S11.E08: Fire Island

[AnimeMania]

Terrifying events at Fire Island rupture the group and force them to reconsider everything.

Original Air Date: November 9, 2022     FXX    11 pm 

[peridot]

I'm surprised Gino wasn't more freaked out when Henry came out of nowhere and proclaimed his love.  He was pretty nonchalant about a mob-connected hit man making threats against him and Patrick.

It was pretty scary when Big Daddy appeared out of nowhere to terrify the lesbians.  The one lady was pretty bold to go outside with her tiny pocket knife.

Patrick was pretty gun happy!  I thought he turned in his weapon when he quit his job?

What Sam did was so fucked up.  I'm glad Big Daddy came in time before Henry could violate Theo.  Who the hell were those guys who thought it was alright to strip and tie a drugged man to a tree?!  Evil people all around.

[LoveLeigh]

I like this season but it is getting sort of redundant and monotonous. They could have done this entire season in two hours. 

[sashayshante]

6 hours ago, LoveLeigh said:

They could have done this entire season in two hours. 

I think Murphy wanted to give the AIDS storyline its own episodes. Understandably. I have older friends in the gay community and they talk about how the younger generation treats HIV too casually because of Prep. I would think a significant portion of the AHS viewership is young gay men. They weren't around during the crisis. They don't know what gay men before them sacrificed for them to not carry this burden and its stigma.

I'm a woman who grew up in the 80's. It had to be absolutely traumatizing for gay men to have nobody care they were sick, disappearing, and dying. And it had to be infuriating to watch the government finally take notice of the disease only when a heterosexual rich male athlete (Magic Johnson) announced he was HIV positive. Only then did politicians care because it made them realize HIV was not a "gay disease." Making that worse was that Freddy Mercury died a few months after Johnson went public with his diagnosis. How many more game changers - people who would have made enormous contributions to society and bettered it -  did we lose? We'll never know.

Despite the campiness, I found the end of the episode quite compelling.

"You will be remembered." I got chills when I heard that. Will he be remembered for his photography or because he was one of the first to die from this mysterious virus? What about those that died that just...disappeared? Will they be remembered? Or will they be forgotten?

/off my soapbox

It's now established that Big Daddy is an entity and not a sentient being. The Death card obviously prophesizes the oncoming plague.

All in all, this is one of the first seasons in a long time that I've enjoyed from start to finish.

Edited November 10, 2022 by sashayshante
grammar

[Mr. Sparkle]

There are two more episodes. I feel this is the episode where it started to go off the rails, and the next two are going to be bonkers, but not necessarily in a good way. Still, I agree, it was the best season in a long time. 

[sashayshante]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

Still, I agree, it was the best season in a long time. 

Probably because there was no hype around it. Murphy's teasers  and cast announcements in the months leading up to the premiere drive fans into a frenzy. It's almost impossible to meet such high expectations.

[Tyler1992]

On 11/10/2022 at 9:21 AM, sashayshante said:

I think Murphy wanted to give the AIDS storyline its own episodes. Understandably. I have older friends in the gay community and they talk about how the younger generation treats HIV too casually because of Prep. I would think a significant portion of the AHS viewership is young gay men. They weren't around during the crisis. They don't know what gay men before them sacrificed for them to not carry this burden and its stigma.

I'm a woman who grew up in the 80's. It had to be absolutely traumatizing for gay men to have nobody care they were sick, disappearing, and dying. And it had to be infuriating to watch the government finally take notice of the disease only when a heterosexual rich male athlete (Magic Johnson) announced he was HIV positive. Only then did politicians care because it made them realize HIV was not a "gay disease." Making that worse was that Freddy Mercury died a few months after Johnson went public with his diagnosis. How many more game changers - people who would have made enormous contributions to society and bettered it -  did we lose? We'll never know.

Despite the campiness, I found the end of the episode quite compelling.

"You will be remembered." I got chills when I heard that. Will he be remembered for his photography or because he was one of the first to die from this mysterious virus? What about those that died that just...disappeared? Will they be remembered? Or will they be forgotten?

/off my soapbox

It's now established that Big Daddy is an entity and not a sentient being. The Death card obviously prophesizes the oncoming plague.

