S05.E06: Room 33

[Anela]

I like that they mentioned the names of the books that Liz gave to Tristan. I didn't catch the book she was reading later on, though. 

 

I feel so bad for the daughter, Scarlet, and her dad trying to protect her, ends up scaring the crap out of her. 

[caracas1914]

So we are going to completely disregard the fact that there are at least 30 murderous little savages running around LA? Because that seems like a pretty big plot point to just toss out there and then forget about.

If it was any other show runner than Ryan Murphy, it would absolutely guarantee a major storyline; again it's Murphy, it's a toss up whether a throw a way line will resolve those baby vampires now.

Edited November 12, 2015 by caracas1914

[Surrealist]

I feel so bad for the daughter, Scarlet, and her dad trying to protect her, ends up scaring the crap out of her. 

 

Scarlett's the only one I feel sorry for, so I hope she ends up being the heroine.

[BananaRama]

If it was any other show runner than Ryan Murphy, it would absolutely guarantee a major storyline; again it's Murphy, it's a toss up whether a throw a way line will resolve those baby vampires now.

Ugh! Really? I haven't watched any of Ryan Murphy's shows, but if that is his MO, that is frustrating. So Ryan Murphy might have introduced 30 juvenile virus-vampire killing machines in one episode and never resolve that storyline? What if they create more vampires? What about all the dead bodies? That is just bad storytelling.

[Whitley Trillbert]

Ugh! Really? I haven't watched any of Ryan Murphy's shows, but if that is his MO, that is frustrating. So Ryan Murphy might have introduced 30 juvenile virus-vampire killing machines in one episode and never resolve that storyline? What if they create more vampires? What about all the dead bodies? That is just bad storytelling.

It's especially bad with AHS. He always leaves a story or a plot dangling in the wind.

[Chaos Theory]

I don't understand why people hate Alex. It's like you are only allowed two emotions when it comes to a character on this show you have to either love them or hate them there us no middle ground. I actually find every character in this series fascinating...including Alex. She is a case of long ago chosing one child over the other and then losing that child only to get that child back. Holden is the only thing Alex has ever loved. Yes it is sad she never felt the same about her daughter but to hate her for it just seems weird to me. I actually think Alex is one of the more fascinating characters onthe show....the lengths you will go and what you will let go of to get what you want most. Hell I can see her becoming the next Countess.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[RazzleberryPie]

I don't remember Bartholomew in Murder House. I remember the Infantata (Thadeus Montgomery) and Beauregard, Constance's mongoloid son (her words- not mine) that was kept in the attic, but no Bartholomew. Can someone refresh my memory? Thanks!

I didn't like Murder House, and watched sporadically, but I don't think Gaga's baby can be Dr. Murder House's baby, except Ryan Murphy Land has all sorts of unexplained and disjointed storylines. But, Ryan Murphy, so who knows. 

 

This was so boring. I don't like the gore (which is why I don't like Mr. March), I admit, but these are the most wasteful and messy Vampires ever. They just slash and wallow in far more blood than they consume. Just not practical.

 

Chloe screwing with her husband's mind is scarier to me than all the ghosts and vampires. He character isn't exciting, but it's brings more realistic scary (measles epidemics, messing with your ex's head, abandoning your daughter without a care, etc.), so it's growing on me. 

[candall]

I was kid when that movie [It's Alive!] came out (1974) and the poster for it gave me nightmares. I don't believe I've actually seen it.

"The Davises are having a baby.<deedle deedle deedle>  Most people are excited about a baby. <deedley dee>  The Davises are TERRIFIED. <musical shriek>"

 

ROTFL.  My brain has retained those lines from the trailer for 35 years.  For such a silly piece of schlock horror, the marketing on that movie was phenomenal!

 

eta:  okay, 40 years.

 

.

Edited November 12, 2015 by candall

[Fable]

So we are going to completely disregard the fact that there are at least 30 murderous little savages running around LA? Because that seems like a pretty big plot point to just toss out there and then forget about.

 

 

If it was any other show runner than Ryan Murphy, it would absolutely guarantee a major storyline; again it's Murphy, it's a toss up whether a throw a way line will resolve those baby vampires now.

 

I'm almost certain this was not meant to be a plot point, but was just included for shock and awe.  Ryan Murphy loves his sensationalism.  I'd be rather surprised if it's brought up again

[Starchild]

"The Davises are having a baby.<deedle deedle deedle>  Most people are excited about a baby. <deedley dee>  The Davises are TERRIFIED. <musical shriek>"

 

ROTFL.  My brain has retained those lines from the trailer for 35 years.  For such a silly piece of schlock horror, the marketing on that movie was phenomenal!

