Well, five episodes in, and I am unable to see where American Horror Story: 1984 can go now. Seriously, this last episode basically has an end for all our main characters. That doesn’t mean I haven’t enjoyed it! In fact, its campiness and gore is everything I like about the horror genre. So with that, here’s the lowdown on what’s happened at Camp Redwood.
A group of early twenty somethings decide to get out of LA before the Olympics take over, by becoming counselors at Camp Redwood, which is re-opening after being shut down back when a Mr. Jingles killed a cabin full of counselors and took their ears as souvenirs. There is the pompous Xavier, who is looking to break into acting, ex-doping athlete Chet, cool guy Ray, crazy and aerobics-obsessed Montana, and doe-eyed Brooke. Once they get to camp they meet the woman responsible for re-opening the camp, hilariously dubbed “Jesus-lady,” Margaret. They also meet nurse Rita, and well-blessed (you know what I mean) counselor, Trevor.
It should be known that before Brooke decided to commit to Camp Redwood, she was attacked in her apartment by real-life serial killer, The Night Stalker. Also, the local loony bin had all its doors opened during a storm, so that means Mr. Jingles is back out and ready to take more ears!
Anyways, back at camp, it’s the night before and everyone is getting to know each other, but it doesn’t take long before danger ensues! That’s right, the Night Stalker has managed to follow Brooke to Camp Redwood and he wants her dead. We also learn that Margaret was a survivor of Mr. Jingles, as she’s missing her ear – so that means Mr. Jingles is also back to finish the job.
Except it’s not all that easy. One episode reveals a lot of dirty secrets about our counselors. Xavier used to do gay porn, Ray killed a college pledge on accident, and Brooke was supposed to get married until her super unstable fiancé killed his best friend and Brooke’s father and brother. A shocking twist is that the Night Stalker and Montana have a thing, and she recruited him to kill Brooke for getting her brother killed (he was the friend!)! Whew.
But that’s not the last twist! Turns out nurse Rita is not the real nurse Rita, and that she’s the one responsible for releasing Jingles back onto the camp. We also learn that her father was once a serial killer, so she probably is going to be one too at some point. Then, icing on the cake, Margaret is the real Mr. Jingles! She was bullied so much that she killed all of those counselors, and then made the camp janitor take the fall. After years of torment in the loony bin, he believes he is the real Mr. Jingles. He vows to end her life.
Then there comes all the deaths! Aside from some periphery characters, Ray gets his head batted off his body by Jingles after fleeing the camp via motorcycle. Trevor gets killed by Margaret, as do Chet and Xavier. In a “Freddy vs. Jason-esque” showdown, Jingles kills The Night Stalker. Only thing is, he gets revived since he’s sworn himself to Satan. This tactic also works out in Jingles’ favor when Xavier kills him by bow and arrow. In another showdown, Brooke gets the upper hand and is able to kill Montana. Unfortunately, a whole bus full of kids witnessed that happen, so Margaret ends up pinning all the killings on her. That just leaves Rita somewhere out in the wilderness, while Jingles and the Night Stalker drive off to LA.
Whew, I guess writing that all down shows how much was packed into five episodes. Only thing is…I don’t have a clue what’s supposed to happen next! Almost everyone is dead, and the story was pretty well wrapped up this past episode. Some Reddit theories I’ve seen think it could be like a show or movie, considering this season is called 1984, after George Orwell’s novel, but honestly, who knows. I heard aliens could also be involved, but Murphy’s been there and done that in Asylum, so I’m not counting on it. Either way, I hope it’s not disappointing, like the last few season’s latter halves have been. Fingers crossed!