American Horror Story: Delicate Episode 4 Dives Into A Satanic Mystery
There was a lot to unpack in American Horror Story: Delicate episode 4… so let’s dive in.
This episode begins with transporting us to England in 1555 with the infamous Mary Tudor, otherwise known as Bloody Mary. For those who aren’t English parliament history buffs, all you need to know is that Mary Tudor famously could not conceive a child. But there was a period of time in 1555 where she actually thought she was pregnant because she exhibited all of the symptoms. Sadly, it turned out to be a false pregnancy. Some chalk up her false pregnancy to Mary’s overwhelming desire to have a child. Sound like anyone we know? Cough, cough, Anna Victoria Alcott (Emma Roberts). AHS shows a sweaty, distraught Mary after she had just delivered a baby… but it’s far from human. It’s a monster. Apparently she agreed to birth a royal baby… Satan?… in exchange for a prolific reign. We also see the two women dressed in all black appear again, this time to take Mary’s monster baby. I loved that AHS tied in this historical context! Even though Mary’s story is not directly mentioned again, its weight is felt throughout the entirety of the episode.
We fast forward to present day, with Anna staring at a dead raccoon outside. She picks it up and brings the carcass into the basement, placing it into a baby bassinet. While it’s over a rather ominous incident, I felt for her as it seemed like she finally felt what it would be like to be a mother. Why did she put the dead raccoon there? Maybe to be with the spirits that seem to be lurking only in the basement? We’re not sure quite sure yet, but trust me, all roads lead back to this damn basement.
I would also like to formally apologize for my previous recaps where I call Anna’s husband Dex (Matt Czuchry) callous. He somewhat redeemed himself this episode. Anna has to go back into the city because she wants one last appointment with the doctor, because as she said in episode 3, she can’t get over the feeling that she thinks she’s still pregnant. Dex’s mom Virginia (Debra Monk) makes a surprise visit this episode and there is clearly tension between her and Anna. Virginia and Anna have a somewhat of a staring contest — the quintessential mother-in-law and daughter-in-law feud — before Virginia asks to speak to her son alone. Virginia continuously rags on Anna to Dex and, to my surprise, he defended Anna against his miserable mother every step of the way. His mom also drops the bombshell on him him that she’s suing his dad because he abused her in a (this is a new one) satanic way. And, that’s about it from Virginia. AHS loves to drop crazy reveals on us, only to not touch on it again — at least not in this episode. As for some good news, Anna’s doctor confirm that she is pregnant. While she did suffer a miscarriage, she has what is called “vanishing twin syndrome." Based off of the recurring theme of this whole episode, I didn’t like this one bit! You can’t tell me the baby that is in Anna’s womb is the dreamy little boy she’s been longing for — just look back at the opening of this very episode with Mary’s monster baby!
While in the city, Anna meets with Siobhan (Kim Kardashian) who sets her up with two PR execs (Billie Lourd and Leslie Grossman). Siobhan insists that Anna desperately needs them. The PR execs are shown standing behind Siobhan, both wearing black. I felt as though these two PR execs, both of whom are named Ashley, were almost imitating the two women that injected Anna’s leg in the previous episode. The creepy, black dressed women… you know the ones I’m talking about! While I may be reading into their characters too much, I can be certain of one thing: the PR reel they create for Anna was pure camp. It was giving me flashbacks to Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad, we all know the one. It was playing homage to how celebrities can essentially do whatever they want, with the right PR team in tow. The reel itself was hilarious, but somehow garnered over 6 million views for Anna. The Ashley’s deem it worthy!
We also get confirmation this episode that Kim Kardashian’s character is sleeping around to get what she wants. Sigh. It’s a common trope and one that I’m tired of: seeing women in corporate settings having transactional sex to succeed in their professional careers. While I’ve loved Kim’s portrayal of Siobhan’s character, I’m hoping this was a one and done scene, as it seemed irrelevant.
Back to Anna and Dex! They make their way back to Talia’s hideaway house and, ladies and gents, this is where things got weird. Anna goes back downstairs to check on her dead raccoon. As she’s listening to the Golden Globe nominees, for which she is nominated, she picks up the carcass in a loving manner, only to take a BITE out of it. You read that correctly: she starts eating the dead raccoon, maggots and all! When I tell you my jaw dropped, you better believe it. It was truly the last thing I was expecting Anna to do. A kiss to the raccoon’s head? Sure. Anna starting to eat the maggot infested carcass? Nope. If their goal was to give everyone a cliffhanger this week, their goal was met flawlessly. I guess Anna’s successful PR reel and Golden Globe nomination made her hungry!
Catch new episodes of American Horror Story: Delicate every Wednesday night on FX and streaming the next day on Hulu.
