan of this plan in the slightest.

Benjamin sees the lifeguard and another counselor sneak into the woods. He follows them and spies on them having sex. While his older brother is distracted, and the lifeguard equally distracted, Bobbie decides to go for a swim regardless of what he has been told. It, as anyone could have guessed, ends badly when he is killed by the motor blades of a boat that pulls out into the water and doesn't see the little kid. It's graphic and gross and heartbreaking. Bobbie is pulled out of the water and a hysterical Lily Rabe is quick to blame everyone around for not watching her son.

She demands to know where the lifeguard is and she starts hitting him and demanding to know where he was. She finally tells everyone, including Benjamin, that everyone there is responsible for his death. They all killed him. It's very Ms Voorhees in Friday The Thirteenth. This camp has never really had a good history. It seems like death has always been part of the camp.

Meanwhile, back in the 80's, Brooke is still recovering from whatever Donna did to make it look like Brooke was executed. Donna reveals that she gave Brooke some drugs that mimic the symptoms of being executed. It'll hurt but Brooke will be fine once it works its way through her system. Time passes and Brooke seems to be feeling better. Donna returns to the room with some food and Brooke attacks her. She hasn't forgot what happened at Camp Redwood, namely that Donna had her strung up as serial killer bait. Donna explains that she is trying to make things right now. She believes there is an afterlife and she wants to ensure she goes to the good place. Oh, Donna, I think that ship sailed a long time ago. This takes the fight out of Brooke though. She backs off and notices a newspaper. It, conveniently, has the details about the concert at the camp. Brooke now wants to live for revenge on Margaret because of the time she lost in prison. Brooke is especially pissed that she missed a lot of the 80's in jail. Donna tells her that there is a place they can go where it is always the 80s. Brooke just has to eat and hydrate first and they can go. The place Donna wants to go to?

A roller skating rink that looks AWESOME! It would be fun if we still had these now. The girls have a great time. They laugh, flirt with cute boys, and wear cute outfits. The soundtrack to this season is incredible. The fun, sadly, has to come to end. Brooke enjoyed herself, but one fun day doesn't change anything. She still wants revenge. 

A strange guy overhears their conversation and, surprising nobody, tries to get a ride with them. The girls decline and go out to the car ... which won't start. The stranger, who is played by Dylan McDermott and named Bruce, comes out and fixes it in about five seconds .. almost like he is the one that broke it. They thank him and the girls reconsider giving him a ride. Brooke and Donna are obviously not Murderinos. They all get into the car and as they are driving away we see a poster detailing a bunch of missing women in the area. Any bets on Bruce being responsible for these missing women?

Bruce is apparently going to his girlfriend's place and they are going to the concert together. Brooke questions why his girlfriend couldn't just come pick him up. He tells her that his girlfriend does not like to drive. He tells them that there is a rumour going around that the killer drives around in a car without the lights on. People flash their lights at the car as a courtesy and the killer follows them home to kill them. Ummm....I would kick this guy out of the car immediately. Brooke calls bullshit. She thinks he is just trying to scare them. She wants him out of the car. She demands that Donna pulls over to which Bruce makes some passive aggressive remarks which really pisses off Brooke. She's had enough of assholes.

Donna pulls over and tells him that he has to get out of the car. He creepily replies "Do I?" and uses her name. Shivers down my spine. Brooke sneakily takes a knife out of her bag. He points out that it is hot and he might get heatstroke. Brooke tells him, again, to get out just as a cop pulls up. The cop asks if they are together as he seems suspicious immediately. Donna is upfront and is basically like "Hell, no. We just met this guy". The cop is even more suspicious at this and asks if they are unaware of all the women who have gone missing on this highway. The cop demands to see everyone's identification which prompts Bruce to shoot the cop! He gets out of the car to ensure the cop is dead and Brooke and Donna drive off.

Back at Camp Redwood, Jingles has arrived to get his revenge on Richard. He runs into one of the guys who were impersonating Jingles (the one who was having issues peeing). Jingles has a sense of deja vu and mentions that he has met this guy before and asks why he is still in his Jingles costume. The kid replies that he is dead and he's not the only one. The other two Jingles impersonators come flying out of the woods and attack Jingles. They're still upset that Jingles killed them which is entirely fair. The one guy reminds them that Montana said that there would be no killing until the festival. They reluctantly agree and drag Jingles to Montana and the gang. Jingles beseeches them to let him go. He explains he only came back to kill Richard. A moment of pain passes over Montana's face at the mention of Richard and she says that she saw him kill Richard already. Jingles explains Richard's newfound connection with the devil. Ray is less than enthused to see Jingles due to him cutting off Ray's head. Ray wants to kill him which Montana shuts down.  Jingles, rightfully confused, asks if they are all ghosts. Xavier's reaction is priceless:

Jingles did, after all, kill half of the people there. Xavier reminds him that he and Margaret are psychos and that everyone got caught in their crossfire. Jingles asks what being a ghost feels like. Montana quips that it's not so bad. You feel empty and lonely but she felt like that when she was alive. He inquires if they feel pain. They agree that they do, and Chet pipes in that they feel fear too. Montana is quick to saucily point out that they also feel pleasure. Xavier points out that, as Jingles knows, killing people is 'totally tubular' which is why they are going to kill everyone who shows up to the concert. Jingles thinks that they are all insane .. which is saying something. He wants to know why they would do this. Montana reveals that they are hoping to make a big enough splash to draw all of the psychics, ghost chasers, etc to Camp Redwood.  They figure one of them must be able to break the curse they feel they are under and free them. This is actually kind of sad. Jingles thinks they are lucky to be away from society. Chet disagrees. It seems that these ghosts are scared of something else in the woods. A lady in white. They don't know who she is or why she hates them so much but it seems all of them have had a run in with her. Jingles knows exactly who she is though - his mother. Wait, that means that the Benjamin from the beginning is Jingles! His brother is the one that died. 

Jingles fills them in on the horrors that happened at Camp Golden Star. We are once again filled in on the story of the Richter's except from Benjamin's point of view. He says that after Bobbie died he wanted to go home but his mother wanted to stay. He didn't understand why until the night she killed all of the people she blamed for Bobbie's death. All of the counselors. She killed them in a white nightgown. Benjamin walked in while the carnage was going on. She, at first, pleads with him to understand. They had to pay for what happened to Bobbie. She beckons him forward while covered in blood. It's all very creepy and unsettling.

She snarls that he never does what he's told when he refuses to go to her and she attacks him. Chases him out of the cabin when he tries to run. They fight outside the cabin and Benjamin gets the knife when it falls out of her hand. He stabs his mother and cries as she dies. This poor kid. It's just been trauma after trauma for Benjamin. No wonder he turned out the way he did. The camp closed after these events and reopened later as Camp Redwood. Jingles muses that his mother's pain and anger seeped into the grounds of this place along with her blood and he wonders if that is the cause of them being stuck there. He knows the reason that she keeps coming after them though - she hates counselors. Jingles wants to go see his mother and asks if they know where she is. Montana volunteers a reluctant Xavier to take him to her. Xavier volunteers Chet who pretty much just laughs in Xavier's face.

They arrive at the cabin that ghost of Ms Richter is staying in and Xavier refuses to get any closer than he has to. He outran her once and he doesn't want to see what happens if she catches him. Jingles is on his own to face what is surely going to be a traumatic reunion with his mother.

Benjamin's mom recognizes him instantly. She mentions that he's grown tall just like his father. She beckons him to her and, once again, Benjamin doesn't listen. He asks about Bobbie and if Bobbie has been there the entire time with her. This just makes Ms Richter angry. She screams at him to not say that name. It obviously makes her sad. She tearfully states that she sometimes feels Bobbie and thinks she hears him but she has never seen him. She is stuck there, tortured by the fact that her son is not there. She's tried to destroy herself but she is always reborn. One day she felt something. A primal call. It was her baby. She ran but it was just Benjamin. She saw him making eyes at Margaret. Benjamin immediately senses something and asks what his mother did. She gave Margaret the push she needed to go on her killing rampage. This means that everything that happened to Benjamin after he came back from the war is because of his mother. This is her revenge on him for the death of his brother. This entire thing is awful and Ms Richter is the worst. Benjamin wants to know why she is finally telling him this and why she waited until now to reveal herself to him. She flat out states that it is because she doesn't like him and she wanted him to know who caused all of his pain. When he asks why she hated him so much she screams the worst thing a mother could say to her child:

She would have preferred him to die instead of Bobbie. Benjamin agrees with her which the saddest thing. He says he has a lot guilt. Ms Richter says that she knows this because it turned him into a monster. She has seen the people he actually killed. Benjamin seems embarrassed by the fact that his mother knows about them. She reveals that she also knows that one of the people he killed was reborn. He knows she means Richard and fills her in on the tragic story of his wife and child. She doesn't take to having a grandchild well. He expresses that he needs to kill Richard so that his son will be safe and this can all end. She tells him that it will never end. She is going to spend from now until eternity ensuring he suffers. She claims it is what he deserves. She really is the worst mother ever. She says that she pities his son because he has him for a father. Honestly, is anyone surprised that Benjamin didn't become a serial killer sooner? Geesh.

