American Horror Story - Roanoke / Chapter 9

 Well, more survivors die. Actually the episode dwindles down the survivors of both the reenactment cast and actual people the actors/actresses were portraying down to one single person. Even three young wannabe filmmakers (one of whom is played by rising horror actress, Taissa Farmiga) trek to Roakoke location with interest in shooting footage, complete with helmet cams and selfie stick phones. And Wes Bentley's Dylan, who was the son for Kathy Baker's version of the Butcher, arrives, much to his unknowing detriment, as Audrey and Monet fear for their lives. Audrey and Monet capture the camera recorder with Lee's testimony about murdering her ex-husband, while eventually vanquishing the remaining Polk sons before fleeing the oncoming ghosts of the Lost Colony back to Roanoke house. Over and over, no matter where the survivors go they always seem to return back to Roanoke house. And they eventually die. They die horribly.

The three filmmakers...doomed from the moment they show up on screen. Well, I anticipated it. This was quite obvious, really. I think that is disappointing. And predictable. Problem is, too, their inclusion is sort of thrown in the episode right at the end of series to fill up some time and bring attention to the police. I guess it depends on the viewer, but, for me, it detracts from what had been happening up to this point. At first, it felt like they would be "present day" curiosity seekers investigating a place of notoriety due to the popularity of the first season of "Roanoke". I had incorrectly assumed that what was happening to Lee, Monet, and Audrey was maybe a few years prior to the arrival of the three filmmakers. Instead, the three filmmakers and the timeline we have been following over the last few episodes with Lee, Monet, and Audrey are one and the same. And because of that, all of them are caught under the red moon as the lost colony looks to disembowel and crucify on stakes with fire. Even after the three filmmakers discover a car wreck and are being interviewed by a detective, they unfortunately decide to head back to the property, welcoming a horrifying death. I think pretty much anyone watching knows that they are the products of their own demise...doing so for Twitter and IG followers and YouTube clicks.

Lee gets a whisper in the ear by Lady Gaga's witch, picks up a cleaver, and starts talking like the Butcher. The Butcher in Lee tosses Monet off the stairwell onto a table, impaling her while Audrey gets a wack into the shoulder with that cleaver as she falls into an underground pit (the one where Edward Phillipe Mott left his servants to perish). At least the three filmmakers bring the police eventually to the Roanoke premises...not that it helped them much.

There was a slick path for Lee to get away from Roanoke while Audrey, who knew of her murder of Mason, isn't able to make sure she doesn't leave the premises alive. How are the cops to know Audrey pulling the gun from a policeman's holster to shoot Lee had anything to do with her swinging a cleaver, tossing Monet off a stairwell, or murdering her husband? 2.5/5