S05.E07: Flicker

[Captanne]

OT:  Who was Megan's actress?  I didn't (nor would I ever) watch Mad Men.

 

Jessica Pare?  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0664175/ Never heard of her.

Edited November 21, 2015 by Captanne

[Tech Noir]

ANYway, Valentino was really the most adored "pinup" male actor of the silent film era in the US.  His most famous film was "The Sheik".

 

 

Fun fact: Sheik condoms are named after Valentino and his role in "The Sheik"! Adored, indeed. ;)

 

Clara Bow was the "It" Girl of 1927.  That was her nickname, "The It Girl", because she had "it".

 

 

Fun fact #2: Clara Bow starred in a film called "It", and the press referred to her as 'the It girl", and so a phrase (which means exectly what Captanne said) was coined.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_%281927_film%29   Poor Clara Bow. Everyone loved her until movies had sound, and then she couldn't get a job becasue her voice was apparently incredibly grating. She dided alone in a  sanatorium.

 

The real Natacha Rambova (Valentino's wife ) ... gorgeous, I can see why Ryan Murphy was inspired. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/05/3f/95/053f95abfc46b52033e39c33b1128c45.jpg

 

Can I say -Gaga's acting is lukewarm, yes ... but I will take her any day over Emma Roberts or Tessa Farmiga. Ryan Murphy loves the actors he loves, and he gives them jobs and I totally respect that - but I think he loves them for their real life personality and not their actual talent.  Speaking of which, I tihnk he's friends with Gwyneth Paltrow and I wish he would get her on this show so I can live vicariously when she meets her doom. :P

 

Off to watch "Se7en"!

[Aging Goth]

I might be reading into this more than was intended, but it made sense to me why she suddenly dropped Donovan upon seeing Tristan in that fashion show, and why there was no way in hell she was going to lose her "Valentino" again to Liz, even if he was a dumbed down version of the original.

I believe you were reading it just right.  It makes very good sense now why she was tearful when seeing Tristan on the catwalk and decided to turn him.  for her it was the reincarnation of her only true love.  She killed him when he told her that he didn't want her and wanted Liz.  She wanted to hurt Liz but not kill him but she also wanted to rid herself permanently of Tristan because he betrayed her love and she could not have her manufactured Valentino anymore.

I might be reading into this more than was intended, but it made sense to me why she suddenly dropped Donovan upon seeing Tristan in that fashion show, and why there was no way in hell she was going to lose her "Valentino" again to Liz, even if he was a dumbed down version of the original.

I believe you were reading it just right.  It makes very good sense now why she was tearful when seeing Tristan on the catwalk and decided to turn him.  for her it was the reincarnation of her only true love.  She killed him when he told her that he didn't want her and wanted Liz.  She wanted to hurt Liz but not kill him but she also wanted to rid herself permanently of Tristan because he betrayed her love and she could not have her manufactured Valentino anymore.

[gunderda]

The episode dragged on A LOT but in the end I was far more intrigued about the vampire storyline than anything else and previously I could have cared less about it.  Very curious to see where it goes!  And where did Valentino and his wife go?? A night on the town?

 

It took me a little bit to figure out that Tristan and Valentino were played by the same person and it even took me a minute to recognize Gaga. I thought they just happened to find people that looked like them to play much younger people. I thought Gaga playing the ditzy girl was pretty good then eventually got worse. And yes her eyebrows were SUPER distracting!! 

 

The stuff with John and Wren (how did he know her name??) was soooo confusing.  So she just roams at night or is called upon by the killer?  And then she was caught?

 

I think March is my favorite character out of the entire franchise!

[caracas1914]

Ok is the Countess somehow "stronger" because she's been a vampire longer than most in the Hotel, if so, then Valentino and spouse should be able to kick her ass.

[Petunia13]

This season is better than expected but I'm binge watching the previous ones and reminded how so fucking GOOD murder house and asylum were. Especially asylum the emotional intensity and poignance was amazing.

