If last week's narrow escape from the home on Sappony Road didn't terrify you, then show creator Ryan Murphy has taken it upon himself to really bring the screams in this week's episode! When we last checked in on the Millers, Shelby (Lily Rabe/Sarah Paulson), Matt (Andre Holland/Cuba Gooding, Jr.), Lee (Adina Porter/Angela Bassett) and Flora (Saniyya Sidney) barely made it out with their lives from the house.
From the success of the show My Roanoke Nightmare, show creator Sidney (Cheyenne Jackson) has decided to add a second installment called Return to Roanoke: 3 Days in Hell. As he has purchased the home from Matt and Shelby and with the approval of the executives, Sidney pitched the idea that not only Lee and The Millers return to the house during the Blood Moon, but the actors who portrayed them as well. Sidney feels that Mason's murder was left unresolved and wants to truly nail Lee once and for all for his unsolved death. After the meeting, Sidney's assistant, Diana Cross (Shannon Lucio), informs Sidney that the actual Shelby Miller might not be on board with returning.
When they go to visit her at her shop in Ojai, California, we learn that the actual Matt & Shelby have separated, as Shelby was caught with Dominic Banks (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), the man who portrayed Matt in the re-enactment. Shelby agrees to returning to the house, only on the condition that Dominic is not involved. While Sidney gives her his word, he has already signed on Dominic to do the show.
At the house, the production crew works diligently to prepare the home for filming. Installing cameras in the rooms and rigging the home with booby traps, Sidney is ready to provide a "thrills and chills" experience in order to get Lee to crack and provide quality entertainment. Diana looks less than thrilled at the idea, but goes along anyway. But the first signs of the ghostly inhabitants occurs as on the property, Sidney and the crew discover a circle of dead fetal pigs by a tree.
This prompts Sidney to go and visit Agnes Mary Winstead (Kathy Bates), the woman who played "The Butcher". Agnes seems very enthusiastic about the project, looking back on her experience as the role of a lifetime. She feels for Tomasyn, even going so far as not seeing her as the villain. But there is a darkness, as Agnes had an incident after production where she dressed up as the butcher and charged at patrons with a cleaver. She was charged with assault and institutionalized for a while.
Agnes pleads with Sidney that she is on meds and feeling better, but instead Sidney has her served with a restraining order and advises her that she is not needed for the project. The obsession is clear as around her home now in North Carolina (and close to the house), she practically has a shrine dedicated to Tomasyn. As Sidney and Diana leave her home, Agnes comes out threatening them both in her Roanoke dialect. Sidney does not believe she will keep away from the property for long.
Entertainment correspondent Kristin Dos Santos (as herself) sits down with the actual Lee for an interview, asking her why she decided to return to the house after what happened with Mason. Lee, who is currently in custody issues with her mother-in-law over Flora, tells Kristin how she is a single parent just trying to provide for her family and nothing more. This has nothing to do with publicity. Meanwhile, Sidney and Diana discuss Monet Tumusiime (Angela Bassett), the actress who portrayed Lee. After her experience on the show, Monet turned to alcoholism just like the real Lee and could be a potential liability. Before that can addressed further....a larger problem has happened back at the house.
While continuing to set up cameras on the property, footage shows that one of the crew members was using a chainsaw and it mysteriously turned around on him, decapitating him. Sidney is advised to allow a day of mourning, but believes that they need to stay on schedule. This is the last straw for Diana and she quits immediately. Leaving the premises, she explains to her camera phone that she would rather be seen as crazy than to stay with the show. Suddenly, we see her stop her car and turning the camera around, turns it out towards a ghastly figure in period clothing in the distance. Not wanting to chance anything, Diana backs up her car and all looks safe....until a mysterious pig man is seen grabbing her from behind. A disclaimer is shown that Diana's camera footage was found three months later by police officers. Her body is still missing.
Cameras start rolling in the house and we meet our first guests: Audrey Tindall (Sarah Paulson), a British actress who portrayed Shelby, and Rory Monahan (Evan Peters), who portrayed Edward Mott. In real life, they met and fell in love on set, resulting in marriage. While they are the first guests, they decide to tour the premises and almost immediately a figure is seen outside that Audrey and Rory feel is Agnes, followed by a smashing window. As Agnes had tormented Audrey and tried to previously break into her home, Audrey is a little shaken up by the experience. Luckily, Monet and Shelby arrive with Sidney right afterward. Shelby is actually happy that despite her and Matt's falling out, love was still found on the property.
As Matt and Lee arrive, the tension is high. Shelby hopes to speak with Matt and try to resolve their issues, but Lee is protective of him. She is still sore about Shelby calling the police on her, despite Shelby explaining that it was a mistake. Sidney believes that the actual Matt & Shelby should stay in the same bedroom, but Matt decides to take the basement and stay away from his estranged wife. Later, Shelby sneaks down to see Matt and he tells her it was a bad idea for them to return.
Rory, Ashley & Monet are seen discussing their film experience from the first part of the series. The three of them, still skeptics as the show was filmed in the summer, are interrupted as Matt enters the kitchen. He asks them to look outside the window, where the audience sees the Blood Moon in the sky. Filming during the summer was much different, as now they are in the actual season when the events occurred.
During this point in the show, another disclaimer comes up, explaining that over the next three days during the Blood Moon, every person in the series (except for one) died under mysterious circumstances. The planned show never aired and what the audience is actually watching the last remaining footage that they have.
The footage comes back in as the houseguests now settle into their surroundings. Audrey and Rory have gone to use the hot tub, Matt in the basement (and Shelby sneaking around Lee to see him), Monet drinking alone in her room, and Lee securing the front door. When Lee turns to away from the door, a charred figure comes into focus and looks straight at the camera. Lee feels the presence, but shakes it off as she heads to the kitchen. Monet joins Lee a little while later in the kitchen, drunk and blaming Lee for her current alcohol issues. Monet also assumes that Lee killed Mason and got away with it.
When Matt & Shelby come upstairs, there is a knock at the door. Shelby goes to answer and shocked (and disgusted) that Dominic walks in. Matt, who witnesses the whole exchange, is now confronted with the man who destroyed their marriage and pounces on Dominic in rage. The fight is broken up and all is calm again....until Ashley screams. Deciding to come in from the hot tub and take a shower, she sees a pig man figure in the mirror and freaks out, running downstairs. Audrey assumes it's Sidney and Rory, who is now consoling his wife, runs upstairs to confront the man who scared her.
As Rory tears through the upstairs in rage, telling the man to show himself, he meets his end by the hands of the fatal nurses. Matt, downstairs, walks into the room where he had initially seen "MURDE" on the wall in previous episodes. But now, the word "MURDER" is complete. While the rest of the group is in the kitchen, Matt walks in and tells the group: "R is for Rory." The nurses have now completed their game, but the bloodshed has just begun.
Join me next week as the housemates uncover the actual terror in American Horror Story: Roanoke!
