The Kendall Detail In AHS: Death Valley Episode 1 That Has Fans Scratching Their Heads
"American Horror Story: Double Feature" is divided into two distinct halves, hence its title. Prior to the season's debut, it was revealed that the first half would be titled "Red Tide" and the second half would be known as "Death Valley." Furthermore, early "Double Feature" promotional materials hinted at some sort of possible crossover between its dual storylines.
On September 22, the final episode of "Red Tide" aired, seemingly wrapping up the season's story of a black pill that inspires creatives and turns non-creatives into brain-dead vampire-like creatures. The ending of "Red Tide" proved to be controversial among "American Horror Story" fans, some of whom thought that its bloody, almost nihilistic conclusion undermined certain aspects of the story that had been told up until that point.
In any case, the debut episode of "Death Valley" premiered on September 29, introducing viewers to a fresh cast of characters. While this new storyline has yet to even hint at any connection to "Red Tide" as well, "Death Valley" will likely come as a refreshing change-of-pace to those who were blindsided by the season's "Red Tide" finale. That said, one small, but possibly significant, detail about one of the season's new "Death Valley" characters didn't quite sit right with a certain contingent of "American Horror Story" fans.
Kendall's relationship with technology seems contradictory
"Death Valley" Episode 1 opens with several black-and-white sequences set in the 1950s. The first sees a housewife get possessed by an alien, while another shows Dwight D. Eisenhower (Neal McDonough) interviewing a pregnant Amelia Airheart (Lily Rabe), who has apparently returned from a 20-year-long alien abduction. The episode then cuts to the present day, introducing audiences to ivy league college students Jamie (Rachel Hilson), Cal (Nico Greetham), Troy (Isaac Cole Powell), and Kendall (Kaia Gerber). As the group plans a camping trip together, Kendall reveals that she's seeing a professor committed to a Luddite-inspired philosophy. As a result, she too has become anti-technology and encourages her friends to leave their electronic devices behind.
While unplugging for a camping trip is all well and good, Reddit user u/ms_sconesycider proposed in a discussion thread about the episode that "any college student who refuses to use email would be laughed out of their university." The comment stands as one of the most upvoted in the entire thread, which suggests that plenty of other "American Horror Story" viewers feel the same way about the "Death Valley" detail. In response, u/Bartzff5 even questioned Kendall's professor's philosophy, noting that "even the oldest dustiest emeritus level profs use computers at this point."
Presumably, Kendall's philosophy will eventually prove to be important in some way to the plot of "American Horror Story: Death Valley." That said, the weight of that twist (whatever it is) could be diminished in the eyes of all the viewers out there who already don't buy Kendall's ability to get through college without the use of technology.