While I like this season it doesn't even come close to those 2.

[GoneGirl]

This season is better than expected but I'm binge watching the previous ones and reminded how so fucking GOOD murder house and asylum were. Especially asylum the emotional intensity and poignance was amazing.

While I like this season it doesn't even come close to those 2.

After this season is over I need to watch Asylum again. It was great, but I really didn't like the alien crap, that was my only beef with it...though I realize it was needed to tie certain story lines together.

[Petunia13]

Ok is the Countess somehow "stronger" because she's been a vampire longer than most in the Hotel, if so, then Valentino and spouse should be able to kick her ass.

They've only been feeding on/bathing in blood of rats and mice and bugs for decades. And the Countess has been dining on blood of food looking virile humans and drenching in it daily during this entire time.

So they're malnourished.

[Free]

After this season is over I need to watch Asylum again. It was great, but I really didn't like the alien crap, that was my only beef with it...though I realize it was needed to tie certain story lines together.

 

It's the only aspect of that season that I felt didn't gel together as everything else.

[Sile]

I found it odd that people fell so easily in love with Gaga when she wasn't that pretty.  

 

Eye of the beholder and all that.  I think she's stunningly gorgeous.

 

So much to reply to here.  For those questioning them dancing the tango, Valentino was a dancer in New York when he first came to America.  The film that made him a star was The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, where he played an Argentinian gaucho.  He performed a famous tango scene in the movie, which caused a huge tango crazy across the country.  I wouldn't be surprised if a star struck young girl from Bensonhurst was swept up in that craze.

 

When they were teasing this season, I thought the hotel in question might be the Garden of Allah and I hoped that would be the chavase since I love period stuff and it's long gone.  It was owned by Alla Nazimova, a Valentino contemporary.  If I remember this right, it was originally her house but then her fortunes fell and she turned it into a hotel in order to make the mortgage.  Nazimova and Pola Negri were among those who were thought to have been the original Lady in Black.

 

Obviously, I'm kind of obsessed with the 20s in general.  I was fascinated with Valentino when I was a kid, so I just assumed he was a cultural icon that everybody would still know.  But, I was a strange child and that was over 20 years ago, so I did an informal poll amongst younger members of the family and their significant others.  Three male, three female all early to mid 20s.

 

Question:  Who are Rudolph Valentino and Natacha Rambova?  

 

Results:  Three votes for pairs figure skaters, one vote for ballroom dancers and two quizzical looks.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Sile

[Captanne]

Sile

 

chavase

 

What is the meaning of this word?  From context I take it to mean the environment/genre/setting/ouvre?  

 

Google doesn't have it at all.  The best I can get are Francis Chavasse and his brother Christoper, both of whom I'm aware because I'm studying humanities at school and just did a presentation on the Oxford Movement in England.  They would have known (and might have disagreed) with it.

 

But no meaning of "chavase".

Edited November 26, 2015 by Captanne

[freeradical]

Is no one going to address the fact that Ryan Murphy said that all the seasons connect somehow and the estate agent from murder house, got killed in the hotel this episode?!

Yes! Also the real estate agent was talking about the dog she just had to put down that "came to her through rather unfortunate circumstances, but you don't need to hear about that" to Will Drake. The dog was the one we thought got microwaved in Murder House but at the end we saw the real estate agent walking out of the house with her!

Edited November 26, 2015 by freeradical

[Sile]

Sile

 

 

What is the meaning of this word?  From context I take it to mean the environment/genre/setting/ouvre?  

 

Google doesn't have it at all.  The best I can get are Francis Chavasse and his brother Christoper, both of whom I'm aware because I'm studying humanities at school and just did a presentation on the Oxford Movement in England.  They would have known (and might have disagreed) with it.

 

But no meaning of "chavase".

 

I had to read through my post a couple of times to find out what you meant, that's supposed to read "case".  I'd plead kitten on the keyboard, but those letters aren't even together and I'm not sure why spell check would find the word case to be in need of correction.  So I'm at a loss as to the cause.

