S11.E04: Black Out

[AnimeMania]

As darkness consumes the city, evil takes root in the unlikeliest of places... 

Original Air Date: October 26, 2022     FXX    11 pm 

[DancinCat]

I'm not surprised it's a ghost town here. I am bored. The only ones I find interesting are the cats.

[sashayshante]

I thought the 1st 2 episodes were boring but episodes 3 and 4 felt like old school American Horror Story.

When Murphy puts the material in the hands of actual actors and not a bunch of his friends and nepo babies and stops relying on shock value and torture p*rn, it works.

I read a pretty cool theory on another board. The recapper said he thought Big Daddy is actually a manifestation of something and not real.  I really like that idea. I think Big Daddy represents shame and that the theme for the season is how insidious and dangerous shame can be.  We're obviously building up to to  the beginning of the AIDS crisis so that fits.

Joe Mantello is carrying the season.

Edited October 28, 2022 by sashayshante
Capitalization

[LoveLeigh]

17 hours ago, sashayshante said:

Joe Mantello is carrying the season.

Is he supposed to be a version of Vinnie Musetto? 

I think Big Daddy is a manifestation of AIDS.... 

[madhacker]

6 minutes ago, LoveLeigh said:

I think Big Daddy is a manifestation of AIDS.... 

Either that or  we find out in the finale that the whole season is a AIDS delirium from one of the characters

speaking of AIDS......for some reason I fully expect Adam and Theo to survive (the two guys that just got together this episode played by Charlie and Theo), almost immediately afterwards one of them will find out he's positive and since this is in the early 80s it pretty much means a death sentence (not trying to be morbid, but that's the way it pretty much was back then and would just be like this show to do that)

But I do have to say Zachary Quinto plays obsessive psychos to perfection.

[SHD]

2 minutes ago, madhacker said:

But I do have to say Zachary Quinto plays obsessive psychos to perfection.

I can't imagine him playing anything else now. LOL

I'm surprised how little interest there seems to be on the forums. I think this season has brought back some old school horror scares and the acting level of the cast is far better than most recent seasons.

[iMonrey]

I've really been liking it so far but at the same time I don't have a lot to say about it. Maybe others feel the same way. It's pretty good, I don't have any real complaints (except Billie Lourd! dear God please go find some other line of work) thus my lack of comments. 

Interesting that episodes 2 and 4 were co-written by Charlie Carver who plays Adam, I'm not aware of anything else he's written. I still remember when he was on Desperate Housewives as one of Lynette's twin boys. 

Also interesting that Sam and Whitely both have very similar sounding voices. Whenever Whitely calls Patrick I think it's Sam at first until they show Whitely's face. I wonder if that means anything.

Edited October 28, 2022 by iMonrey

[madhacker]

Yeah, I am surprised this season by the story and acting particularly from Charlie Carver

I just want one thing from NYC: A solid connection to the overall story. A cameo from Lady Gaga playing the Countess from Hotel at some point would do for me.

[DancinCat]

The Covid pandemic is still lingering, so maybe it's too soon to do a season about the AIDS epidemic and how AIDS might have been developed in a lab as a weapon. Or maybe it's the perfect time, who's to say? I would have prefered something more fun and escapist and less grounded in reality. Dahmer was more than enough 80s/90s gay serial killer reality for a while. Maybe the inevitable mid-season shift will bring some welcome changes, rather than the usual going off the rails.

[gesundheit]

17 hours ago, SHD said:

I'm surprised how little interest there seems to be on the forums. I think this season has brought back some old school horror scares and the acting level of the cast is far better than most recent seasons.

I agree. It's chock-full of Broadway greats and it's got actual tension and scares. The last two episodes have had genuinely scary endings. (Though I do think the doubling-up of episodes waters that down a bit -- episode 3 would've led to a suspenseful week of waiting.)

It's working for me so far (except for the immediate wilt that happens in Billie Lourd's scenes). Mantello seems like he's in Normal Heart, which is kind of weirdly great in AHS. 

[Terrafamilia]

Bye, Hans, we hardly knew you. Does Ryan Murphy not like cats?

So the doctor and Adam know one another and was I supposed to get the impression that he's the baby daddy - like, whuh? (yeah, I know it was in Ep. 3)

I want to like Gino, and I know he's been through a lot, but he comes across as a bit too sanctimonious.

Big Daddy as some sort of tulpa or perhaps a malign egregore rather than a ghost is a very interesting theory. We'll have to see how that goes.

