Tonight American Horror Story: Hotel gives us even more of a background on James March (seriously my favorite Evan Peters character since Tate) as well as The Countess. About 90% of this hour takes place via flashbacks with just a touch of present day action. Here's what happened in "Flicker."
I'm On The Edge With You
Will and Lochlan stroll through the halls of the hotel and Will tells his son that he and his "blond lady friend" will be together forever. Lochlan is confused because he thought his dad was into guys, but he gives his blessing anyway. Will is having some updates made to the Hotel Cortez, and the construction workers are finding some strange things as they begin renovations. For instance - behind one bit of drywall lies an inch of steel which, we find out, is blocking a secret tunnel. When the workers begin to remove the steel (per Will's instructions) they explore this tunnel and notice several arches/entryways that have been sealed shut with bricks. They're scared...but they don't have to worry long. A zombie like man and woman come out of the shadows and kill them. To make matters worse, there's a gaping hole in the wall now and no steel to keep these things captive.
The Countess and Iris investigate the bloody scene and the fearless Mother Monster suddenly looks frightened. Iris can't believe her eyes. What could be rattling her? We then flash back to Hollywood in 1925 where silent film heartthrob Rudolph Valentino is shooting a movie. He invites one of the female extras to his house for dinner. They discuss "flickers" and the young woman thinks that being up on the big screen will make them immortal. This young woman is The Countess. They share a tango before Rudy's wife Natacha enters the room...and then the two women share a tango...and then the three of them share a tango...and then the three of them share some sex. All in a day's work.
The Countess carries on this secret relationship for some time, refusing to kiss and tell when her BFF asks her who she's been seeing while they are at a big Hollywood soiree. Turns out this party is the grand opening of the Hotel Cortez where the dashing owner, James March, is welcoming everyone with a smile. The champagne toast is interrupted though by a man running into the room with a newspaper, saying Valentino is dead. The Countess is devastated. She runs down the hall of the hotel and stands at the edge of a window ready to jump. Pretty sure this is the same window Iris pushed Sally out of. Anyway, James stops her and when their eyes meet, he's immediately smitten.
I'm Gonna Marry The Dark
Feeling 100% alone, she marries James quickly and it doesn't take long for her to discover his, um, hobbies. She's not startled. The Countess is "drawn to his darkness" and encourages her new hubby to stop slicing up hobos and kill people with jewels or riches - something that will benefit them. This is music to her murderous husband's ears.
The Countess visits Rudy's grave and encounters his wife...and Rudy himself. He explains that he faked his own death because while on a movie promotional tour, he was turned into a vampire by a F.W. Murnau, the German director behind Nosferatu. When he returned from the tour he gave "the virus" to Natacha, and now he wants to give it to The Countess. He invites her to come away with him and his wife and she joyfully agrees. Unfortunately for her, James is nearby and overhears the entire discussion. He won't let her go without a fight.
Turns out the man and woman trapped inside the steel wall in the present day hotel are Rudy and Natacha. James kidnapped them before they could steal The Countess away and he sealed them away in the hidden hallway in the hotel. Damn. The Countess had just assumed they stood her up (but I'm guessing they turned her in the mausoleum?) and she is livid when James tells her what was actually hidden back there. As they have this discussion we see Rudy and Natacha walk out of the hotel arm and arm.
A Little Gambling Is Fun When You're With Me
John finds himself in a mental health ward and this might actually be the first episode where he enters the hour awake. He tells the psychiatrist about the many things going on in his life and he explains that he needs "professional help." That's probably true. But John is also there to find a potential suspect in the Ten Commandments Killer case. Apparently one of the last bits of information he got before being thrown out of his office was a lead in this hospital.
He hears one of the security guards bragging about how he guards the real psychos in the solitary confinement area, and John takes it upon himself to knock the guard out that evening and steal his keys. This is clearly a well monitored hospital. John finds the patient log and sees that his former partner recently visited room 153 so he heads there. Inside that room is a little girl who does not want to "feed" anymore. She looks like one of The Countess' children and her name is Ren. She's been working with the Ten Commandments Killer and certainly has the stories to prove it. Interesting. John wants to know more about her and we flash back to 1986 where Ren's father leaves her baking in the car so he can go drink inside the Hotel Cortez. The Countess busts a car window and saves her which explains the whole feeding thing. John begs Ren to tell her who the killer is (it's a "he" apparently) and she tells John she'll show him where the Ten Commandments Killer lives if he helps her escape. Again, because there's pretty much no security at this place, the escape is pretty easy. Ren tells John that to find the killer, they need to go to the Hotel Cortez. She then purposefully runs into the street in front of a truck.
The episode ends there and John seems to be SOL again other than knowing he has to go back to the hotel. With so few episodes left he has to be on the brink of catching this guy, but who is he? Is it someone we haven't even met yet? One of March's proteges? Liz Taylor disguised as the man before Liz Taylor? Could it possibly be Will Drake? Did he buy the hotel because he knew what it was built for? There are still many open items to close on as we get closer to the finale, but I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. The trip to "old Hollywood" was fun and it was great to see the banter between The Countess and James March. I'm hoping we see much more of it before the season ends!
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