FX’s American Horror Story has certainly had its seasonal ups and downs. From Murder House to Coven to its very own Apocalypse, fans have fallen in love with some themes and absolutely hated the others. This year AHS creator Ryan Murphy did something a little different when he split up Season 10 into two parts with two different themes.
What do we know about the second episode of ‘American Horror Story: Double Feature,’ ‘Death Valley’?
As if the words Death Valley aren’t creepy enough, that area of America has enough spooky lore to fill 10 more seasons of American Horror Story. It was named after a group of pioneers on their quest for gold. Nicknamed the Lost ’49ers because of the year it happened (1849), many died while taking a shortcut from Salt Lake City en route to California. In Death Valley is also the Barker Ranch, which was temporarily home to the Manson Family. It’s also home to many ghost towns.
In a teaser trailer released on Sept. 23, we open up on a cavalcade of cars driving through the desert. The image is black and white. Neal McDonough plays former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He arrives at an undisclosed place. He is called over to look at something that causes him to say “Oh my God” to himself.
If you didn’t see anything else in the trailer and are a fan of history, you would know that this scene probably references an infamous moment in Eisenhower’s presidency. On February 20, 1954, President Eisenhower was in Palm Springs on vacation when he was suddenly summoned. A spokesperson claims that Eisenhower chipped a tooth in a chicken wing and had to take an emergency visit to the dentist. Many believe that he visited Edwards Air Force Base to see two extraterrestrials.
The trailer then toggles back and forth between color and black and white, suggesting the show will spend time in the past and present. The trailer shows doctors performing an autopsy on an alien. The modern shots show a car pinned to a spot on the road and someone being injected. At one point, Neil McDonough is pleading with a woman to “stop what you’re doing until we can reach an understanding.” It smacks of forced experiments and revenge.
While it seems all but a given that Death Valley will feature heavily on aliens, knowing the history of its namesake means that there might be a lot more in store. Each decade may have additional themes because there will be several decades.