The sixth season of American Horror Story, subtitled Roanoke, featured a radical change to the AHS's format, thanks to a daring and original premise. However, the experiment didn't exactly pay off, and nowadays, Roanoke is considered one of the series' weakest seasons.
The story, which focused on the infamous Roanoke colony in North Carolina, spawned several memes from fans who considered it over-the-top and, at times, cheesy. Even today, Roanoke's legacy continues on Twitter and Tumblr, where the show's twists and turns keep providing material for creative fans around the world.
Perfect Illusion
Lady Gaga made a splash in the show's season 5, Hotel. Her role as The Countess earned her favorable reviews and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie. She came back for Roanoke, albeit in a much smaller role that was basically a cameo.
This meme uses a play on Gaga's hit "Perfect Illusion" and features Sarah Paulson's Shelby chasing Gaga down the North Carolina woods, only to lose her in the end and believe it was all a dream. It's a sweet if slightly obvious joke that nonetheless remains entertaining.
Roanoke Said Peace Out
The disappearance of the Roanoke colony remains a mystery to this day. Many theories float around, but none can be definitively proven, and the question lingers, doomed to remain unsolved forever.
Looking at the humorous side of the situation, the meme above is an accurate representation of Roanoke's disappearance. Sure, it's basic bordering on the ridiculous, but it basically tells the truth, and it's always good to find the funny side of things.
Kill Them All
Twitter user @nickyspace pokes fun of Ryan Murphy's propensity to kill his main characters with a hilarious tweet that remains as fitting in 2021 as it was in 2016.
Every season of AHS is notorious for killing off more than a few cast members, but Roanoke took things to the next level. Every main character died, leaving no one to carry on for future seasons. It was a bold choice, but having no one to root for did end up affecting the season's enjoyability.
Roanoke-ception
Roanoke's entire premise of having a show within a show was equal parts daring and confusing. The execution wasn't entirely seamless and just happened mid-way through the season, bringing more questions than answers. The show then kept going, with more focus on the gore than actually developing the promising story.
Twitter user @jacckjensen perfectly summed up the experience of watching the show in one priceless tweet. His frustration at the show's clumsy attempts to explain its narrative brought out a chuckle in more than one fan.
Shelby's Cries For Help
One of Roanoke's most memorable aspects is how much of the season focused on Shelby screaming for help. Sarah Paulson is a brilliant actress and a staple of the franchise whose presence is always welcome, but Shelby did not have much depth to her character.
Several memes exist about this particular role, but this one is one of the funniest. Indeed, it seems that Shelby screams for Matt every time something happens. Considering a lot happens during the season, Shelby is more than justified to be scared out of her mind, but her screams get old real soon.
Television Parallels
AHS shares its fair share of similar characters. Several of Jessica Lange's roles involve her as an aging former glamour lady clinging to her past. And as mentioned before, Sarah Paulson's characters start as helpless or powerless before they ascend and become true heroines.
Roanoke's Edward Philippe Mott is a 17th-century version of Freak Show's Dandy Mott. They are indeed ancestors, but the similarities are too on the nose. The meme above reveals how the two characters are one and the same, and it's hard to argue otherwise.
The Unsubtle AHS
This meme makes excellent use of the classic "I'm like dropping hints that I'm single" meme and translates it into Roanoke's world.
The result is a hilarious portrayal and soft critique of the show's storytelling. In the words of Sheldon Cooper, it's funny because it's true.
Historical Joke Time
Pop culture often enjoys explaining some of history's lingering mysteries. Loki, for example, explains that infamous criminal D.B. Cooper was actually the God of Mischief himself. Roanoke gave its take on what happened to the lost colony, one filled with gore and horror.
In reality, the mystery remains, and Roanoke's true fate will most likely never come to light. It's intriguing to imagine what it was like for Sir Walter Raleigh, the colony's founder, to return to the settlement and find the inhabitants gone. The meme above puts a humorous spin on the event, although it certainly was everything but in real life.
The Cursed Essay
Like one of Stefon's clubs, Roanoke had everything: murderous and vengeful spirits, cannibals, witches, crazy conspiracy theorists. Some of these plotlines featured more prominently than others, but they were all part of the season, to its ultimate detriment.
Still, Roanoke was pretty scary, and more than one fan probably had nightmares after seeing it. This meme perfectly illustrates how the things people see heavily influence their perception. A fan of the show would immediately think of The Butcher when hearing the word "Roanoke," making for a very bizarre school essay.
The Ultimate Scream Queen
Sarah Paulson's name is now synonymous with the show. She was front and center in seasons 6 through 8, practically carrying the show on her back. Paulson, a consummate and versatile actress, always elevates the material she receives, even against all odds.
Still, over the years, the roles she played in AHS are similar. Her characters always start as victimized or oppressed women who fight their way up, eventually becoming the story's leading force. And a big part of that initial victim stage is screaming. She screamed while being tortured in Asylum and while in Coven, she screamed while being haunted in Roanoke and when clowns chased her in Cult. Fans of the show expect to hear her cries of agony, and this meme perfectly demonstrates it.