Chapter 8 (American Horror Story)
| "Chapter 8" | |
|---|---|
| American Horror Story episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Gwyneth Horder-Payton |
| Written by | Todd Kubrak |
| Production code | 6ATS08 |
| Original air date | November 2, 2016 |
| Running time | 40 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Chapter 8" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on November 2 2016, on the cable network FX. The episode was written by Todd Kubrak and directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton.
After Dominic (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and Shelby (Lily Rabe) witness Agnes' (Kathy Bates) murder by the Butcher (Susan Berger), Dominic freaks out. Shelby tells him that it's no good and that there is nothing that anyone can do for any of them anymore. After calming himself down a little bit, Dominic looks out of the window to see Thomasin and her mob begin to surround the house. He whirls around to Shelby and asks her what they can do. She tells him that there is nothing that they can do, reminding him that he reenacted a scene just like this in My Roanoke Nightmare. She begins to freak out and Dominic goes to her and attempts to calm her down. She calms a little bit and is able to make an escape plan with Dominic. The two decide that they should flee out the secret passageway in the basement of the house. When the two head down to the basement, Shelby stops when she sees Matt's (André Holland) dead body lying on the basement floor. She begins to freak out again and Dominic pulls Shelby into the secret passage. Once inside the passage, Shelby and Dominic are attacked by the Chen family and flee back inside the basement. Shelby and Dominic barely escape the Chen family and Shelby begins to break down further, fearing that there is no escape for them. As they attempt to flee the house, Thomasin and her mob, the Piggy Man, and the skittering creature attack, leading to both Shelby and Dominic being severely wounded. The two take refuge in the bathroom of the master bedroom, with Dominic witnessing Shelby slit her throat out of guilt over killing Matt and the knowledge that there will be no escape this time.
At the Polk family compound, Mama Polk (Robin Weigert) sharpens a knife against a butcher block, while taunting Lee (Adina Porter), and being watched by one of her sons, Jether (Finn Wittrock). Mama Polk chastises Jether for being scared to participate in butchering Lee. She further demands that Jether tell the story of how the Polk family came to be cannibals. Jether is nervous and hesitant to do so, so Mama Polk proceeds with the story. Mama Polk tells Lee about of how her family first resorted to cannibalism with a group of pig thieves during the Great Depression and it has since become a family ritual. Lee retorts, saying that the Polks will be put to death but Mama Polk laughs at Lee, telling her that they've had the police in their pocket for years. They proceed to treat and preserve Lee's wound, causing her to pass out from the pain. Once she wakes up, she finds that her left ear is missing. Jether tells her that he took it and details another family tradition of giving pickled ear to other members of the family as Christmas presents. Eventually, Lee attempts to escape by promising that Jether will become a sensation after he appears on the show. Jether angers at Lee's suggestion, telling her that there is no one that is going to a bigger sensation than the Piggy Man. He goes on to detail how the Piggy Man was created by the hands of one of his ancestors. Jether attempts to give Lee drugs to ease her pain but Lee rebuffs them, telling him that she is an addict. Jether leaves her to go prepare the drugs for himself. Lee reconsiders Jether's offer of nose-beers after finding out a little more about the Polk family's tradition of cannibalism. Jether explains that the victims were kept alive out of necessity,at first, due to lack of access to an icebox or any other type of preservation system. Jether further explains that the tradition of preparation of their victims continued on after the Polks noticed that fear and exhaustion made the meat more desirable, describing the human jerky as having a sweet tang. Sometime later, Lee calls out for Jether. She wants to see Flora and begs him to let her see a picture that she keeps of her in her pocket. Jether shows her the picture and Lee further requests a chance to speak to Flora. Jether relents and allows Lee to make on-camera statement to her. In it, Lee confesses to the murder of Mason and explains that she did it so that Flora wouldn't be taken out of her life. Jether says that he's never killed anyone before and doesn't want to kill Lee because he likes her. Lee seduces Jether and as he unties her to have sex with her, she kicks him in the groin, incapacitates him, and kills him.
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