Well, I finally watched the season finale of American Horror Story: Roanoke (the horrors of having no TV, right?), and I’m keeping up my tradition of reviewing the season as a whole. And I have to say, this is probably AHS‘s best season yet (though it probably won’t replace Hotel as my favorite season).
So if you didn’t know, Roanoke is about a young couple who move into a colonial house that is actually haunted by the ghosts of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. It’s told in the form of reality TV shows, with the last episode being mostly a compilation of news reports, crime specials, and interviews. I said in my review of the first episode that I thought the season had an eerie beginning, and that it was an interesting hook for the season that’s supposed to begin tying up all the connections between seasons.
Well, interesting quickly evolved into awesome. There is not a moment in Roanoke where it gets boring or you want to look away. It keeps you guessing, with twists in the plot, a constantly creepy and strange atmosphere, and characters that keep revealing hidden depths. I also really enjoyed how the majority of the season was told in the form of reality shows. It’s often said that reality shows are more show than reality, and you really feel that in this season, with the truth being up for debate throughout most of the show (I think we can say it’s the main theme for this season). Not only that, but it’s taking genres that feel tired and done to death, like found footage and crime reality, and puts a new spin on them through the strange world of AHS. And there’s a lot more I loved about this season, but I don’t want to spoil it for people who are still catching up (hit me up in the comments for in-depth discussions).
And while we’re on the subject of faorite things, I think my favorite episode was the last episode, which focuses on Lee Harris, my favorite character. The episode was just so much more than wrapping up loose ends, and it had such a twist in the last ten minutes that I truly loved. And Lee was such a complex character. She was trying so desperately to hang onto the only good thing left in her life, and
There were a couple of things that could’ve been improved upon, of course. This was the season that was supposed to tie things up, but it only offered a few explanations on the origins of a few characters and ideas. We didn’t get that full explanation of how the interconnected world of AHS we’d been hoping for, though maybe that’s for later seasons. Then again, it’s the speculating that’s the most fun, so maybe there’s wisdom in keeping things hidden for a while longer. I also thought that the character played by Taissa Farmiga, everybody’s favorite character from seasons one and three, and the two characters with her during the ninth episode, was shoehorned in. They were almost unnecessary. You could’ve told the rest of that episode without those characters, I’m sure.
But all in all, I truly enjoyed this season, which earns a solid 4.4 out of 5. It’s creepy, inventive, and you’ll want to see it from start to finish all in one go. I’m looking forward to Season 7.
And speaking of Season 7, we’ve already been given a teaser from Twitter about what we can expect next year:
What could it mean? I’ve heard some discussion that it might be cruise themed, as there was a model ship in the season finale that the camera spent quite a bit of time on. It’s possible that they may do a season inspired by that nightmare cruise ship fiasco from a few years ago, which would be cool. Still, I wouldn’t take this teaser too seriously. Roanoke was given a ton of false teasers before the first episode, so it could be a red herring. Which means I can still hope for an Orphanage or Academy season. Maybe with Adina Porter, Lee Harris’s actress, and Lady Gaga as teachers with tons of secrets? PLEEEEEEASE!!!!
What did you think of AHS: Roanoke? What was your favorite part of the season?
What are you hoping for Season 7? Who would you like to see come back?
NaNoWriMo update: At the moment, I’m just under eight-thousand words. Yeah, not good for sixteen days in, but what can I say? I only have so much time to write! Still, I like how Full Circle is coming along so far. It’s the normal quality of a first draft, but it’s a good basis for a great final novel in a trilogy. So even if I’m going very slowly through the draft, I think it’ll be a great story when I finally do finish it. Wish me luck!
Rami Ungar The Writer 
Yep, a good solid season. I was disappointed that they didn’t explore the “supreme witch” (Lady gaga in the reenactment segments) for lack of a better name for her. (I’m sure hse has a more official one, LOL!) but I had hoped that when we dropped out of reenactment reality mode (which I thought was awesome, btw!) there would be a little more on her. They did do a quick thing about how she got out there and blah blah, and that her powers were a mixture and what not, but I guess I just would have liked to see a lot more of her since she’s really the catalyst for it all. I think we could have cut down the time sent with the Polks torturing people for that storyline (I kind of felt like they were desperate to shove as much gore as possible in those two episodes, like they had a quota to fill, almost. But then the slasher hillbilly horror has never really appealed to me, so i may be biased.) but even with that (and barely any Evan Peters – boo, LOL!) it was still a good season anyway. I enjoyed the format, and I thought it was fun having the “second season” with the “actors” and “real people” all together – kind of like some sort of crossover fan fiction moment, ha ha! Looking forward to see what we have next – i am on board for an Orphanage though, so maybe someday they’ll listen 😉
I hear Gaga had an album to record or something, so they could only have her for a little while. I guess they shoved her in as much as possible. We probably could have some more of her (or the real enchantress) in “season 2,” but perhaps she’ll show up again someday. This is AHS, after all.