 

eta:  okay, 40 years..

I have it on DVD. One of my guilty pleasures.

[Anela]

I don't understand why people hate Alex. It's like you are only allowed two emotions when it comes to a character on this show you have to either love them or hate them there us no middle ground. I actually find every character in this series fascinating...including Alex. She is a case of long ago chosing one child over the other and then losing that child only to get that child back. Holden is the only thing Alex has ever loved. Yes it is sad she never felt the same about her daughter but to hate her for it just seems weird to me. I actually think Alex is one of the more fascinating characters onthe show....the lengths you will go and what you will let go of to get what you want most. Hell I can see her becoming the next Countess.

She not only chose one child over the other, but is now trying to drive her husband insane, meaning her daughter will also miss out on her dad. She's now terrified of the dad who made sure to call her in order to read to her over the phone, when he was busy and couldn't be there in person. I also think it's cruel to mess with someone's mind. For all of the Countess' talk of rescuing abandoned children, she doesn't give a crap about Scarlett, either. 

Edited November 13, 2015 by Anela

[DiabLOL]

I've seen every season of AHS and so far this is the only one that isn't getting progressively worse and disappointing with each ep for me. They all tend to start out all creepy and filled with promise and potentially compelling characters and their stories then get all stupid, boring and lazy.

 

I'm not saying Ga Ga is an actress but her voice coupled with the totally awesome bizarre background music (who does it, I tried looking it up) really works for me to set that grim yet wisful mood. Also she tends to pronounce words in a really strange way. Isn't she from New Jersey though? Maybe it's her intentional affectation for this role. I've never really heard her speak otherwise and would still think she does weird for the sake of weird.

[End Table]

I don't get why Alex want's to mess with her ex's mind. They lived together enough to have a second child and it seems to me that he isn't such a bad man. 

 

Poor Scarlett. 

[RazzleberryPie]

I don't get why Alex want's to mess with her ex's mind. They lived together enough to have a second child and it seems to me that he isn't such a bad man. 

 

Poor Scarlett. 

She wants rid of him so she can bee all creepy coffin mama with the son. She doesn't care about the daughter, but wants rid of the husband.

[RedheadZombie]

Why'd that little creep Holden go to John's room anyway?

[darkestboy]

Good episode, liked the revisit of the Murder House from the first season and that we found out about Bartholomew as well.

 

I think that kid and Alex are going to be the Countess's downfall more than anyone else she's angered or alienated to be honest.

 

Tristan/Liz needed more episodes to have an actual impact. Was surprised it was Tristan though that the Countess killed.

 

Alex is pretty cold hearted, given that she got those Swedish girls to torment John as well.

 

They need to get the Commandments Killer thing out of the way and soon. I felt bad for Scarlett as well.

 

Both Donovan and Ramona can't move on from the Countess, can they? 7/10

[Chaos Theory]

Maybe I'm the one who is cold hearted because Scarlett is the least of my worries and honestly I really don't care and wish the show just figures out what to do with her and moves on to more interesting things....like almost anything

Maybe she can run into one of the rampaging vampire school children and it all swings back to the Cortez. Hi mommy I'm heeeereee!!!!! That at least would be interesting and kinda ironic.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Aging Goth]

Maybe the Countess knows that Tristan doesn't love Liz and killed him rather than letting Liz be crushed when she finds out.  This way she can blame the Countess instead of going through the pain when Tristan inevitably rejects her.

Don't think so.  She has serious issues with anyone who doesn't give her absolute loyalty.  If she truly cares for them, she lets them live but if they take what she feels is hers and hers alone, they die.  This is what she did with Ramona when Ramona made her boytoy and it was just the same with Liz and Tristan.  It didn't matter that Tristan just rejected her, it mattered that Liz could take him from her.

Scarlett's the only one I feel sorry for, so I hope she ends up being the heroine.

then again, she is the safest with her grandparents.... unless she goes to the vampire kids' school

[Aging Goth]

I honestly don't think Alex was trying to drive her husband crazy.  I believe she was doing everything she could to keep him for knowing her new secret.  Hence why she made sure he was in his bed and not still on the floor in the pool room.  She knew he would not let go of what he knew he saw so she made sure he didn't know.  She wanted him out of the hotel and hopefully with their daughter.  However, the police are the ones who questioned his sanity after he shot at the "baby."  They called her and she already knew the baby somehow got out and went home with him.  Thus she did another cover up to sway him away from the little monster in the kitchen that he knew he saw.  She had Scarlett go back to her grands because she would be safer there and she also knew that her husband was actually having a small breakdown.  Right now she couldn't even suggest to him that she is now a vampire nanny to the creepy kids at the hotel.

