S10.E02: Pale

[ShadowHunter]

Episode 2 was pretty strong as well. The family is already a mess. I wonder if Doris will take the pills as well.

Sarah will probably take them soon I can't imagine she will run around like that for the rest of Part 1.  

I liked how they explained already the pale ones took the pills but had no talent so they turned into monsters. Evan and Frances are a fun team together. 

 

[gesundheit]

1 hour ago, ShadowHunter said:

Episode 2 was pretty strong as well. The family is already a mess. I wonder if Doris will take the pills as well.

 

I wonder if Doris taking them would reveal a lack of talent?

I'm glad the kid's in the fold now, I didn't want a whole season of "but the children!" So this should be fun.

[Bruinsfan]

1 hour ago, gesundheit said:

I wonder if Doris taking them would reveal a lack of talent?

That would be my guess from what we've heard and seen of her decorating skills. Lily Rabe in a bald wig and black suit chasing passersby would be awesome.

[rhofmovalley]

But what if the baby is talented?

And I agree, her "decorating" skills are lame. Beige on beige. Even the daughter noticed she was using the same color on everything.

Edited August 26, 2021 by rhofmovalley

[madhacker]

18 minutes ago, rhofmovalley said:

And I agree, her "decorating" skills are lame. Beige on beige. Even the daughter noticed she was using the same color on everything

Well,  in her defense......I honestly wouldn't know where to start in that house and I have absolutely zero experience in renovations. But I think even reality show experts (including Queer Eye) would find that place a challenge. And it's probably meant to stay that way since the lady with the keys had a weird reaction to finding out the wife was going to redo the place. Hell, even Evan's place while with modern architecture had the same color scheme. I'm just curious about the porch lights all being red. I'm thinking it's a way of keeping the "ghouls" away.

But I'm with everyone else, this is a much-needed restart, and I'm getting the feeling it Sarah and Evan are the ones to thank.

And from what I saw in the season preview, I'm getting the idea that somehow the 2 stories are intertwined together with Death Valley being set in the past being shot in black and white.

[iMonrey]

I appreciate the turn this story took because we already did vampires in Hotel. I think we can all see where this is heading with Lily Rabe's character though. One thing that doesn't really make sense is them voluntarily getting all their teeth sharpened into points. They only have to slit someone's throat or wrist with a knife and then drink to their fill. Plus, why would the no-talent monsters go to the tattoo dentist and why would she work on them? Do they start out fairly normal and then turn into pale, bald ghouls?

Also, I hate to say it, but I wish Ryan Murphy would stop trying to make Billie Lourd happen. She is just not good.

[Chaos Theory]

I really enjoy this.   I like the idea of innate talent and a pill bringing it out but  also cursing you to feed off the world.  It’s a sly commentary on the talented.   I also like the idea of those without talent who take the pill turning into the monsters that haunt the town.  Kind of like wannabe hanger-ons.   And yeah it’s a good writing choice to make Lily Rabe’s  character (at least for now)  appear to be untalented while both her husband and daughter have the spark of talent.  
 

I also really like the idea of having the season take place in the off season of a cape town. 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[Terrafamilia]

I know that the writers of this show aren't on the pill because of the grammatical errors. 🤓

[BK1978]

I really hate to admit this but how did this episode end?  I fell asleep at the very end and had a micro nap, I woke up right as the replay of the first episode was starting.  I saw the little girl take the pill and that was the last thing I recall.  I don't have a DVR and watching it on ONDemand is massive pain in the ass because you have to sit through the entire episode again as you are not allowed to FF.  I thank anyone in advance who can tell me.

I really this concept thus far and the fact that it is a mini-series gives me hope that it will not suffer the fate of a lot of previous AHS seasons where they fall apart in the middle. 

[HollyG]

3 hours ago, BK1978 said:

I really hate to admit this but how did this episode end?  I fell asleep at the very end and had a micro nap, I woke up right as the replay of the first episode was starting.  I saw the little girl take the pill and that was the last thing I recall.  I don't have a DVR and watching it on ONDemand is massive pain in the ass because you have to sit through the entire episode again as you are not allowed to FF.  I thank anyone in advance who can tell me.

