On July 21, 2022, the second season of American Horror Stories, the most recent anthology series from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, premiered. Unsurprisingly, the most recent season’s debut episode had a difficult time competing with the outstanding American Horror Story produced by the same showrunners. However, the episode had a lot of potentials.
The episode’s unsettling premise involved a wealthy, obsessed man who locked individuals in his imaginary dollhouse and dressed them as dolls. For the most part, the episode was successful, especially at the beginning but it fell short in all other respects. Each episode of American Horror Stories contains a different story, and each one is a stand-alone unit. Dollhouse is the name of the second season’s opening episode.
Review of the first episode of season 2 of American Horror Stories: Interesting premise let down by the abrupt conclusion
One of the better American Horror Stories episodes was the “Dollhouse”. In truth, this episode was similar to a couple of others in the first season. The setup, acting, and mood were all perfect, but the twist was left largely unexplored and the conclusion appeared to arrive too quickly.
https://twitter.com/AHSFX/status/1549816411500859392
The opening was spooky enough to send seasoned horror fans into a frenzy with its ominous minor melodies, warm color palette, and delicate views of a doll-maker creating a doll. Denis O’Hare, Kristine Froseth, and a terrific Houston actor named Jax Towe dominated most of the screen time at the beginning of the story. One of the most intriguing aspects of the program was how the mystery began to surface after Coby was abducted. The doll maker sought to make the young women perform chores against their will and, when they disobeyed, punished or killed them.
The episode’s narrative about Coby’s abilities was one area where it fell flat. She frequently displayed psychic abilities, but because the show did not spend enough time explaining it, the notion lost a lot of its allure. However, the events leading up to the conclusion were excellent, featuring numerous surprises, some tight pacing, and excellent acting. If the show had concluded with Coby being turned into a doll, it might have been much more complete and frightening.
Welcome to the Dollhouse. Step right in and meet your episode 1 cast. FX's American Horror Stories Installment 2 premieres tomorrow only on @Hulu. pic.twitter.com/h7Ra0T24Jk
— AmericanHorrorStory (@AHSFX) July 20, 2022
However, despite its symbolic inferences, calling in the witches at the eleventh hour to save Coby made little sense. The majority of viewers won’t be able to understand any of the deeper connotations either. Of course, the conclusion attempted to add a new mystery and connect it to the original plot, but even that wasn’t sufficient.
This episode’s sound design, color scheme, and creative camera angles all worked very well in its favor, but the pacing, conversation, and ending fell flat. It would be incorrect to argue that this episode is poor or unwatchable, but if you come in expecting a masterful piece of terror, you will be let down. Overall, it was a thrilling 40-minute horror experience that handled the majority of its tasks effectively and had a lot of potentials. Possibly, the next episodes will address these minor issues that let this one down.
The first episode of American Horror Stories season 2 is currently available on Hulu.
