Chapter 8 (American Horror Story)

"Chapter 8" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on November 2 2016, on the cable network FX. The episode was written by Todd Kubrak and directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton.

Plot

After Dominic and Shelby witness Agnes' murder at the hands of Thomasin, Dominic freaks out, screaming into the cameras for Sidney's help. Shelby tells him that it's no good and that there is nothing that anyone can do for any of them anymore. After calming himself down a little bit, Dominic looks out of the window to see Thomasin and her mob begin to surround the house. He whirls around to Shelby and asks her what they can do. She tells him that there is nothing that they can do, reminding him that he reenacted a scene just like this in My Roanoke Nightmare. She begins to freak out and Dominic goes to her and attempts to calm her down. She calms a little bit and is able to make an escape plan with Dominic. The two decide that they should flee out the secret passageway in the basement of the house. When the two head down to the basement, Shelby stops when she sees Matt's dead body lying on the basement floor. She begins to freak out again and Dominic pulls Shelby into the secret passage. Once inside the passage, Shelby and Dominic are attacked by the Chen family and flee back inside the basement. Shelby and Dominic barely escape the Chen family and Shelby begins to break down further, fearing that there is no escape for them. As they attempt to flee the house, Thomasin and her mob, the Piggy Man, and the skittering creature attack, leading to both Shelby and Dominic being severely wounded. The two take refuge in the bathroom of the master bedroom, with Dominic witnessing Shelby slit her throat out of guilt over killing Matt and the knowledge that there will be no escape this time.

At the Polk family compound, Mama Polk (Robin Weigert) sharpens a knife against a butcher block, while taunting Lee (Adina Porter), and being watched by one of her sons, Jether (Finn Wittrock). Mama Polk chastises Jether for being scared to participate in butchering Lee. She further demands that Jether tell the story of how the Polk family came to be cannibals. Jether is nervous and hesitant to do so, so Mama Polk proceeds with the story. Mama Polk tells Lee about of how her family first resorted to cannibalism with a group of pig thieves during the Great Depression and it has since become a family ritual. Lee retorts, saying that the Polks will be put to death but Mama Polk laughs at Lee, telling her that they've had the police in their pocket for years. They proceed to treat and preserve Lee's wound, causing her to pass out from the pain. Once she wakes up, she finds that her left ear is missing. Jether tells her that he took it and details another family tradition of giving pickled ear to other members of the family as Christmas presents. Eventually, Lee attempts to escape by promising that Jether will become a sensation after he appears on the show. Jether angers at Lee's suggestion, telling her that there is no one that is going to a bigger sensation than the Piggy Man. He goes on to detail how the Piggy Man was created by the hands of one of his ancestors. Jether attempts to give Lee drugs to ease her pain but Lee rebuffs them, telling him that she is an addict. Jether leaves her to go prepare the drugs for himself. Lee reconsiders Jether's offer of nose-beers after finding out a little more about the Polk family's tradition of cannibalism. Jether explains that the victims were kept alive out of necessity,at first, due to lack of access to an icebox or any other type of preservation system. Jether further explains that the tradition of preparation of their victims continued on after the Polks noticed that fear and exhaustion made the meat more desirable, describing the human jerky as having a sweet tang. Sometime later, Lee calls out for Jether. She wants to see Flora and begs him to let her see a picture that she keeps of her in her pocket. Jether shows her the picture and Lee further requests a chance to speak to Flora. Jether relents and allows Lee to make on-camera statement to her. In it, Lee confesses to the murder of Mason and explains that she did it so that Flora wouldn't be taken out of her life. Jether says that he's never killed anyone before and doesn't want to kill Lee because he likes her. Lee seduces Jether and as he unties her to have sex with her, she kicks him in the groin, incapacitates him, and kills him.

Inside the Polk compound, Ishmael Polk and Lot Polk continue to torture Audrey and Monet. The Polks claim that they are doing this in retribution for their portrayal on My Roanoke Nightmare and the loss of their feral children. Audrey and Monet tell the Polks that they are just actors and that the real Matt and Shelby are responsible for the loss of their children. The Polks disregard this and prepare to torture the two women by taking their teeth. Just as they are in the process of taking Monet's teeth, she fights back and manages to escape, leaving Audrey behind. Mama Polk then enters and sends the two men after Monet while she continues to torture Audrey by taking one of her teeth. Just as she is about to take another from her, Lee arrives and knocks Mama Polk to the ground by hitting her from behind with a hammer. Lee frees Audrey and asks after Monet. Audrey tells Lee that Monet escaped and fled into the woods and just then, Mama Polk stirs a little. Audrey grabs the hammer from Lee, and proceeds to bash Mama Polk's head in, killing her. Then, the two women flee from the Polk compound back into the Roanoke house via the secret passage. Once in the basement, Lee comes across Matt's dead body and breaks down in tears. Audrey forces Lee to leave Matt's body and the two women head upstairs where they find Dominic and Shelby's dead body. The three then proceed to get into a fierce argument during which the two women blame Dominic for the deaths of Matt and Shelby. This causes the two women to push Dominic out into the hall where he is murdered by the Piggy Man. The next morning, Lee tells Audrey that they have to go back to Polk family compound to retrieve the video evidence of them killing Mama Polk (the real reason for her wanting to return is so that she can erase her confession to the murder of Mason). Audrey reluctantly agrees to go back with Lee, and as the two women open the front door, they are stopped by the Piggy Man. Audrey whacks the Piggy Man in the head with the crowbar and it cries out in pain, pulling off its head to reveal Dylan (Wes Bentley), the reenactor who played Ambrose White (Thomasin's son), much to the women's surprise.

Reception

"Chapter 8" was watched by 2.20 million people during its original broadcast, and gained a 1.2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.^[1]

The episode received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds a 60% approval rating, with an average score of 6.3/10.^[2] Tom Philips of the New York Observer wrote that the episode's "reliance on heavy gross-outs and strong character beats lead to what has to kindly be called a mixed bag".^[3] In contrast, Emily L. Stephens of The A.V. Club was more positive, writing, "The grimness of "Chapter 8" is leavened by flickers of tenderness, some of it from unexpected quarters."^[4]

References

External links

• "Chapter 8" at the Internet Movie Database