How American Horror Story Fans Really Feel About Johnny Thredson
Over the years, "American Horror Story" has featured many complex, morally dubious characters. Where these characters rank, as far as fan favorites go, would surely vary depending on who one asks. Indeed, given its nature as an anthology show, there are simply too many memorable "American Horror Story" characters for everyone in the fandom to agree uniformly on who is the best. The same goes for Season 2 of the show, subtitled "Asylum," and its complicated cast of characters.
Perhaps one of this particular "American Horror Story" season's most disturbing characters is Johnny Thredson (Dylan McDermott), also known as the second Bloody Face, a notorious serial killer. Thredson took on the moniker after discovering that his biological father, Oliver Thredson (Zachary Quinto), was the original Bloody Face killer. A twisted and bitter individual, Johnny resents his biological mother, Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson), for abandoning him, and falsely believes that she did not breastfeed him when he was younger, which he partially blames for the way he turned out.
So how does Thredson stack up when compared to other "American Horror Story" characters? Fans of the show have quite a few different takes on the character.
American Horror Story fans have complex opinions about Johnny Thredson
Over on the r/AmericanHorrorStory subreddit, u/MustacheBoi444 asked other fans about their take on the character of Johnny Thredson, and the responses ranged from serious to humorous, which is quite fitting for "American Horror Story." u/TheWonderingPonderer dryly stated that, "Baby needs his colostrum," while u/livtoben mirrored that sentiment, saying, "He needs some milk." Other users gave more serious answers, with more than a few referencing a particularly unsettling moment between Thredson and a sex worker. "The scene with the prostitute is the most uncomfortable scene," wrote u/talles_tiptoes13.
While most comments on the thread were positive toward the character and Dylan McDermott's portrayal of him, not everyone was overly enthused with the way Thredson's arc ended in "Asylum." u/fleach22 said that Thredson was, "Such a wasted character honestly from what I remember. Like they built him up for the entire season just to have him get shot after talking 2 minutes with Lana." Conversely, u/lucyvgu believed that the character worked perfectly well throughout the season, saying, "I loved him, he was a very creepy and interesting character."
As was previously noted, there's very rarely one collective opinion when it comes to the characters of "American Horror Story" because fans come to the show with different perspectives on what makes a character truly great. The varied opinions on Johnny Thredson are just further proof of this.