Say what you will about American Horror Story, but you can't deny that this show makes you think. For example, I never used to be terrified of my own mattress, but after this season… well, let's just say that I sure am going to miss sleep. Yes, this show certainly knows how to induce some serious nightmares, but it's also daring in other ways — like covering topics that may be considered taboo. Such is the case for the 10 Commandments Killer story arc on AHS: Hotel . Religion is always a touchy subject for people, and yet that hasn't stopped Ryan Murphy from centering a crazed serial killer around that very issue. (A parallel perhaps to how dangerous faith can be if it goes unchecked.) So what exactly are the 10 Commandments, you may be wondering?
Well, for those of you who may have missed out on bible studies as a kid, these commandments are a list of rules that were allegedly given to Moses by God himself. Basically, they serve as a sort of guidelines for how the human race should conduct and carry out their lives. And if you break these rules, then you're in danger of going to Hell. But considering that this 10 Commandments Killer is breaking the whole "thou shalt not kill" commandment, it kinda feels a bit hypocritical for him (or her) to be passing out judgement. (Murderers, emirate?)
So far, Hotel has touched upon four out of the ten commandments, which began with the cheating lovers in Episode 1 who were clearly breaking the rule: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." In that same episode, we also see two other people in a crucified-looking position with their innards on display. They evidently broke the sacred rule of not "honoring thy father and thy mother." Cut to Episode 2 where Detective Lowe gets sent a bloody looking Oscar. Looks like someone was worshipping a false idol and didn't get the memo that: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." And lastly, Episode 3 saw an entire staff of gossip writers get killed and have their tongues nailed to their desks for "bearing false witness against thy neighbor." (It seems a little dangerous to be a writer right now, no? *backs away slowly from my laptop*)
That's four out of ten down, which means we've still got six more commandments to go. So get ready to see a lot more horror-inducing religious tableaus that will undoubtedly center around these themes:
- Thou shalt have no other gods before me
- Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (Though we saw Mr. March punish migrant workers who were working on the Sabbath in a flashback, so maybe that counts?)
- Thou shalt not kill (a little late for this one, my friend!)
- Thou shalt not steal
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, wife, servants, animals, or anything else
So if you haven't already had nightmares about this stuff yet, don't worry. There's still plenty of time.
Image: Suzanne Tenner/FX; feelavalanche/Tumbr; conlosguardofissoalletenebre/Tumblr