 

Also, another clue that he is the killer is March appearing in his hotel room saying "Now you are officially part of the Hotel."  (paraphrasing)

Edited November 13, 2015 by Aging Goth

[Surrealist]

then again, she is the safest with her grandparents.... unless she goes to the vampire kids' school

 

I agree. Keep her with her grandparents. And if she isn't the hero, I hope something bad isn't going to happen to her. I think she goes to a different school. Maybe?

[FiveByFive]

I honestly don't think Alex was trying to drive her husband crazy.  I believe she was doing everything she could to keep him for knowing her new secret. 

I think the key theme from this post that's important about Alex is that: she doesn't want her husband dead. She doesn't want him hurt. She just wanted him out and away from the hotel. While I don't think she loves him, I don't think she wants him to be hurt or she could have easily had the ghosts or the Countess dispose of him. 

 

I'd say Alex's issue is that she cares about herself and Holden and not as much about everyone else and not that she doesn't care about them at all or at least want them dead.

[obxchick]

Thinking the show should be renamed American Porn Story after this episode. Holy nudity, Batman! Nice to see the Swedish Fish swimming around in search of their purpose, but I could have done without that jiggling ass shot as one of the girls was piggy backing that guy.

Poor Lowe with his breakdown. The scene where he sees a bunch of the hotel ghosts in his room reminded me of the scene in Murder House where Violet sees the ghosts in the basement and freaks out, thinking she's losing her mind. And speaking of, yay for more connection to season one! More of that, please, powers that be.

My dislike for the Countess grew even more after she deflated poor Tristan just to keep him from Liz Taylor. I know she's supposed to be a very old vampire, but there's just not enough of a human, relatable side to the Countess to counteract all of her wickedness. Ramona (or anyone at this point, I don't even care) needs to bust a stake on her, stat.

Edited November 14, 2015 by obxchick

[Dobian]

I also love the tie-in with season one.  Now the L.A. setting makes more sense.  The countess is certainly one evil beotch who is piling up a huge enemies list.  Alex continues to suck, but I do like the storyline of her obsession over her lost son driving her to destroy the rest of her family.  Why is it that all the young male characters are played by such similar looking actors?  I'm always taking a second look to make out which one it is when a scene starts.  Maybe I need new glasses, but it would have made it a lot easier if one of them was blond, one was black, and so on lol.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Dobian

[sugarbaker design]

Why is it that all the young male characters are played by such similar looking actors?

 

 

The Countess has a type!  Tall, slim, dark hair, fair skin and strong jaw.

[Mattipoo]

This episode is a little boring for me, other than the Tristan and Liz Taylor scenes. Poor Liz, to lose her one true love right after she met him! Hopefully Tristan (and Finn Wittrock) will be back in future episodes as a ghost.

Bartholomew is not scary in the least. Since he is pretty old, I would have liked for him to be an adult-sized monster instead of a baby monster. Would have been cooler if he had turned out to be the eyeless mattress monster with the drill dildo strap-on!

Lady Gaga's acting continues to underwhelm. She is not able to show any kind of emotion in her line readings so everything just falls flat. Even Gabourey Sidibe, who received a fair amount of criticism for her acting in Coven, is better than Gaga!

Edited November 13, 2015 by Mattipoo

[jnymph]

.

Lady Gaga's acting continues to underwhelm. She is not able to show any kind of emotion in her line readings so everything just falls flat. Even Gabourey Sidibe, who received a fair amount of criticism for her acting in Coven, is better than Gaga!

 

Completely agree.

 

However, Tristan/Liz Taylor, IMO just no.   Both actors are great but even great acting chops can't help piss poor writing and pure randomness.   I thought the hook up was awful.

 

My brain can't keep up with all the rules of the dead, the undead, the living, Vamps, ghosts and what have yous.  In other words, same old storylines from RM.

 

Bartholomew was not remotely scary.  He was stupid looking.  I laughed.

 

The few parts I did like:

The little shout out to the Elsa Lam incident.   When the guest drank the foul water.  

The tie back to Murder House and Dr what's his name.

Miss Evers obsession with the laundry is freakishly entertaining.

 

Other than that the episode was kind of a snoozer.  

[LoneHaranguer]

 

If you think THIS season is weak, check out Coven or Freak Show!

So Coven gave us a performance by Stevie Nicks in addition to the nudity and sex. And Freak Show went with an orgy scene and more gore (compared to the mostly just bloodiness of Coven and this season).

