American Horror Story, the popular thriller anthology series, has returned for its eighth season, and it’s already being heralded as one of the best in the series’ history.
The season begins with several atomic bomb blasts, as many of our main characters are carted off to a secret, selective outpost. The origins of the bombs, and the possible involvement of Michael Langdon (Cody Fern), begin to unravel.
This season was framed as a mash-up of two of the most beloved seasons: the first season, “Murder House,” and the third season, “Coven.” Ryan Murphy, American Horror Story’s show-runner, carefully teased which beloved characters would return. Murphy built up hype for a viewer base that had seemingly been sorely let down by the previous two seasons.
The seventh season, “Cult,” was incredibly political and polarizing. It didn’t have any of the supernatural aspects that American Horror Story was known for. Many fans elected not to watch it, or simply didn’t like it. The sixth season was similarly disliked, but for different reasons. There were a number of supernatural elements in the season, but many viewers found the main characters to be shallow and uninteresting, and the plot (and ending) to be unsatisfying at best. However, the viewer base is seemingly extremely happy with Murphy’s decision to harken back to seasons past.
This season has been seen as a return to form for the show, with episodes three, four, and six receiving 100% fresh scores on Rotten Tomatoes, and 9.3, 9.1, and 9.7 stars on IMDb, respectively. Additionally, many past favorite actors received multiple prominent roles on the show. Sarah Paulson has played three characters this season so far, reprising her roles from seasons one and three, and playing a new one for season eight. Evan Peters has also been featured as three characters, Tate Langdon (a fan favorite from season one), James March (a serial killer from season five), and a new role for season eight. Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, and Billie Lourd are also featured prominently.
However, the show doesn’t run purely on nostalgia, and features a number of new, talented actors. As previously mentioned, Cody Fern plays the main antagonist, Michael Langdon, a warlock with a devilish dark side. Billy Porter plays a flamboyant, charismatic head warlock, and Jon Jon Briones gels well as the warlocks’ conniving leader.
Based on the star studded cast, seemingly stellar reviews, and original concept, it is understandable why many consider American Horror Story’s eighth season to be one of its best. There are six episodes left in the season; we will see whether they can keep up with the viewer base’s high expectations.
