American Horror Story and Ravenswood.
Nov. 16th, 2024 05:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452Over the course of October I unexpectedly revisited two shows that fit the mood and vibe of the season: American Horror Story (Murder House and Coven, respectively) and Ravenswood. And I kind of wanted to write my retrospective thoughts on both.
American Horror Story: Murder House
I remember when this show premiered, when the show was simply just called American Horror Story before it continued on to become the anthology series it is today with each season having a different title. I watched it back then and liked it a whole lot. Revisiting Murder House today, it's easy to understand why. There was an entire vibe that I enjoy, I liked the casting, the characters, and the unraveling of everything in the story, and for some of its flaws and issues I do think out of all of the seasons this one still holds up the strongest.
Violet Harmon was my favorite character and still remains my favorite character. The entire Harmon family is quite tragic, but I think Violet is probably the most tragic one. She was just a teenager, filled with teen angst and had so much going on that her death (and finding out that she was dead) was absolutely devastating. I even liked the relationship and connection between her and Tate, but at the same time I'm glad that she rejected him in the end after realizing who he was as a person, that in the end she chooses her family over him. As dysfunctional as the Harmon family was, the cruel irony is that they ended up coming together in the end after their deaths is both sad and heartwarming at the same time.
(And yes, I'm aware this was sort of retconned in American Horror Story: Apocalypse, but as far as the first season goes this was a nice way of ending their story.)
American Horror Story: Coven
The third season of American Horror Story was the second strongest season, in my opinion. I tried the second season (Asylum) when it premiered but I just couldn't really get into it. However, Coven reinstated my interest with the show at the time. Perhaps it was the subject matter of witches and witchcraft, which yeah I'll admit was the biggest draw for me, and rewatching the season it still is. I'm a sucker for the aesthetics and whole vibe that they brought.
Additionally, it's also about the cast which was incredibly strong. American Horror Story has this thing where it recycles actors from previous seasons to portray different characters, it's been part of its gimmick since the beginning and at this point with the third season it became kind of expected. We see the strengths of where they perform for the characters they portray, and I think this season really demonstrated some of the best strengths of a lot of the actors involved. Of all the characters though, Madison Montgomery became my favorite of the whole season. She's very entertaining to watch, the delivery of her bitchy attitude is on point, but also she's a character that went through a lot, even in the first episode it's hard not to have sympathy and empathy towards her. (She apparently gets further development when brought back for American Horror Story: Apocalypse, which I didn't watch but have seen only bits of her moments so I'm glad.) I just love her. Plus, she coined the most iconic phrase that is still in use to this day ("Surprise bitch, bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.")
Other than that, this season was mostly just vibes for me, and I think that's why I still like it so much.
American Horror Story is a strange little show. It's an anthology series with recurring actors portraying different roles and none of the seasons really connect to one another, aside from American Horror Story: Apocalypse it seems, the promos and opening title sequences are more creepy in their aesthetics than the actual show is, and while it's still ongoing I barely hear much about the show these days. The last I heard about it was the season with Lady Gaga, only because it was Lady Gaga who was playing a vampire. Needless to say, Murder House and Coven remain my favorites and I enjoyed revisited them.
Ravenswood
Ravenswood was a spin-off series from Pretty Little Liars that sadly was cancelled after its first season, which yes I'm still bitter about because it was so good. What made it good was how separated it was from the main show, it was its own story with its own characters and rich history and lore, and featured more of a paranormal element that was only teased in main show. It is a ghost story, a paranormal mystery about something horrible that happened in that town many years ago that continues to haunt its residents and where all the main characters share something in common connected to those events.
I've said before that for all its many flaws, Pretty Little Liars managed to do suspense really well. When it was good, it was really good. Ravenswood turned that up to eleven with the suspense by adding another layer of supernatural and otherworldly, making a lot of moments more unsettling and creepy. Like, on an atmospheric level it truly felt like a paranormal horror mystery story. Even when we only got snippets of the town of Ravenswood in Pretty Little Liars there was an ominous feel to the place, so having a spin-off to further explore that town and expand on it was quite a bold move, and one that I wished they'd stuck with.
Additionally, Caleb having his own individual arc on this show was absolutely brilliant that it makes the cancellation even sadder because he finally got to do something that wasn't just being Hanna's hacker boyfriend. We could've had so much more with exploring him as a character, his family past and history with the town or Ravenswood, he was intrinsically tied to it and there was so much teased with the possibility of learning more. Plus, I liked how he was interacting and connecting with other characters. I also really liked his dynamic with Miranda (who got so much undeserved hate when it was airing) and how they were navigating everything, with her being a ghost and he being the only one at first to see her, and how intertwined their paths were even before they met with their ancestors. I just really wanted to see more of that, more of that connection, of what was happening in that town, unraveling that mystery.
In short, Ravenswood may have been a spin-off but it really was a show that stood on its own and had its own identity that existed outside of the main series and it deserved so much better.
American Horror Story: Murder House
I remember when this show premiered, when the show was simply just called American Horror Story before it continued on to become the anthology series it is today with each season having a different title. I watched it back then and liked it a whole lot. Revisiting Murder House today, it's easy to understand why. There was an entire vibe that I enjoy, I liked the casting, the characters, and the unraveling of everything in the story, and for some of its flaws and issues I do think out of all of the seasons this one still holds up the strongest.
