American Horror Story: Battle Royale

"Battle Royale" is the eleventh episode of season five of the horror anthology series, American Horror Story, which is billed under the heading of "Hotel". It is the sixty-second episode of the series overall. It was directed by Michael Uppendahl with a script written by Ned Martel. It first aired on the FX Network on Wednesday, January 6th, 2016 at 10:00 pm.

In this episode, Liz Taylor and Iris team-up to try and take out the Countess, with disastrous results. Ramona Royale is free and is out for blood... and revenge! Hypodermic Sally reveals the circumstances that gave birth to the Addiction demon, while Miss Evers confesses a great secret to James Patrick March. Detective John Lowe completes March's work by executing his final commandment violator, "Thou Shalt Not Kill".

Notes & Trivia

 * American Horror Story was created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.


 * "AHS: Battle Royale" redirects to this page.


 * This episode is rated TV-MA. It contains strong language, sexual situtions and nudity and violence. Intended for true bad-asses only. Viewer discretion is advised.


 * This episode is production code number 5ATS11.


 * Actress Mare Winningham is given a "Special Guest Star" credit in this episode.


 * Actress Gabourey Sidibe is given a "Special Guest Star" credit in this episode.


 * Actor Anton Starkman is credited as Anton Lee Starkman in this episode.


 * This is the first episode of American Horror Story to air in 2016. It the second horror-themed episode of a television series to air in 2016 after the "The Sword and the Spirit" episode of Teen Wolf.


 * This is the ninth episode of American Horror Story directed by Michael Uppendahl. It is his second and final episode from season five. He previously directed "She Wants Revenge".


 * This is the second episode of American Horror Story written by Ned Martel. It is his second and final episode from season five. He previously wrote "Room Service".


 * This is the first and only appearance of Tina Black, played by Lindsay Pulsipher. Lindsay is also known for playing the role of werepanther named Crystal Norris on episodes from season four of True Blood.


 * The flashback scenes in this episode with Hypodermic Sally take place in the year 1993. These are the scenes that Josh Pence and Lindsay Pulsipher appear in. This takes place one year before Iris pushes her out of a window, killing her.


 * This is the first episode of the series to feature vampires, ghosts, witches and demons all in the same episode.


 * This is the final appearance of the Addiction demon. It is seen in a flashback to 1993 only.


 * This episode establishes that witches blood is very potent nourishment for vampires. This is similar to a trope used on True Blood, which established that Fairy blood was extremely coveted by vampires who have sampled it.

Allusions

 * The title of this episode refers to an epic physical struggle between two worthy opponents, but it is also a play on Ramona Royale, who is a vampire character who plays a major role in this episode.


 * The character of Queenie the living voodoo doll, played by Gabourey Sidibe is actually a character featured in season three, "Coven". This now establishes connective continuity between these two seasons. The season one storyline, "Murder House", is also part of the same continuity as seasons three and five.


 * Miss Evers' line, "There are no stains in Heaven or Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.", is a rewording of a famous Shakespearian quote. The original line, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.", is taken from Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5, and is spoken by Hamlet to Horatio.


 * In the 1993 flashback, Liz Taylor tells Nick and Tina that "Shout at the Devil" is an underrated masterpiece. This is a reference to the song by Mötley Crüe, which was the title track of the second studio album, released in 1983, and became a staple of the L.A. metal scene.

Body Count

 * 1) Donovan - Shot to death by Iris and Liz Taylor; Dies outside of hotel; body cremated.
 * 2) The Countess - Shot to death by John Lowe, then beheaded. Becomes a ghost.
 * 3) Queenie - Stabbed in the shoulder by James Patrick March and then drained of blood by Ramona Royale.

Quotes

 * The Countess: It's not the Shalomar who gives you away. It's your blood. I've never known another woman whose blood smelled like walnuts.
 * Ramona Royale: Yours still smells like black licorice.

....
 * Queenie: I'm not letting some raggedy-ass red-dotted blood-whore freak take up another second of time. It's my vacation, bitch!

....
 * Hazel Evers: I will no longer wait on you... and your whore.
 * The Countess: You have nothing. What else would you possibly do?
 * Hazel Evers: There are no stains in Heaven or Earth than are dreampt of in your philosophy.

....
 * Queenie: Bitch, when is the last time you saw the dermatologist?

....
 * Liz Taylor: Has there ever been a more aptly named style of music than grunge?

....
 * Liz Taylor: And for the record, "Shout at the Devil" was an underrated masterpiece.

Crew

 * Ned Martel - Co-producer
 * Robert M. Williams, Jr. - Producer
 * Alexis Martin Woodall - Executive producer
 * Bradley Buecker - Executive producer
 * James Wong - Executive producer


 * Jennifer Salt - Executive producer
 * Tim Minear - Executive producer
 * Brad Falchuk - Executive producer
 * Ryan Murphy - Executive producer

Episode links