Whilst this episode is league above previous episodes it still suffers from some of the issues of season one. The main being the writing some scenes felt like the context was missing. For example when our protagonist sees a little boy in the window she instantly knows some things about him?. The pacing also felt like it could use some more time it was choppy at points. But the acting was brilliant here and there is an unexpected surprise that happens mid way through the episode that is so well done and leads to such a satisfying albeit fan service conclusion to this episode. The premise is very interesting and I wouldn't mind seeing a whole season in this film house. Although this has given me hope for the rest of the show I'm still going to proceed with caution.
51 Reviews
Best Episode of the Series so far!
catfanatic88821 July 2022
Season one was a bit all over the map with a few really good episodes and some really poor ones. However this is the first episode of season two. Excellent episode that is both exciting, creepy and intriguing! Please keep doing more like THIS one! It was FABULOUS!
They listened.
imfromua21 July 2022
Everything Last Season Should Have Been
rossn-9422021 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The premiere episode of american horror stories season 2 was perfect! It brilliantly connected to coven without ruining that season, like episodes 1,2 and 7 did in season 1 with murder house! The twist that coby was a witch and the kid was Spaulding had me absolutely shocked! Manny Coto finally wrote and amazing episode!!
Best Episode of the series
EvanparkerT21 July 2022
Loved it .... till the end
mfcrites29 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
To elaborate on my review title, I loved every bit of it until the end. The dollhouse thing was creepy, the kid was good and creepy, I liked the main star, I liked the whole concept. I remember thinking, can't wait to see how they wrap this up. Then, it got stupid, really stupid. Witches come in from out of nowhere with some BS and lazy excuses of "we could barely feel your spells". Absolutely no set up to those characters. Just , poof witches. Might as well just had a vampire come save her. Or, Godzilla, or any damn thing out of nowhere. Going to the witches well again is also kinda lazy, but I get it, the fans love the witches. I would have been fine with going to the witches well again if it had been set up better, but it was just done in the most unimaginative and lazy way possible.
Great start
the_nephilim7121 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This was a great start (and better acting than last season) but wouldn't Myrtle have been a lot older in the 50's? I thought this episode might connect up with New Orleans and the witches at some point and the little nods along the way were fun.
a very strong start to american horror stories season 2!
cjdolce21 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was good but not great! Had some great moments and had some meh moments as well! I thought that it had a great storyline and pacing was very well done. Denis O'Hare was a standout! And i loved how I didn't know where the story was gonna go. And of course the coven tie in was amazing and a fun surprise! Although, the beginning of the episode didn't fit with the overall tone of the episode. And the episode as a whole didn't feel like it needed to tie into coven. When the main women, who dressed in the clown costume, was talking to the little boy, it was very clear that she wasn't actually talking or they went back in and voiced over the original. The ending also felt a bit rushed, but i still enjoyed it and that's why i would love to have seen this as a full AHS season rather than an episode! Still enjoyed very much tho! Going into season 2 with caution but excitement!
Perfect!
rgeorgiev-4670621 July 2022
Welcome to the Dollhouse Witches!
sfier-5443121 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This was a perfect episode! We all can agree the first 3 seasons of AHS are it's best, and this goes back to one of those seasons flawlessly. Kristine Froseth is perfect In this role. I would have loved an entire season of this episode. Welcome to the Dollhouse Witches!
Interestingly not bad
scoobyboobruh21 August 2022
Season 1 of this series was truly awful. Every episode scores lower than a 5/10 for me. I had heard from others that this one was heaps better, so I gave it a shot. In a mostly failing genre, modern horror anthology, this was a good outing. Having not seen regular AHS, the ending didn't make sense, but nonetheless, this episode has a decent enough story with decent enough acting and pacing.
WHO writes these reviews?
lionarea8625 July 2022
No, this is not the best episode of the series so far. No, this is not great writing. No, this is not original or creative. No, this is not scary. Yes, it's cliché after cliché. Yes, it feels very rushed, particularly the (laughable) ending. Are you people getting paid to write such great reviews, or were you just really thirsty for some AHS content? I honestly don't get it.
I agree with what was said in other -more honest- reviews: the episode felt like nothing really important was happening but then it just ended; a group of fully grown women can't team up to fight two weird old men; the writers keep trying to tie everything back to previous AHS seasons and it's gotten beyond annoying; you can guess what the characters will be like and what'll happen to them pretty quickly (it's THAT predictable, you get the nice one, the mean one, the quiet one, and the special one, zzz); the end tried to be cool and it could've been but it was so rushed and the special/practical effects looked really cheap, couldn't they at least make it look more epic and give it more momentum?
My hopes were not up for this season so I can't say I was disappointed. I just keep wishing they would manage to come up with something actually SCARY or terrifying for this series. The best part of this show remains being the intros for each episode, which are GREAT, the rest we could do without.
I agree with what was said in other -more honest- reviews: the episode felt like nothing really important was happening but then it just ended; a group of fully grown women can't team up to fight two weird old men; the writers keep trying to tie everything back to previous AHS seasons and it's gotten beyond annoying; you can guess what the characters will be like and what'll happen to them pretty quickly (it's THAT predictable, you get the nice one, the mean one, the quiet one, and the special one, zzz); the end tried to be cool and it could've been but it was so rushed and the special/practical effects looked really cheap, couldn't they at least make it look more epic and give it more momentum?
My hopes were not up for this season so I can't say I was disappointed. I just keep wishing they would manage to come up with something actually SCARY or terrifying for this series. The best part of this show remains being the intros for each episode, which are GREAT, the rest we could do without.
