I actually did it. I managed to avoid all spoilers for the season finale of APOCALYPSE, including the most insidious kind, the kind with which I typically have to contend where AMERICAN HORROR STORY is concerned, specifically being told what happens by acquaintances who saw the episode before I got the chance to watch it. I walked around for a few days with my fingers in my ears, but I did it. Not that I didn’t already know how the season would end. I just didn’t know the specifics of how it would end. And therein lay all the difference.
I’ve quite enjoyed this season, which made me even more fearful of a repeat of last season. The ending of CULT was so lousy that it ruined the entire season for me. It was so bad, in fact, that I was hesitant to give the series another chance. I started watching APOCALYPSE mostly because of my job working for this site, the need to cover the show here. I did so unenthusiastically. Then came the most pleasant of surprises: I found myself interested. I found myself, dare I to say it, invested.
That’s the same pattern that developed last season, though, and then I got the rug yanked out from under me. The season finale for CULT sucked monkey balls. I waited worriedly, wondering if history would repeat itself. Would they manage to execute the landing with APOCALYPSE or crash and burn? Fortunately, they nailed it. APOCALYPSE might just do down as my favorite season of AHS thus far. They wrapped up the storyline, tied up all the loose ends, and set things right, putting a pretty little bow on top. Some have complained about the “open” ending, but that didn’t bother me. It just shows that the struggle between good and evil will continue, world without end. The character Mallory, who surprised me by becoming the season’s MVP, said as much.
In short, I dug it. AHS feels rejuvenated. APOCALYPSE was so satisfying that it almost washes from my mouth the bad taste left there by CULT.
Almost.