I really this concept thus far and the fact that it is a mini-series gives me hope that it will not suffer the fate of a lot of previous AHS seasons where they fall apart in the middle. 

The little girl took the pill she found in her dad's bag and then began to play the violin like a virtuoso. She hurt her mom's feelings by telling her she was ordinary. Later the mom found the daughter in the cemetery with the wild vampires and she was feeding on an animal. (vampires or whatever they are) Did you see the part about the tattoo parlor dentist? 

[Anela]

I did like these opening episodes. I couldn't get into last season, so I didn't watch past the first episode or two. I don't like gore, and I feel bad for Lily's character. She didn't sound impressed with the Greige, either. It would be nice, if she does take the pill, if she was more talented than any of them expected her to be. I hate smug, pretentious assholes, though, so I like her remaining relatable. 

[Glade]

I thought the scene between Karen and Micky was very moving.  There certainly is a class basis behind who gets to benefit from the drug - since people who are already homeless and impoverished will not only find it difficult to access the drug, they will be less likely to get access to agents (unlike Harry, who already had his foot in the door despite being mediocre) or have internet, connections etc. to actually monetize their genius work.  I would also say that recurrent traumas, etc. can degrade the amount of natural talent someone has. But these upper class part-time vampires delude themselves into thinking they are naturally superior to the working class drug addicts they kill.

[BK1978]

18 hours ago, HollyG said:

The little girl took the pill she found in her dad's bag and then began to play the violin like a virtuoso. She hurt her mom's feelings by telling her she was ordinary. Later the mom found the daughter in the cemetery with the wild vampires and she was feeding on an animal. (vampires or whatever they are) Did you see the part about the tattoo parlor dentist? 

Thank you for filling in the blanks for me.  I hate when I fall asleep during shows and I am left wondering what happened.  It happened to me with the Titans last week as well, lucky for me HBO Max allows me to FF through the episode.

Yes I saw the part with Billie (Sp?) were she gave the male lead his fangs.  Don't tell me that happened in the middle of when I was napping and I woke up just for that part. lol

[gesundheit]

On 8/26/2021 at 9:46 PM, Terrafamilia said:

I know that the writers of this show aren't on the pill because of the grammatical errors. 🤓

Not always a sign of bad writing if it fits the character, though.

18 hours ago, Anela said:

I did like these opening episodes. I couldn't get into last season, so I didn't watch past the first episode or two. I don't like gore, and I feel bad for Lily's character. She didn't sound impressed with the Greige, either. It would be nice, if she does take the pill, if she was more talented than any of them expected her to be. I hate smug, pretentious assholes, though, so I like her remaining relatable. 

It seems that the pill makes people smug and pretentious, though, so I'm not sure how she'd be different. 

I'm happy to see a lot more people enjoying this season. Everyone had soured on the show so much that I thought I'd have no luck getting people to try it again, but I think there's a real elegant simplicity so far that makes this one pretty appealing.

[Anela]

6 hours ago, Glade said:

I thought the scene between Karen and Micky was very moving.  There certainly is a class basis behind who gets to benefit from the drug - since people who are already homeless and impoverished will not only find it difficult to access the drug, they will be less likely to get access to agents (unlike Harry, who already had his foot in the door despite being mediocre) or have internet, connections etc. to actually monetize their genius work.  I would also say that recurrent traumas, etc. can degrade the amount of natural talent someone has. But these upper class part-time vampires delude themselves into thinking they are naturally superior to the working class drug addicts they kill.

That was my favourite scene.  The one with McCauley Culkin and Sarah Paulson. I wish they hadn’t gone the route of her giving a celebrity a baby to kill, though.  

8 minutes ago, gesundheit said:

Not always a sign of bad writing if it fits the character, though.

