S05.E01: Checking In

[Chalby]

 

I really want to know Liz Taylor's (Denis O'Hare) backstory.  I'm in for now, but if this season goes seriously off the rails (chance of this happening:  99%) I'm out.

I think that is why I didn't mind all the confusion during the first 40 minutes. With so much going on, and no explanations, it made me want to tune in to upcoming shows just so that I can get the backstories like we got with Kathy Bates and Paulson's characters.

[Madding crowd]

I like all of the actors and the hotel and costumes are lovely, but I don't enjoy watching rape and mindless violence. Lady GaGa looked and acted like she was in one of her videos and I didn't believe her as a character. It seemed really stupid that the Swedish woman wouldn't just run out of the building, deposit be damned. Who would stay in a hotel when a creature came out of the bed? And I'm wondering how such a large hotel could exist on the down low without media making a big deal of it, yelp reviews, restaurants coming on-board etc. If I'm to believe it is actually a functioning hotel about to sold, they would have to convince me actual people would stay there without cell service, wifi, clean rooms, room service etc.

 

Now that I've over thought the whole show, I will stick around and see what happens, but I want a story line of some kind. it seems like there is a big cast this year which may not bode well for the story aspect. So far, I don't like GaGa or Sarah Paulson's character.

[grumpypanda]

I liked all the horror movie references. I also noticed a touch of Red Dragon and Saw. I watch this show expecting it to be creepy and weird and I wasn't disappointed with the premiere. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the opening credits. I didn't think it was as interesting as usual. I wasn't happy when I read that Lady Ga Ga was going to be in this season but I thought she did a decent job. My only problem is that I can't see a character yet, all I see is Lady Ga Ga.

Overall, I'm intrigued and I'll keep watching if only for the gorgeous men. I'm anxiously awaiting Dandy's arrival.

[poppy-]

I feel like this season is the opposite of Murder House. The first episode season 1, I thought, it was "hmmmm, normal-ish family, but there are weird touches, how far will they ... OH HELL!" and it's suddenly compelling. This one is straight up "OH HELL! "  from the start, and then they finally bring in someone who looks like a normal person (flashback Kathy Bates) in the last 20 minutes....and it's suddenly compelling.

 

Murder House was 20% camp and this one is 80%- another inversion.

[SPLAIN]

Wasn't it from the first season of Hannibal? 

I can't comment since I never watched Hannibal.

 

 

We get rape every season on this show so I wasn't expecting this season to be different. There were at least two rapes in Murder House, at least three in Asylum, a gang rape in Coven in addition to rape by minotaur and incest, Freak Show had a gang rape and a would be snuff film among other things. The drilldo rape sounds like it fits right in with the AHS world. It is a horror story at the end of the day so if people were horrified then to me that suggests that RM is doing something right.

Agree.

 

I looked forward to this season because of Lady Gaga. I will admit I am missing Jessica Lange.

[caracas1914]

Or it could be that Ryan Murphy equates rape with shock value horror.

How droll.

[RedheadZombie]

Thoughts after letting the episode digest:

The thing coming out of the mattress would have been chilling if they hadn't already spoiled a pic of eyes looking from within a mattress.

There's no way paramedics/fire dept would leave a man who was mutilated waiting until a full csi and cop team arrives. He could have choked to death on his own blood long before the cops arrived.

I know I'm supposed to think Chloe's character a shrill bitch who forces quinoa on her family, but I love her.

Cop is told the killer is doing it again, and does he go flying to the hotel with sirens screaming? Nope. He sashays in, takes his time, strolls to the room. Then he takes a nap?

How practical is it for a heroin addict to rent a hotel room every time he shoots up? I found the actor very charismatic and interesting, but he didn't sell that his entire intestines were being shredded with a footlong metal spike. And he was completely blood-free after?

Lady Gaga wasn't bad, but she wasn't great. She was completely out classes by MB. The seduction scene was silly. These weirdos are dressed like they're going to the Oscars. Gaga shows some shoulder and does the stupid V sign, and the lady giggles and that's all it took. The guy sold the throat slashing, but not the lady.

