American Horror Story: Apocalypse Then
November 15, 2018 5:42 PM - Season 8, Episode 10 - Subscribe

The witches launch a desperate gambit to save the world.
posted by kittens for breakfast (11 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Oh.....was this just a mess. Unlike previous AHS seasons where the writing has been messy but the finale worked for me emotionally, this one really did not.

I'll just focus on the big one-so apparently now the Devil can just pick the antichrist? I mean there doesn't seem to be anything to suggest in the very brief lead in to anti christ 2.0 that the child is unusual in any way, unlike Michael who was the product of supernatural rape.

Sigh.

I think I may have run my course with AHS.
posted by miss-lapin at 5:57 PM on November 15, 2018 [4 favorites]


So, like...on a story level. That is, judging Apocalypse, as a story. This isn't a real good story. However! As a series of "fuck yeah" moments -- Mallory killing Michael, Jessica Lange double killing Michael, literally every frame of Emma Roberts (oh my gosh), and Angela Bassett!! -- I really, really enjoyed it.

So, like...the epilogue, though. I wasn't at all happy to see boring-ass Timothy and Emily, who if anything were even more insufferable here, without the backdrop of nuclear war. If I recall the storyline from Murder House correctly, Michael's conception was some kind of million-in-one shot. So really, it doesn't seem like he'd be easy to duplicate, especially not by two normal parents. That said, Timothy and Emily were in fact harvested for their genes by the Collective, who may have seen something amazing in their DNA (that definitely did not translate into anything like a compelling screen presence).

On the whole, I found Apocalypse a lot of fun once it dispensed with the actual apocalypse, which was surprisingly dull. It does seem the show's best days are behind it, but as a greatest hits package, I dig this.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:12 PM on November 15, 2018 [4 favorites]


So, it was fun, but not good. Pretty much my general opinion of AHS all the way down.
posted by Samizdata at 5:55 AM on November 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


I remember a piece in Slate, maybe, after season two or three that described the plot as "seemingly arrived at through a series of escalating dares in the writers' room."

So the plot holes--and oh yeah, mos def, they abound-- didn't bother me. It's always been part and parcel of this show. I don't begrudge anyone who is still inclined to draw a line at one point or another, but for me, it's a standard I've never held the show to at all.

To me, it's always been just an engine for delivering a series of terrific actors shocking/entertaining scenes to chew on. And Apocalypse did a better job of that than any season in years.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:07 AM on November 16, 2018 [9 favorites]


Also: Did I miss something or did Coco's incredibly stupid power never pay off? I admit I fully expected her to tell Michael how many calories were in a human heart, but sadly....
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:27 AM on November 16, 2018 [5 favorites]


According the AHS wiki Cordelia identified Coco's power as threat detection. (Her brother had celiac disease which is why she stopped him from eating the biscotti.) It's easy to forget since no they didn't really use her power at all basically making her into a comedic foil for Mallory.
posted by miss-lapin at 11:56 AM on November 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


> miss-lapin:
"According the AHS wiki Cordelia identified Coco's power as threat detection. (Her brother had celiac disease which is why she stopped him from eating the biscotti.) It's easy to forget since no they didn't really use her power at all basically making her into a comedic foil for Mallory."

Thanks for the rabbit hole! Fell down it for a bit, refreshing the memory...
posted by Samizdata at 4:09 PM on November 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


That was ...enjoyably messy? Go big or go home I guess. I’ve been calling this AHS: Fanfic and that’s how’d id like a sprawling, every kitchen sink in the kitchen sink fanfic to end. Are we supposed to know the couple that gives birth to the new Antichrist from somewhere (I haven’t seen every season)?

Also ..why isn’t Coven just a show? It seems to be the most popular and the one they like doing the most?
posted by The Whelk at 11:26 PM on November 16, 2018 [4 favorites]


This was a huge mess - but I'm ok with it.

Geeze, Billy Lourd really inherited some incredible screen charisma from her mom.

The epilogue was kind of weaksauce.

DirtyOldTown - interesting! AHS as a vehicle for telegenic actors to be telegenic as a description works for me.
posted by porpoise at 3:01 AM on November 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


Alright, I admit it, I squeed when Angela Basset showed up! I still feel like plot-wise - this one hung together way better than other seasons. Plus at this point, I just try to roll with the ridiculousness of it all.
posted by Gyre,Gimble,Wabe, Esq. at 6:19 PM on November 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


Ooof, genuinely surprised at all the naysaying here. Just came to gush how much I enjoyed this season, really loved how it tied together past events and characters, I liked the story, I liked the epilogue.
posted by GoblinHoney at 11:39 AM on September 27, 2019


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