WARNING! This post contains SPOILERS for American Horror Story season 11, episodes 7 & 8!The villains in American Horror Story: NYC fix one of the key weaknesses of season 10’s Double Feature. American Horror Story is known for its horrifying villains, with most seasons having multiple menacing figures that prey on the protagonists. From Twisty the Clown to Bloody Face and Michael Langdon, terrifying serial killers – whether fictional or real – have been trademarks of American Horror Story’s greatest seasons. After an entire season without key villains, American Horror Story season 11 introduces a few sinister killers.
American Horror Story: NYC technically has three main villains: Mr. Whitely/The Mai Tai Killer, Big Daddy, and the AIDS epidemic. As Mr. Whitely kills gay men and combines their bodies into a Frankenstein’s monster-type figure called “The Sentinel,” the leather-clad Big Daddy seemingly stalks AHS: NYC characters who have HIV/AIDS. With danger coming from all angles, the horror in NYC is already much stronger than in American Horror Story: Double Feature, which lacked any crucial villains.
The Lack Of Scary Villains Hurt AHS: Double Feature
While they certainly had morally dubious and sinister characters, Red Tide’s vampires and Death Valley’s aliens mistakenly neglected to include any scary villains. Overarching serial killer villains and menacing antagonists have been key elements of American Horror Story, and were arguably the best parts of AHS: 1984. While American Horror Story season 9 included three sinister killers in the form of Mr. Jingles, Margaret Booth, and the real-life Richard Ramirez/The Night Stalker, the season’s follow-up, Double Feature, suffered from the absence of an enveloping threat.
American Horror Story season 10 was weakened by plot failures, pacing issues, and convoluted developments, yet could have been made better by a central villain. Instead, Red Tide lacked any significant threats other than the increasingly unsympathetic Chemist and vampiric Alma. Similarly, Death Valley lacked any major villains since Double Feature's aliens were constantly changing form, with the antagonistic politicians also having short arcs. Had Double Feature included a killer or major villain that tied the two stories together, season 10 may have been received more positively.
Why Whitely & Big Daddy Work So Well In AHS: NYC
American Horror Story is typically at its best when nearly every character is a potential victim for an ominous and sadistic killer. The stories are strengthened when there’s an all-encompassing threat that the characters must stop by uniting against it, such as the fight against Bloodyface in Asylum, battle against Dandy Mott in Freak Show, or the need to destroy the Antichrist/Michael Langdon in Apocalypse. AHS season 11 finally repeats this successful formula with Whitely and Big Daddy. The killers are major threats to nearly every American Horror Story: NYC main character, with the protagonists desperately banding together to kill Whitely and fight the inevitable wrath of Big Daddy.