| "Rubber (Wo)Man (Part One)" | |
|---|---|
| |
| Air date | July 15th, 2021 |
| Writers | Ryan Murphy; Brad Falchuk |
| Director | Loni Peristere |
| Producers | Ryan Murphy; Brad Falchuk; Alexis Martin Woodall; John J. Gray; Loni Peristere; Tanase Popa; Susan McConnell; Todd Nenninger; Lou Eyrich; Eryn Krueger Mekash; Reilly Smith; Todd Kubrak; Melissa Jones; Genevieve Fontaine |
| Starring | Matt Bomer; Gavin Creel; Sierra McCormick; Paris Jackson; Belissa Escobedo; Merrin Dungey; Selena Sloan; Ashley Martin Carter; Valerie Loo |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous — |
Next "Rubber (Wo)man (Part Two)" |
"Rubber (Wo)Man (Part One)" is the first episode of the American Horror Stories anthology series, which is a spin-off of the FX Network television program American Horror Story. It was directed by Loni Peristere with a script written by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. It premiered on Hulu on Thursday, July 15th, 2021.
Plot[]
A male gay couple named Michael and Troy purchase the infamous haunted mansion at 1119 Westchester Place in Los Angeles, California. They bring along their teenage daughter, Scarlett, who soon discovers the empty "Rubberman" costume in her bedroom. She tries it on, but disposes of it, but this isn't enough to keep her fathers from admonishing her about her extracurricular activities, which includes surfing for violent bondage porn on the internet. Fearing what this unhealthy practice may yield for their daughter's future, they bring psychiatrist Doctor Andi Grant to the house to have a session with the dads and with Scarlett. Doctor Grant is not long for this world however, as the Rubberman makes short work of her. Per the rules of the estate, her spirit is now bonded to the house.
Scarlett's fetishism, combined with her virginal status and closeted homosexuality make her a target for a clique of girls at her school. Maya, Erin, Rowena, and Nicole invite Scarlett to attend a slumber party at Maya's house. Scarlett agrees to go and goes into the bedroom with Maya where Maya convinces her to take her top off and coaxes her to open up about her sexuality. Scarlett's one true friend, Shanti, telephones her and warns her that Maya is live-streaming everything that is going on. Scarlett rushes out of the house in tears.
She calls Maya later and threatens to inform the police about what they did unless they all agree to come to her house at a predetermined time. They reluctantly do so, but when they arrive, they find the house mysteriously dark, and seemingly empty. They go down into the basement only to find several unspeakable horrors awaiting them, including the grotesque Infantata, and the ghosts of twin boys Bryan and Troy, who died in 1978. Scarlett herself dons the Rubberman suit again and slices Maya's throat open with a knife. It's tough to be a kid nowadays.
Cast[]
Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Matt Bomer | Michael Winslow |
| Gavin Creel | Troy |
| Sierra McCormick | Scarlett Winslow |
| Paris Jackson | Maya |
| Belissa Escobedo | Shanti |
| Merrin Dungey | Doctor Andi Grant |
| Selena Sloan | Erin |
| Ashley Martin Carter | Rowena |
| Valerie Loo | Nicole |
Co-Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Luke Mullen | Student |
| Kari Lee Cartwright | Teacher |
| Shane Carpenter | Infantata |
| Luke Sonderman | Ginger Twin #1 |
| Jackson Unvert | Ginger Twin #2 |
| Troy Castaneda | Rubberman |
Notes & Trivia[]
- American Horror Stories was created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.
- This episode is rated TV-MA. It contains strong language and other material unsuitable for younger audiences.
- Gymnast Devyn LaBella performs the "Rubberwoman" stunt work in this episode.
- The "Infantata", whose real name is Thaddeus Montgomery, is played by actor Shane Carpenter. In American Horror Story, the Infantata was played by Ben Woolf. Woolf passed away on February 23rd, 2015 due to complications from an automobile related incident.
- Actors Luke Sonderman and Jackson Unvert play the ghosts of the red-haired twins in this episode. In the original show they were played by actual twins, Kai and Bodhi Schulz.
Allusions[]
- This series serves as a sequel to the season one storyline from American Horror Story dubbed "Murder House".
- The grotesque face that flashes up quickly in the basement is Thaddeus Montgomery, aka the "Infantata". He is the dead son of Charles and Nora Montgomery and the first ghost at Murder House. The story of the Montgomerys was chronicled in episode 1x03 of American Horror Story, "Murder House".
- Michael and Troy are not the first gay couple to purchase the Murder House with plans of renovating it. In the 1990s, Chad Warwick and his lover Patrick lived in the house.
- Chad Warwick from season one is the man who originally purchased the Rubberman costume. However, it was the ghost of Tate Langdon who wore it in the modern era when he seduced (raped?) Vivien Harmon.
- The red-haired ghosts seen at the end of this episode are characters from season one of American Horror Story, whose real names are Bryan and Troy.
- This is the second "AHS" story where a gay couple served as the main protagonists of the show. In season five's "Cult" storyline, actors Sarah Paulson and Alison Pill played a married couple, Ally Mayfair-Richards and Ivy Mayfair-Richards.
- Michael and Troy make an indirect reference to the Eternal Darkness Tour. This was featured in episode 1x03 of American Horror Story, "Murder House". Previous homeowner, Vivien Harmon, having only recently purchased the house herself, took the tour so she could learn more about the house's dark past.
Quotes[]
- There are no quotes available for this episode at this time. Be the first to add some! Just click on the edit tab under the section heading and start typing. The preferred format for quotes is an asterisk, followed by the character's name (bold and hyper-linked), semi-colon then the quote itself (without quotation marks. Quotes should be separated by four elipses (....) unless multiple quotes are used between characters as part of a conversation.