American Horror Story's sixth season continues its dramatic documentary this week with another blood pumping episode that serves up some rare home grown pig tails, nurses obsessed with spelling, a possible call to child services and good old fashioned cult sacrifices for everyone.
Shelby's screams woke viewers up from their Roanoke nightmares last Wednesday, Sept.21, shaking off a cold sweat with a cliffhanger ending in the dangerous woods of North Carolina. After deciding to run away from the dangers of her and Matt's new home, Shelby drove off into the night, only to hit an unfazed Kathy Bates dressed in old colonial fashions.
This colonial woman is seen previously trying to drown Shelby in a hot tub and now stumbles away deep into the woods as Shelly tries to follow behind to assess the damage she caused. In Shelby's attempt to find our creepy colonial she gets lost and stumbles upon what seems to be a bloody cult gathering, where we get more up close and personal with Kathy Bates' mysterious character. Now that you're all up to speed let's dive in to chapter 2.
Shelby hides behind a tree as she watches a human sacrifice ritual performed by Kathy Bates, Lady Gaga and their followers. It seems Kathy is running the show here, as she is seen preaching over the masses calling for justice on a deserter who also stole food from the cult's storehouse. Gaga twitches and grumbles behind Kathy while a bloody pig's head is placed upon the male deserter as he is tied to a wooden pole and placed over a roaring fire to burn rotisserie style. (I wonder if they marinated him or just added some classic barbecue sauce later?)
The poor man's screams pierce the night and as Shelby looks on in horror she is spotted by Kathy, who calls for her followers to "Seize her!" Shelby runs for her life calling out for Matt, only to be found by Lee, who brings her to the hospital after she passes out in front of the high beams of Lee's sedan.
Matt walks into Shelby's hospital room after informing the viewers that Shelby informed police she witnessed a human sacrifice and that doctors tested her from drugs, specifically hallucinogens, but Shelby was clean. Deeply upset that he wasn't there to protect her Matt tries to comfort Shelby with flowers and her favorite teddy bear as the two discuss the nights events and the possibility of finding somewhere else to stay.
Convinced that the incident last night was an elaborate hoax from the "mountain men," Shelby refuses to leave her home where they are so desperate to scare them away. "If it was a fight they wanted it was a fight they were gonna get," Lily Rabe, as the real Shelby, declares to the viewers from the confessional. Every cent the couple has is tied up in that farm house and Shelby is determined to win the fight for their happiness.
Back at the farmhouse the focus shifts to Lee, her ex-husband Mason and her daughter Flora who has come to visit. Lee admits that bringing Flora to the creepy farm house might not be such a good idea with everything thats going on, but pushes all her fears aside when little Flora pulls up in Mason's car. Lee excitedly hugs Flora and quickly grabs her belongings from Mason without much conversation between them. As Lee and her daughter settle into the house, Lee proudly informs viewers that her daughter can make herself at home wherever she is.
Lee takes her eyes off Flora for just a moment to get her snack ready and comes back to find Flora in the hall way talking to an "imaginary friend" named Priscilla. Lee blames herself for Flora's need of an imaginary friend due to her divorce, and strives to make things right by making the most of their time together. Priscilla asks Flora to help "make it stop," in exchange for a bonnet, but when Lee questions Flora about what needs to be stopped, Flora just says that Priscilla is tired of all of the blood. As if on cue at that exact moment a vase of flowers in the next room drops to the floor and among that shattered pieces Lee finds an old bonnet.
Later on that night Shelby and Matt are once again awoken by random pig noises, but this time Shelby vows not to wait cowering under the covers and forges outside ahead of Matt. "I just wanted it to stop. I wanted them to know that they couldn't scare me, that we wouldn't be bullied," states Lily Rabe as Shelby in the confessional.
The couple move through the woods around their home trying to find the source of the disturbance to their peace, only to find a massive burning stick figure with a bloody pigs head and various chopped pig meat hanging from it. Truly scared for their safety the pair call the police and after threats to go public with the list of incidents the police agree to leave a squad car outside of the home for their protection. (Protection that will do little against the evil dwelling inside their home.)
That night Matt walks into a scene from the past within the home, where two murderous nurses, played by Kristen Rakes (Nurse Bridget) & Maya Rose Berko (Nurse Miranda), kill an elderly woman named Margret with a bullet to the head. After freaking out and calling the office to investigate, no trace of the shooting is found and as Lee perfectly states, "they are crying wolf." The next morning the couple catch sight of a small girl dressed in colonial garb gesturing to them.
Shelby and Matt go out in search for her but instead find a bunker filled with provisions and the research of Dr. Elias Cunningham, played by Denis O'Hare. The research in the form of video tapes exposes the farmhouse for its murderous past and leads Matt to rip the wallpaper off the wall revealing, "MURDE," the unfinished word murder, left behind by Nurse Bridget and Miranda. The nurses gathered elderly with names that began with the letters to spell murder, in order fulfill a crazed ritual to preserve their lives and keep them together.
As if those revelations weren't enough to swallow Flora reveals to Lee and Mason that she wants to give Priscilla her doll to try and save their lives. "They are gonna kill us all and save me for last," Flora says hugging herself in the small closet. Mason understandably gets Flora out of the house immediately and vows that she is never coming back there, because where would she learn to say something like that. (Someone just won American Horror Story father of the season award!) Scared she would never see her daughter again Lee begs Mason to calm down and just let her kiss her daughter goodbye, but he tells her he is going to the judge. With that Lee cracks and is seen breaking down for what seems to be the first time Matt has ever seen, because he describes Lee as the rock of the family.
Eventually Lee somehow finds Flora and brings her back to the farmhouse to the confused and unhappy Matt and Shelby. However with the help of Shelby, Mason is calmed down enough not to call the police and press kidnapping charges on Lee now that he knows she is safe. Left in the living room while Shelby and Matt discuss Lee's felony behavior, Flora is also called outside by the little colonial girl and when Lee comes to check on her she is gone. In a frenzy the trio search the entire house with no results and then split up to search the woods around the house. A loud wail brings the three together as Shelby and Matt run to find Lee staring up at the top of a tree where Flora's yellow hoodie blows in the breeze.
American Horror Story children always have it rough, and if last season's examples of Scarlet being abandoned, Holden's vampire child antics and a whole class of children turned into vampires hasn't conditioned you to pay close attention to the children on the show, I am not sure what will.
Left with another cliffhanger we can only hope Flora is okay, prepare for the onslaught of Kathy Bates and Lady Gaga and dive deeper into the mystery behind this cursed farmhouse. What shocked you about this week's episode, and what are your thoughts on what may come next? Let us know in the comments below and as always, stay tuned to TheCelebrityCafe.com and FX for more details!
Can't wait for next week, take a look at the trailer below for a sneak peak into chapter 3.