 

 

Lady Gaga's acting continues to underwhelm.

She's stunt-casting to get viewers to give the show another shot.

[kathyj]

 

the first time somebody shows you who they are, believe them.

 

I think the reason people hate her so much more than any other character is that we aren't really scared of vampires or ghosts. They're just pretend, they're not real. But mothers/parents who allow obsessions and compulsions to take the place of love, who smother out of guilt and not affection, who basically hand you over to a grandparent without so much as by your leave? Lots of people know lots of parents like that. Had/have parents like that.

Snookums, I love the your first quote - really makes sense.

I also love your explanation of why so many posters hate Alex - again, really makes sense.

This season is just getting better and better!  How creepy was having the baby sneaking around and hearing the weird sound?  Can't figure out if John has some big time backstory (i.e. mass murder) or is just affected by his son's disappearance an crazy.  I guess we'll find out soon.

[gunderda]

Can anyone tell me what 'purpose' the bath tub ghost and the swedish girls found??? I totally didn't understand that part. 

And where did all that blood come from during the threesome with john???

 

so confused.

[peacheslatour]

 

This episode is a little boring for me, other than the Tristan and Liz Taylor scenes. Poor Liz, to lose her one true love right after she met him!

I think it was very out of character of Liz to expect the Countess to show her compassion because she has met her one true love.  I would think Liz would be more hip to the Countess' bullshit than that.

[Aging Goth]

Bartholomew is not scary in the least. Since he is pretty old, I would have liked for him to be an adult-sized monster instead of a baby monster. Would have been cooler if he had turned out to be the eyeless mattress monster with the drill dildo strap-on!

Since he is a vampire baby, he is doomed to stay the same age.  I got that from the fact that they got the temperature of a dead person when the nurse took the pregnant Countess' vitals.  I believe she was not surprised by the baby because she expected it.  I also believe the Doctor also had some dealings with her kind as he appeared very undaunted by the killing of his nurse or the site of the baby.

I also believe the vampy middle school kids will blow the hotel out of the water.

[basil]

The little shout out to the Elsa Lam incident.   When the guest drank the foul water.

 

 

I agree that it was a reference to Lam, but I missed the guest drinking the contaminated water. I only remember the admonition to not drink the water from that floor - which makes no sense at all, even if you think about it for half a second. In Lam's case, her body was in the rooftop water tank and was found only when guests complained about the water quality (yes, folks, that really happened at the Cecil - people were drinking water that a body was decomposing in).

 

Tell me, please, how someone's bathtub water ends up in the drinking water. Oh, wait - because Ryan Murphy.

[coppersin]

This week on Poor Scarlet: continues to be abandoned by mommy, drunk-dialed by daddy. And don't bother relaxing your defenses, doll, not even in your own home, 'cause you never know when there's bloody clothes or gunshots to set you right back on edge. She seems clear-headed and rightfully pissed despite everything, so I was hoping she would become some kind of awesome Buffy-esque asskicker as an adult. But with a parent like Alex, she's really more of a Winchester in the making, isn't she?

 

I think John is supposed to be the closest we get to a sympathetic lead this season, but IMO they shoved him down the rabbit hole too quickly. Hopefully his storyline will improve once he knows he's not completely cuckoo. (Maybe next week? Looks like we get movement on the 10C killer.)

 

Looks like Drake is a goner, so I'm back to hoping Lachlan and Scarlet have the common sense to either run like hell or get shit done where their fathers are clearly going to fail.

 

Gaga was rocking that blue gown at the end.

 

Man, Elizabeth has had one crappy day and she doesn't even know about the vampire virus running around the local schools yet!

Crappy "day" indeed. Is anyone clear on the timeline? 'Cause it's clearly past Halloween - in fact, Countess had time to get to Paris and back - and yet we've heard nothing about a class of kiddie vamps who, even if they're controlled enough to not rampage en masse, should be hungry enough to leaves bodies everywhere.

 

And, we know ghost-human sex with murder optional happens in this hotel, so then Tristan could kill Liz in the throes of passion so they'll die happily ever after in love for all of eternity.

If Liz agrees to it, would she be a ghost? Per Sally, it's all about unfinished business, and I don't know if karma would count it as "murder" if Liz is giving her blessing. It's a sweet thought, though, and would be nice for them both to take control of their afterlife like that.

 

Do the coffins help the kids in some way?  Why can't they just sleep in beds?

The coffins probably serve a purpose, but honestly? I think the Countess is just a drama queen with a need to accessorize EVERYTHING. We'll see how much she loves the kids when they're living sleepover-style in the videogame room.

