REVIEW: American Horror Story Season 11, Episode 6, “The Body”

Television Reviews

***SPOILERS***

“The Body” fittingly opens with two men finding a body on the beach. They report it to Patrick, who then alerts Sam. Patrick and Gino question Dr. Wells about the Fire Island fire victims. She doesn’t tell them anything because of confidentiality, but she recommends they get the lesions checked out. Henry’s Mafia handler asks him to get rid of Gino. Patrick leaves to investigate the body, angering Gino by leaving him behind. Henry threatens Gino rather than killing him. Patrick and Sam arrive at Fire Island, and Patrick is revealed as the killer of this individual. However, he’s not the Mai Tai Killer, and this was an accident. Patrick recognizes the cuts on the victim as the Mai Tai Killer’s handiwork, motivating Gino to go with Henry to face Whitley. This goes poorly, however; Whitley kidnaps Henry, and Gino has to call Patrick for help.

For better or worse, “The Body” is American Horror Story: New York City’s most shocking episode yet. As soon as Patrick called Sam about the reported body, I was beyond confused. Sam has previously indicated that he had some dirt on Patrick; I thought that was a threat to out him or tell Gino about his escapades. I’m not surprised that Sam would accidentally kill someone and try to hide the body, but I am shocked that Patrick was involved. All season, there’s been a sense that Patrick was lying or trying to hide something; I guess I should have seen this coming. He’s still not exactly the 10 Commandments Killer cop from Hotel, but this is seriously disturbing. And what a way to die; Patrick and Sam basically screwed this guy to death. I don’t even understand how that’s possible. This aspect overshadows most of the episode for me because I found this scene to be a little too indulgent. Of course, there’s no full-frontal nudity or extreme gore, and I’m not even saying those aspects would have been out of place. I felt dirty watching this scene, if that makes sense, like even observing what was happening was wrong and somehow contributed to Billy’s death. It’s just wild that Patrick would be reckless enough to kill someone like this and then cover it up. At this point, I’m not sure how we’re supposed to feel about this character. This has added another layer of confusion to the murder mystery; I’m now questioning whether Sam is involved with the Mai Tai Killer and, if so, to what extent. Keeping that guy prisoner earlier in the season was horrible, and Sam clearly has something illicit going on with Big Daddy. I’ve now all but given up hope for this character to get a real name. 

In fact, much is revealed about the criminal activities of Henry, too. He’s a fixer for the mob, killing people and hiding bodies as necessary. Curiously, though, he doesn’t kill Gino like he was instructed to do. He must have a soft spot for the guy; maybe they can get together if Gino decides to leave Patrick’s deception behind. I’m mostly joking since, at least in the legal sense, Henry’s actions are worse than Patrick’s. But he must care for Gino because he disobeys his boss’s orders, lets him live, and then takes him to one of his crime scenes. This isn’t to his advantage at all. These scenes also give us insight into Whitley’s mind and how he became a killer. When he’s called in the flashbacks to butcher Billy, he’s reluctant since it’s an “innocent boy” rather than the usual criminal. But he finds a taste for the work; we can see glee spread across Whitley’s face as he hacks the man’s limbs off. I still don’t understand his thought process about killing gay people to help the gay community, but I assume the next four episodes will delve into that. There’s also some suspense as Patrick and Gino essentially know Whitley is the Mai Tai Killer, but Hannah can’t give them the proof without a warrant. No doubt Patrick is afraid to tell the police department why he suspects Whitley, as he would be outing himself for involuntary manslaughter and hiding the remains. Adam isn’t in “The Body,” nor do we see Theo. It seems like they’re trying to balance the characters that appear in the two-episode blocks, but it stands out to me because I don’t watch them back-to-back. 

My biggest gripe with “The Body” is how blunt and in-your-face it is. I’m not sure if this makes sense, but earlier episodes took a more subtle, subdued approach in setting up the story and characters. In this episode, we go from a cocaine party to two guys having rough sex with a third until he dies. It all feels distasteful, which, to be fair, is probably appropriate under the circumstances. Perhaps I’m just being too sensitive, and this is a logical payoff to what AHS: NYC has been building up all along. All I can say with certainty is this episode wasn’t as enjoyable as the others for me. 

Overall, “The Body” is good on a technical level, and the performances are outstanding. I find myself disappointed as the season abandons the subtle approach I initially praised it for taking. AHS is no stranger to gore, camp, or sex, and I’m not necessarily opposed to those elements. But I think there’s a way to do it with style, and for me, at least, “The Body” fails. This episode seems to reach for shock value rather than satisfying storytelling.