 

Sorry for the wild goose chase.

[Captanne]

No sweat (says the "guardian" of four cats)!  I was just wondering -- and the search gave me an academic boost because when I came across the Chavesse men, I immediately thought, "What a small world!  They must have known John Cardinal Newman!"  

 

It's all good!

[Petunia13]

Yes! Also the real estate agent was talking about the dog she just had to put down that "came to her through rather unfortunate circumstances, but you don't need to hear about that" to Will Drake. The dog was the one we thought got microwaved in Murder House but at the end we saw the real estate agent walking out of the house with her!

Halley? Aww RIP

Edited November 26, 2015 by Petunia13

[candall]

There's no modern celebrity that even comes close to the fan adulation Rudolph Valentino had.   Women fainted in the theaters during his movies.  Dozens attempted suicide when he died.  Massive riots with people trying to get a glimpse of the body lying in state at the funeral home.  100,000 people out in the street during the funeral service.

 

The mind, she boggles.

 

I guess getting an invitation to dinner with the man would have been a Very Big Deal.

 

I am the WORST at facial recognition [...]

 

I'm in the same boat.  An embarrassing problem, especially since I'm a terrible liar on top of it.  Oh. . .hi there. . .you!  A friend's aunt reminded me who she was a dozen times; since she hasn't popped up for a few years, I think she finally got too insulted and quit saying hello.

 

You know this condition is now a "thing," right?  There's a spectrum and we're among the lucky ones--some people can't pick their kids out of a lineup.  Heartwrenching.

 

*****

For me, Gaga's doing a fine job.  I admire JL, but I think there would have been time for more storytelling if Freak Show hadn't doubled as The Jessica Lange Showcase.

Edited November 28, 2015 by candall

[queenanne]

FWIW, I will toss in that to hear Taylor Kinney talk, Gaga has been tutored by the entire cast of Chicago Fire:

 

http://www.eonline.com/news/705659/taylor-kinney-reveals-how-lady-gaga-made-him-a-better-actor-dishes-on-starring-on-possible-show-together

 

For Kinney, who is set to return as Chicago Fire's resident "ladies man" Lieutenant Kelly Severide, helping Gaga prepare for her newest venture as The Countess Elizabeth on FX's smash hit has helped to strengthen his own acting chops.

"I just wanted to help my girl prepare the best that she could, so that in itself has helped me just kind of...get immersed in it, in the work, and that translates...the more you talk about it, the more you do it, that stays with you."

...

"We've gotten together Friday nights, Saturday nights to help my girl prepare, to help read, to get her off book, to give her choices," Kinney said of his fellow Fire cast mates, including Eamonn Walker and Monica Raymund, who have performed on Broadway and studied at the Juilliard School respectively.

 

Not posting this to change anybody's mind but I'm a big fan of giving credit where credit is due, and if Gaga's working hard I think that should get a mental nod of respect.  If I were to find out she had 15 years of acting classes and auditions behind her and still was turning in this level of work, I'd probably have a worse opinion.

[Bruinsfan]

They've only been feeding on/bathing in blood of rats and mice and bugs for decades. And the Countess has been dining on blood of food looking virile humans and drenching in it daily during this entire time.

So they're malnourished.

Also, they've only been vampires what, 18 months longer than she has? If these vampires do grow stronger with age that would be a negligible advantage after 90 years even if they'd been well-fed the whole time. (Of course, there are two of them, so if they turn out to be foes rather than friends the Countess could still be up the creek.)

[DollEyes]

  This episode was intriguing, in an extremely fucked-up way-which, come to think of it, describes most of RM's career. Having serial-killer guests at a dinner party on Devil's Night is one thing; turning historical figures into the undead is another. It's been done before, but much better than here. Case in point: Death Becomes Her. Turning F.W. Murnau, the director of the original Nosferatu, into a vampire might have been awesome if it had been done in a much more subtle or cooler way, but subletly has never been RM's strong suit and never will be. Then there was Rudolph Valentino, or Finn Wittrock's version of him, that was pretty good, but that ridiculous accent kept getting in the way.