It seems that the pill makes people smug and pretentious, though, so I'm not sure how she'd be different. 

I'm happy to see a lot more people enjoying this season. Everyone had soured on the show so much that I thought I'd have no luck getting people to try it again, but I think there's a real elegant simplicity so far that makes this one pretty appealing.

Yeah, that’s why I’m hoping she doesn’t take it.  It would be nice to see her wipe the floor with them talent-wise, but it seems like, from what we’ve seen, the more insecure = the bigger ass once they take the pill.  

[Chaos Theory]

This could be about innate talent and people who want to take shortcuts to success vs someone like the wife who may not be gifted the way her husband and daughter are but works for success.  They try fail and retry.  Maybe they never create works of art but they earn what success they get and are great full for it.

Edited August 28, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[tennisgurl]

I am still really liking this season, even if I admit that I am still holding out hope for some flesh easting merpeople to show up at some point. I usually enjoy the more simple "back to basics" seasons more than the high concept ones, so I am enjoying the shows seeming simplicity for now. I like the metaphor of the pills making people way more creative but also causing a dependency, a really obvious metaphor for drugs, ironically making the vampires (or whatever they are) just as much addicts as the opium addicts they callously murder. It also could probably be a metaphor for how really talented people can often feel like they can get away with anything because of how good they are at something or how the world cuts so much slack to talented people on the basis that, yeah they killed that baby but what they give to the world is so important! Then you have the hissing pale zombies who are people that tried to make it but were chewed up and spit back out, with the idea that they just weren't good enough so that fate is inevitable.

I definitely suspect that the wife will take a pill, it would be great if it turns out that, with a push, she's the most artistically inspired member of the family. Then what happens to the baby?  

Macaulay Culkin is a great fit for AHS.

Edited August 28, 2021 by tennisgurl

[WednesdayAddams]

19 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Then what happens to the baby?

Frances Conroy will eat it, or try to. 

[foxfreakinmulder]

21 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Macaulay Culkin is a great fit for AHS.

It's nice to see him but I kept looking at his eyes thinking he looked stoned as hell, lol.

I swear Sarah and Lily must have it written in their contracts that they cry in everything they're in. Or they have eyes that produce a lot of tears for some reason.

I'm telling you if my spouse grabbed my finger I just cut and started sucking on it I'd be out of there so fast or if my child every talked to me the way this girl spoke to her mom that smarty mouth's violin would be in a thousand pieces.

So far so good but we know that won't last, unfortunately the story will start to fall apart or take some weird off the wall turn soon.

[Bruinsfan]

11 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

It's nice to see him but I kept looking at his eyes thinking he looked stoned as hell, lol.

At least if he is it must be from something healthier than whatever he was doing a decade ago. I was relieved to see that he no longer looks as if he was recently liberated from a concentration camp.

[sugarbaker design]

On 8/27/2021 at 7:20 PM, Glade said:

But these upper class part-time vampires delude themselves into thinking they are naturally superior to the working class drug addicts they kill.

This season seems to be about the elitism of the creatives.  From the truly gifted getting better after taking the pill, and the hacks turning into zombies, to the rationale of the talented only eating undesirables.  It really is about the delusion of the artist, thinking they can get away with anything because they're superior.

The pills reminded me of Black Beauties from the '70's.  Or as the French say Belle Noir.

20 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

I swear Sarah and Lily must have it written in their contracts that they cry in everything they're in. Or they have eyes that produce a lot of tears for some reason.

I'm just grateful to see actual tears in a crying scene.  I watch General Hospital and a lot of reality shows where there is a lot of crying but no tears.

Edited August 30, 2021 by sugarbaker design

[TexasGal]

On 8/27/2021 at 10:51 PM, BK1978 said:

 

Yes I saw the part with Billie (Sp?) were she gave the male lead his fangs.  Don't tell me that happened in the middle of when I was napping and I woke up just for that part. lol

Didn't they show him after at home and his teeth were fine?  Do they somehow only fang out when he's feeding?  

