Great Again (American Horror Story)

"Great Again" is the eleventh and final episode of the seventh season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on November 14, 2017, on the cable network FX. The episode was written by Tim Minear, and directed by Jennifer Lynch.^[1]

Plot[]

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2017[]

Kai assembles a meeting, during which he informs his devotees that the "night of a thousand Sharon Tates" has been downgraded to one hundred, though he remains adamant that there will still be enough public outrage to further his political ascent. The assembled devotees practice their kills on watermelons. Later, Beverly confides to Ally that she originally intended to be the last person alive, before begging Ally to kill her; Ally refuses. Kai, who has become increasingly paranoid over Speedwagon's disappearance, is shown by Ally the recording device she found two days earlier. She explains that she killed Speedwagon after learning he was a police informant that infiltrated the cult in order to avoid drug charges. Ally also relays that Winter was innocent the whole time, while simultaneously encouraging Kai to channel his rage and finish the plan in her memory. However, on the night that the killings are set to occur, Ally betrays Kai by allowing the FBI to storm the inner sanctum. She and Beverly are captured while Kai is led out, who then realizes that Ally set him up.

2018[]

Eleven months later, an incarcerated Kai manipulates guard Gloria Whitmore and cellmates Croutchy and Trevor into helping him escape from prison.

Meanwhile, Ally has become a celebrity since her escape and is running for the Senate seat that Kai had intended to campaign for. She is visited by Beverly, who confesses that she fears possible retaliation from Kai, but Ally convinces her otherwise. Ally explains that the FBI approached her while she was committed, offering her immunity in exchange for Kai. Ally invites Beverly, who is no longer a reporter and now works as a bartender, to Oz's birthday party the following weekend. At the party, Ally receives a collect phone call from Kai, who swears vengeance against her.

Later, Ally shows Beverly her campaign advertisement and reveals that she will enter the Senate on a mission to dismantle the two-party system. Beverly reports that focus groups have responded favorably to Ally as a candidate, though she is still trailing in the polls as she is not seen as experienced or strong. Ally scoffs, saying "lack of experience" is code for a being afraid of a strong woman. She emphasizes that she will show her strength in her upcoming debate with Senator Jackson.

At the debate, Ally holds her own against Jackson until Kai arrives. Armed with a gun provided by Gloria, he proceeds to take credit for Ally's success and rant that women should learn their place. However, when he attempts to kill Ally, the gun is revealed to be empty and Gloria's true allegiance to Ally is exposed. Ally then taunts Kai, saying that a "nasty woman" is more dangerous than a "humiliated man", shortly before Beverly shoots Kai through the head from behind.

Preliminary results for the election show that Ally wins an overwhelming majority of the vote, likely securing her victory. Later, Ally is seen putting Oz to bed. She then dons a SCUM cloak before departing into the night to attend a meeting with powerful women who want to change the system.

Reception[]

"Great Again" was watched by 1.97 million people during its original broadcast, and gained a 1.0 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.^[2]

The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, "Great Again" holds a 67% approval rating, based on 18 reviews with an average rating of 7.36 out of 10.^[3]

Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 out of 5, saying "[the episode] is as subtly effective as the season has been peripherally horrific. Real life settings, secret organizations, crypto-SuperPACs and brown shirted thugs pick at the scabs of deep-seated conspiratorial paranoia. Politicians are every bit as scary as sad clowns and serial killers, and they have the power to affect more lives. That's pretty frightening, and fear is trust. But the season ends on a reassuring note for horror fans as we see Ally fitting herself in the cloak of the cult she now leads."^[4]

Kat Rosenfield from Entertainment Weekly gave the episode an A. She particularly enjoyed the last confrontation between Ally and Kai, saying it was what "we need and deserve". She also praised Kai's death scene, commenting that it was about "as satisfying an act of vengeance as we’ve gotten on this series, ever." Finally, even if she mentioned that the end would have been fine without it, she appreciated the final twist of the episode.^[5] Vulture's Brian Moylan gave the episode a 4 out of 5, with a positive review, commenting "This rather strong season was different, and so it necessitated a different kind of ending. It’s less of a frightfest than it is a fantasy." Despite thinking that the shape of the episode was "strangely convoluted", he particularly enjoyed Paulson's performance and so the character of Ally, her development and her dynamic with Adina Porter's Beverly.^[6]

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a 5.8 out of 10, with a mixed to negative review. He said "Cult continued with Kai's boring endgame misogyny, that only really started for real last week, and turned everything into a screaming showdown between him and Ally as they verbally volleyed tired memes and platitudes, undercutting some of the more interesting ideas that the season began with. Revenge is always sweet, but Kai had to go nuts and lose a lot of his edge, becoming quite boring in the process, in order to lose all he'd built up."^[7]

References[]

External links[]

• "Great Again" at IMDb