‘American Horror Story: Double Feature’: 5 Things You Missed in Episode 5

When caught drinking the blood of her baby brother, Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) gives an excuse that’s as unhinged as this show. It’s OK for her to drink it because baby blood lets her play Locatelli Caprice in D major. It’s a composition that’s so complicated, she claims that a man once killed himself because he couldn’t get it right. It’s hard to know if that’s true, but we do know what song she was playing.

Alma was referring to Baroque violinist and composer Pietro Locatelli’s L’arte del violino. Comprised of 12 concerti, it was written for solo violin, strings, and bass. The composition cemented Locatelli’s reputation as a pioneer for modern violin. Specifically, Alma was likely referring to the final concerto of the 12, which was nicknamed “Labyrinth.” Locatelli even gave a reason for the nickname, which when translated was “Harmonic Labyrinth: Easy to enter; difficult to escape!”

If Armstrong has been creeping you out, don’t worry. There’s more of that to come. The young actor is set to star in the afterlife thriller Maternal as well as the sci-fi horror project Firestarter. That second one is especially exciting. Firestarter is based on a Stephen King book of the same name and follows a young girl who mysteriously has the power to set things on fire using her mind. Armstrong is set to play that little girl, Charlie, and her father Andy will be played by Zac Efron.

Poor, poor Mickey (Macaulay Culkin). All he wanted to do was make his own Speed Racer universe. As silly as it seems, using a manga from the 1960s about a car-loving kid as fodder for a multi-picture franchise and theme park isn’t that insane. In 2008 Warner Bros. — not Universal — released a live-action adaptation directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski. The impressive cast included Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, and Matthew Fox, but it was a commercial failure. The movie grossed roughly $93 million against a budget of $120 million. A sequel was considered, but due to its negative performance, no one moved ahead with the project.

Tuberculosis Karen (Sarah Paulson) finally gave in to the allure of the pills. And just as she feared, it killed her. After taking the pills from Mickey, she made him bring her to the beach where she feasted for the first time: on her friend and possible lover. As Mickey bled out, Karen painted one last picture. She then cut her wrists and walked into the ocean, taking out herself and Mickey before the pills could change them further.

This death scene is similar to how author Virginia Woolf took her own life. On 28 March 1941, Woolf filled her overcoat pockets with stones and walked into River Ouse. Considering this season of American Horror Story is a reflection on the tolls of artistic greatness, a nod to this tragic death makes sense. Prior to her death, Woolf had a long history of depression and mental illness.

This is actually Rabe’s third time tackling this particular archetype. In Murder House Rabe made her debut as Nora Montgomery, a socialite whose husband actually constructed this haunted house for her. In the 1920s, Charles Montgomery used to perform illegal abortions. One night Nora and Charles’ son was kidnapped by the boyfriend of one of these women. But rather than accept his son’s death, Charles started to sew hooves and other body parts to their son’s corpse. Nora was so disturbed and upset that she ended her life.

Then there’s 1984‘s Lavinia Richter. The widowed camp cook, Lavinia always preferred her son Bobby to Benjamin and often emotionally abused Benji. That hatred amplified when Bobby died on Benjamin’s watch. Lavinia then went on a full Friday the 13th rampage, murdering several counselors before Benji killed her. So yeah. Psychotic druggie mom attacking her baby is pretty par for the course when it comes to Lily Rabe being on American Horror Story.

Where to stream American Horror Story: Double Feature