I think I fell asleep at the same time!  I had it dvr'd thankfully and just forwarded to the last thing I remembered. 

[sugarbaker design]

4 minutes ago, TexasGal said:

Didn't they show him after at home and his teeth were fine?  Do they somehow only fang out when he's feeding?  

Belle, Austin and now Harry wear caps to hide their modified choppers.

[TexasGal]

28 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Belle, Austin and now Harry wear caps to hide their modified choppers.

I must have missed that part too as I was dozing off!  Thanks!

[Bruinsfan]

As others have said, it made no sense to me for the people taking the drug to have their teeth filed down and turn themselves into freaks when they're using knives and razors to get blood out of victims anyway. Of course, it's hardly the only questionable decision they're making.

The vampires in previous seasons didn't seem to be hampered by having normal human teeth, did they?

[Anela]

2 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

This season seems to be about the elitism of the creatives.  From the truly gifted getting better after taking the pill, and the hacks turning into zombies, to the rationale of the talented only eating undesirables.  It really is about the delusion of the artist, thinking they can get away with anything because they're superior.

The pills reminded me of Black Beauties from the '70's.  Or as the French say Belle Noir.

I'm just grateful to see actual tears in a crying scene.  I watch General Hospital and a lot of reality shows where there is a lot of crying but no tears.

That's why I wish he hadn't gone that route, with the baby and everything. He may like to poke fun at everything, but it doesn't feel right, not this year.

[sugarbaker design]

1 minute ago, Anela said:

That's why I wish he hadn't gone that route, with the baby and everything. He may like to poke fun at everything, but it doesn't feel right, not this year.

Doesn't bother me, regardless of the year.  AHS isn't for everybody.

[Anela]

1 minute ago, sugarbaker design said:

Doesn't bother me, regardless of the year.  AHS isn't for everybody.

I've watched every season except 9. It does bother me, because it seems like it would feed something it shouldn't. 

[sugarbaker design]

8 minutes ago, Anela said:

It does bother me, because it seems like it would feed something it shouldn't. 

Sorry, could you rephrase that?  I don't understand.

[JenLily]

On 8/29/2021 at 12:11 PM, foxfreakinmulder said:

I'm telling you if my spouse grabbed my finger I just cut and started sucking on it I'd be out of there so fast

Mr. Lily asked me what I would do if he did that to me and I said, "Stake you right in the heart, buddy. No hesitation." I've watched too many vampire shows/movies for that to even be a question. 😄

[Terrafamilia]

The explanation given for why they are now bloodthirsty was all kinds of hinky. I wouldn't be surprised if it was revealed to be a lie promulgated by the Chemist or whoever is dealing the drug.

[Cigale]

7 hours ago, Terrafamilia said:

The explanation given for why they are now bloodthirsty was all kinds of hinky. I wouldn't be surprised if it was revealed to be a lie promulgated by the Chemist or whoever is dealing the drug.

Considering that Belle Noir said something about them coming to P-Town only for a few weeks or months each year, that would make a lot of sense.

[hatchetgirl]

I'm enjoying the season but I'm so tired of the casting. It's just so dang lazy. Why can't Ryan recast each year? Oh yeah, he casts Paris Jackson - wow that was a real winner! I'm tired of Ryan Murphy. There, I said it. He's predictable now. 

[sugarbaker design]

5 hours ago, hatchetgirl said:

I'm enjoying the season but I'm so tired of the casting. It's just so dang lazy. Why can't Ryan recast each year?

He can.  He chooses not to.  I love that he has a stable of actors that he regularly uses.  I love when actors show off their versatility.

[Dewey Decimate]

On 8/30/2021 at 7:29 PM, Terrafamilia said:

The explanation given for why they are now bloodthirsty was all kinds of hinky. I wouldn't be surprised if it was revealed to be a lie promulgated by the Chemist or whoever is dealing the drug.