[RedheadZombie]

I can tell Matt and Wes apart, but I don't remember this Cheyenne guy at all.

A couple loses one child to kidnapping, and as far as they know, murder. Killer targets this same family. Father says - no don't take daughter away, she'll be traumatized if she doesn't sleep in her own bed. Tells wife - oh no, you don't need a gun. Does he WANT them killed?

 

Does anyone know if the red head from season 1 will be on this seaosn? The maid from murder house, I loved her. She was great actress and always sad she had one scence in Coven.

Alexandra Breckenridge is now on The Walking Dead.

[hatchetgirl]

Damn that was freaking awful. WTF did I just watch? It made no sense but had beautiful costuming.

It's not a hotel but an amazing restaurant by my work. I could give a tour of most of the buildings. I actually go into that restaurant when it's closed just to look around. It's in the Oviat building on Oliver st. There is still Lalicke glass inside. The 2nd floor has the most amazing carvings at the top of the pilars. Mr. Oviat wanted to open a haberdashery for men and the people who own it now have kept all the display cases and such.

But back to the show, the acting is horrific. I wanted to put my eyes out wroth the acting.

[Brattinella]

Damn that was freaking awful. WTF did I just watch? It made no sense but had beautiful costuming.

It's not a hotel but an amazing restaurant by my work. I could give a tour of most of the buildings. I actually go into that restaurant when it's closed just to look around. It's in the Oviat building on Oliver st. There is still Lalicke glass inside. The 2nd floor has the most amazing carvings at the top of the pilars. Mr. Oviat wanted to open a haberdashery for men and the people who own it now have kept all the display cases and such.

But back to the show, the acting is horrific. I wanted to put my eyes out wroth the acting.

 

Thanks for the info re: the Oviatt Building.  Very cool!

[Captanne]

Hatchettgirl, that is fascinating!!  

 

I agree about the acting.  I mentioned it last page -- particularly about Gaga because 1) she has the biggest shoes to fill and 2) she's such a presence herself but she's not known as an actress so she's on the hot seat.

 

I found her either utterly painful -- particularly in the scene where she meets the new owner and his son -- and then, suddenly, as they went through the door to the hallway, completely fantastic.  It's like (maybe) days went by between shooting the interior room scene and the hallway scene?  Her confidence and ability change were like night and day.

 

I'm not a BIG Bomer fan?  He's okay.  He was an absolute dishrag in that television series he had about art theft, imo.  I started confusing the pretty brunettes, I admit.  And the Swedish girls were so thin and vulnerable from the start, it was clear they wouldn't survive.  They had that heroin chic* that Kate Moss and the Olsen Twins made famous in the 90s.  That doesn't bode well for long-term survival.

 

*Of course, the real heroin chick (hee, pun intended) was Sally -- who reminded me of Pris from Bladerunner (Daryl Hannah back in the day -- which, shameless plug, if you haven't seen Sense8 on Netflix, run, don't walk, and binge it immediately.  You won't be sorry.)

 

Speaking of derivative costuming, otherwise I thought it was fabulous.  And, as everyone under the sun has commented, Liz Taylor is wonderful in that blue chiffon number.  (I've always liked that actor throughout the franchise although I know he's not everyone's taste.)

 

What I love about Kathy Bates is that the characters she plays in this franchise are quite literally the same woman but in different realities and she makes each one own itself.  Does that make sense?  She is a proprietess who has problematic children and is trapped in hell.  I don't pay enough attention to this show to compare all of her characters but so far we have LaWhatsit in New Orleans, Bearded Lady in Freakshow, and now this lady.  They are all completely different but look similar (because they are played by the same actress) and play almost the same roles.  

 

And yet, Bates gives each one of them their own distinct personalities -- not too different, but different enough.  No one would ever confuse the three I just mentioned.

