AHS 13, Is That All There Is?

Welcome back to the Freak Show, Killer Queens.

This week saw three new episodes of American Horror Story 13. Today, we’re going to talk about the first, Is That All There Is?

Tell me we haven’t all been there before.

We begin where last week left off, at the mouth of Hell. Tate, Addy, Winter, and Kai are escorting thirteen women to be sacrifices in a Jezebel Ball.

Sounds like my kind of party, if it wasn’t for the sacrifice.

Ah, but first we are treated to a song from Elsa Mars. And it is a lovely one.

But now, let’s get to the women. They’re introduced to us, one by one. Most of the names we’ll recognize as historical bad guys. Some are characters from previous seasons. Some didn’t deserve this shit.

Let me save you a Google search. In order, we had Hypodermic Sally from AHS Hotel. Then there was Eva Braun (deserved it). Wallis Simpson (Nazi sympathizer, deserved it) came next, followed by Ayn Rand (shedding no tears). Then we had Brigette Bardot. BB, she doesn’t belong here. Then there’s Catherine the Great, a mixed bag honestly. Mimi Eisnehower was next, again, good and bad from her. Elena Ceausescu was next, a doctor and Romanian politician. I don’t know enough about her to judge. Then the actual biblical Jezebel, followed by TB Karen from AHS Double Feature, who certainly doesn’t belong in this lineup. Then we had Margaret Thatcher, who sure does belong in this lineup, and finally Elizabeth Short. Short says what we’re all thinking. What did she do to deserve being here? To which Elsa can only say, “I don’t know. Because he said so.”

Ah, but you’ll notice that we only listed twelve people. Well, there’s always someone fully committed to the cause. And that’s where I’ll leave that.

Our main character, Ben, has little role in this episode. He’s fed a cup of blood by Mr. Nas, and then passes out. When he wakes, Constance tells him he had too much nutmeg. Too much nutmeg, my ass. This man is a medical professional. He knows better. Try harder, Constance.

Oh, and apparently Ben might be the son of Satan? So, that’s fun.

Finally, we’re treated to an absolute info dump between Constance and Mr. Phibes. He explains why he sold his soul to Satan. And, well, I don’t want to ruin it for you. But I’ll just say that I wouldn’t sell my soul for that. But to each their own.

Constance’s reason is more understandable. And, if you know anything about her, you already know what it is. The episode treated it like a surprise. It wasn’t.

She wanted her children back.

Honestly, this was a really fun episode. I was so happy to see Elsa Mars back. I love Elsa. She’s sassy, she’s funny. She’s an entertainer at heart. Ten out of ten; need to see more of her.

I also love Constance’s storyline here. She is so freaking cool. There is a scene in this episode where she is face to face with Satan, and he threatens her. She gives no shits, lights her cigarette, and basically tells him that she isn’t scared of him.

This woman is goals, honestly.

I do wish we’d see a little more of Ben, our main character. I also wish we’d see more of the good guys. You know, Cordelia and the other witches. But I’m sure that will happen eventually.

Overall, this was a fun episode. It moved the story along, had a great musical number, and sent me down some historical rabbit holes. So I’ll see you back here tomorrow for the next episode.

Do you still need to get caught up? Check out my AHS, Watch or Pass post.

My book, Station 86 Volume One, is available now on Amazon! It’s got two dark sci-fi stories about murder and mayhem on the station of First Contact.