American Horror Story: 10 Most Hated Episodes
Sometimes even the best shows have an off day or two or five or ten...
American Horror Story has had its ups and downs. With such a strong premiere, high hopes go hand in hand with every new season. With rotating cast members playing different characters every season, the show quickly became its own phenomenon.
Season 1's Murder House brought the haunted house back into the mainstream, opening the door for other successful shows such as Haunting of Hill House. Season 2's Asylum proved that the show's premiere wasn't a fluke. Strong writing and storytelling blended with the powerhouse acting of the recurring cast.
Season after season, American Horror Story continued to show-off its unique way of world-building and playing on the different forms horror can take. From family dramas to the dead wanting revenge, the writers found ways of keeping each season fresh and not overly repetitive.
But even the greatest show makes a few missteps. American Horror Story is no different and as the seasons went on, as actors came and went, and as the promise of delivering something bigger and better grew... it's no surprise a few episodes fell flat.
From filler episodes to awful characters to poor wrap-ups of, overall, relatively strong seasons, these 10 episodes are proof that even the best can lead to the worst.
Spoilers ahead!
10. The Ten Commandments Killer (S5E8)
A lot of fans would argue that Season 5 was probably when the series started its downfall from the fantastic earlier seasons. Perhaps most of the argument came from the lack of Jessica Lange, as she left the series following Season 4, and the introduction of Lady Gaga playing a major role in the show.
Season 5, aptly named Hotel, takes place in the mysterious Hotel Cortez in Los Angeles. One of the main storylines follows a homicide detective, John Lowe, in his search for the Ten Commandments Killer. His obsession affects his home life with he and his wife drifting apart following the disappearance of their son, Holden.
Episode 8, titled "The Ten Commandments Killer," reveals that John Lowe was the killer all along and was influenced by the ghost of the Hotel Cortez's owner, James Patrick Marsh, down the dark path.
This reveal was greeted with the season's lowest ratings. Many fans found it predictable, the presented timeline in the flashbacks made little-to-no sense, and that the episode overall was dull.
As Drew Grant wrote in the Observer:
In true AHS style, the writers seem to have come to the conclusion that Lowe was the killer only after having written the first couple of episodes.
Style over substance rang true throughout the episode, trying to make the reveal seem as dramatic as possible, while fans called it many episodes prior.
It attempted to give the audience a jaw-dropping moment, but only ended up whimpering into a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes.