The second season of American Horror Stories is already off to a more impressive start than its first and manages to pay homage to a beloved season of the original series, American Horror Story. The first episode of the spin-off series' second season is titled "Dollhouse," and stars Denis O'Hare, who has appeared in Murder House, Coven, Freak Show, Hotel, Roanoke, and Double Feature. Additional members of the cast include Kristine Froseth, Houston Jax Towe, Abby Corrigan, Simone Recasner, Maryssa Menendez, and Emily Morales-Cabrera.
"Dollhouse" was written by Manny Coto, who wrote four previous episodes of American Horror Stories. Coto has also written several episodes of American Horror Story. "Dollhouse" was directed by Loni Peristere who previously directed the "Rubber (Wo)Man" episodes of American Horror Stories. Peristere has also directed episodes of American Horror Story, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Castle Rock, and Scream Queens.
"Dollhouse" is set in 1961 Matchez, Mississippi where Coby (Froseth) attends a job interview to apply to be the secretary of dollmaker Van Wirt (O'Hare). The two engage in a back-and-forth conversation that strategically foreshadows events that transpire later in the episode. Coby remarks that her impressive academic accolades aren't her only gifts. Coby also takes note of Van Wirt's philosophy that dolls are the epitome of God's perfection, playfully suggesting that perhaps he would like her better if she were made of plastic. The interview ends without Coby getting the position and is rendered unconscious by Van Wirt's assistant Eustace (Matt Lasky) and brought to Van Wirt's own home. There, Coby meets several other women who have been kidnaped and forced to compete in a pageant to become Van Wirt's wife and mother to his child.
The dialogue reveals this quite early in "Dollhouse," eliminating the suspense for viewers to figure out what the ultimate goal is meant to be. In an interesting twist, Van Wirt's home, which is designed like a dollhouse, gives Coby the perfect opportunity to showcase the skills she referred to in her interview. The first half of "Dollhouse" largely revolves around how Coby is able to make a red toy truck move without touching it. Through the emphasis "Dollhouse" and its characters place on the action, it's clear that it isn't merely a magic trick. It eventually becomes a connection to American Horror Story Coven, when two witches arrive to bring Coby to Miss Robichaux's Academy for gifted young ladies. Coby decides to take Otis (Towe) with her, and to protect his identity, she orders him to go by his middle name: Spalding.
While American Horror Stories is meant to be a spin-off to Murphy's American Horror Story series, these contained horror stories have proven they can be effective whether they tie into the original series or not. The best episodes from the first season of American Horror Stories were the ones that distanced themselves from the original series. The ending of "Dollhouse" actually makes O'Hare's appearance in the spin-off series mean something, aside from planting a familiar face back in the series. Given that O'Hare played Spalding in Coven, his performance as Otis' father makes the decision to include him in "Dollhouse" a genius one.
In Coven, Spalding was a servant to the academy of witches and after cutting out his own tongue, was an unwilling confidant to Fiona Goode's (Jessica Lange) horrid secrets. Spalding's obsession with dolls, which included dressing up one of the dead witches as one, has always been peculiar, but with the insight "Dollhouse" provides, it's not difficult to see what made him that way. His relationship with the academy and his relentlessness to serve the women in it also becomes more meaningful through his difficult relationship with his father and his surrogate maternal relationship with Coby.
Prior to the ending, there is little to suggest that "Dollhouse" will have any connection to American Horror Story. The storyline of a woman with powers she can't explain who suddenly receives a visit from women from Miss Robichaux's Academy isn't new to Murphy's franchise, as it has occurred in both Coven and Apocalypse. However, the addition of the Spalding twist is what equips "Dollhouse" with a purpose beyond the contained horror story. Rather than trying to continue the legacy of a character from a previous Murphy project, "Dollhouse" provides a glimpse into the backstory of one of the Coven's most memorable characters.
The first season of American Horror Stories tried to usher in a new era of the rubber suit from Murder House. The two-part story that explored the "Rubber (Wo)Man" had the ability to be meaningful, but instead became a playground for generations of new ghosts and the recycling of an American Horror Story storyline of twisted romance. What "Dollhouse" does differently is that it doesn't rely on what made other chapters of Ryan Murphy's projects successful. It doesn't take place in a familiar location, nor does it reveal the identity of the character that connects "Dollhouse" to Coven early enough to dictate the narrative.
While there are moments where "Dollhouse" may seem to give too much away too soon, it manages to provide a new twist that makes its early choices seem worth it. If "Dollhouse" is any indication of what the second season of American Horror Stories has in store, then the series has a far more promising outlook than season 1 provided. If the horror series can continue with providing contained stories that actually feel original within the context of the horror franchise, even when offering a peek behind the curtain at previous seasons, American Horror Stories has the potential to compete with its predecessor.
American Horror Stories are now streaming on Hulu.