Violet Harmon was my favorite character and still remains my favorite character. The entire Harmon family is quite tragic, but I think Violet is probably the most tragic one. She was just a teenager, filled with teen angst and had so much going on that her death (and finding out that she was dead) was absolutely devastating. I even liked the relationship and connection between her and Tate, but at the same time I'm glad that she rejected him in the end after realizing who he was as a person, that in the end she chooses her family over him. As dysfunctional as the Harmon family was, the cruel irony is that they ended up coming together in the end after their deaths is both sad and heartwarming at the same time.
(And yes, I'm aware this was sort of retconned in American Horror Story: Apocalypse, but as far as the first season goes this was a nice way of ending their story.)
American Horror Story: Coven
The third season of American Horror Story was the second strongest season, in my opinion. I tried the second season (Asylum) when it premiered but I just couldn't really get into it. However, Coven reinstated my interest with the show at the time. Perhaps it was the subject matter of witches and witchcraft, which yeah I'll admit was the biggest draw for me, and rewatching the season it still is. I'm a sucker for the aesthetics and whole vibe that they brought.
Additionally, it's also about the cast which was incredibly strong. American Horror Story has this thing where it recycles actors from previous seasons to portray different characters, it's been part of its gimmick since the beginning and at this point with the third season it became kind of expected. We see the strengths of where they perform for the characters they portray, and I think this season really demonstrated some of the best strengths of a lot of the actors involved. Of all the characters though, Madison Montgomery became my favorite of the whole season. She's very entertaining to watch, the delivery of her bitchy attitude is on point, but also she's a character that went through a lot, even in the first episode it's hard not to have sympathy and empathy towards her. (She apparently gets further development when brought back for American Horror Story: Apocalypse, which I didn't watch but have seen only bits of her moments so I'm glad.) I just love her. Plus, she coined the most iconic phrase that is still in use to this day ("Surprise bitch, bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.")
Other than that, this season was mostly just vibes for me, and I think that's why I still like it so much.
American Horror Story is a strange little show. It's an anthology series with recurring actors portraying different roles and none of the seasons really connect to one another, aside from American Horror Story: Apocalypse it seems, the promos and opening title sequences are more creepy in their aesthetics than the actual show is, and while it's still ongoing I barely hear much about the show these days. The last I heard about it was the season with Lady Gaga, only because it was Lady Gaga who was playing a vampire. Needless to say, Murder House and Coven remain my favorites and I enjoyed revisited them.
Ravenswood
Ravenswood was a spin-off series from Pretty Little Liars that sadly was cancelled after its first season, which yes I'm still bitter about because it was so good. What made it good was how separated it was from the main show, it was its own story with its own characters and rich history and lore, and featured more of a paranormal element that was only teased in main show. It is a ghost story, a paranormal mystery about something horrible that happened in that town many years ago that continues to haunt its residents and where all the main characters share something in common connected to those events.
I've said before that for all its many flaws, Pretty Little Liars managed to do suspense really well. When it was good, it was really good. Ravenswood turned that up to eleven with the suspense by adding another layer of supernatural and otherworldly, making a lot of moments more unsettling and creepy. Like, on an atmospheric level it truly felt like a paranormal horror mystery story. Even when we only got snippets of the town of Ravenswood in Pretty Little Liars there was an ominous feel to the place, so having a spin-off to further explore that town and expand on it was quite a bold move, and one that I wished they'd stuck with.
Additionally, Caleb having his own individual arc on this show was absolutely brilliant that it makes the cancellation even sadder because he finally got to do something that wasn't just being Hanna's hacker boyfriend. We could've had so much more with exploring him as a character, his family past and history with the town or Ravenswood, he was intrinsically tied to it and there was so much teased with the possibility of learning more. Plus, I liked how he was interacting and connecting with other characters. I also really liked his dynamic with Miranda (who got so much undeserved hate when it was airing) and how they were navigating everything, with her being a ghost and he being the only one at first to see her, and how intertwined their paths were even before they met with their ancestors. I just really wanted to see more of that, more of that connection, of what was happening in that town, unraveling that mystery.
In short, Ravenswood may have been a spin-off but it really was a show that stood on its own and had its own identity that existed outside of the main series and it deserved so much better.
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Date: 2024-11-16 03:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-11-19 09:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-11-16 08:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-11-18 12:54 am (UTC)AHS as a whole is often a hit-or-miss, and I feel like it's a mixed bag of either seasons being duds or starting off strong before faltering towards the end. The first three seasons were arguably the only strongest seasons the show had, and the ones that I see most people referencing when talking about AHS.
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Date: 2024-11-25 06:05 pm (UTC)I agree! That's really evident when looking by fic numbers as well: Apocalypse is the season with most works and that brought back characters from Coven and Murder House.
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Date: 2024-11-18 05:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-11-19 09:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-11-19 04:24 am (UTC)=^..^=~
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Date: 2024-11-24 02:39 pm (UTC)I'm weird and avoid things that are currently really popular for some reason. Like I don't want to be disappointed, maybe, by all the buildup.
I'm the same way. Aside from being really annoyed when things are constantly being advertised and shoved in my face, I have been burned before by what people were hyping up only to walk away feeling underwhelmed and disappointed as it certainly wasn't what I had been expecting. I tend to wait until the hype and popularity dies down before going into something. I mean, it does take me a while to get into things regardless because I often have to be in the right mode to get myself invested in something new.