A Strong Episode
AndJessicaLange21 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Manny Coto had the difficult burden of balancing a unique season opener with crafting a franchise-enriching backstory episode. Despite having no affiliation with the original season this episode connects to, he managed to capture the original season's vibe and pepper the episode with natural (though suspicion arousing) callbacks, culminating in the twisting conclusion. The episode was far more restrained than AHS tends to be, almost to a fault, but the final sequence takes the episode into traditional AHS territory. Overall, this was a strong start to the season and one of the franchise's most solid hours since the first nine seasons. Denis O'Hare's performance was revelatory!
Not Bad
jorgejune5010 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The episode was pretty good, I was sort of confused when the witches came in cause I thought the episode was going to end with her basically becoming a living doll inside that Barbie mold. What I don't understand is Spalding stated in Coven that his family had been serving the covers for generations, so that's a in universe continuity error or something I guess.
THAT ENDING!!!
unluckyoverlord24 July 2022
Escape is entirely possible
dmksghpq26 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
THE BARS ON THE WINDOWS WERE MORE THAN WIDE ENOUGH FOR HER BODY TO FIT THROUGH THEM AND ESCAPE! That's all I could think about the whole time. I liked the casting and the acting was pretty good as well. Nice atmosphere created and a pretty original plot. Could benefit from more backstory. I liked the tie-in the AHS lore at the end, I always like learning more about the first 3 seasons of AHS, aka when the show was actually great and inspired and consistent. It was nice to see the coven house again and learn about spaldings backstory, it added more dimension to season 3. I hope more episodes connect back to murder, asylum, or coven.
Very impressed with this episode!
becky-923467 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
American Horror Stories S2 E1: Dollhouse (2022) follows a woman who goes for a job interview that goes horribly wrong. This episode had a pretty good premise and was a unique take on the creepy doll trope. I was so impressed by it! A great start to the season and hopefully this season will be a lot better than the first.
Visually, this episode was very pretty and fit the tone well! It was full of bright and eye-catching colours and was very well lit all throughout. The framing of certain shots looked super good. Also, the costuming was brilliant!
The score was pretty good, but sometimes it wasn't really all that fitting. However, that is my only criticism. The sound design really added to the tension and immersion which I liked!
The acting was good all around but Denis O'Hara was definitely a stand-out, he was terrifying in his role! All the characters were written well and followed certain tropes, but this episode managed to pull that off well. I absolutely loved the route they took for Otis being Spalding as well, it was a good connection into the American Horror Story show and made a lot of sense when tied in!
The pacing for this episode was good too. It started with a gripping and creepy intro, and kept up the high tension the whole time which made it consistently entertaining. The episode took enough time to build up the story well and the ending was incredibly satisfactory and tied up a lot of loose ends.
Visually, this episode was very pretty and fit the tone well! It was full of bright and eye-catching colours and was very well lit all throughout. The framing of certain shots looked super good. Also, the costuming was brilliant!
The score was pretty good, but sometimes it wasn't really all that fitting. However, that is my only criticism. The sound design really added to the tension and immersion which I liked!
The acting was good all around but Denis O'Hara was definitely a stand-out, he was terrifying in his role! All the characters were written well and followed certain tropes, but this episode managed to pull that off well. I absolutely loved the route they took for Otis being Spalding as well, it was a good connection into the American Horror Story show and made a lot of sense when tied in!
The pacing for this episode was good too. It started with a gripping and creepy intro, and kept up the high tension the whole time which made it consistently entertaining. The episode took enough time to build up the story well and the ending was incredibly satisfactory and tied up a lot of loose ends.
Oh wow, Coven again? Shocker.
tjwwwvq22 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I thought it was interesting at first, but as soon as she moved the toy truck with telekinesis, I had a feeling I knew what was going to happen. And I was right. Of course, she's a witch. And this was some Spaulding backstory. I'm not sure how much longer Murphy and crew can cling to the Coven fangirls/boys, but it's really getting old and cringeworthy. I've seen reviewers say "I didn't expect that twist at the end!" What twist...? Any regular viewer of the series could figure out what was going on halfway through the episode. Can we not get some new material? Also, in this episode, Spaulding was like 10 years old in 1961, but in season 3, in the flashback to 1971, he looked like he was in his mid 30s at best? This is just laughable at this point. Stop milking Coven. It's old.
AHS Classic
fjmendez-6787028 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Now this is how a season series should start! Great story on how the character of Spalding from AHS Coven came to be. This episode was creepy from the beginning all the way to the end. The connection to Coven was a shocking and surprising twist that made this episode one of the best for the spin-off series. Looking forward to more episodes like this.
Finally!
stellaisakittycat22 July 2022
I actually really enjoyed this episode and it had a nice surprise to the ending. This is what I was hoping for when they said they were going to be making this series. I hope the rest of season 2 continues this way.
Everything season 1 should've been
julielynn11721 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I agree with other reviewers. This episode was a strong start and is everything last season should've been. The acting was better and I like how they tied in certain characters at the end! Very nice twist. Last season was filled with horrible acting. I don't care how famous Paris Jackson or Kaia Gerber are, they cannot act at all. I'm glad they realized this and hopefully stick with better actors regardless of their name. Let's hope this season stays strong and interesting!
Wish every episode was like this one
melissamcowling22 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was gripping from the very start. It was creepy but thought provoking and the way they tied it together at the end with season 3 of AHS- down to the little details, like Otis being Spalding, who is played by Dennis O' Hare in s3 (the same actor who played Mr Van Wirt in this episode). I liked how the first episode of season 1 did that as well, tying into murder house. But I hope the rest of this season is similar.
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