 

I seem to recall a moment in the hall when they all sort of coalesced for me in Bates but I can't remember the moment now.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Captanne

[Anela]

 

 

ETA:  I've also seen a trend of folks on all sorts of threads say things like "This show is sick and so is anyone who watches it!"  If I want to see people criticize each other, I'll go on Facebook.  I come here to talk about the shows.

Where have you seen this? If nobody told me I was sick for watching Hannibal, where someone was fed their own leg at some point, and the corpses looked like serial killer crafts, I doubt they would think I'm sick for watching AHS. 

[shelley1234]

I also don't get the fuss that is made about rape. There are much worse things than being raped and we have seen much worse fates befall characters in past seasons than being raped to death. What do you guys find so horrible about it?

But tbh, I guess if it stirs such strong emotions in the audience it's the right thing for a horror-show and I can see why Murphy keeps using it.

 

 

I imagine that is only said by someone who has not been raped....violently.  

[goodbyeglittergirl]

The settings and clothing and styling on this show are gorgeous (when not totally disgusting.) I still love Kathy Bates, but hope we didn't get her whole presence this season in this one episode. I need more Kathy. 

 

Gaga is okay so far. Which is more than I thought I'd be able to say for her. I also don't mind Chloe Sevigny so far this go around, which is amazing because I generally don't like her at all. 

 

I await the inevitable descent into too many storylines and not enough conclusion, but for now it's okay.

[sidekickgirl]

I found this episode to be visually stunning, creepy and almost beyond the limit of what my brain can take. And I loved it. It's why I watch. I know, going into AHS that I'll be faced with content that is disturbing, but pushing the envelope is often what keeps me engaged in each season.

Looking forward to what lies ahead.

[poppy-]

Where have you seen this? If nobody told me I was sick for watching Hannibal, where someone was fed their own leg at some point, and the corpses looked like serial killer crafts, I doubt they would think I'm sick for watching AHS. 

 

Hannibal was remarkable for its lack of sexual violence. It didn't avoid sex (I vaguely remember some 3 way invovling a demonic deer?). But I don't know of any other serial killer show that avoided rape as much as that show did, which is saying something given the sheer number and variety of killers.  Even when they went there in the last season to comply with the book source, it was dialogue and somewhat subtle. So that is one big difference between the two shows. Hannibal is far more palatable in that sense.

 

edited to add- palatable, ha.

The settings and clothing and styling on this show are gorgeous (when not totally disgusting.) I still love Kathy Bates, but hope we didn't get her whole presence this season in this one episode. I need more Kathy. 

 

Gaga is okay so far. Which is more than I thought I'd be able to say for her. I also don't mind Chloe Sevigny so far this go around, which is amazing because I generally don't like her at all. 

 

I await the inevitable descent into too many storylines and not enough conclusion, but for now it's okay.

Who was Chloe Sevingny?

Edited October 10, 2015 by poppy-

[Brattinella]

That scene in the corridor with Liz Taylor in the blue chiffon: WOW!  I could use that as a screensaver; mesmerizing!

[RazzleberryPie]

Thoughts after letting the episode digest:

The thing coming out of the mattress would have been chilling if they hadn't already spoiled a pic of eyes looking from within a mattress.

There's no way paramedics/fire dept would leave a man who was mutilated waiting until a full csi and cop team arrives. He could have choked to death on his own blood long before the cops arrived.

I know I'm supposed to think Chloe's character a shrill bitch who forces quinoa on her family, but I love her.

Cop is told the killer is doing it again, and does he go flying to the hotel with sirens screaming? Nope. He sashays in, takes his time, strolls to the room. Then he takes a nap?

How practical is it for a heroin addict to rent a hotel room every time he shoots up? I found the actor very charismatic and interesting, but he didn't sell that his entire intestines were being shredded with a footlong metal spike. And he was completely blood-free after?

Lady Gaga wasn't bad, but she wasn't great. She was completely out classes by MB. The seduction scene was silly. These weirdos are dressed like they're going to the Oscars. Gaga shows some shoulder and does the stupid V sign, and the lady giggles and that's all it took. The guy sold the throat slashing, but not the lady.

