With American Horror Story well over and done, I've had plenty of time to sort out my many lingering questions that were either not answered at all, or not adequately answered during the first season, and therefore will never be answered since it's been revealed that every season of AHS will have a whole new cast, house, plot, and so on. In fact, we now know that the second season will take place on the East Coast, and will involve a "horror institution". What that means exactly, I'm not sure. But I digress.
And so, here we go with my list of lingering questions (most of them are about Tate, of course):
1. Why exactly was Tate so angry and full of rage? We know that Constance wasn't a good Mom. She was most likely neglectful, abusive (verbally and possibly physically), and an all around selfish, superficial, manipulative woman. But was there a certain sinister event that made Tate the monster that he is, or was it the house?
2. Why didn't Tate go all the way with Violet on Halloween night? Violet was totally game. And what did he mean when he said that he'd never done it with a girl before? This still irks me.
3. What was on Tate's thumb ring, exactly? I still feel like there was some sort of power to the ring that was never addressed.
3 (a). Speaking of Tate's thumb ring, I LOVE this Etsy treasury of snake thumb rings that was inspired by my fixation on the topic. Thank you Balthasar for creating this gem of a treasury! I'm sure there will be plenty of Etsy treasury fodder next season, too.
4. In the episode "Birth", why did Billie Dean Howard have such a strong reaction against Tate? Was it for all of the obvious reasons (murderer, monster, etc.) or was there some sort of spirit world past relationship between Billie and Tate?
5. Can ghosts make telephone calls? Violet seems to be the only ghost who is able to contact a living person without seeing them face to face (I'm thinking of Constance in "Birth"). Somehow Violet asks Constance to come over to discuss getting rid of ghosts, but she does so without leaving Murder House. I guess telephone is the only option here. Since ghosts are basically energy, I wonder how this works?
6. Why was Tate so angry and full of rage when he killed the exterminator in the basement? He seemed crazed during that scene. He said all sorts of things about repenting for sins and taking innocent lives. Was he projecting his own feelings of guilt onto the exterminator?
7. If Addie died in the street, how did she learn about Tate and all of his wrong-doings? In the episode "Piggy, Piggy" Billie Dean Howard tells Constance that Addie is glad she didn't die on the Murder House lawn because she's afraid of Tate "now that she knows the truth." Do ghosts have neighbors, like living people? Or do you just magically know everything about every spirit once you cross over?
7 (a). And on this note, did Tate ever find out that Addie was dead?
8. Who was the hedge clipper guy from the opening credit supposed to be? Ryan Murphy said that by the end of the season we'd understand every single thing in the opening credits, but I'm at a loss about those hedge clippers.
And that's that (for now). I may very likely be tempted to post further lingering questions as the arise. And stay tuned for casting updates and other juicy tidbits about season two!
