American Horror Story: Sojourn
November 1, 2018 4:43 PM - Season 8, Episode 8 - Subscribe
In the wake of a crushing defeat, Michael finds a new hope.
I was thinking for a while that this storyline might continue into the next season, but the more I think about it there seems to be precious little for them to do once they get back to the apocalypse. I guess Michael and Mallory have some special effects showdown, and that's really it. And then the coven...um...lives in the bunker? I dunno, there's gotta be more. One would hope.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:09 AM on November 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:09 AM on November 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
The episode needed to be tightened up majorly and get on the plot already.
It's kind of funny how this statement could be applied to very nearly any episode of this series and be just as true.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:38 PM on November 2, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's kind of funny how this statement could be applied to very nearly any episode of this series and be just as true.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:38 PM on November 2, 2018 [5 favorites]
I enjoyed the episode a lot, personally. I don't know how well this season will cohere -- it really seems like kind of a fucking mess on a basic storytelling level -- but taken as a discrete unit of TV, this was pretty good. Even the techbros in the Dumb and Dumber wigs (is this a reference to something IRL?) had the "MOSSAD!!!!!" moment, which put me on the floor. And I'm intrigued by the apparently genuine sweetness of Michael's character -- it seems like his wrath may be born of a disappointment in humanity's low capacity for goodness.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:30 PM on November 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:30 PM on November 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
Ah, so this explain the "robot" thing I was wondering about.
I dunno, this season feels like they knew they're getting canned before writing it, so they're throwing in everything and just jamming it in, bits getting broken being no matter.
An abrupt change of pace from single-theme seasons that took too long.
I think you're onto something there, kittens, Satan (and its many analogues) has a long history of being something of an ironic figure. He never doubted himself and never examined his positions - basically a naive, innocent excuse. Michael appears naive and the regular human person associates that with innocence. But I think his wrath will be capricious and arbitrary (like the woman expositioner incineration before the penis-heads acknowledged Michael as nu-Satan).
posted by porpoise at 9:41 PM on November 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
I dunno, this season feels like they knew they're getting canned before writing it, so they're throwing in everything and just jamming it in, bits getting broken being no matter.
An abrupt change of pace from single-theme seasons that took too long.
I think you're onto something there, kittens, Satan (and its many analogues) has a long history of being something of an ironic figure. He never doubted himself and never examined his positions - basically a naive, innocent excuse. Michael appears naive and the regular human person associates that with innocence. But I think his wrath will be capricious and arbitrary (like the woman expositioner incineration before the penis-heads acknowledged Michael as nu-Satan).
posted by porpoise at 9:41 PM on November 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Listen guys, it's season eight. There's absolutely no excuse for being surprised when the season goes off the rails, throws in a bunch of absolutely unnecessary and under-explained weird extra stuff, and falls apart into a somewhat incoherent mess. Indeed, I would've been more surprised if it didn't do that. AHS gonna AHS right to the bitter end.
FWIW, in terms of the structure of the season, there have been a least a few hints that this season has been (a little bit!) more coherent than other seasons - we had the three Satanists showing up at Murder House as a parallel to the three magi, and this episode we had Cordelia trying to tempt Michael to be good, and then him wandering in the wilderness, in a kind of reverse-Temptation-of-Christ. There are probably some other parallels/inversions of the life of Jesus to be found if you squint.
I didn't love the techbros (just couldn't get over how bad the wigs were, for one thing) but I laughed out loud at the Church of Satan having an absolutely typical church-like potluck and trying to get Michael to try the macaroni salad, etc.. If the Church of Satan was irritated about the episode two weeks ago (and they were!) I'd love to know what they think of this one.
posted by mstokes650 at 11:36 AM on November 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
FWIW, in terms of the structure of the season, there have been a least a few hints that this season has been (a little bit!) more coherent than other seasons - we had the three Satanists showing up at Murder House as a parallel to the three magi, and this episode we had Cordelia trying to tempt Michael to be good, and then him wandering in the wilderness, in a kind of reverse-Temptation-of-Christ. There are probably some other parallels/inversions of the life of Jesus to be found if you squint.
I didn't love the techbros (just couldn't get over how bad the wigs were, for one thing) but I laughed out loud at the Church of Satan having an absolutely typical church-like potluck and trying to get Michael to try the macaroni salad, etc.. If the Church of Satan was irritated about the episode two weeks ago (and they were!) I'd love to know what they think of this one.
posted by mstokes650 at 11:36 AM on November 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
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posted by miss-lapin at 1:34 AM on November 2, 2018 [2 favorites]