The second Camp Redwood massacre comes to a massive head, and it appears that this chapter of the story is over.
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Red Dawn
Starring Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Cody Fern, Matthew Morrison, Gus Kenworthy, John Carroll Lynch, Angelica Ross and Zach Villa
After a seemingly endless night, daylight is finally on the way in the fifth episode of American Horror Story‘s latest season. Unfortunately, not every counsellor at Camp Redwood looks set to make it through to another day, and this season is especially ruthless with its top cast.
The episode begins with a flashback about Donna’s (Angelica Ross) backstory, revealing that she happened upon her father disemboweling a prostitute four years ago, leading to him killing himself – which certainly explains her fixation upon the psyche of serial killers. In the present, she is faced by the Night Stalker (Zach Villa), recently resurrected from death, apparently by Satan. When faced with her own darkness, Donna flees from him.
Meanwhile, our core group of mostly psychopaths are holed up in a cabin and Margaret (Leslie Grossman) suggests rowing across the lake to find help. Montana (Billie Lourd) suggests Chet (Gus Kenworthy) as a suitable companion for this trip, though this is merely a ruse so that she can be alone with Brooke (Emma Roberts). With Margaret and Chet out of the way, Montana approaches with a hatchet, only for Brooke to unexpectedly spot Ray (DeRon Horton) out of the window and rush out to rescue him.
On the lake, Margaret brutally murders Chet and dumps his body in the water.
Donna, fleeing from the Night Stalker, encounters Montana and Xavier (Cody Fern) and reveals her car in the parking lot, offering them the chance to escape. As she does so, she reveals her own role in bringing Mr. Jingles (John Carroll Lynch) to Camp Redwood, sending Xavier into a murderous rage and chases her into the night.
In the canteen, Ray and Brooke have a heart to heart about their lives, Brooke stating that she feels that she may not make it until morning, yet she feels as if she has not really lived. In typical horror-movie style, the two have sex. Afterwards, Brooke reveals that she was a virgin, and then discovers Ray’s dismembered head in the fridge. She runs screaming to Montana, who promptly knocks her out cold.
Donna runs into Mr. Jingles and begs him to kill her for what she has done. Mr. Jingles, in return, reveals that he was not the serial killer responsible for Camp Redwood, but rather Margaret, and insists that Donna needs to live with what she has done. He refuses to kill her, but promptly encounters Margaret, who he proceeds to choke. In a surprising turn of events, Xavier appears with a bow and arrow and shoots Mr. Jingles multiple times, using skills he gained in a production of Robin Hood. With Mr. Jingles dead, Xavier rouses Margaret, who rewards him for his bravery by stabbing and killing him.
Elsewhere, Montana and Brooke are locked in a tussle to the death as the campers arrive. Brooke finally gains the upper hand and stabs Montana multiple times in the chest, which is witnessed by an entire bus of shocked campers. Paramedics and police are called, and Brooke is arrested. With no living witnesses, she is looking incredibly guilty. Margaret stabs herself in the leg with a knife and stumbles to the police, claiming that Brooke was responsible for the entire massacre. It looks like Brooke is out of the storyline, for now.
Meanwhile, Ray is being looked over by paramedics, who are concerned by his lack of blood pressure. They attempt to cart him off in an ambulance, but his body reappears on the road. It appears that Ray is trapped there. On the other hand, the Night Stalker and a newly-resurrected Mr. Jingles hijack a police car and drive off into the sunset together. The episode ends with Montana killing a police officer, and telling a shocked Ray and hitchhiker that they can be gods in Camp Redwood.
Questions
What is making the characters come back to life? The way that Mr. Jingles resurrected makes it appear as if it has something to do with Satanism, but there is an important distinction between the resurrection of the Night Stalker and Mr. Jingles compared to the other apparitions. In the case of the Night Stalker and Mr. Jingles, they appear to have been restored to life, while the others are merely ghostly apparitions. Perhaps this is what allows the Night Stalker and Mr. Jingles to leave the site of Camp Redwood.
Will all the victims come back to life? We know that Ray, Montana and Xavier are now haunting Camp Redwood, but are we to expect Chet and Trevor to start wandering around too? I hope so. I love Trevor.
Is this the end for Brooke? Being carted away by police certainly makes it appear as if Brooke is out of the storyline for the time-being, but her innocence might suggest a return to Camp Redwood, especially if Donna is still around.
Where is Donna? To my memory, the last time that we saw Donna was when Mr. Jingles didn’t kill her, making her one of the few people to survive the massacre. This makes her one of the two people who could help prove Brooke’s innocence, as she knows Margaret is responsible for the original onslaught. She has her reasons for keeping quiet, but Emma Roberts isn’t the top credited cast member for nothing.
What will happen to Margaret? Since she is now living in a camp inhabited by the ghosts of people that she has killed, Margaret might have quite a lot to worry about.
Where can the story go from here? Lots of horror comes from the fate of characters that we care about. From the preview of next episode, it appears that the characters we know/care about are the villains of the piece, so how can the horror pick up from here? With five episodes left, it’s anybody’s guess what direction the rest of the season will take.
Mark’s Maundering Musings
I really hope we see Trevor again before the end of the season. He was so pure of heart.
I wonder whether there’s something about innate darkness that makes characters reappear as ghosts, perhaps explaining why we haven’t seen Chet, Trevor or any of the other counsellor’s ghosts as yet.
I really want to see Brooke again. I am obsessed with Emma Roberts, and Brooke was one of the few morally conscionable characters left!
Mark My Words 