 

   Evan Peters was the star of the episode. As he's proven in past seasons, EP can play all kinds of crazy and this season is no exception. His James March not only embraces his crazy, he bathes in it, parties with it and fucks it in the ass, figuratively and literally.

 

 

John is so the killer and doesn't know it.

 

 Not necessarily. John is definitely losing it (to put it mildly), hence his being committed and his conversations with Wren, but since this is a Ryan Murphy show, this could still be one of his infamous mindfucks, so it could go either way. Until I actually see John killing someone, I say he's innocent until proven guilty.

Edited December 2, 2015 by DollEyes

[GoneGirl]

This episode was intriguing, in an extremely fucked-up way-which, come to think of it, describes most of RM's career. Having serial-killer guests at a dinner party on Devil's Night is one thing; turning historical figures into the undead is another. It's been done before, but much better than here. Case in point: Death Becomes Her. Turning F.W. Murnau, the director of the original Nosferatu, into a vampire might have been awesome if it had been done in a much more subtle or cooler way, but subletly has never been RM's strong suit and never will be. Then there was Rudolph Valentino, or Finn Wittrock's version of him, that was pretty good, but that ridiculous accent kept getting in the way.

Evan Peters was the star of the episode. As he's proven in past seasons, EP can play all kinds of crazy and this season is no exception. His James March not only embraces his crazy, he bathes in it, parties with it and fucks it in the ass, figuratively and literally.

Not necessarily. John is definitely losing it (to put it mildly), hence his being committed and his conversations with Wren, but since this is a Ryan Murphy show, this could still be one of his infamous mindfucks, so it could go either way. Until I actually see John killing someone, I say he's innocent until proven guilty.

This episode was intriguing, in an extremely fucked-up way-which, come to think of it, describes most of RM's career. Having serial-killer guests at a dinner party on Devil's Night is one thing; turning historical figures into the undead is another. It's been done before, but much better than here. Case in point: Death Becomes Her. Turning F.W. Murnau, the director of the original Nosferatu, into a vampire might have been awesome if it had been done in a much more subtle or cooler way, but subletly has never been RM's strong suit and never will be. Then there was Rudolph Valentino, or Finn Wittrock's version of him, that was pretty good, but that ridiculous accent kept getting in the way.

Evan Peters was the star of the episode. As he's proven in past seasons, EP can play all kinds of crazy and this season is no exception. His James March not only embraces his crazy, he bathes in it, parties with it and fucks it in the ass, figuratively and literally.

Not necessarily. John is definitely losing it (to put it mildly), hence his being committed and his conversations with Wren, but since this is a Ryan Murphy show, this could still be one of his infamous mindfucks, so it could go either way. Until I actually see John killing someone, I say he's innocent until proven guilty.

Could not agree with you more!!!!

[LadyArcadia]

I was so confused for most of this episode. At first I didn't even realize that Finn was playing a completely different character than Tristan and couldn't figure out how Tristan was alive in the 1920s. I don't watch old movies so I have absolutely no idea who Valentino is and it took me at least ten minutes to realize that Gaga was the actually women with Valentino dancing horribly. Yes, I'm feeling dense this evening.

 

 

You think that's bad?  I spent the entire episode mesmerized that they found someone who looked exactly like Finn.

 

Duh.

 

Ditto all the Evan love.  I'm actually pretty shocked Ryan Murphy didn't automatically cast Finn in the March role.  It seems like an obvious choice to have those actors switch their roles. Thank god he didn't.  Evan is wonderful.

[Terrafamilia]

he clearly had no idea that Val and his wife were vamps when he sealed them up in the hotel, he was just pissy and jealous.

 

Actually March had followed GaGa to the mausoleum and overheard Rudy and Natacha tell her all about their change of diet so his decision to "bury" them alive was quite calculated.