As the proprietor of a modest collection of thrift-store surveillance cameras, haphazardly installed, my lenses primarily serve as sentinels, capturing the chaotic exploits of minds unraveling before the free library at my doorstep. I am no stranger to the frisson of catching someone in the act, a thrill that borders on the macabre. Yet, in the narrative of Jaslyn (portrayed by Gabourey Sidibe) and her arrogant spouse Bryce (Max Greenfield), their domestic surveillance system isn't aimed at unhoused souls spitting vitriol on tattered fairytales but rather the shadows of their own past misdeeds.
Episode two of American Horror Stories' sophomore season ushers us into the world of Jaslyn and Bryce, a youthful couple who relocate to the exclusive enclave of Mountain View Place. A flashback, reaching back two decades, unveils Jaslyn's lingering insecurities rooted in a childhood trauma—a bunny-masked intruder who breached her bedroom window, ostensibly leading to the tragic demise of her parents. Her new abode, despite its adult trappings, emotionally echoes that haunted chamber.
In a fleeting moment of fiscal imprudence, Jaslyn invests $200 in an unassuming doorbell camera named Aura, which seems more aptly named Karma, as it invites unsettled spirits to ring her doorbell in pursuit of closure or, in Bryce's case, retribution. Amidst his dismissive sarcasm, Jaslyn insists, and Bryce reluctantly mounts the device, unknowingly unlocking a Pandora's box of malevolent alerts on Jaslyn's phone.
As she toils over her fledgling jewelry business from the confines of her home office, a chilling notification interrupts her work. Calling out in vain, Jaslyn finds no living presence at her doorstep but mere raccoons foraging in the trash. This scene, a stark contrast to Gabourey Sidibe's prowess in portraying Queenie's unflinching embrace of Minotaur love in AHS's Coven, finds her venturing forth from the supposed sanctuary of her abode, braving the darkness of her front yard for...what? To close a garbage can lid? Let the HOA deal with the litter! There are phantoms and, quite possibly, throat-slashing fiends lurking out there! This folly echoed those viral TikTok skits, mocking horror movie protagonists who pause mid-flight to play a tune or stir a pot, oblivious to the killer on their tail. If I were her, I'd monitor from my app's cozy confines, jotting down Twitter-worthy quips while sipping merlot, the epitome of adult detachment. Haven't we all learned from our mothers' warnings?
When the raccoon footage transforms into that of a corpse-like figure clad in a Madewell jumpsuit, visible solely on the Aura app, Bryce, in his characteristic callousness, dismisses it as a hacker's prank. He urges Jaslyn to "Google it," and she does, delving into a rabbit hole of YouTube investigations. One video stands out, with a youth expounding on Aura's ability to "pierce the quantum veil," attracting spectral visitors. Between the prospect of a throat-slashing madman and clingy spirits, which fate would you prefer to confront?
Through meticulous introspection and a poignant visit to the abode of the solitary sister of the beleaguered resident, Jaslyn unravels the mystery of the persistent spirit haunting her doorstep. This elusive specter, content to bask in solitude with a bowl of hard candies, turns out to be none other than Dayle Hendricks, a former janitor at her high school who became inexorably enamored with her during her teenage years. His courtship consisted of love notes and sweet treats hidden in her locker, met with polite but dismissive gestures and subsequent jests among her peers.
When Jaslyn, at long last, concedes to his otherworldly affections and grants him entry, they engage in a heartfelt apology, each absolving the other of past grievances. Dayle, his soul at peace, dissipates into a gentle shower of ashes, content that this anguished chapter of his existence has finally come to a close. Later, as Jaslyn peruses a local news clip, she stumbles upon the revelation that Dayle had been missing for two months, having ended his life by leaping from an overpass weeks prior to his spectral visit.
The subsequent spectral arrival, this time with unfinished business for Bryce, heralds a tale far more harrowing and sorrowful. Jaslyn, though startled by the fresh dings from the Aura doorbell, is less trepidatious this round, familiar with the unsettling ritual. Upon glimpsing the apparition of a youthful woman trembling on her threshold, she instinctively recognizes that this spectral visitor seeks Bryce, not her.
The woman's voice, fraught with fear and confusion, echoes through the night air, sharing snippets of a terrifying ordeal in Grace Park. Bryce, upon reviewing the footage, is seized by fury, violently tearing the Aura from its mount and discarding it in the trash. Jaslyn, driven by curiosity and a sense of duty, retrieves the device, eager to uncover the truth behind the beautiful yet troubled ghost's connection to her husband.
She is soon ensnared in a web of deceit, spun by a tale of Bryce's jilted fiancée, abandoned to walk home in the darkness, ultimately falling victim to a hit-and-run. But the truth, when it emerges, is far more chilling. Mary Jeane Burkett, the young woman in question, was carrying Bryce's child at the time of her death. Their altercation in Grace Park, where Bryce insisted she "get rid of it," culminated in Mary's tragic stumble into the path of an oncoming vehicle. As she lay helpless on the road, Bryce stood frozen, contemplating whether to offer aid or exploit the accident to rid himself of his "problem." In a chilling moment of decision, he crushed her hopes by crushing her neck, sealing her fate.
With the truth laid bare, Bryce's true colors are revealed to Jaslyn, who learns that she too was never part of his plans, not even as a placeholder for a future with dangling earrings. But as Jaslyn seeks refuge in a new apartment, Bryce's ghostly grip refuses to loosen, his Aura app echoing through her sanctuary. What grievance could possibly drive him to haunt her still? Jaslyn ponders, unsure if his relentlessness stems from a twisted desire for her or merely a desperate grasp at control, even in death.
This episode of American Horror Stories mirrors the chilling real-life incidents of doorbell camera hacks, echoing the ABC News report on a family terrorized by such an intrusion, with a sinister demand for bitcoin or face dire consequences. It leaves one pondering: is it more terrifying to confront the visage of a potential killer lurking beyond your doorstep or to be consumed by the relentless anxiety of the unknown?
