American Horror Story: Hotel

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Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

kaworu posted:

Haha, thanks for the info, guys... It's a little sad to hear that Asylum was apparently the apex of the show, but it was also legitimately *really* good, and at least I'm not expecting the show to top it, really. Although, already I'm having a hard time sticking with Coven after a few episodes because... Well, it's just not really grabbing me in the same way and shaking me up. Doesn't feel as persistent or fresh as season 1 or 2.

I honestly watched season 2 in a single day and I never do that with shows; it was really exciting and intriguing and over-the-top and fresh and like nothing I've seen before. I really can't say I'm feeling that way at all about season 3, though. I kinda wish they hadn't blown the 'Hogwarts' aspect to smithereens in the first episode because it would almost be a better premise if that were the case as the show really seems best when there's some static location as a palpable personality in the series. The personality of the Murder House itself and the personality of the Asylum itself were both so great in their own way, and it doesn't feel like there's any comparable 'center' to season 3, and as a result it all feels a bit ungrounded and all over the place, and I'm not entirely sure what to feel about whom (and not in a good way).

At the same time, this really is *bad* TV in a lot of ways and even season 2 was kinda bad, but... I mean, you forgive those things when you get 1-off episodes with Al Swearengen in a Santa suit trying to sadistically rape and murder Jessica Lange in a nun's habit, and it was just "another thing" that happened in that one episode and probably not even the most hosed up or disturbing thing! So, if the show at least churns out stuff like that I'll likely stay entertained at the very least.

Coven is fun at times and has some good scenes but it's not remotely coherent and doesn't hit you with any of the emotional poignancy that Asylum and Murder House have at points. They did miss a lot of potential with the premise, it just got bogged down in supremely ( :v:

) stupid bullshit of which the ending is the worst. There was a Stevie Nicks cameo though I guess?

Freak Show has all of the same problems as Coven without any of the good scene-chewing, visuals, and gif-able one-liners the latter occasionally served up. It starts out promising but they kill off the best character (and imo one of the creepiest of all the seasons) a few episodes in and then nothing happens the rest of the season other than really dumb carnival drama. I guess since this was supposed to be Lange's last season they put a lot of focus on her character but none of it was terribly good or interesting. Possibly stupider conclusion than Coven, somehow.

Skip Freak Show imo, stick with Coven if you're enjoying it.

# ¿ Sep 23, 2015 20:37

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# ¿ May 18, 2024 19:37

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

somnambulist posted:

Early reviews from the premiere are extremely positive so far, could.....this be another good season? :O

Coven and Freak Show both started out very promising, too.

# ¿ Oct 4, 2015 19:58

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

King Vidiot posted:

Yeah part of what had me so invested in Season 2 was that we had Lana as a recognizable protagonist in a horrible situation and we rooted for her, and in the end she gets what she wants after going through hell.

Kit too. The first couple episodes set him and Lana up as sympathetic, wrongly imprisoned "forbidden love" characters. Then we have the opposite with Jude who becomes more sympathetic as we learn about her background and as she loses power and is locked up herself.

Freak Show kiiiinda tried to do this with the whole "freaks are people too!" bits like the diner sit-in but that never really went anywhere.

# ¿ Oct 14, 2015 18:18

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

As good as Evan Peters was I was a little disappointed they just had Kathy Bates narrate an extended black-and-white exposition dump to give us all the backstory. I realize it's an anthology series and you have to re-establish the setting every season but that was lame, wish they'd preserved some element of mystery and revealed his character more gradually.

Like it always has been, the show is more about spectacle than substance and that's alright, Gaga has been fabulous and Sarah Paulson is playing a better Lange than Lange did.

Hoping for a good plot hook to get me more interested.

# ¿ Oct 15, 2015 20:20

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

blah blah voiceover monologue Finn WIttrock and Lady Gaga softcore porn, it's the same setting as season one except in a hotel and there doesn't seem to be a plot.