[Mr. Sparkle]

On 10/28/2022 at 5:21 PM, madhacker said:

But I do have to say Zachary Quinto plays obsessive psychos to perfection.

I've never seen anyone smoke a cigarette with more menace. 

[sashayshante]

On 10/28/2022 at 5:25 PM, SHD said:

the acting level of the cast is far better than most recent seasons.

The acting is what elevated the show. Without it, it was, well, 1984.

[peridot]

The double episodes are kind of odd.  Has any previous season burned off episodes like this?

I like the story so far.  The relationship between Gino and the cop seems so realistic to me.  I jumped when Big Daddy attacked the cop from out of nowhere.  I rolled my eyes when the two guys at the party loudly exclaimed when they saw the killer, spoke loudly about their plans, and then decided to follow the guy into his building/actually get into an elevator with him! 

[FierceCritter]

On 10/30/2022 at 11:56 PM, peridot said:

The double episodes are kind of odd.  Has any previous season burned off episodes like this?

I kinda like it. It's a nice balance between dropping an entire series at once, and doling episodes out one per week.

[Starchild]

On 10/27/2022 at 11:20 PM, sashayshante said:

Big Daddy is actually a manifestation of something and not real.  I really like that idea. I think Big Daddy represents shame and that the theme for the season is how insidious and dangerous shame can be. 

On 10/28/2022 at 5:03 PM, LoveLeigh said:

I think Big Daddy is a manifestation of AIDS.... 

But why does he seem to hang around Sam so much? 

[Mattipoo]

 I have been pleasantly surprised by this season, particularly the great acting from the new cast. One reason why I feel like this may not be as popular of a season as others is because it is too "realistic," i.e. not campy enough, and there is hardly any gore. The 2 main actors (who play Gino and Patrick) are real standouts acting wise, and Whitely is one of the scariest serial killers I have ever seen. That face alone gives me chills! Big Daddy seems like he will turn out to be an illusion or ghost. Right now, Patrick is the most suspicious one as the potential serial killer but I am hoping they won't make it so obvious. But with AHS, you never know. In another season, Ryan Murphy will probably have Cody Fern play Gino and Finn Wittrock as the closeted cop, with Evan Peters as Adam. Glad they didn't go that route. 

[rhofmovalley]

13 hours ago, Mattipoo said:

 I have been pleasantly surprised by this season, particularly the great acting from the new cast. One reason why I feel like this may not be as popular of a season as others is because it is too "realistic," i.e. not campy enough, and there is hardly any gore. The 2 main actors (who play Gino and Patrick) are real standouts acting wise, and Whitely is one of the scariest serial killers I have ever seen. That face alone gives me chills! Big Daddy seems like he will turn out to be an illusion or ghost. Right now, Patrick is the most suspicious one as the potential serial killer but I am hoping they won't make it so obvious. But with AHS, you never know. In another season, Ryan Murphy will probably have Cody Fern play Gino and Finn Wittrock as the closeted cop, with Evan Peters as Adam. Glad they didn't go that route. 

I agree. At first I was asking myself "where is everyone?" but I really appreciate the casting changes. 

Although I can do without Billie Lourd and I feel Leslie Grossman doesn't really have much to do. And Iove Denis O'Hare but feel he's also underused. Not on par with Liz Taylor.

[Bali]

On 10/29/2022 at 9:18 PM, Superclam said:

I've never seen anyone smoke a cigarette with more menace. 

I respectfully disagree

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m not sure why I struggle to stay with this.  The acting is awesome.  I’m just struggling with the story.  I’ve always considered myself a smart viewer, but I have to constantly attempt to figure this out.  Even with the comments here, I’m perplexed. 🤣

[txhorns79]

On 10/29/2022 at 9:07 PM, Terrafamilia said:

Does Ryan Murphy not like cats?

Is it wrong that I feel like "Cat Scratch Fever" should be an '80s pop song? 

Quote

I think Big Daddy is a manifestation of AIDS.... 

I feel as though he is more shame related than AIDs-related. 

[LoveLeigh]

On 11/1/2022 at 8:01 PM, Starchild said:

But why does he seem to hang around Sam so much? 

Maybe Sam has AIDS?

[Cinnabon]

8 minutes ago, LoveLeigh said:

Maybe Sam has AIDS?

He might be HIV+ but he seems too healthy to have AIDS.