Why AHS: Double Feature - Red Tide's Finale Has Fans Fuming
After just six episodes, the first half of "American Horror Story: Double Feature" has reached its inevitably over-the-top conclusion. The split season is a break away from the anthology series' usual full-season of scares, instead opting to explore two themes, "Red Tide" and "Death Valley."
The season received critical praise early on for evading the usual "American Horror Story" pitfalls, but the last episode of "Red Tide" pulled the metaphorical blood-soaked rug out from everyone's feet. The Chemist (Angelica Ross), Ursula Khan (Leslie Grossman), and Alma Gardner (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) blindside the black pill community in Provincetown, then take off to sell their talent-enhancing drugs in Hollywood with Baby Eli in tow. By the end of the episode, their plan to widely distribute the "special vitamin brain sauce stimulant" spirals out of control, and an outbreak of Pale People threatens to destroy the city.
Fans on the show's subreddit were in disbelief over how quickly the season shifted gears. "Someone clearly wasn't on the black pill when they wrote this episode, I'll leave it at that," one user said on a thread discussing the finale.
Why did the finale of "Red Tide" leave fans fuming?
Fans call it Typical Ryan Murphy Syndrome
"Up until now, I was thinking wow, the half-season format really works, really keeps the story tight and from going off the rails, and yet here they go, totally wiping out on the ending," said u/someenchantedeve. "It's like (producer Ryan) Murphy can't help himself."
Many fans echoed this sentiment, landing on what one user described by saying, "I want to be mad... but I'm used to this by now and it's kinda funny in a tragic way." Everyone agreed that the finale of "Red Tide" raised more questions than answers, even going as far as creating new loose threads at the last minute.
"All the likable characters died, the only survivors are jagoffs, and the moral of the story is creative Hollywood writers telling the audience that they're the only ones worth a damn and everyone else is pointless?" u/TrajedyAnn asked, receiving over 140 upvotes and dozens of responses.
"I really thought (Murphy) might pull it off this time since the first 5 episodes were such a pleasant surprise," said u/SakuraTacos. "I feel like Charlie Brown falling for Lucy's football trick! Again!"
Though the "Red Tide" finale left many fans fuming, it's still possible that "Death Valley" can offer a redemption arc to the season overall.