Pretty rapidly losing interest in this season :smith:

# ¿ Oct 22, 2015 07:28

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

Tenzarin posted:

He lives in the hotel and is not a vampie.

not a vampire yet

# ¿ Nov 2, 2015 19:31

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

esperterra posted:

I had the strongest feeling this whole time that O'Hare was playing a straight crossdresser, but then Gaga put that giant emphasis on TRANSformed and I was disappointed. Not because I don't like trans people, my very close friend and roommate is trans, just that it would have been nice to have a straight man dressed as a woman on a show.

Who knows, though. Maybe he really is a transvestite or straight drag like I'd initially thought. Or maybe Ryan Murphy is as confused as Doltos and his trans friend on whether or not an MtF who likes women is straight. 'Cause they're gay if they identify as women and want sum pussy. Technically.

Other than that weirdly specific nitpick that may end up not even being a nitpick I really enjoyed this eisode. Vampire children and all.

Liz Taylor says she she's not gay. Drag is a form of entertainment, dressing as a woman is clearly a lifestyle for Liz so that's not a terribly appropriate label.

She's a diva transvestite, maybe considers herself transgender. I'm thinking more the former, but if Liz has a romance/sex scene coming up that will probably be explored more.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2015 19:23

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

ehhh this episode was alright.

There isn't really any build or plot development to keep me excited for next week. It's a fun visual spectacle and some pretty good acting performances but it's just not going anywhere.

Oh hey the Ten Commandments killer struck again! Let's just show the disemboweled corpse then have Tall Dark and Handsome Detective told he's off the case (lol he's the killer!) and that's it.

Feels like it's on the typical trajectory toward boredom and stupidity of the last few seasons of AHS.

# ¿ Nov 12, 2015 20:05

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

OmegaBR posted:

It's been said many different ways, but AHS doesn't really care about being a good show anymore. Rather, they pack in as many crazy, goofy, sexy (?) moments as they can to maximize water cooler potential. Originally I asked how they could stretch this concept across 13 episodes, but there's a lot they could have expanded on, between Liz/Tristan, Countess/Drake, and even easing into Locke eventually taking residence in the hotel.

As much as I liked how shocking and all-of-the-sudden the school scene was in the previous episode, they could have used that time for some foreshadowing. Simply cut from Max eating his parents and going off to school, never to be seen again, as it would be equally as ambiguous as the vampire kids making up their story to the authorities. Meanwhile, Tristan comes down waiting for Countess to get ready for whatever Halloween gala they're attending, sees Liz reading a novel, makes an off hand comment about hearing of it from some magazine, a bit of chatter, Liz suggests he come up and see her sometime if he'd like to borrow it. Really anything beyond throwing the two in bed together in our faces.

This is a show where viewers want to care about the characters, after all, not just see them shed their fabulous outfits so they can fake grind until a shot of some man butt before some mangled tooth abomination comes to ruin the fun. I think maybe that's what Murphy and Co. truly aren't getting at this point.

Yeah I'd pretty much agree. The show has always been about spectacle over substance, and what's generally agreed as the best season (Asylum) is the one that tips the balance the most in the latter direction. Asylum still went a little too much up its own rear end toward the end and didn't manage to give terribly satisfying endings to some of the subplots, but at least it had sympathetic characters and some degree of plotting and suspense.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2015 07:04

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

coronatae posted:

As half-assed as it was, I did like the scene with Liz and Tristan. I thought their acting was great, it seemed like they worked really hard to sell it as a believable relationship, it just...wasn't because we had no basis for it. The whole thing made me feel awful for Liz, so I'm wondering if she's out for some revenge of her own.

Wanna bet Tristan comes back as a ghost and seeks revenge on the Countess?

# ¿ Nov 14, 2015 21:06

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

Calico Heart posted:

Hey folks! I dug the first episode then kinda drifted away, I've been burned by this show the last two seasons. Has it dropped the ball yet or is it still good?

Imo it doesn't really hold much promise of being in a better tier than Coven/Freakshow, but it's still visually entertaining with some decent acting here and there. So no, not gone to poo poo yet.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2015 23:54

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# ¿ May 18, 2024 19:37

Pellisworth: Jun 20, 2005

~A SHOCKING TWIST~

followed by flashback monologuing for the rest of the episode, wheeeee

at least Evan Peters hamming it up as Marsh is pretty fun I guess?

# ¿ Dec 3, 2015 08:02

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > American Horror Story: Hotel