Brooke and Donna are still driving towards the camp when they are hit from behind by a car. It's Bruce coming for them with the police officer's car. They ram into the truck in front of them and Bruce quickly shoots the driver when he gets out to see what caused the accident. Brooke comes to from the accident to Bruce all up in her space. It seems that while she and Donna were incapacitated from the accident, Bruce drove them to another location using another vehicle (looks like it is the truck that they bumped into). Donna is nowhere to be found so Brooke demands to know where she is. Bruce has tied her to the back of the truck and wants Brooke to drive. This will, obviously, kill Donna. Bruce helpfully details what will happen to Donna's body when they start driving and it is gross. Brooke asks how many people he's killed. Only five, but he hopes to one day surpass Bundy. Brooke wants to make sure she understands correctly - she either dies or kills her friend. He confirms that that is correct. Brooke shrugs and is like "Fuck her. She should have never given you a ride in the first place" and puts the car in gear. She, instead, drives backwards which throws Bruce into the windshield and allows her to drive over Donna without hitting her. Brooke grabs the gun and shoots Bruce in the leg. She pushes him out of the car to a waiting Donna who strangles him with the rope. Brooke tells her not to kill him. She has another plan.

Back at Camp Redwood, plans are being made for the concert. Margaret is doing a walk through and is not happy with the progress that has been made. Courtney points out it is all last minute and they are having a hard time confirming things. He points out that hydration is going to be an issue along with food because they haven't confirmed a caterer. Margret wants to give them a slice of bread and cup of water. Trevor points out that people are paying a lot to go to this concert and therefore she can't do this. She spits back that things like this are how she makes a profit. She belittles Trevor and essentially tells him to make himself useful and go sweep out some of the cabins. I don't know how he stays married to her. Trevor spots Montana in the distance though and goes off to investigate.

Meanwhile, the band Kajagoogoo shows up. They are a real 80's band whose biggest hit was Too Shy. The lead singer, Limahl, wrote the theme song for Never Ending Story. Margaret wants them to play Never Ending Story but Limahl doesn't like to play it with the band because it was a solo project.

Trevor catches up to Montana. He expresses that he thought she was dead and Montana tells him that she is. She goes to tell him that she's a ghost but he stops her. He doesn't care what she is. He didn't know what he was missing until he saw her. Montana tells him that she knows what she was missing while very obviously look at his penis. They start making out. I am guessing that Trevor will get Montana to kill him so they can be together.

Brooke's plan for Bruce? Tie him up and cut off both of thumbs so he can't hitchhike anymore. Brooke begins to take off. She feels that Donna has done enough and the camp isn't that far. Donna wants to go with her though. She needs to see things through to the end.

Back at the camp, Kajagoogoo is relaxing on their tour bus. Limahl is having a smoke outside when Richard comes up. Limahl asks if he wants an autograph to which Richard replies that they already have it. Limahl, who is naturally confused, inquires who 'they' are. Richard's reply:

So, this is insinuating that Kajagoogoo's success is because of a deal Limahl made with the devil. Richard kills Limahl. Courtney later stops by the tour bus to bring a welcome basket of goodies only to find the entire band dead in a bloody scene. I wonder if Richard would kill Billy Idol if Satan told him to?

Benjamin is sitting down at the dock where his brother died. His mom comes to be a bad mother again and she tells him that he doesn't deserve to sit at the dock where his brother died. Benjamin has had enough. He tells her that he misses Bobbie too. He thinks about him every day. His son was named after Bobbie even. She tells him to go be with his son. Benjamin, again, reiterates how important it is for him to kill Richard. His mom just laughs because Richard is in league with forces that Benjamin cannot even begin to imagine. Benjamin agrees but offers up the question of what kind of man he would be if he didn't try to protect his son. His mom points out that he won't come back if he dies by Richard hands, but if he dies by his own he will. She hands him a knife and walks away. Seriously, worst mother EVER. Benjamin takes the opportunity to apologize to Bobbie and states that he won't curse his son the way that he cursed Bobbie before stabbing himself. Ghost Jingles is here and I think Richard is going to have an actual fight on his hands.

Next week will bring us a concert that promises to be a blood bath and hopefully some more answers. I wonder if anyone else is going to pop up this season. I hope so. Part of what I love about Ryan Murphy shows is the thrill of beloved cast members showing up when you least expect it.

Until next week .... don't give rides to strangers. They'll probably turn out to be serial killers.