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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
The American Horror Stories Season Two finale, titled “Lake,” is written by series veteran Manny Coto, and directed by Tessa Blake. In this season finale, we’re given a sloppy cross between The Grudge (2004) and Night of the Living Dead (1968) with other flat elements.
As usual, expect minor spoilers.
I was glad to see another episode written by Coto, but this one just doesn’t do it all that well. There seemed to be a lot going on at times, and eventually, it mostly wrapped itself back up. However, this episode just wasn’t very compelling and the ending had me asking myself, “That’s it?”
A Dull Mixture
Allow me to explain. Coto seemed to have taken cues from George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Takashi Shimizu’s The Grudge (2004). Then it’s as if he threw in elements that are recycled every now and then. The most prudent element is that Jeffrey’s (Teddy Sears) family line is responsible for this heinous lake, although it does help one make more sense of the episode’s title. It also makes sense as to why the episode begins and ends at the titular Lake Prescott but spends the majority in the family’s (played by Silverstone, Sears, Rouyre & Hogan) neighborhood home.
Coto’s premise seemed to also be dealing with the tale of power and corruption, which works on its own, but not so much here. As it turns out, Jeffrey’s mother (presumably) was related to one of the founders of the dam where the lake was created, Wrede Prescott (Todd Cattell). He was your run-of-the-mill dirty businessman and murdered three men by drowning them in the lake via chaining them to a block of concrete. He did so because some people from the town didn’t want the dam to go up and he wanted to teach those against the dam a lesson. With the dam up, Prescott was paid with money generated from the power of the dam. However, with the killings, the lake became haunted and hundreds of people would go missing, including Finn’s (Olivia Rouyre) brother Jake (Bobby Hogan), which is how the episode begins.
To his unknowing family, Wrede was an important businessman and founder of the town, even according to Jeffrey. Jeffrey also works for the law firm that has prevented the dam from being decommissioned and happened to be in charge of the case. Therefore he’s part of the reason the dam is still up and running, despite the grit of people still fighting for it to be taken down.
This whole part of the episode could have been eliminated from the script and replaced with something more engaging, but it still seemed to work. The ending was kind of cool I guess, and while I’m sure the lake zombies that carried Jeffery into it are just people in green screen suits, it’s a decent enough sequence to finish on.
Cinematic Aspects
The finale’s direction is good enough to help speed things up when they seem to be slowing. The editing, handled by Tom Kipley, paired with Blake’s direction works well enough for the episode to leave the horror right on the screen as well. I found myself jumping a couple of times due to slow dialogue or movement altogether and the jump scare comes right at that moment and you aren’t prepared for it. It almost jolts one back into the episode’s slow-moving plot. That element is great for this final episode of the season.
This is, unfortunately, Coto’s worst episode of American Horror Stories Season 2. The whole premise is just choppy. His dialogue is great and seems to bring the actors back together when they could be falling asleep mid-scene. At first, it seemed to be going nowhere, but by the end of the episode, everything somehow comes full circle. This is definitely one of the stranger stories in the American Horror Story universe more than anything.
The Cast of the American Horror Stories Season 2 Finale
This week lends itself to an interesting cast, despite the other parts of the finale, which aren’t all that fun. Alicia Silverstone leads this week’s cast with returner Teddy Sears, Olivia Rouyre, Bobby Hogan, and Heather Wynters.
Silverstone is welcoming enough, her chemistry with Sears is fine. Sears last appeared in the universe way back in American Horror Story: Murder House, and, again, it’s great to see actors from previous seasons of the original show appear here. The remaining cast does a good job as well, and everyone seems to pick up Silverstone and pull her back into the scene at times.
Final Thoughts on the Season Two finale of American Horror Stories
While I wish we were getting more than eight episodes this season, it is one more than the first, so that’s great. I also wish the finale episode was a bit more compelling and less cut and dry, similar to the penultimate episode. However, it is also fantastic to see more stories in this crazy universe of American Horror Story, and it somehow pulled me through. With this season finished, now I can look forward to Season Eleven of the original series, which should premiere this fall in keeping with the usual track record of the show.
It is evident that somewhere in the season, the tracks got a little rusty somewhere, and everything went downhill but managed to not completely crash and burn. The first half of the season was terrific, with a few bumps in between. Unfortunately, these last two episodes didn’t dial me in the right way as the first half of the season did. However, I would be wrong to say that this wasn’t a very strong season of horror television because it was. On a final note, the title designs, tackled by Hazel Baird here, have been different in each episode in keeping with that week’s theme/title of the episode. The designs each week have been tremendous, and paired with the ever-glooming theme music, are great to watch on screen and it’s another awesome, yet small, element of the show that works.
American Horror Stories Season Two gave us all new stories, except the premiere, and new characters to explore. The best aspect of the season was how every episode presented a different sub-genre of horror, which was fantastic. That was also the most enjoyable, and even the lesser episodes still managed to keep me engaged. Overall, this was a satisfying season of horror television and I’m very much looking forward to the next installment of American Horror Stories, although there is still no official word on season three yet.
Along with this finale, all of the American Horror Story universe is streaming right now on Hulu. Creators Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk (and occasionally Ian Brennan) have several other shows also streaming on Hulu including Pose (with Steven Canals), Glee, Scream Queens, 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star (both with Tim Minear).
How was the season finale for you and how did season two leave you overall? Let us know, and as always, stay right here at The Cinema Spot for our reviews of the upcoming eleventh season of American Horror Story and even more horror reviews and news!
Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.