OK I watched the whole episode. Still not impressed, but the last 20 minutes were interesting. They should've led off with that. This might be a rainy day OnDemand watch, but just too gory and not interesting enough for Wed. night regular viewing.

 

Yeah, that guy in the bed most likely would've bled out much sooner. The lazy nap taking cop would never make it on SVU.

 

I guess the guy didn't implode (that thing would've ruptured everything from his rectum to his lungs), because it was a metaphor of how drugs screw you over while you tell them you love them. He OD'd. 

 

Lady Gaga is a talented singer and entertainer. However, she cannot deliver a line to save her life. Everything sounded so one-liner contrived. 

 

The settings and clothing and styling on this show are gorgeous (when not totally disgusting.) I still love Kathy Bates, but hope we didn't get her whole presence this season in this one episode. I need more Kathy. 

 

Gaga is okay so far. Which is more than I thought I'd be able to say for her. I also don't mind Chloe Sevigny so far this go around, which is amazing because I generally don't like her at all. 

 

I await the inevitable descent into too many storylines and not enough conclusion, but for now it's okay.

Kathy bates making nutritious shakes to force feed to the caged Swedish girls, tyring to get the pills out of their system before her vampire soon eats them, cracked me up. That was the weird twisted AHS I prefer, not this junkie slasher rape plotline.

 

Chloe Sevigny is probably at the absolute top of my list (maybe right above Gaga) as Overrated Actress of the Past 20 years. I just don't get it. I think every single phrase she utters and every expression she makes - in every role - comes off as insincere and slightly conniving. She's famous for 'pushing the envelope', but it's a whole Empress has No Clothes situation to me. She'll take on the roles, but is terrible in them. At least Emma Roberts, who is also terrible, isn't lauded as some savant genius groundbreaker like Chloe. 

[RedheadZombie]

Chloe was the cop's wife, Alex.

ETA: Razzleberry Pie - I love Chloe from Big Love. Her character was wonderfully selfish, sometimes cruel, incredibly damaged from her childhood, yet fiercely loyal to those she loved. She was my favorite on the show, and her vulnerability made me cry. I'm not familiar with her other rolls, although I liked a movie she was in with - drawing a blank - Mariah Carey's ex-husband.

Edited October 10, 2015 by RedheadZombie

[Brattinella]

That reminds me; did they ever say who the two disemboweled men were?

[Captanne]

The wife was Chloe Sevigny?!

 

I'd never seen her before -- until ages ago I watched a BBC show with the unfortunate title "Hit or Miss" which was actually quite enjoyable.  A bit spacey but entertaining.  CS played the lead role.

 

Wow, does she look different.

[Captanne]

I don't think we know who the disemboweled victims are yet.  And, yes I totally flashed back to "Hannibal" and thought how uncreative the AHS murderer is.  I think it says something rather unpleasant that I'm critiquing disembowelments.  Sigh.

 

poppy-, there was the Kaleidoscope o' Lesbian Sex on "Hannibal" and wasn't there some sort of weird orgy? Or was that Sense8?  Ugh, I'm confusing my group sex on television, now.

 

At least I'm keeping the disembowelments straight.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Captanne

[RedheadZombie]

That reminds me; did they ever say who the two disemboweled men were?

There were too many murders to keep up with. I thought they were the unfortunate ménage couple.

The cop's daughter was foolish. Was she in the back of a police car? I thought those were always locked to those inside. I guess she felt she could defy her father since he seemingly encourages her to keep secrets from her mother.

And didn't he read Little Women to her because it was almost her bed time? Yet when he eventually comes home, she's awake and he takes her to a restaurant.

Edited October 10, 2015 by RedheadZombie

[RazzleberryPie]

Chloe was the cop's wife, Alex.

