In the final episodes of AHS 1984, the ties to each characters’ story bound the season in a perfectly kept bow. We discover the fate of Camp Redwood and the ghosts, all while finding peace with those still living.
I was thoroughly and pleasantly surprised when the season ended without an immaculate cliffhanger or eerie plot twist. It simply came to a close in an unexpected, peaceful grand finale. “Rest in Pieces”, Episode 8, laid the groundwork for the 9th and final episode of this hair raising season, ”Final Girl”.
“Rest in Pieces”: The 80s Brings Gore and More
As Donna and Brooke sit in a booth at a small diner, plotting their next move, Donna urges Brooke to cut ties with the camp. Brooke’s determination to make Margaret suffer is too great and her appearance catches the eye of a nosy journalist. This interaction was interesting considering the ongoing fascination with serial killers. The journalist, Stacey Phillips (Stefanie Black), entails her extensive portfolio of novels based upon famous serial killers such as the likes of Ed Gein and Ted Bundy.
Phillips goes on to say how the 80s was the decade of serial killers, which sprung forth a collective outbreak of slasher films that depicted the highly talked about trope of the final girl in every horror film. Ironic, considering this season has acted as one giant and more emotionally invested slasher film with inspiration from some of the greatest horror-slasher classics of the past such as Friday the 13th, Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
This discussion acts as a foreshadowing moment and begged the question: Who is going to survive the tricks and trials of Camp Redwood? American Horror Story does an excellent job with the build-up of the season finale, with its plethora of serial killers coming together in a bid to bathe in the massacre they wished to ensue.
Come One, Come All: Love, Loss, Revenge
First of all, thanks to every sequel to our favourite slasher films, we know it is significantly difficult to make sure the murderous psychopath hunting you is officially defeated.Queque Bruce is a maniac with no thumbs and his head up the asses of the murdering legends before him in order to prove his worth. His contribution to the season is merely comedic relief, to add another problematic antagonist. The trio of Margaret, Bruce and Ramirez is harrowing, yet, when you think about it, pretty entertaining.
Their dynamic reminded me vaguely of the three stooges, but in this context, the three serial killers. As soon as Margaret discovers the death of the musicians, she ropes the men in to do her dirty work. Planning to kill every musician (aside from Billy Idol), they conspire a plot to get Margaret rich and Bruce and Ramirez a higher body count.
Richter is desperate to finish off Ramirez in order to save his son, and frankly, this was one of the most impactful character arcs within this season. Richter was able to prove he could be good and spread love, rather than death and mayhem. He was a monster created by those who manipulated and tortured him, but his heart holds no malice.
His regrets and drive to fix his past can be comparable to Brooke’s growing pain and urge to solve her problems by killing. Despite this, Donna saves Brooke from a lifetime of turmoil and stresses that she is not the monster the world believed her to be. Montana and Trevor face their own demons as they find one another, expressing love so strong it flirts with the barriers of death. These remaining episodes come down to desperate forgiveness mixed with a solidified vengeance in a final bid to make things right.
As Richter begs the ghosts to let him kill Ramirez, they decide there is no room for mercy. Setting Richter adrift in the lake, he is taken by a mummified body that springs from the lake (my guess is obviously Bobby) and he is reunited with his family, now full of love and peace. The evil in each of the main characters was birthed by their experiences and their time at Camp Redwood – it was time to break the curse.
2019: Present and Past Collide
Sticking to the flashback style storytelling prompt of this season, we are introduced to a new character; a young man, who sets off to find Camp Redwood decades later (three guesses as to WHO it is)! Bobby Richter (Finn Wittrock), now grown and curious, arrives at Camp Redwood to find his father with hopes that he is alive. Instead, Bobby is met with Montana and Trevor, who share the story of that fateful Halloween in 1989.
We begin with Trevor’s death, how he used his last minutes alive to save as many festival-goers from an untimely demise. After Margaret shoots him multiple times (at one point, directly in the family jewels, and we all know how symbolic that was), and leaves him to bleed out, Montana discovers him and coaxes him to get to the camp’s boundaries so that they may be together forever.
An unlikely ally, Brooke emerges from the bushes and carries Trevor across the supernatural border of Camp Redwood. Shocked and humbled by Brooke’s act of kindness, Montana vows to stop the killing, as soon as those who wronged them were destroyed.
In an erratic final mission, the ghosts knock-down Bruce, Ramirez and Margaret one by one. Personally, the idea of tossing Margaret in the wood chipper was gore galore, winning the prize for kill of the season. Ramirez is killed on the campgrounds, which is questioned by Bobby. Why would they keep Ramirez bound to them for eternity? Simply, to keep him from killing Bobby.
This revelation brought forth a vision of how the community of ghosts trapped in purgatory, stuck between the lines of life and death, grew as if they were a family. They may not have lived their lives to the fullest, but they will live their undead lives with the purpose of protection and loyalty.
The End: The Final Girl(s)
Nearly being killed by Ramirez, Bobby escapes to the Red Meadows Asylum for some answers. Low and behold, we are reunited with an older Donna. By recounting the horrors of the camp, it is assumed that Brooke is dead (come on though, we never actually SAW her die. I don’t believe it for a second). With the question still unanswered: who is sending Bobby cheques? (Obviously, the character who we didn’t SEE die.)
After hunting down the address, the three survivors of Camp Redwood, recollect on their past and we learn that Brooke was saved by Ray. This loyalty runs through those who bonded over the horrific experiences that the camp brought forth. Donna has now completed her service, of aiding Bobby in uncovering any answer he could possibly need. But he still wants closure, to reunite with his father. Donna goes on to explain how easily the camp can suck you back in, pulling you by your teeth into a world of pain and suffering.
Brooke was unable to escape Camp Redwood and she almost died because of it. However, Richter got out. He created the belief that life after the camp was possible and Brooke followed his lead. From the ashes and into the light, a new chance at life. With a grit determination, Bobby heads back to the camp for one last effort of finding his father. Narrowly missing being killed AGAIN (this time by Margaret), Bobby comes face to face with the man who gave him life.
All there is in this meeting is pure love and admiration. Now that Bobby knows the truth about his father and how hard Richter worked to protect his son, he can be at peace. In a compassionate ending, the season wraps up with a happy ending for all, a rarity for American Horror Story.
With a final glance at the camp that survived several mass murders and “The Living Years” by Mike + The Mechanics, Bobby saw his family smiling back at him as if to say “We will always be here for you”.
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