‘American Horror Story: Roanoke’ theory: Is there a touch of ‘Mr. Robot’ in the narrative?
“Mr. Robot” in just two short seasons produced a paradigm shift in the way we view television as entertainment. Typically, when we have someone narrating a story to us, the presumption is to automatically assume that they are telling the truth. Why in the world would they be doing something different? We don’t know the narrator, and given they’re fictional, there’s no fear that they should be worried about potential judgment.
Yet, in creating unreliable narrators we’re seeing almost a further tinge of authenticity, as if these characters are in real life and therefore have insecurities or reasons they may not want to tell the truth. Within the world of “Mr. Robot,” Elliot did not want to face his predicament in prison at the start of season 2 before eventually owning up to viewers that much of his story was an exaggeration from his actual reality.
Now, with “American Horror Story: Roanoke,” we’re wondering the same exact thing through the first five episodes of the season. In this time, we’ve heard a series of tales through “My Roanoke Nightmare” that capture the sentiment of three people (Shelby, Matt, and Lee) as they fought for survival against spirits from the Lost Colony. It was violent, it was brutal, and at times it was the most terrifying series of events the show’s put on the air since “Asylum.”
Was any of it real? That is the question entering episode 6. We’ve already seen through the promo how Cheyenne Jackson’s character, potentially a producer on “My Roanoke Nightmare,” is out for something. Could he be taking his crew down to the site of the attacks to determine its authenticity? That’s a prevailing theory right now. Even if Shelby and company are telling the truth regarding what happened, it’s such an unbelievable tale that someone obviously would want to dive into this further. In getting Jackson’s character down there with presumably a few others, you also still find uses for Lady Gaga, Wes Bentley, and Kathy Bates presumably this season. As for whether or not we see Sarah Paulson or Cuba Gooding Jr. again, that remains tough unless Jackson brings down these people, seemingly the actors within the “Roanoke Nightmare” story, down to see if this story is in fact as advertised.
Do you believe the “Roanoke Nightmare” story? Be sure to vote in the poll below. (Photo: FX.)