ETA: Razzleberry Pie - I love Chloe from Big Love. Her character was wonderfully selfish, sometimes cruel, incredibly damaged from her childhood, yet fiercely loyal to those she loved. She was my favorite on the show, and her vulnerability made me cry. I'm not familiar with her other rolls, although I liked a movie she was in with - drawing a blank - Mariah Carey's ex-husband.

I liked her in the first seasons of Big Love, because that falseness and conniving really worked for Nikki. Then the writers tried to turn her into some martyr, and they lost me. She works well as a likable villain, so maybe if she is a secret killer (like the poster above suggested) she'll be fine.

[Captanne]

Being a secret killer worked for CS in "Hit or Miss" so you may well have a point!  (I've never seen Big Love.  Not my kind of show.)

[Adusk81]

I had to rewatch the episode to make sure it was as good as I thought it was. I was wrong. It was better. It really was that good. I'm not sure how anyone can say there was no plot. There was a very strong plot with lots more to come. I agree that mutder house and asylum had a cool slow burn at the beginning to ease us into things but this is not those stories. These are isolated seasons and comparing them doesn't make that much sense. Each one has been completely different and I love that. On to Gaga. Not a fan of her music but I thought she was awesome. She sold the mysterious countess persona like a champ. Reminded me of oh I don't know, every vampire. Cold, creepy, precise. That's not bad acting. She's actually playing the role exactly how it should be played and killing it. The "tear you apart" scene was expertly done and the chemistry between her and Matt was insane. About the rape scene, I don't get why there has to always be one either but I think in this case it's a bit different. Paulson feeds off of other's addiction and affection. It seems to nourish her. Maybe the rapist is part of her and not real. Perhaps it's her mind raping the victim at hand. After all, there was no blood after the rapist disappeared. And that was the only scene. With no blood so I don't think it actually happened. Just a thought. So yeah, I'm into it.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Adusk81

[Petunia13]

I thought it was wonderful and everyone's performances were "on fleek." I haven't been this captured and involved with AHS since Asylum .

Lady Gaga to me has done a fine job inhabiting her character and creating a mood. I can see (since I'm a Lady Gaga fan) how exactly different her facial expressions, movements, and voice are from Stefani and Gaga. Her "Countess" is: terrifying, sexy, disarming, elegant, & ethereal - all at once. She also has terrific chemistry with Matt Bomer. Who also doing well portraying a bunch of contradictions. He and Gaga's Countess probably the best depictions of a nihilistic killer/desperate lost soul/gorgeous supermodel incarnates since Christian Bale in American Psycho. I don't throw around that comparison lightly.

Wes Bentley is reminding many of how much he's been missed. I enjoyed his scenes and want to know more. He sells so much with his eyes. I appreciated his acting choices and find the character compelling.

Chloe Sevegny/ his wife was refreshing in what could be in a lesser hand a typical or trite role. She was very authentic and has grown so much. Something about her performance and her vocal tones impresses me. It's very Julianne Moore-style and understated, yet strong.

Their kidnapped son who is one of the Countess' kidnapped kids/vampire tot pack looks a lot like Ryder Hudson Robinson did as a baby.

The 2 models from the beginning/Swedish touristas are from Victoria's Secret, no? I totally recognize them from magazines.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Petunia13

[mercfan3]

My first time ever watching AHS. 

 

Ryan Murphy was campy, and I expected blood and gore in an almost silly fashion (Sweeney Todd), and that's what I got. So that side didn't bother me. 

 

I am conflicted about the rape stuff. But as someone else said, if there's a reason for it, I can live with it..and there's a clear metaphor..so..(it's just at the same time, I know Murphy's tendencies..) 

 

I am surprised people didn't think there was a plot. To me, the plots were slowly introduced, but there were two pretty clear cut ones introduced. (A detective/cop trying to solve a serial killer case, who has family issues, that are likely to be resolved - that's original...and the Vampire/drug/Bates story.) 

[Neurochick]

I liked it, but I usually like the first episodes of AHS, then it goes off the rails for me.

