Chapter 5 (American Horror Story)

"Chapter 5" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on October 12, 2016, on the cable network FX. The episode was written by Akela Cooper and directed by Nelson Cragg.

Plot

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin details the history of suffering at the Roanoke farmhouse. She begins by discussing the builder of the house, Edward Philipe Mott (Evan Peters), a Philadelphia eccentric who bought the house and the surrounding land as a retreat from life in the city. He filled the house with artwork and insisted that it be built with a network of underground passages that led into the woods. While the house is being constructed, tragic accidents befell many of the builders. Eventually, Mott left his wife and children behind in Philadelphia to live in the Roanoke house with his male lover, Guinness (Henderson Wade). Strange events begin to happen to Mott, as one night he awakes to find all his artwork destroyed. Furious, he interrogates his staff and one of the servants claims that she saw the invaders disappearing into the woods. Mott doesn't believe them and locks all the household staff naked in the storm cellar until they confess. Furthermore, he dismisses Guinness. One night, Mott awakes to Thomasin and her mob setting up a pyre outside. Upon marching outside to confront the mob, he is impaled and burned alive. Guinness is able to escape on horseback, but was jailed, forgetting to mention the trapped servants to the authorities. Their bodies were discovered years later and the house passed through centuries of Mott family ownership until Dandy Mott, the last surviving Mott family member, died in 1952. Then, the house is sold to a succession of owners, all of whom disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

In the present, Matt tries to call the police to come and address the mob outside. While the police refuse to take the report seriously, Ambrose calls one last time for the family to surrender themselves. The Millers refuse and begin to devise a hasty escape plan with Flora. As they are plotting their escape, a skittering creature attacks and drags Flora around the house and The Piggy Man appears and begins attacking Shelby and Matt. The Millers are able to recover Flora from the creature and escape from the Piggy Man but Thomasin's past victims quickly begin to surround them. Just when all seems lost, Edward Philipe Mott appears and leads them through the tunnels to safety. However, he abandons them in the woods, leading to their capture and kidnapping by the Polk family. Upon arrival to the Polk family compound, the Millers come across a bloodied and semi-conscious Dr. Cunningham (Denis O'Hare). He warns Matt and Shelby that Mama Polk (Frances Conroy) took his leg. Mama Polk then enters and offers jerky to the Millers but when she tastes it for herself, she discovers that meat has gone rancid. She blames the spoilt flesh on Dr. Cunningham's decay and the Polk family bashes his head in. Mama Polk goes on to explain to the Millers her family's relationship with Thomasin and her mob. In exchange for providing a sacrifice to the mob on every blood moon, the Polk family earns protection from suffering the same fate. The Polks are still upset about the loss of their two boys and plan to hand the Millers back to Thomasin in retribution. Matt takes the opportunity to escape from the Polks' truck, killing one of the family members in the process. Mama Polk proceeds to break Shelby's leg in retaliation.

In an interview, Lee recounts the 48 hours of interrogation that she underwent after being implicated by Shelby for Mason's death. Eventually, the police release her due to lack of evidence. After finding out that Flora is alive, Lee begs a police officer to take her back to the house so that she can be reunited with Flora again. The police officer agrees and they head back together. Meanwhile, the surviving Polks deliver the Millers to the mob at the house. Thomasin and her mob drag Flora away to be sacrificed but just as the sacrifice is to begin, Ambrose throws himself and his mother into the fire. Edward Philipe Mott appears and frees Shelby and Matt. The Piggy Man goes to attack Flora but is run down by Lee's car. Shelby, Matt, and Flora all jump into Lee's car and flee the house. Shelby and Matt decide that they are going to head back to Los Angeles. At a cheap motel, they all clean themselves up and rest for the first time in days. In an interview, Shelby mentions that nightmares of the events that had befallen them continue to haunt her still to this day.

Reception

"Chapter 5" was watched by 2.82 million people during its original broadcast, and gained a 1.5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.^[1]

The episode holds an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 5.8/10. The critical consensus reads, ""Chapter 5" provides a satisfyingly scary conclusion to Roanoke's first story arc – and sets up a quick change of course."^[2]

References

External links

• "Chapter 5" at the Internet Movie Database