American Horror Story: Delicate Episode Two Is Exactly What The Series Needed

Another week, another American Horror Story: Delicate episode... let’s get into it!

The second episode, titled “Rockabye,” was this season’s saving grace. After a shoddy and unforgiving premiere, I was hesitant to continue watching, but episode two had me glued from the start. It was considerably stronger than its predecessor and gave life to the rather lifeless character of Anna Victoria Alcott, played by Emma Roberts. We finally got an intimate look into her troubles with fertility and her insecurities regarding her marriage. Sorrowful, yes, but it made me connect with her in a way that I was unable to in the previous episode.

Kim Kardashian also had the opportunity to show that she was not only hired for a ratings spike, but to genuinely add a complexity to the show we wouldn’t have had otherwise. Kardashian channeled her inner Ari Gold (any Entourage fans?) and revealed to the audience that her character will do anything to win, even at the expense of Anna’s sanity. I can’t seem to pin down the nature of her character’s relationship with Robert’s character just yet, but it made me all the more eager to tune in next week.

“Rockabye” also explored deeper themes, such as social media and the realities of miscarriages for women. Being that Anna is an actress, we can assume that she has a large social media following. Rather than focusing on the positive attention, she allows the negative feedback to eat away at her. We also see a grieving Anna standing over a bloodied toilet and, as a viewer, my heart sank for this woman. With such raw imagery, you don’t need to be spoon fed specifics by the director to understand and grieve along with Anna. The episode was really structured to help viewers become close to Alcott’s pregnancy and really root for it to work for her. After all she had been through to get to that point, only to lose it was heartbreaking. The episode had me viewing everything through Anna’s perspective, especially when reality is blurred with hallucinations… or so we think.

I can admit, I was more than delighted after watching this episode. We’re left with more questions than answers, particularly when you start to fear who Anna can really trust, but that’s what made it exceptional. In the end, “Rockabye” felt like quintessential AHS again, while also showing the complexities of relationships, social media, and fertility.

New episodes air Wednesdays on FX at 10/9c and stream the next day on Hulu.