Is the idea that no one really dies in this hotel? Matt Boner's and Sarah Paul's's characters are dead, correct? GaGa is some kind of vampire. Or maybe the hotel is the vampire keeping them all alive.

[hatchetgirl]

If you ever get to see Chloe S in Portlandia, that's all her. She just seems to be one that went to the Nicholas Cage school of acting. She's is just so dish rag. This is no different, delivering her lines about whooping cough in the Palisades. Poor Wes B. It's like he has to act down to her scale, he was just so uninspired. Ooh Hi him here I am at the crime scene and I'm the only one who is going to blame it on... The super glue! Da da dummmm!!

Speaking of Sally being like Priss, another of our buildings is the Bradbury Building just down the street. It hasn't made an appearance yet, but Blade Runner was shot inside it. Truly lovely and has an recipient mysterious history.

[Avaleigh]

I liked it, but I usually like the first episodes of AHS, then it goes off the rails for me.

Is the idea that no one really dies in this hotel? Matt Boner's and Sarah Paul's's characters are dead, correct? GaGa is some kind of vampire. Or maybe the hotel is the vampire keeping them all alive.

I think Sally and the MB character are in different situations. She seems like a ghost who's trapped in the hotel (or maybe chooses to stay) while MB seems like a guy who died but was brought back via the Countess so he can still go wherever he likes only now it's as a vampire.

[Petunia13]

I think the only kne there who are alive and not ghosts or vampires or some kind of mutant is the concierge/KB, the detective, the designer and his kid.

[Neurochick]

I think Sally and the MB character are in different situations. She seems like a ghost who's trapped in the hotel (or maybe chooses to stay) while MB seems like a guy who died but was brought back via the Countess so he can still go wherever he likes only now it's as a vampire.

 

 

Thanks.  I think I get some of this.  So KB's character is there because it's the only way she can see her son I guess.  I don't know why Sally is still there, or what's her relationship to Gaga.  Interesting that she told the tourista girl to run, did she know Gaga would kill her?  

 

I don't get why the cop went to stay at the hotel in the end though, couldn't he have stayed somewhere else?  

 

I wonder what the deal is with those children?  

 

I felt the first part of the episode was a waste of time.  The show didn't get good until Matt Bomer and Gaga showed up.  

 

I guess Jessica Lange couldn't have played Gaga's part because people in this country have issues with age and would have thought it "creepy" to see Matt Bomer making out with Lange, even though they're both adults.  

[Dobian]

The setup makes more sense to me now after watching the rest of it.  It seems pretty similar to the first season, where you have ghosts trapped on the property and appear fully human.  I wish they had an actual setting for this hotel other than, "it's in L.A.". All you see outside is some generic commercial/industrial area as people drive up, so there's no feel for the location.  They should have stuck it in Hollywood or Sunset Blvd., like the old Roosevelt Hotel.  It needed to be in a funky retro kind of neighborhood.

[editorgrrl]

I don't know why Sally is still there, or what's her relationship to Gaga. Interesting that she told the tourista girl to run, did she know Gaga would kill her?

Hypodermic Sally (Sarah Paulson) called dibs (bagsy) when the junkie checked in to room 64, but who's her competition? Drilldo? The Countess (Lady Gaga)? Others?

And Sally said it to Iris (Kathy Bates), but was that just exposition or is Iris some kind of coordinator?

Edited October 11, 2015 by editorgrrl

[coppersin]

Hypodermic Sally (Sarah Paulson) called dibs (bagsy) when the junkie checked in to room 64, but who's her competition? Drilldo? The Countess (Lady Gaga)? Others?

 

It's like the hotel is a feeding ground - everything bad in the hotel (so far) takes something from you. An earlier post mentioned the baddies representing aspects of addiction, which I definitely think is the idea, especially since we seem to have "excess" and "fashion" and "Los Angeles" as some of our keywords. Myself, I'm thinking of the baddies as demonic hotel bed bugs - sometimes they drain your blood (Countess), sometimes they feed on your emotions instead (Sally), sometimes they attach just to hurt (rapist) - but once you check in, you're fresh meat, you will be targeted, and something is going to latch onto you.

