American Horror Stories Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Facelift
American Horror Stories Season 2 Episode 6, “Facelift,” starts slow and ends with a bang.
There are some slip-ups, some things left to be desired, but this episode takes a wild ride to a place (hopefully) nobody could’ve seen coming.
The real moral of the episode is: Britt Lower is the queen.
Run, Virginia, Run
“Facelift” is an episode that takes a while — too long — to get into the real cult of it all, but when it rains, it pours.
If you watch Severance, you already know Britt Lower is a scene-stealer. On “Facelift,” despite her being opposite icon Judith Light, she’s what saves the episode.
As with any episode of American Horror Stories, you must go into the episode trusting absolutely no one. Unless Britt Lower is a guest star. Then you can trust one person.
Though the focus is meant to be on Virginia, the entire episode, we find out, is really about Fay. Her life, mother, and character make it the perfectly wrapped gift bag for a nice, cozy holiday.
American Peppa Pig Stories
American Horror Stories season two can’t seem to decide if they want every episode to contain real meaning instead of just being a fun, chaotic hour of television once a week.
It was there with American Horror Stories Season 2 Episode 5, “Bloody Mary,” but as with most things in the horror genre, it’s uncanny how much they play into whatever meaning they’re trying to get across.
You could go the route of Virginia having deserved what she got after being willing to give up everything, including her daughter, to look better.
The message seems more likely to be “beauty comes from within,” but given that the “actually beautiful” people face no negative repercussions, I feel Manny Coto was just going stupid going crazy in the writer’s room.
Slay, Mama!
The chase scene towards the end of the show is meant to be suspenseful and spooky, but the second you watch Virginia learn about being sacrificed, you know she will die no matter what.
Watching Virginia jog, barely even running, across this island with a two-minute head start is genuinely infuriating.
Then, in the end, what made her want this the most was her ultimate demise: Bernie. A man. A stupid man.
Maybe Virginia did deserve what she got. Lift that dress and run, girl!
Stray Thoughts:
- I’m obsessed with the fact that they chose the butterfly to represent the cult, a very sophisticated and rarely duplicated creature, and then decided on the most 7th-grade tacky design in the world.
- The caption “(Virginia snorting)” earned that half a star.
- “Facelift” opens with Virginia rubbing her own urine on her face and then never mentions it again. Haunting.
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American Horror Stories releases new episodes Thursdays on Hulu.
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Laura Wanberg
Laura is a homebody who loves everything about TV. Some of her favorite shows include Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Parks and Recreation, and The Morning Show. With her ever-growing list of new shows to watch and books to read, her favorite thing to do is to cuddle up with her cat and get lost in someone else's world.