I kind of like the idea that the "hunger" is basically self-inflicted and more of a group delusion. I was thinking about alpha-gal syndrome (in which you're basically very sickened by red meat, resulting in vomiting and rashes) and wondering if the writers might take the creative liberty to flip it and create a medical condition in which one craves red meat/blood and gets nauseous at other food. The fact that you get alpha-gal from a tick bite also dovetails nicely with the mom's paranoia about Lyme disease. Call it Chekhov's Tick...

[EllaWycliffe]

19 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

He can.  He chooses not to.  I love that he has a stable of actors that he regularly uses.  I love when actors show off their versatility.

I like it too, but it does lead to some dud casting if he likes the stable of actors and doesn't mix it up very often or accept that some of the stable aren't perfect in every role. I could never see Adina Porter on this show again and it would be too soon, she does nothing for me, she's certainly no replacement for Angela Bassett, with her cold dead eyes. Billy Lourd isn't that good, and I actually like her playing a good guy better than evil incarnate and its sort of a given she's always evil incarnate on this show (the exception being the Apocalypse season).  Leslie Grossman is fun when her character is funny but she's very one note and so far seems shoehorned into this season. 

I'm liking Macauley Culkin so far but I have a feeling the town of Provincetown might not appreciate the depiction of the town as creepy as fuck, filled with flesh eating monsters, and random methhead gay prostitutes. 

Also a small note - I don't think the need to drink blood, or eat human flesh or whatever is a delusion. Harry? Finn Winrock's character? Was repelled by a turkey sandwich well before finding out that the secret was the need for blood. The teeth filing is a delusion... and it doesn't explain why the talentless have sharp teeth when they apparently just become flesh eating zombies that the townies ignore.

[sugarbaker design]

5 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

Billy Lourd isn't that good, and I actually like her playing a good guy better than evil incarnate and its sort of a given she's always evil incarnate on this show (the exception being the Apocalypse season). 

I agree with your assessment of Billie Lourd's acting ability, but I'm okay about the casting because Ryan Murphy and Bryan Lourd are good friends.

5 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I have a feeling the town of Provincetown might not appreciate the depiction of the town as creepy as fuck, filled with flesh eating monsters, and random methhead gay prostitutes. 

You've obviously never attended Bear Week. 

I was shocked they showed the Dick Dock!  I thought that was a treasured gay secret.  No longer, I guess.

Edited September 1, 2021 by sugarbaker design

[Anela]

16 hours ago, Dewey Decimate said:

I kind of like the idea that the "hunger" is basically self-inflicted and more of a group delusion. I was thinking about alpha-gal syndrome (in which you're basically very sickened by red meat, resulting in vomiting and rashes) and wondering if the writers might take the creative liberty to flip it and create a medical condition in which one craves red meat/blood and gets nauseous at other food. The fact that you get alpha-gal from a tick bite also dovetails nicely with the mom's paranoia about Lyme disease. Call it Chekhov's Tick...

I love the random information that I learn on these boards.  I’d never heard of this before.  

[teapot]

I saw a documentary on HBO a few years ago about an opioid epidemic on the Cape during winters.  I wonder if that inspired the idea for this story?

[Tipsymcstagger]

On 8/26/2021 at 3:44 PM, iMonrey said:

Also, I hate to say it, but I wish Ryan Murphy would stop trying to make Billie Lourd happen. She is just not good.

Amen. I think her career crested on the goodwill and love for her mother after her death - but she’s such a one note, monotone actress. Murphy loves to give plum acting roles to his friends’ kids. Major case in point - kaia Gerber in his AHS off shoot. She’s pretty but completely lacking in acting talent. He and Falchuk need to stop the star fu*king. Although I fully expect Apple Martin to be the next lead in a Murphy/Falchuk production. It’s annoying.

[zibnchy]

9 minutes ago, Tipsymcstagger said:

Although I fully expect Apple Martin to be the next lead in a Murphy/Falchuk production.

I feel like you shouldn't tempt the universe to torture us.

😂