 

I don't understand why people hate Alex. It's like you are only allowed two emotions when it comes to a character on this show you have to either love them or hate them there us no middle ground. I actually find every character in this series fascinating...including Alex. She is a case of long ago chosing one child over the other and then losing that child only to get that child back. Holden is the only thing Alex has ever loved. Yes it is sad she never felt the same about her daughter but to hate her for it just seems weird to me. I actually think Alex is one of the more fascinating characters onthe show....the lengths you will go and what you will let go of to get what you want most. Hell I can see her becoming the next Countess.

I'm a bit of both, I guess. I find Alex's concept interesting and bittersweet, especially since I'm sure this sort of thing happens often in real life. I'm not judging her for how she feels; I absolutely am judging her for how she's acting on those feelings. As a vamp nanny with a permanently young vamp son, it's not like she has to care what the outside world thinks - she could easily sign the divorce papers and give full to custody to John and let people think what they will of her as a mother and a wife. She can just disappear into the hotel forever. Instead, she's driving her husband insane and making zero effort to console her daughter when the kid is sitting in a police car. There has to be a less harmful way of handling this - either bail completely or make an effort when they're around.

 

Why'd that little creep Holden go to John's room anyway?

Because unlike his mother, Holden has an interest in the rest of his family. Which is another Alex-peeve of mine - she's doing this crap to stay with her son forever, but is basically hoarding him so that his father and sister can't get to know him too. That's not love, that's obsession.

 

I honestly don't think Alex was trying to drive her husband crazy.  I believe she was doing everything she could to keep him for knowing her new secret.  Hence why she made sure he was in his bed and not still on the floor in the pool room.  She knew he would not let go of what he knew he saw so she made sure he didn't know.  She wanted him out of the hotel and hopefully with their daughter.  However, the police are the ones who questioned his sanity after she shot at the "baby"  They called her and she already knew the baby somehow got out and went home with him.  Thus she did another cover up to sway him away from the little monster in the kitchen that he knew he saw.  She had Scarlett go back to her grands because she would be safer there and she also knew that her husband was actually having a small breakdown.  Right now she couldn't even suggest to him that she in now a vampire nanny to the creepy kids at the hotel.

On paper this makes sense. But on screen Alex looked (at best) dismissive when the cop was driving her daughter away. Maybe as a human she would've at least focused on Scarlet's safety and well-being but now I think she's just one less obstacle for Alex to deal with.

 

Did they ever say who infected The Countess?  So much had happened I can't keep it all straight.  (I posted this in the speculation thread too. I hope that's ok)

The Countess has a type!  Tall, slim, dark hair, fair skin and strong jaw.

Since I'm pretty sure the Countess was turned by her One True Love, and that guy was the prototype for all the men to come after. I wish they'd give us that backstory already. We're getting there, since baby Bart is almost certainly his, but I want details now because I'm sure I've waaay overbuilt this backstory in my head. Hopefully she'll be too busy defending herself in future eps to have time for a new boy toy, but if she does bring a new one home, at least we know we'll have something pretty (and probably nude) to look at.

 

I think that the Countess has become so detached from her humanity that she's as good as dead in some ways, and has become stuck in certain loops like the ghosts are. Like Tristan said, she keeps the same relationship cycle going, and she really gets off on the heartbreak part of it - I suspect because it's cathartic; her true love probably treated her the same back in the day, and this is her way of taking back that power. And "loving" the vamp kids is her way of interacting with children on a level that she never can with Bart.

 

Happy wave to the murder house! Ah, the nostalgia when we went down into the basement - so, so much crap went down in that basement, it was like Grand Central Station for ghosts. Was hoping for a better season 1 character than the doped-up doc, but I'll take what I can get. Would love to see the house again, but I won't get my hopes up.

 

 

 

Can anyone tell me what 'purpose' the bath tub ghost and the swedish girls found??? I totally didn't understand that part. 

And where did all that blood come from during the threesome with john???

 

so confused.

As I understand it, they say "purpose" but what they really mean is "focal point." Your mindset when you die defines you as a ghost, so that's your default unless you have something to keep you engaged and in the moment. I'm guessing bathtub girl took the overwhelming loneliness and sorrow of her suicide and turned those negative emotions into another negative (rage) and thrived on it. The nasty water and soggy carpet might be her signature way of saying, Look at what I did to myself. The Swedish chicks aren't angry, they're lost and sad, so mind-fucking John gives them someone to "play" with to perk them up. Or, I'm overthinking it and Ryan Murphy has put zero thought into any of this.

 

As for the blood, it's the same as Sally's drug supply (which must be real, 'cause it affected Iris) - the hotel is just manifesting it somehow, and I highly doubt we'll ever get more explanation than that.

