American Horror Story: NYC Episodes 5-6 Recap: Pick A Card, Any Card!
"American Horror Story: NYC" is certainly starting to bring all of its plots together. What at first seemed like a random and unconnected string of occurrences in the first few episodes have now been revealed to be part of a greater whole, though there are still a few unresolved issues. The previous episodes eluded to a vast government conspiracy involving an engineered virus that is made to target the gay community, while also dealing with a vanishing leather-clad killer and arsonist, relationships, and a soft-spoken serial killer who wishes to send out a message. Pretty typical fare for "American Horror Story."
Kidding aside, "American Horror Story: NYC" is starting to add some more supernatural elements back into the show in Episodes 5 and 6, which certainly augments the already slow burn of a story that crisscrosses the city known as the Big Apple. Fans have also gotten a chance to see some rather big shockers in these episodes, and they involve multiple sets of characters like Adam (Charlie Carver) and Hannah (Billie Lourd), Patrick (Russell Tovey) and Sam (Zachary Quinto), and Henry (Denis O'Hare) and Mr. Whitely (Jeff Hiller).
Psychic readings are a major component of Episode 5
Episode 5, aptly titled "Bad Fortune," picks up in the Turkish bathhouse owned by Kathy (Patti LuPone). Observing her newly hired singer, Kathy's phone rings and she immediately mutters a curse word, though it isn't immediately revealed why. The next scene sees Fran (Sandra Bernhard) walking through the streets of New York City where she notices a help wanted sign in front of a business that does psychic readings. Realizing that she needs a better-paying job than freelance writing, she enters the establishment, only to meet Kathy in a state of disarray and pouring over paperwork.
Kathy immediately tells Fran that she can't do a psychic reading because two of her workers just quit. Fran then asks about the job and says that she may actually be psychic, to which Kathy laughs and says that there is no such thing and that psychic readings are simply entertainment. She tells Fran to study up on tarot cards and says that she can start the next day if she can get a working knowledge. Elated, Fran calls her friend to tell her the good news, and the next scene sees Fran abruptly awake from her sleep. She quickly notices Big Daddy (Matthew William Bishop) outside of the window and in another apartment, but he quickly disappears. This is definitely yet another signal that Big Daddy isn't a normal human being, and that he is some kind of unfettered supernatural entity, though even at this stage, his motivations remain entirely unclear.
Fran's tarot readings freak out Hannah and Adam
After the introduction plays, the next moment sees Adam and Hannah discuss Hannah's pregnancy, and it is established that Adam is the surrogate father. They speculate on the child's future and cross paths with the psychic reading business from the first scenes. Deciding to have a spot of fun and to ask a few questions, Adam and Hannah enter and Adam recognizes Fran from their shared work at The Native. Having their tarot cards drawn, both Hannah and Adam continually pull the Death card, which can either mean rebirth or the obvious. Upset at this result, Hannah and Adam leave.
At this point, Fran's lack of tarot skills is apparent, because throughout the entire reading she would reference a book to figure out what specific cards mean, though it's not like she is the one drawing the cards. It was for this reason that Adam and Hannah get so freaked out — Adam wanted to know about his missing roommate, while Hannah wanted to know about her baby. Considering that there are 78 different cards in a tarot card deck, for both of them to pull the Death card is statistically very unlikely. Good thing they don't necessarily believe in this kind of divination, right?
Big Daddy attacks Patrick
"American Horror Story: NYC" then cuts to a swanky office building where Patrick and soon to be ex-wife Barbara (Leslie Grossman) are signing their divorce papers and making everything official in the eyes of the law. Unfortunately, Barbara is suffering from an upset stomach and sweating profusely, but she brushes away these symptoms as a case of bad sushi or a parasite. After signing the papers, Barbara collapses on the ground and awakens in the hospital with Patrick at her side. Barbara, realizing that she has been unconscious for quite some time, asks Patrick to go to her apartment and check on her new dog, saying that the poor animal has been stuck inside all day.
Patrick complies with this request, but upon reaching Barbara's domicile, he notices the dog barking at one of the doors inside and Patrick hears a loud thump. Drawing his gun and announcing his police officer status, Patrick is then attacked by Big Daddy, who tosses him around like a rag-doll. This fight between Patrick and Big Daddy destroys the apartment, and it appears as if Big Daddy has the upper hand, even as Patrick lashes about with all of his might. However, this scene ends up with Big Daddy on top of Patrick, and the next moment sees Patrick giving a police statement in the shambles of the apartment to his coworkers, with one of them assuming that it was actually a "tryst gone wrong." This statement aggravates Patrick, who calls Big Daddy a "thing," and he says that Big Daddy will never stop. This kind of highlights Big Daddy's unnatural abilities, and it calls into question what exactly he is, and how did he get into Barbara's apartment? Most importantly, why does he keep coming after Patrick?
