American Horror Story: Hotel – "Be Our Guest" Review. Life After the Cortez.

Iris and Liz save the best for last

Season 5, Episode 12

Airdate: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 10:00 PM ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

Well, that’s a wrap; American Horror Story: Hotel (AHS: Hotel) concludes its fifth season with as much drama as its debut with “Checking In,” although with a bit less gore. There are still some lingering questions between the mayhem resulting from “Battle Royale” and the finale “Be Our Guest.” I wasn’t sure which direction the finale would take considering The Countess (Lady Gaga) has become one of the disembodied spirits roaming the hotel. As for James Patrick March (Evan Peters), he no longer has his murderous vision to complete with the help of the Ten Commandments Killer, former detective John Lowe (Wes Bentley). Interestingly enough, apart from the stagnant follow-through with various plot developments, “Be Our Guest” is a somber and, at times poignant, finale for what has been an emotionally tumultuous season.

These Hallowed Halls

If one major lesson has been learned from all the events that transpired at the Hotel Cortez, it is that you do not want to die in there. With few characters among the living, “Be Our Guest” relies on the spirits haunting the space of the hotel more than those alive. Despite the attention given to Iris (Kathy Bates) and Liz (Denis O’Hare), the heart of AHS: Hotel still revolves around the afterlife.

The initial sequence of events in “Be Our Guest” focuses on Liz (who I can’t believe made it to the finale). I surely thought her affair with Tristan (Finn Wittrock) would have landed her on The Countess’ kill list, but that’s the one aspect of the American Horror Story (AHS) franchise I appreciate the most—the element of surprise. Just like the arrival of season one American Horror Story: Murder House (AHS: Murder House), the character of Billie (Sarah Paulson), a psychic who acts as a conduit between the ghosts and the living, she is similar to what Iris is for the Hotel Cortez. As an aside, Iris has a lovely scene where her son Donovan (Matt Bomer) leaves a fitting message for .her. I don’t think I’ll feel the same way about blueberry pancakes again. Paulson does double duty as she plays the roles of both Sally and Billie —a feat I admire considering how polar opposite each character is within their respective seasons.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY -- "Be Our Guest" Episode 512 (Airs Wednesday, January 13, 10:00 pm/ep) Pictured: Evan Peters as Mr. March. CR: Prashant Gupta/FX

James still knows how to make an entrance

What frustrates as much as fascinates me about this season is the tremendous opportunity AHS: Hotel had to create more episodes that are as moving as “Be Our Guest.” Of course, I was distracted by the exquisite aesthetics of the season with its attention to production design and costuming, but the backbone of the season should have been about the hotel. There was a lot of emphasis on the hotel’s structure and morbid history throughout the season. I would much rather have learned more about what makes it alive, so to speak. For instance, the origins surrounding the addiction demon remain vague at best—I feel like having gone through the trauma of watching Gabriel (Max Greenfield) being raped, I deserved a better understanding of the demon’s existence and its ties to the hotel. Without understanding the dynamics of what makes the Hotel Cortez exist as a kind of hell on earth, establishing clear boundaries within the show’s mythology becomes important. What happens to the dead is as significant as the supernatural entities borne from violence and gore. What I got out of that whole plot device is that March’s actions manifest an entity that is a type of demonic beast. The beast’s sole purpose is to torment and feed off humanity’s pain caused by their vices. To an extent, I can accept the theory that March’s crimes are what made the demon, but I still wonder if March had ulterior motives. Did he create the hotel as a death trap to not only satisfy his base needs but to also produce supernatural entities? And there’s the problem with the entire season. Amid the sensationalized sex and gratuitous violence, there is very little backstory to what incites such reactions from people like March or Sally. Although Sally does find peace, in her own way, I don’t know much about her at all. She has such an immense sense of insecurity fueled by abandonment issues; I want to know more about her so I can care more about her character. And by care, I mean hold my interest because Paulson is an amazing actress and her story line in AHS: Hotel did not showcase the best of her abilities.

What’s Good?

Liz takes center stage in “Be Our Guest,” and rightfully so. Liz’s story sets off the final act of the season. It’s befitting since Liz has witnessed, as much as Iris, the goings on at the Hotel Cortez. Sure, The Countess is mesmerizing to watch onscreen, but Liz holds her own with such a captivating form of defiance during their scenes together. If it were not for her story line, there is a little to be desired in ”Be Our Guest.”

The Lowe family story line started quickly yet oddly lost its footing alongside the backstory for The Countess. In a way, the Lowes deserve their own season because as much as they are forever connected to the Hotel Cortez, their story didn’t really go anywhere that interesting. It feels like John was merely a plot device meant to prop up The Countess.

In “Battle Royale,” it’s understood that John continues his killing streat to provide for his family. Sadly, John pays dearly for his murder spree.

Overall

The concept of a place such as The Hotel Cortez being a supernatural space where the realms of the living and dead coincide piqued my interest immediately at the beginning of the season. I even ignored the excessive amount of carnage and violence because I thought the character development would balance out the tone later in the season. What AHS: Hotel lacked wasn’t the quality of writing because the dialogue was on point, and episodic writer John J. Grey does a great job in “Be Our Guest.” The crux of the problem is the large amount of characters without an emphasis on continuity of subplots. For example, whatever happened to The Countess’ deformed son, Bartholomew? Let us not forget Ramona’s (Angela Bassett) useless revenge plot. What was that about? Ramona fought hard, did unspeakable things with plans to kill The Countess, and nothing really came out of it other than owning a piece of The Cortez. I love the performances by all the actors but at times, I wondered if the story lines were built around the actors and not vice versa.

Overall, I feel ambivalent about the season. There are plenty of wonderful moments but they are too few and far between each episode. As a whole, AHS: Hotel didn’t quite live up to the hype or enter new territory with its storytelling. That said, the performances by the entire cast made up for all the loopholes. Bomer and Bates’ scenes in “Mommy” really hit a high mark with the drama. Peters also did a remarkable job in taking to task an insane character like March. So while I may not be entirely satisfied with AHS: Hotel, it’s a season I’ll most likely not soon forget, for better or worse.