 

So was Sally literally staking her claim for the emotional upheaval the rape was causing? Or maybe no one wants a crowded crime scene, so the baddies tend to stick to their own kind? Going with the addiction theme, addicts tend to be very selfish - when you're high, you're really focused only on your own needs and your next fix - so maybe the baddies just tend to be very territorial?

 

Though, if Sally wants to "observe" or whatever she's doing, I'm not sure how anyone could stop her. She's a ghost, how can they hurt her? Yet Iris implied that Sally would have to deal with the Countess when things went wrong with the Swedes. 

Edited October 11, 2015 by coppersin

[Neurochick]

But out of everybody in the hotel, is Iris the only "real" person there?  Meaning she's neither a monster nor a ghost.  I wonder if Iris is dead too, maybe she killed herself after finding her son dead and after she murdered Sally.

 

Since the Ten Commandments flash onscreen during the opening credits, maybe the hotel is some kind of purgatory.  

Edited October 11, 2015 by Neurochick

[Captanne]

Speaking of Sally being like Priss, another of our buildings is the Bradbury Building just down the street. It hasn't made an appearance yet, but Blade Runner was shot inside it. Truly lovely and has an recipient mysterious history.

 

 

Hatchetgirl, boy did I twig that Bladerunner-feel, eh?

Edited October 11, 2015 by Captanne

[Zanne]

But out of everybody in the hotel, is Iris the only "real" person there?  Meaning she's neither a monster nor a ghost.  I wonder if Iris is dead too, maybe she killed herself after finding her son dead and after she murdered Sally.

 

Since the Ten Commandments flash onscreen during the opening credits, maybe the hotel is some kind of purgatory.  

 

Iris committed the sin of murder (Thou shalt not kill) so she belongs there just as much as any of the others. Perhaps this isn't Purgatory so much as a representation of Hell. Dante said there were nine levels - how many floors does this hotel have? Maybe each floor is dedicated to a different sin or a diffrent broken commandment. Lady Gaga could be Satan, located in the ninth circle (the Penthouse) with the greatest betrayers. Though I can't figure out what Matt Bomer's betrayal would be, unless it's betraying his mother.

 

ETA: I just thought that room 64 plays a big part in things. 6+4=10 (for commandments). That's clever, if that was the intent.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Zanne

[hatchetgirl]

Yep, right on with Priss!

There is definitely a location for this. 6th and Olive, downtown. The building has to die for art Deco elevators who used to have operators. To get upstairs you just tell the the security man you want to just look at 2nd floor. They are offices though. The rooms are movie magic. My jewelry guy in there. Then come back down and go into Cicada at lunch time. They don't do lunch but the door is open. Just walk on in. They are very nice and once he came and unblocked it just for us.

The police department is addressed the street so it's a set location. It would have been better served if they had used the new location because the location they choose is pacmutual at 6th and Olive again.

Anyone in town, I could happily do an hour to three hour tour of these locations and more any sun through Tues. :) I'll even take you to where Elissa Lam went missing. Spoooooooky

[Captanne]

Oh, Lord, the very next thing I was going to ask was about Lam and the Cecil.  It's the right time of year for it, no?  Oooooh, shudder.

[poppy-]

But out of everybody in the hotel, is Iris the only "real" person there?  Meaning she's neither a monster nor a ghost.  I wonder if Iris is dead too, maybe she killed herself after finding her son dead and after she murdered Sally.

 

Since the Ten Commandments flash onscreen during the opening credits, maybe the hotel is some kind of purgatory.  

Liz Taylor is also possibly / apparently human.

[LittleIggy]

Is Gaga Countess Bathory? Anyway, I kept thinking of "The Hunger" (one of my fave movies) when she and her lover went out hunting.

[Captanne]

OMG, they only dream of being as cool as Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie.  Dream on, ya amateurs, Gaga and Bomer.  Not even in the same league.