Edited November 13, 2015 by coppersin

[caracas1914]

I take Liz's stating she's not gay is because she is a woman, so Tristan accepting her as a woman is what made her fall for him.

Which is interesting because until now Tristan has seemed as shallow and superficial as anyone on the show so how he suddenly had the insight to discern the inner woman as opposed to drag queen appearance in Liz is one of those patented 180 Ryan Murphy plot twists.

Edited November 13, 2015 by caracas1914

[coppersin]

 I also believe the Doctor also had some dealings with her kind as he appeared very undaunted by the killing of his nurse or the site of the baby.

I think his brain was just fried at that point. He didn't bat an eyelash at her "three weeks" either. The doc was so far gone in season 1 that he frankensteined his own dead baby and proudly showed his wife the result. Between his perpetual high and the growing mindfuck that comes with living in the murder house, I think he was open to just about anything.

 

Tell me, please, how someone's bathtub water ends up in the drinking water. Oh, wait - because Ryan Murphy.

Same way it got on the carpet - she manifested it.

 

I take Liz's stating she's not gay is because she is a woman, so Tristan accepting her as a woman is what made her fall for him.

Which is interesting because until now Tristan has seemed as shallow and superficial as anyone on the show so how he suddenly had the insight to discern the inner woman as opposed to drag queen appearance in Liz is one of those patented 180 Ryan Murphy plot twists.

I can buy those two having legit feelings for each other despite no build-up whatsoever, entirely because of the actors, but I wonder if the intensity and zero-to-sixty speed of the relationship might've been egged on by Tristan's vampire mojo. He's probably not in full control of his abilities yet - he may not have even known he was doing anything. But we were at least given reasons for the attraction, which is more than Murphy sometimes delivers.

 

Would've been nice to see something beforehand, though. And unless Tristan comes back as ghost, that's all we're going to see. Poor Liz.

 

The list of people that want the Countess dead is really adding up. Personally, I vote for taking her out Orient Express-style so everyone gets a stab in.

[locomoco]

Some of my questions:

 

• 1. Why no reaction from the doctor when she stated she's only three weeks pregnant
• 2. Why no reaction from the nurse when she sees the baby's deformed face
• 3. She went there to abort her baby, why did the doctor act like she would be happy to have a live child
• 4. Why did the countess want her child, when she went there specifically to abort it
• 5. Who's the daddy
• 6. Why does poor Bartholomew have to live isolated in Room 33? 
• 7. Why pretend the countess is devoted to her baby?  She spends most of her time fucking, not spending it with her child

 

1. I'm guessing that every girl who visited him made it sound earlier in the pregnancy than it actually was. Also, it might've been more of a nod to current day restrictions limiting abortions to the first trimester of a pregnancy (since abortions were illegal back then, I don't think it really mattered beyond greater risk to the mother further into the pregnancy)

2. Abortions are rarely "tidy"... I don't think you see many cases where an aborted fetus is removed whole. When she saw the deformed fetus, she probably attributed the appearance to not being a clean extraction. Only later did she notice that it was still alive.

3. It's murder house... and it's Ryan Murphy...

4. Maternal instincts taking over when she found it was alive?

5. Who indeed.

6. He's a direct bloodline relative to the Countess... all others children were created by her, but not via "natural" birth, so he's different.

7. While the Countess is extremely self absorbed, as far as we know Bartholomew is the only "living", "natural" relative she has left in the world

Edited November 13, 2015 by locomoco

[Chaos Theory]

Tell me, please, how someone's bathtub water ends up in the drinking water. Oh, wait - because Ryan Murphy.

The same way Ms. Evers Blood from the sheets ends up on the walls during Halloween. They are ghosts. Shit happens.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[caracas1914]

Did Liz and Tristan even have dialogue together in previous episodes?

[Captanne]

The interesting thing about Tristan's speech to the Countess is that it began with "I know I'm just a stupid model" and then became the smartest dialog thus far about her.  (I'm not saying I was particularly taken with Witrock's performance but he was almost (almost) spot on and did as good a job with it as I would expect.)

 

Both he and Liz were very convincing -- Liz because she's right in that she owes the Countess and respects that but also deserves love; and Tristan in that he knows his limitations but also knows the Countess's.

 

Even with her saying, "I don't share", I still think her killing Tristan at all and the way she did was particularly and coldly cruel.  It shone her in a different light for me.  Before she was just selfish and immortal and whimsical with human life -- now she's just cruel.  I think I don't quite get her motivation.