All in all, this is one of the first seasons in a long time that I've enjoyed from start to finish.

I'd also give Elizabeth Taylor huge props for helping to reduce the stigma around HIV/AIDS.

[iMonrey]

So Theo is dead, right? I found the ending somewhat confusing albeit evocative. It was hard to tell what was real and what was delusion. I'm not even sure what Theo died of because he didn't look all that sick and only seemed to be in the very early stages of the disease. 

[RalyWilmy]

In my opinion, this is truly the most "horrifying" season of the show.  These men (and women) had no idea what was coming.  Watching it in 2022 and knowing what was to come gives me a total sense of dread.  I'm not sure if that's what RM had in mind, but if he did, it's working.

Some of the tightest story lines in many, many seasons, I'm pleasantly surprised that it hasn't gone completely off the rails.  The ghost deer men at the end of this episode were a little hokey, but not to any real detriment.  Like, I don't think the ghost deer men will invade Fire Island and become the focus of the last two episodes, which was very likely to happen in past seasons.

All in all, one of my favorite seasons so far.  I hope the final episodes can live up to it!

[Madding crowd]

I’m curious as to Murphy’s choice to show AIDS as you faint once and then die (Barbara) or you mention not feeling well and then die (Theo). I lived through those days and know people who died in agony gasping for breath in a hospital. I do think the show is good this year although very dark and I hope Gino and/or Patrick survive but it’s not likely. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

I’m curious as to Murphy’s choice to show AIDS as you faint once and then die (Barbara) or you mention not feeling well and then die (Theo). 

So are we thinking Barbara died of AIDS? Neither she not Theo seemed sick enough to actually die.

[sashayshante]

On 11/10/2022 at 2:33 AM, LoveLeigh said:

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Neither she not Theo seemed sick enough to actually die

  I went back and watched And The Band Played On last night.  That was an HBO movie from the mid nineties about the early days of the AIDS crisis.  They mentioned how a guy who had recently died looked perfectly healthy just a couple weeks earlier. I think once they figured out what it was they were able to slow down the progression of the disease but not before that.

[Mattipoo]

Is Sandra Bernhard's character supposed to be the same age as the other 2 lesbian characters? She looks old enough to be their mother.

LOL how do you shoot a serial killer and not immediately pull off his mask to find out his real identity? Given that Patrick saw Barbara on the street and in Fire Island after she died, and Big Daddy appears to be unkillable, perhaps they are ghosts trapped in NYC just like the other AHS ghosts in precious seasons who can only roam where they died.

Theo's death scene is surreal and strangely moving. I am glad they didn't have a graphic scene of him being sexually assaulted or murdered by Big Daddy because that would be hard to watch.

This is one of the best seasons since "Hotel" and "Asylum". Hoping the finale will not disappoint.

[Madding crowd]

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

So are we thinking Barbara died of AIDS? Neither she not Theo seemed sick enough to actually die.

Since they both saw Big Daddy and we think it represents AIDS, I assume that is how they died.

[txhorns79]

On 11/12/2022 at 7:58 PM, Madding crowd said:

Since they both saw Big Daddy and we think it represents AIDS, I assume that is how they died.

Does that mean Sandra Bernhard and her friends also have AIDS?  He showed up to scare them as well.  I'd always been under the impression that the risk to lesbians was fairly low, absent some other factor like shared needles, etc.. 

[Lily H]

On 11/14/2022 at 9:32 AM, txhorns79 said:

Does that mean Sandra Bernhard and her friends also have AIDS?  He showed up to scare them as well.

Ah, but when confronted by them (well, one of them), he turned around, walked away and let them be. So I would think this indicates that they didn't get AIDS.

[gail56]

On 11/12/2022 at 6:58 PM, Madding crowd said:

Since they both saw Big Daddy and we think it represents AIDS, I assume that is how they died.

Yes, and I also just remembered when Adam first met Theo he was asking about the photo Theo took of Big Daddy. Theo told him Big Daddy died some weeks before. Now I wonder if Big Daddy was one of the first to die from AIDS, and that was how he came to represent that.