American Horror Story: NYC Review: Something’s Coming and Thank You For Your Service (Season 11 Episodes 1 and 2) | Tell-Tale TV

American Horror Story: NYC transports the audience to the grimy streets of the big apple in 1981, at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.

American Horror Story: NYC Season 11 Episode 1, “Something’s Coming,” and Episode 2, “Thank You For Your Service,” are intriguing first introductions but lack a certain thrill that other season premieres possessed.

Previous seasons of AHS weren’t afraid to begin with ghastly and perplexing moments, whereas American Horror Story: NYC seems to stray from it. Even in its more gruesome moments, the killings portrayed are short and to the point. There’s no unnecessary gore, vulgarness, or distinctive aspects traditionally attached to the AHS franchise.

There’s nothing stellar or substantial about this two-part premiere. All it does is lay the framework and provide context for the characters at play. The most mesmerizing and enjoyable moments come from the soundtrack and Patti Lupone’s character, Kathy.

“Something’s Coming” lays the framework of the season out and focuses on introducing the vast number of complex characters at play. The two we primarily focus on in the premiere episodes are the gay couple at the center of the story, Patrick (Russell Tovey), a detective, and Gino (Joe Mantello), a journalist.

Patrick is a closeted man working for the NYPD and trying his best to investigate the killings of gay men but is met with hostility from his superiors. If anyone were to find out about Patrick’s sexuality, he’d be a dead man. So, he slyly feeds what little information he can to his partner, Gino.

Gino is an openly gay man who works for a magazine centered on the Village and issues of gay men. Distraught from the NYPD’s lack of action to protect the community, he begins looking into the murders himself.

Together, Patrick and Gino are the perfect power couple to figure out the ugly truth behind the slayings of gay men. But their relationship is strained due to Patrick’s inability to be true to himself and live life freely.

In their pursuit of the truth, they’re approached separately by Adam (Charlie Carver), a gay man whose roommate has gone missing. Adam is out of his mind trying to find the truth of Sully’s, his roommate, disappearance, so he follows what leads he can.

Adam’s first lead directs him to Theo (Isaac Powell), a photographer that focuses on homoeroticism and loves to frequent the bathhouses. But unfortunately, besides Theo’s insatiable sexual appetite, nothing is discerning or noteworthy about the character yet.

Meanwhile, Hannah (Billie Lourd), a scientist, is studying a new disease affecting the deer population on Fire Island, AIDS. “Something’s Coming” ends with Hannah having law enforcement wipe out the deer population on the island and Gino being abducted.

Though, instead of picking up the speed in the second episode, the pacing stays the same, playing a significant factor in why the premiere doesn’t feel as monumental as previous seasons.

We see Adam and Gino team up at the magazine, Gino survive his abduction, and figure out a new side to Patrick.

Patrick seems like the typical gay man with so much self-hatred that they can’t accept themselves or be open about who they are because they’re afraid, but there’s something more to him. Something darker.

When Barbara (Leslie Grossman), Patrick’s ex-wife, approaches Gino after his unfortunate abduction on “Thank You For Your Service,” she reveals Patrick’s secret about being into leather and using colored handkerchiefs.

The revelation of Patrick’s secret double life kept from both Gino and Barbara indicates that he could be hiding much darker secrets. His secrets make it hard to root for him, but not impossible.

In an episode that’s surrounded by so many off-the-wall situations, the pacing should be highly elevated and pull the audience in more profoundly, but it fails to do so.

It almost feels as if Ryan Murphy is banking on the LGBTQ+ community to show up and show out for this season solely because of the premise. But unless something extravagant happens on episodes three and four, this season could potentially turn out to be yet another disappointment.

Before that happens, though, I will do my best to stay optimistic. After all, there’s a star-studded cast front and center, even without Sarah Paulson (which I’m still torn up about). Most of them are immeasurably talented and bring something unique to the projects they’re attached to.

Stray Thoughts:

• Hopefully, as the story develops, we’ll see Kathy do more than sing to a load of gay men getting their rocks off.
• The supernatural aspect that’s typically at play in AHS is lacking, but I feel it could become something prominent with Big Daddy. He’s seen by some but not by all, leaving the audience to question whether he’s real or not.
• I’m curious to know who the buff daddy in only a jockstrap that slaps Adam into another dimension is, and why he’s on the NYPD payroll. I’m not sure, but I don’t think he’s supposed to be the same leather daddy terrorizing gays in the steam rooms.

What did you think of this episode of American Horror Story: NYC? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

Click to rate this episode!

[Total:

30

Average:

3.1

]

American Horror Story: NYC airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on FX.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Cade Taylor

Cade is a freelance entertainment journalist and full-time news producer who loves everything there is about television. When he isn’t busy writing, he enjoys discovering new music and tv series. He can be reached by email at: [email protected]