 

I understood it with Ramona's man -- Ramona never went to her and tried to use really unthreatening reason.  She just did it.  There was more to "punish" there; Ramona committed more of an infraction.

 

Liz and Tristan were persuasive.  (I guess the show is trying to have us compare/contrast the two murders?  They are quite different -- the first is a genuine jealous rage born of real betrayal; the second is less egregious and even less understandable.)

[txhorns79]

I think it was very out of character of Liz to expect the Countess to show her compassion because she has met her one true love.  I would think Liz would be more hip to the Countess' bullshit than that.

 

I think Liz would know better than to believe the Countess would ever share, or give away one of her current lovers.  That whole plotline was the best of the night, even if the Liz/Tristan pairing was random and rushed for the sake of the ending. Gaga isn't the best actress, but man, she has presence.   

[Madding crowd]

So the vampires can be killed like everyone else by having their throat slashed? I know the Countess said they were not immortal, but I don't see the advantage in wanting to a vampire if a rival could kill you so easily. The romance between Tristan and Liz came awfully fast but the actors sold it. Of course, Liz seems pretty smart and should know the countess would never agree to let her just 'have' Tristan.

 

I'm bored with the endless fountains of blood, the Swedish girls and the naked asses. Never thought I would be bored by seeing a parade of handsome asses, but somehow I am.

[SpaghettiTuesdays]

I'm glad I'm not the only one bothered by the lack of information about the vampire school kids. I thought for sure that they would mention it at the scene at the church or when boss cop came to pick up Scarlett, but nothing. Surely all those little kiddies (there must've been, what, 20 kids?) at least killed their parents? 

 

I feel bad for Scarlett. I hope she lives a happy life with her grandparents. I don't think her parents are going to escape the hotel.

[Petunia13]

I liked Liz and Tristan together.

[Captanne]

I think it was a love affair "in a bottle" -- in other words -- we didn't see anything leading up to it*, suddenly in one episode we're given it, the actors sell the hell out of it, and it was believable.  Well done.

 

*I do think we saw a lead up with Liz only in that she was clearly capable of great love and was lonely.  

 

With regards to Liz being a straight female  and Tristan being straight -- Kurt Sutter did a familiar thing with the brilliant Walton Scoggins as Venus and the fantastic actor who played Tig in Sons of Anarchy.  Of all the characters, they were the two to walk happily into the sunset very much in love.  Venus had not had the bottom surgery that we were told, and Tig was a hetero motorcycle thug.  Their love affair was literally transcendent -- as all the best love affairs should be.

[txhorns79]

I think it was a love affair "in a bottle" -- in other words -- we didn't see anything leading up to it*, suddenly in one episode we're given it, the actors sell the hell out of it, and it was believable.  Well done.

 

I would agree that parts of it were well acted, but I think it's probably a stretch to call the plotline believable.  I understand that they clearly want to set things up to have nearly all the major players lined up against the Countess, but it's not like it's a writing challenge to set up a relationship before springing it on the audience out of nowhere.   

[Captanne]

The way it played out for me was completely believable.  But, because the endgame and what that said about the Countess was the real story, I think the affair was given short shrift (ie, one episode to live and die.)

[Mistletoe]

If C.C. Deville and Angus Young had a love child, it would be Holden. Someone puhleeeaaase comb that little jerk's hair.

[DollEyes]

 Another good one. This season is shaping up to be better than I expected plus Murder House shout-outs. The insta-romance between Liz & Tristan was random, to put it mildly, but Denis O'Hare & Finn Wittrock sold the Hell out of it anyway, for the most part. The most unbelievable things about Liz & Tristan's relationship for me besides the age difference were Tristan's intellectual curiosity & Liz's naivete' about The Countess' response. Liz knew that things would end badly for her & Tristan, but not violently. Liz should have just listened to Ramona & just ran away with Tristan without The Countess' permission. If anyone should know how Liz feels it's Ramona, who, like Liz, had her true love killed by The Countess before her eyes. Liz's faith in The Countess' mercy was misplaced, to say the least, proving that one of the main, if not the main reason why they couldn't last is one word: delusion. Liz & Tristan may not have been totally delusional by claiming that they weren't/aren't gay, but their sleeping together proves that they ain't straight, either.  Liz's claim of being "a hetero woman" was another delusion because unless there's hormones, therapy and/or surgery involved,  Liz is just a drag queen, as far as I'm concerned. Liz's covering for Alex was just another delusion because it helped Alex and indirectly the Countess, at John's expense. Like Alex, Liz let emotion overrule judgment and it backfired, big-time. Tristan's smackdown on The Countess just before she killed him was on point. As Tristan & Liz learned the hard way,  the only things that matter to The Countess when it comes to relationships are worship and obedience. The Countess treats people like toys, whether it's Liz, Donovan, Ramona, Tristan, the little vamps or her newest playthings Will & his son Lachlan, all of whom she plays with until she tires of them, breaks them or both. The rest of the humans The Countess meets she either treats like servants or food.

