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WARNING: The following contains spoilers for American Horror Story: Double Feature Episode 2, “Pale,” which aired Wednesday on FX.
American Horror Story Season 10 is finally here, and Double Feature kicks off with a two-episode premiere, hence the aptly titled season. The first episode, “Cape Fear,” introduced AHS fans to the Gardner family and the strange Pale People that lurk in Provincetown, Massachusetts. As Harry (Finn Wittrock) continued to struggle with writer’s block and the overwhelming demands from his agent, he took one of the ominous black pills Austin (Evan Peters) gave him. As “Pale” begins, the pill takes effect as Harry packs up his family in the car and prepares to flee the town. He experiences intrusive snippets of manuscripts and parties. Once the visions pass, he excitedly looks for his computer as Doris (Lily Rabe) looks on, concerned.
With wide, crazed eyes, Harry snatches his things from the trunk and retreats into the house to write, saying he can see everything “clearly.” Doris and Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) exchange confused expressions before following him back inside. There, Harry manically types away at his computer. As Alma struggles to master a violin song, she confides in her mother that she saw Harry take a pill and wonders if it was Adderall. When Harry tells Doris he finished the pilot in just four hours, she’s in disbelief and asks him if he’s on speed. The question erupts into an argument. When Harry insists he didn’t take anything, Alma steps in and tells him she saw him. He verbally lashes out at her but is quick to apologize.
Harry’s wild writing frenzy and lashing out at his wife continues. After pulling an all-nighter and losing his appetite, Doris accuses him of lying about the pills. On his way to the market to prove to his wife that he’ll eat, he encounters a Pale Person crouched in the road dining on a squirrel. Horrified, he steps back, but a small group of twitchy, hissing Pale People surrounds him, akin to The Walking Dead. However, they don’t attack him, and Harry calmly makes his way to the market instead of running through the streets screaming like most of us would probably do.
There, Harry loads his shopping cart with packages of meat. While the grocery store owner makes a joke about going “keto,” it’s clear he knows more than he lets on. TB Karen (Sarah Paulson) also takes fault with Harry’s newfound “craving.” She verbally assaults him in a fit of rage, making a point to tell him, “You never knew thirsty before now!” At home, Harry proceeds to make a not-so-appetizing raw meat smoothie that’s enough to turn the stomach of meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. To drive Harry’s growing bloodlust home, he also sucks the blood from his wife’s finger after she accidentally cuts herself on a knife.
Finally realizing there is more to the black pills than Austin let on, Harry confronts him at his house. Over gin martinis, Austin reveals a mysterious person, known only as The Chemist, started experimenting with crystal meth recipes, resulting in the pill. However, he also explains that the pills only work if you have talent. As such, the Pale People lurking around town took the pill but were, as Austin puts it, “Hacks. Wannabes. Dreamers.” Therefore, they became literal monsters that are “always thirsty but never satisfied or employed.” There’s still a catch for those it works on: the pill depletes four major minerals. And as Austin and Belle (Frances Conroy) have figured out, drinking human blood provides just the right nutrients.
While Harry is, obviously, against transforming into a bloodthirsty killer, the success he’s already garnering is too much to resist. When he sits down at a blank computer again, it’s not long before he goes crawling back to Austin and Belle, who give him another pill and bring him out to “eat.” On the way, Belle and Austin give Harry all the dirty details of his new life. Belle informs him they only feed in the winter months. A good feed allows them to eat once a week; however, Belle likes to snack in between on willing subjects — hence her feeding on Mickey (Macaulay Culkin) in “Cape Fear.” Austin says they perform community service by feeding on criminals and addicts to justify their actions further. The only rules: keep gloves on (which isn’t entirely clear what that means yet but likely to prevent fingerprints) and no feeding in P-Town.
Meanwhile, Mickey lets Karen stay in his cabin. After discussing Jaws — another reference to Double Feature‘s Cape Cod location — he confesses his written five screenplays but never finished them. He also confesses he stole some of the black pills and says that they should take some. Karen — who has consistently remained against the pills from her debut — ripes them out of his hand, declaring they just turn people into murders and bloodsuckers. In response, Mickey reveals a stack of Karen’s paintings he found at a thrift shop. The moment highlights that the two people the town has shrugged off as good-for-nothing drug addicts actually harbor hidden talents. So, Mickey decides to take a pill.
After experiencing his first human feed with Belle and Austin, Belle encourages Harry to get his teeth fixed by Dr. Lark Feldman (Billie Lourd) to make for “a cleaner feed.” Lark is also a member of the little black pill club. After the improvements, Harry makes his first kill alone after encountering a sex worker down by the docks.
Back at the house, Alma is still struggling to master one of her violin songs. When her mother’s preoccupied, she finds her father’s pills and takes one. Much like her father with writing, Alma practices violin for hours. When her mother asks her to take a break, the little girl snaps back, claiming she doesn’t understand Alma and Harry’s need for greatness because she’s “average.” Alma has already shown a propensity for perfectionism, wanting to accomplish a great deal with the violin. As such, it seems the pills created a figurative — and literal — monster. Upon discovering that Alma went out alone on a walk, Doris goes after her and discovers Alma at the graveyard hunched over an animal, eating it.
American Horror Story: Double Feature sticks to its name, dropping two Season 1o episodes. New episodes air each Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
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