AHS: NYC Episode 9 Has Fans Making Comparisons To A Christmas Carol
"American Horror Story: NYC," which serves as the 11th season of the anthology horror series, concluded when its final two episodes premiered simultaneously on November 16. Naturally, fans shared plenty of thoughts about both its ending and the season overall in the wake of these episodes dropping.
For example, a number of viewers characterized Episode 9 as the saddest "AHS: NYC" episode due to the manner in which it incorporates elements of real-life tragedy into its story. From Episode 10, meanwhile, fans described a monologue by Patti Lupone as an "AHS: NYC" highlight. Lupone portrays a singer named Kathy Pizzaz, whose bathhouse is one of the main locations featured throughout the season.
Fans also praised Zachary Quinto for his "AHS: NYC" performance as an art collector named Sam. Some of his proponents found his performance so effective, they recounted forgetting they were watching a well-known celebrity and simply thinking of him as his character. As it turns out, Sam's role in Episode 9 in particular elicited responses from fans not just for Quinto's skill as an actor but because of its similarities to the Christmas classic "A Christmas Carol."
Sam takes a trip through his past and personal psyche in a manner reminiscent of Ebenezer Scrooge
Sam's final moments in "American Horror Story: NYC," which take place in Episode 9, see him whisked away on a psychic journey exploring how his dark past birthed his altogether sketchy and sometimes dangerous disposition. The fact that supernatural guides of sorts lead Sam on this journey reminded a number of viewers of "The Christmas Carol," in which ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future famously compel the stodgy Ebenezer Scrooge to reflect on how he's perhaps not lived his life to its fullest.
"This is giving me serious vibes of A Christmas Carol," wrote Twitter user @krodatem after watching "AHS: NYC" Episode 9.
Twitter user @Ochan30 elaborated on this analogy, suggesting, "This kinda feels like the gay version of A Christmas Carol and Sam is Scrooge." User @H4RSTIN made the same comparison and received replies from two of their followers expressing their agreement. Even a recap of the two-part "AHS: NYC" finale by TVLine explicitly points out the similarities between Sam's final moments and "A Christmas Carol."
Of course, Ryan Murphy and the rest of the "AHS" team very well may have conceived of Sam's psychic journey with its resemblance to "A Christmas Carol" in mind, inviting such comparisons from viewers of "AHS: NYC" Episode 9.