Adam gets scared of yet another psychic reading from Fran
Continuing with hospital-based scenes, "American Horror Story: NYC" then shifts gears back to Hannah and Adam, where Hannah is going through a round of tests to determine the health of her unborn baby. The doctor kind of hesitates as he goes over the results, and he notes that the red blood cell count is low. This causes Hannah to become even more concerned because she has noticed this condition as well in her some of her patients and the victims of the fire from earlier in the season. Although Hannah and Adam are at a loss, this plot point implies that the Fire Island virus circulating through the gay community is highly infectious and that almost all members of that community have contracted it in some form or another.
Cutting to Adam and Theo (Isaac Powell) as they walk the streets of New York City, they once again come across Kathy's psychic reading establishment. Although Adam is leery of going back in, Theo insists because his curiosity has been piqued by Adam's earlier experience. Upon their entrance, Fran apologizes for Adam and Hannah's earlier turn and offers to do a double reading for the couple. Both Adam and Theo pull the same three cards -– Judgment, Devil, and Death in the same order. This freaks Adam out when he hallucinates Fran telling him that he is going to die, and both he and Theo leave, with Theo apologizing for Adam's behavior.
Gino comes face to face with the Angel of Death
However, this isn't the last time fans get a chance to see a grim future foretold by the tarot cards. The next person to visit is Gino (Joe Mantello), who comes by to check on Fran, only to be greeted by Kathy. Gino yells at Kathy for exploiting the community, but Kathy offers to do a personal tarot card reading for Gino. Much like Adam and Theo, Gino pulls the same three cards in the exact same order multiple times. This causes Gino to see Shachath (Hannah Jane McMurray), the Angel of Death from "American Horror Story: Asylum," who explains to him that he is already dying, like his loved ones, and he has no soul for people to love him. She then offers a kiss of death to Gino to free him from his suffering, to which he recoils. This dark presence in the tarot cards that has presented itself multiple times may be the reason why Kathy's two previous employees quit, which may mean that there are far more supernatural entities at work beyond Big Daddy.
Speaking of Big Daddy, Barbara returns to her apartment and wishes to stay there, despite Patrick's protests. She says that there is a cop parked outside and that she is far safer here than anywhere else in the city. Unfortunately, Big Daddy later attacks and kills her while she is in the shower, though nobody sees the figure come or go, which is further proof that Big Daddy isn't a human being in a conventional sense.
Episode 5 ends with Whitely elaborating on some grand plan
Episode 5 ends with Mr. Whitely ominously talking to the bound Daniel (Hale Appleman) and Cameron (Gideon Glick) about how he is going to show the world that New York City is not safe for the gay community. Mr. Whitely then shows off some kind of monster he is making, invoking a kind of Frankenstein vibe that absolutely terrifies Cameron and Daniel. Whitely then says he is almost done with his creation, but he still requires two parts from his prisoners. Whatever it is he is working on has been fueled by Whitely's murders and medical acumen, and whatever it is will most likely be a twisted aberration.
Episode 6, titled "The Body," starts with two gay men on the beach of Fire Island. As they kiss each other and toss around, one of them is cut by something, which is revealed to be a skeletal arm and leather face mask buried in the sand. The episode then shifts to Patrick and Gino in Hannah's office, who ask for information regarding the serial killer, but Hannah refuses on the grounds of patient confidentiality. However, viewers can tell that Hannah recognizes Gino's poster looking for the killer, while at the same time she tells Gino and Patrick to get checked out on account of Gino's mysterious rash. This is additional proof that Gino, and most likely Patrick, have contracted the Fire Island virus, and perhaps those tarot cards were right all along.
Henry is revealed to be an assassin, and Patrick calls Sam after a body is found
Following the relatively fruitless endeavor at attempting to extract information from Hannah, Patrick is then seen at his police precinct, but he keeps getting awkward glances from his co-workers on account of his recent "coming out of the closet" action. Patrick then receives a phone call from somebody on Fire Island, and it is the couple from the start of the episode, telling him that they have found a body. He wonders why they have called him because that is out of his jurisdiction, but they tell Patrick that they know that he is somebody the gay community can trust. Patrick then hangs up the phone, but immediately calls Sam in a shocking moment that confirms that they, in fact, know each other, which fleshes out their interactions in a previous episode.