 

  Like Alex, the only one who matters to her is her son, which would be fine if other people and ultimately the boy himself weren't hurt because of it. Through no fault of his own, Bartholomew has literally been evil since the moment he was born when he killed someone while he sprang out of the womb three weeks after his conception; The Countess, otoh, is evil by choice. She's a monster in every sense of the word. She's the worst, but Alex is a close second-very close. If I love or hate a character, I'll say so and I hate Alex. Alex's not loving John anymore -if she ever did, that is-is one thing because he's a grown man, but not loving Scarlett, her own child, is another. Alex's problems where Holden's concerned aren't just that she loves only him-or that she thinks she does-much more than John and/or Scarlett, it's that she thinks that no one should love Holden but her. Unfortunately for Alex, while Holden loves her, he also loves John & Scarlett , otherwise he wouldn't have contacted them in the first place. Alex wasn't trying to protect John by driving him crazy; she was trying to keep Holden all to herself and him away from Holden. If Alex wanted to protect John, I believe that she could have done it without gaslighting him, isolating him from Scarlett as well in the process. When Scarlett was being taken back to her grandma's house, Alex not only didn't try to talk to her nor console her, she barely even looked at her. For the record, if the roles were reversed and John had become so obsessed with Scarlett that he tried to isolate her from what's left of her family, I'd hate him, too. 

[Bruinsfan]

Tell me, please, how someone's bathtub water ends up in the drinking water. Oh, wait - because Ryan Murphy.

While ghostly metaphysics as others have explained above are probably the answer, this is a freaky murder hotel designed by Mr. March. I wouldn't put it past him to have had the wastewater lines feed back into the 5th floor's  incoming cold water pipes just for shits and giggles.

 

Liz & Tristan may not have been totally delusional by claiming that they weren't/aren't gay, but their sleeping together proves that they ain't straight, either.  Liz's claim of being "a hetero woman" was another delusion because unless there's hormones, therapy and/or surgery involved,  Liz is just a drag queen, as far as I'm concerned.

Drag queens are gay men who identify as men but dress as women (or caricatures of women) as a performance. Trans women live as women and think of themselves as such, whether or not they've had hormone therapy or surgery. And there's some evidence that there are brain structure/chemistry differences from cisgender men involved. I was actually quite pleased to see Dennis O'Hare correctly make the distinction between the two in interviews about playing Liz Taylor.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Bruinsfan

[queenanne]

I didn't really like this episode.  I was confused about almost everything involving the baby.  Some of my questions:

 

• Why no reaction from the doctor when she stated she's only three weeks pregnant
• Why no reaction from the nurse when she sees the baby's deformed face
• She went there to abort her baby, why did the doctor act like she would be happy to have a live child
• Why did the countess want her child, when she went there specifically to abort it
• Who's the daddy
• Why does poor Bartholomew have to live isolated in Room 33? 
• Why pretend the countess is devoted to her baby?  She spends most of her time fucking, not spending it with her child

 

I'll try some of these:

 

My take; the Countess didn’t want it to be aborted, she just didn’t want to be torn up when it came out of her, knowing what you'd get with a vampire baby, and needed some assistance to get the baby out.  She told the doctor everything; the aside about him “not needing to know anything”, was a feint.  The doctor knew the baby would be hungry and happily fed him Nursie.  (I derived this because Doctor didn’t bat an eye, not really, when Nursie said the Countess’ temp was 75 degrees.  Also, it's familiar vampire lore that fetuses grow faster than normal, hence "three weeks", which may have been a lie but she didn't look 9 months either.)

 

Now we are supposed to feel sorry for Kathy Bates character because she is a put upon older woman?  This is total bullshit.  We have seen her at the front desk and she is mean and borderline rude.  No one has mistreated (that we have seen) her besides those two cartoony hipsters.  She was horrible two those poor Swedish girls and eventually murdered them.  They were actually pretty nice to her and were not making crazy demands.  From what we know, she was also a horrible mother to her son, as well.

 

Yeah, I want to know more specifically how she is an awful terrible woman before I believe it (though, I'm sure it's coming).  Liz Taylor spoke of her last week to Sonny Boy, like she had to have been Psychopath Mommy of the Decade.  Way more than garden variety "harsh" or similar.