American Horror Story 11: Episodes 3 and 4 Recap and Review

Episode three starts out with a large exposition drop. While we still don’t know the specifics of the mysterious disease plaguing the queer community, what we do learn is that it could have ties to Operation Paperclip.

For those unfamiliar, Operation Paperclip refers to a period after World War 2 ended, the United States government made a deal with over 1,500 former Nazi scientists to pardon them of their crimes if they shared their research as a way to get one over on the Soviets. A lot of our modern medical science stems from this, along with most of our ethical guidelines for the medical field.

During the period that this season of AHS takes place, unethical, secret experiments on American citizens, primarily those of marginalized communities, were unfortunately common. For instance, the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study (something the episode directly references) impacted hundreds of African Americans when they were given syphilis without being told so in order to see what would happen when the disease remained untreated. The experiments concluded not too long before the start of the season.

American Horror Story Takes on Tuskegee

So, why is this important? Well, a character at the beginning of the episode claims that some government agency engineered the disease, possibly on purpose, using information gathered from Operation Paperclip. After it was created the disease was unleashed upon the queer community for some undisclosed nefarious reason. Now, while this could be little more than a conspiracy theory, considering how grounded this season has been in real history, there’s a very good chance there’s more fact to it than fiction.

Moving onto the rest of the episode, we see early on that Patrick is starting to unravel, indulging in the darker sides of himself he’s been repressing with possibly dangerous results. Shortly after, it’s established that Gino escaped death after being kidnapped and tortured in the last episode by the Mai Tai killer. This couple cannot catch a break.

Zachary Quinto continues to shine, giving a performance that is an equal mix of sinister menace and charming allure. He clearly has some tie to what’s going on with all the murder and mayhem, but in what way exactly we still don’t know. You can’t help but hate to love the guy and love to hate him.

Toward the later half of the episode, inside a queer club called The Ascension, after we see the Mai Tai killer walking away from a chained door, Big Daddy sets the place ablaze with a Molotov cocktail, establishing a possible connection between the two. It’s a truly shocking image, as similar attacks against queer establishments are not just a thing of the past, but continue even until this day.

Seven people die, with many more injured. This leads to the end of the episode with a confrontation between Patrick, Gino, and Mai Tai where Gino finds himself bound and locked in a morgue locker and left to freeze to death. Once again, this couple cannot catch a break.

Episode 4 Understanding Gino

Episode four starts out with Patrick immediately saving Gino from death after a short-lived chase with Mai Tai. A bit of irony here to note, but it’s a pretty strange synchronicity that Ryan Murphy put out a Jeffrey Dahmer series not too long ago considering the Mai Tai killer looks almost just like the guy.

This episode does a brilliant job of establishing Gino as the most compelling character in the show, as he seems to be the catalyst for much of the plot progression. There is an absolutely heart-wrenching moment where clearly sick and tired of the apathy allowing for the violence against his community to perpetuate, Gino articulates, “We’re being picked off one by one. Why isn’t every gay man in the city scared shitless? No one cares.” This anguished cry for justice harkens back to the AIDS crisis where countless gay men were shouting the exact same thing, only to be left silenced and unheard. It’s easily the season’s most powerful moment so far.

Going back to the infection, it makes for some genuinely grotesque body horror, adding to the already unnerving atmosphere. Whenever it pops up, it gives the overwhelming impression that something horrifying is clearly brewing, something we’ve only gotten glimpses of, giving an inescapable feeling that something far bigger and far darker is going on. Anyone expecting a happy ending to this season is probably going to be very disappointed.

In a surprising turn of events, Patrick comes out to his boss. It’s not long after this that he has an intense confrontation with a flail-swinging Big Daddy during a citywide blackout. While Gino’s plea earlier is the season’s most powerful moment, this confrontation is by far its scariest.

Not long before the episode ends, Patrick and Gino seem to split ways after Gino finally reaches his breaking point with Patrick’s toxic behavior. The episode ends with Gino being taken to the hospital after collapsing from what we can assume is the same disease infecting everyone else. It’s here that we get some more information as to the nature of the illness. Apparently, its symptoms are reminiscent of cat-scratch fever. What that actually means in the grander scheme of things remains unknown.

These two episodes keep up the standard of quality set up by the first two while ramping up the mystery, tension, and character drama. If it manages to keep this up, there’s a solid chance NYC could be one of AHS’s best seasons.