Room 33

"Room 33" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on November 11, 2015 on the cable network FX. This episode was written by John J. Gray and directed by Loni Peristere.

Plot

1926

Elizabeth (Lady Gaga) goes to the Murder House to visit Dr. Charles Montgomery (Matt Ross), revealing that she is three weeks pregnant. Before the abortion, the nurse is skeptical about Elizabeth's abnormally low body temperature. During the process, the baby attacks the nurse assisting Charles with the operation. When Elizabeth wakes up, he announces she had a boy.

2015

In present day, John Lowe (Wes Bentley) is awoken from sleep by Holden (Lennon Henry), and he chases him reaching the underground swimming pool where he sees Alex Lowe (Chloë Sevigny) and Holden in a coffin, and faints upon seeing them. Liz Taylor (Denis O'Hare) and Tristan Duffy (Finn Wittrock) have sex and profess their love for each other, but they are wary about Elizabeth. In the meantime, Elizabeth and Will Drake (Cheyenne Jackson) also have sex, but stop due to Will's erectile dysfunction. She texts Tristan to join them, asking him to perform fellatio on Will. Alex drugs John and with Liz's help destroy the coffins. John awakes again and sees Alex on his bed. She explains that his "vision" of the pool filled with coffins is from Scarlett's (Shree Crooks) description. She follows him down to the now emptied sleeping chamber. Elizabeth visits her son in Room 33, before leaving for Paris.

Donovan (Matt Bomer) and Ramona Royale (Angela Bassett) visit the hotel. In the elevator, Ramona says her plans to kill the children, however, Donovan backs out and goes to the penthouse in hopes to see Elizabeth. Ramona is surprised that the coffins are gone and confronts Iris (Kathy Bates) about it. Ramona goes to Room 33 to kill the baby, named Bartholomew, but it attacks her and escapes. Upstairs, Donovan sees Agnetha and Vendela, the two Swedish tourists, who ask him the way out. Donovan explains that until they find a purpose, they will stay trapped. Meanwhile, somewhere in the hotel Justin's ghost appears outside a room yelling and demanding for kale.

Liz finds the Room 33's door opened and explains to Alex that they will get in trouble if Bartholomew is not found before Elizabeth gets back. In order to find purpose, Agnetha and Vendela kill a guest, but are disappointed. Alex finds them beside the dead man, and tell them to haunt John. The latest crime scene involving the Ten Commandments Killer is in a church where the televangelist pastor was stuffed with coins until he exploded. John learns that he had been fired and police already have someone in custody. He drinks in the corridor in the hotel, where Agnetha and Vendela approach him. During sex, they scare John, covering him with blood. John returns to the room with Liz, and sees the girls leaving. He also sees Miss Evers (Mare Winningham) and James March (Evan Peters). He readies himself to leave and while showering, Bartholomew hides in his suitcase.

At home, Scarlett is upset that Alex has not returned her calls for the last two days, and questions why John is there. John returns to his room to find his clothes scattered. He gathers his gun from the closet and investigates, finding Bartholomew in the kitchen. He shoots at the creature, with Scarlett nearby, who runs away screaming. Elizabeth, Will, and Lachlan (Lyric Lennon) return. While unpacking, Liz reveals to Elizabeth that she and Tristan have been carrying on an affair for a few weeks. Elizabeth says that she does not share, but maybe when she is done with Tristan. Liz pleads her case again, and Elizabeth says they will talk it over.

John's partner drops Alex off at the house, concerned for John's health. Alex tries to talk to him, but he realizes that she has moved to the hotel full-time and he shuns her. She follows a rustling in the bushes to find Bartholomew. Tristan greets Elizabeth in Liz's room, and she asks the two lovers to sit while she pours them each a drink. She says that she does not enjoy betrayal and afterwards she slices Tristan's throat. Elizabeth leaves to find Alex and Bartholomew in Room 33. Elizabeth is impressed that Alex saved her son, and Alex responds that Elizabeth saved Holden. As Alex leaves, Elizabeth cradles her son.

Reception

"Room 33" was watched by 2.64 million people during its original broadcast, and gained a 1.4 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.^[1] It also ranked second in the Nielsen Social ratings, with 100,000 tweets seen by over 1.36 million people.^[2]

Denis O'Hare's portrayal of Liz Taylor received unanimous appreciation from critics.

The episode received favorable reviews from critics, earning a 67% approval rating, with an average score of 6.6/10, on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.^[3] Alex Stedman from Variety complimented the episode, saying, "Ryan Murphy and Co. have said from the beginning that if any American Horror Story season resembles Hotel, it's season one, Murder House. But episode six made that connection much more literal by bringing the Countess straight to the place that's going to seem very familiar to fans."^[4] Writing for The A.V. Club, Emily L. Stephens said that the episode "manages something genuinely surprising: it propels the story forward with nimble efficiency, ties together several of the season's flopping loose ends, circles back into the show's history, and creates some tension along the way even as it acknowledges the ceaseless tedium created by its no-stakes cycle of death and resurrection."^[5] The acting in the episode was also received favorably by Michele Calia from The Wall Street Journal.^[6] Den of Geek's Ron Hogan praised director Loni Peristere, and the scene about Elizabeth's baby and its portrayal, as well as comparing the filming with that of The Evil Dead. He also noted that the episode was "heavy on terrifying elements, from the monster baby stalking the hotel to the concerted efforts to turn Lowe into a complete mental case, orchestrated by his wife Alex."^[7] Lacy Baugher from The Baltimore Sun was impressed by O'Hare's acting in the episode, saying, "Once again, [he] completely stole the show, but the most important thing that happened – as far as longtime fans are concerned – has to be that opening sequence, and all the interesting inter-series connections it brought up."^[8]

Entertainment Monthly' Jacqueline Gualteri had a mixed response, writing, "Many of the main characters this season are somewhat stale and just there for a shock. Finally, Lady Gaga has given a bit of life to the blood-thirsty, drug-using, orgy-loving Countess. She has started to develop more of a personality. But the major lesson the evening is that Denis O'Hare has so far been short-changed by American Horror Story. He is one of the most talented actors on the show and deserves far more screen time. Right now, just standing around to be a voice of reason every now and again is wasting his incredible ability."^[9] NewNowNext's Erin Shorey complimented the connection to Murder House, while criticizing the character of John Lowe as well as Bentley's acting.^[10] A similar thought was shared by Brian Moylan from Vulture, saying, "There is nothing at all I find interesting about John Lowe. Not one single thing. If you took all of his parts out of this season I think it would be absolutely perfect". He added in the end of the review that "as a whole, this season is continuing to shape up nicely. Even the seemingly random bits are serving a larger whole. Think of the Swedes, who were brought back not just to show that they were trapped in the hotel, but also to drive the main story between John and Chloë Sevigny."^[11] Writing for The New York Times, E.A. Hanks criticized the gore and violence portrayal without any context, as well as Liz Taylor and Tristan's love story, feeling that it was inadequate and compared it unfavorably to previous season's love stories. He asked, "What is Hotel really about? For a show with a whole lot of innards, this one has yet to show its guts".^[12]

References

External links

• "Room 33" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Room 33" at TV.com