Shifting over to Henry (Denis O'Hare), he approaches and sits down by Angelo DeMarco (James Ciccone) on a park bench. Angelo laments about Gino's writing, and how it is riling up the police officers. It is implied that Angelo is part of the Mafia, and they don't like Gino upsetting their delicate balance of power. Henry is told to silence this voice and is then left to his own devices. This scene establishes that Henry is far more than just a barfly and that he is actually an assassin for the Mafia, which immediately calls into question his earlier interaction with Gino, which saw Gino drugged and almost killed.
Henry reveals Patrick and Sam's connection to Gino
The next moment in "American Horror Story: NYC" is Patrick preparing to leave for Fire Island, which causes Gino to worry about Patrick cheating on him. Patrick says that he has enough to worry about than having to deal with a jealous lover, and Patrick leaves their apartment. Concerned, Gino follows him outside and sees Patrick get into Sam's sporty convertible, which certainly doesn't help Gino's trust issues. Returning to their apartment, Gino is confronted by Henry, who brandishes a gun and tells him that Gino is ruffling the feathers of those in true power. Gino then retorts that if Henry kills him, he will be aiding the real killer, who has already moved onto Fire Island, to which Henry tells him to drop the obsession. However, one can see that is he thinking of some resolution to Gino's unrelenting pursuit.
"AHS: NYC" then cuts to Sam and Patrick on Fire Island, where they are told about the body. Becoming very irate, Sam tells the gay couple to leave but to not tell anybody, and it is revealed that the house where the body is found actually belongs to Sam. As both Patrick and Sam begin to dig up the remains of the body, Henry and Gino appear. Although Sam immediately questions what Henry is doing, Henry explains that he wanted to tell Gino about the killer, but left out the part where the killer is his boyfriend Patrick. This is actually an interesting miscommunication because Henry believes that Patrick is the serial killer, but the true story is then revealed as to why there is a body outside of Sam's house on Fire Island, and how Patrick and Sam are involved.
Patrick and Gino realize that Henry knows who the real serial killer is
Patrick then recounts how he met Sam in 1979 during one of Sam's infamous drug-fueled parties. Meeting a young man named Billy, Sam and Patrick engage in a three-way sexual experience that sees Billy with a bag over his head and placed into a stockade in the basement of Sam's house. After what can only assume is several hours, Sam realizes that Billy is dead, which causes both Patrick and Sam to panic. However, Sam is well-connected in New York City and actually calls Henry to come and help. Henry arrives to witness this situation, and brings his "cleaner" with him, who turns out to be the deadly Mr. Whitely. Using his medical skills, Whitely dismembers Billy and complains that the poor victim deserved much better.
At this point, Patrick and Gino realize that Whitely is actually the serial killer they mean to apprehend, on account of his surgical precision that is hard to replicate, and one that all of the current victims share. Although Henry is apprehensive about this assumption, Gino has seen the Mai Tai Killer / Mr. Whitely's face, so he will be able to identify him if that is the case. Realizing that Gino won't stop until he gets his answer, Henry sets up a meeting but immediately says that Mr. Whitely knows something is wrong. This is probably the right gut instinct because, during the meetup between Whitely and Henry, Whitely ambushes and drugs Henry, which causes Gino to follow Whitely to his lair, and the episode ends.
When does American Horror Story Season 11, Episodes 7 and 8 air?
These two episodes of "American Horror Story: NYC" have certainly propelled the story ahead while revealing some fairly important plot points that connect several of the main characters. Although viewers have yet to get a full-blooded answer to what or who Big Daddy is, at least we now know some of Patrick's history, and why he is so prone to keeping secrets. Chances are, Patrick and Sam's accidental murder isn't the only proverbial skeleton in Patrick's closest, and we still need to see how Patrick and Big Daddy are connected. In addition, Mr. Whitely's grotesque butchery and pseudo-science project are sure to make for a harrowing reveal in the next couple of episodes, and the early sneak peek of the next episodes promises what can only be assumed to be a legion of his own creation.
Luckily, "American Horror Story: NYC" will continue dropping two episodes per week, which certainly makes watching the show easier than the standard television format of one episode per week. As such, the two episodes titled "The Sentinel" and "Fire Island" will premiere on November 9, 2022, at 10 p.m. and around 11 p.m. EST on FX. If one doesn't have access to cable television, Hulu will have them the next day for streaming.
Ultimately, "AHS: NYC" is definitely picking up, and although fans have gotten some much-needed pieces of the puzzle, not all has been revealed. What is the nature of the virus, what the heck is Big Daddy, and what is Mr. Whitely's grand plan? Hopefully, the answers will soon be known.