 

 

AHS was a total ripoff -- er, homage -- of the opening scene.  (5:00 video)  

 

That's Bauhaus doing the music.  (Looks and sounds like Bowie but he comes in as the main actor, not as the music, so don't be confused.  Just enjoy the ride.)  Great music, groovy film.  Never been outdone, imo.  (Like Manhunter to Red Dragon.  Manhunter may be from the 80s but it's a vastly better film.)

 

Unfortunately, while there are cool parts of The Hunger, the end is a disappointment, mainly because they just didn't have the technology in the 80s, yet, to pull off the makeup they needed to do well.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Captanne

[amkiss]

I am not sure if anyone caught it... But in the credits after each name it showed one of the 10 commaments. I think they are going to take their time to tie things together.

[Zanne]

Is Gaga Countess Bathory? Anyway, I kept thinking of "The Hunger" (one of my fave movies) when she and her lover went out hunting.

 

"The Hunger" was the first thing that came to mind with that entire Gaga/Bomer scene. For whatever reason, The Countess is stuck in the '80s.

[coppersin]

Iris committed the sin of murder (Thou shalt not kill) so she belongs there just as much as any of the others. Perhaps this isn't Purgatory so much as a representation of Hell. Dante said there were nine levels - how many floors does this hotel have? Maybe each floor is dedicated to a different sin or a diffrent broken commandment. Lady Gaga could be Satan, located in the ninth circle (the Penthouse) with the greatest betrayers. Though I can't figure out what Matt Bomer's betrayal would be, unless it's betraying his mother.

Oh, I like this. Going with the addiction theme, I had seen Iris staying in the hotel because she "needs" to see her son every day like an addict having to want to get clean before rehab works - it's her choice to leave and she's too fixated or dependent to go. It would explain her concern at being kicked out by the new owner. But if the Hotel California, er, Cortez represents Purgatory or Hell, then choice leaves the equation and all we're seeing is her punishment, which would at least explain the downgrade in appearance from the flashback.

 

I'm hoping the hotel is actually a combination - it's Hell for the straight-up evil like Countess and Drilldo (I feel icky typing that, I hope we're given a name soon) and people that made their bed and have to lie in it (Donovan and Sally); it's Purgatory for people like Iris with her impulsive murder and John with the perceived failure of losing his son, who might be able to work through their issues and walk away. Until we get the backstory, I'm hoping Liz falls on the Purgatory side of things.

[Captanne]

I'm kind of surprised they would do such a blatant ripoff of The Hunger.  Gaga can't hold a candle to a true beauty like Deneuve who reminds me of Grace Kelly.

 

Gaga is tremendously talented (apparently, 'cause I know little about her other than the "meat dress") but is not anything like Grace Kelly.

 

In my day (Ode to Whippersnappers), Madonna did the same "shock value" stuff that Gaga does.  Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  (In my parents' day, it was "Elvis the Pelvis" -- he was shocking.)

[Hamatron]

Yeah. Gaga is kind of an Elton John/Madonna/Marylin Manson hybrid. Nothing new, but when she broke out her shtick was different compared to other pop stars at the time. The main thing with her is that she writes her music (for real) and plays instruments (for real) so she has the option to become a songwriter for other performers in the future (which she was doing before she got big).

And apparently she can act better than Madonna. But that's not much of a feat, as she's pretty much the worst out there.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Hamatron

[Brattinella]

I'm kind of surprised they would do such a blatant ripoff of The Hunger.  Gaga can't hold a candle to a true beauty like Deneuve who reminds me of Grace Kelly.

 

Gaga is tremendously talented (apparently, 'cause I know little about her other than the "meat dress") but is not anything like Grace Kelly.

 

In my day (Ode to Whippersnappers), Madonna did the same "shock value" stuff that Gaga does.  Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  (In my parents' day, it was "Elvis the Pelvis" -- he was shocking.)

Oh, my!  "Ode to Whippersnappers"!