| "Rubber (Wo)Man (Part Two)" | |
|---|---|
| Series American Horror Stories Season 1, Episode 2 | |
| |
| 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; Kaia Jordan Gerber; Paris Jackson; Belissa Escobedo; Merrin Dungey; Aaron Tveit; Selena Sloan; Ashley Martin Carter; Valerie Loo; Celia Finkelstein |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous "Rubber (Wo)man (Part One)" |
Next "Drive In" |
"Rubber (Wo)Man (Part Two)" is the second 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 woman with a switchblade chases a ghostly Gladys down the stairs to the basement, where Rubberwoman Scarlett Winslow awaits. Together, they make short work of stabbing the ghost nurse to "death". Elated, the two women relax together in the tub. The new woman describes her interactions with her sadistic uncle Tony when she was young, while Scarlett explores the woman's nude scarred back. Her story continues with her reveal that Tony was never actually her uncle, and that her parents had sold her to him. She had spent 10 years of her thinking her parents were dead, when they had simply abandoned her. She returned to Los Angeles and decided to kill herself in the Murder House, thinking it would make the news. Instead, the realtor listing the house buried her in the backyard. She urges Scarlett to kill herself so that the two can be together forever. Scarlett considers this as the ghost vanishes into the bathwater.
Halloween has come again. Investigators looking for the missing girls explain that they know Scarlett called Maya after the livestream and that cell phone positioning shows them all driving to the Murder House the night they disappeared. Though the car was found at Maya's house, the cell phones disappeared at the Murder House. They say they will be in touch. Scarlett's fathers ask her if there's something she wants to tell them, but Scarlett suggests a ghost killed them.
That night in her room, Scarlett is visited by her therapist, who again wants to schedule a session. The ghosts of the missing four girls impale the ghost and menace Scarlett. The ghostly teen from before arrives to scare them away.
At a therapy session, the fathers tell Doctor Andi Grant that they are concerned that even Scarlett's friend Shanti does not visit. Troy discloses that Michael "thinks" he saw the ghost of Piggy Man, as Grant and Scarlett are unamused. Troy wants them to sell and cut their losses, but Michael is scared that the rumors about the haunted house might be true. Scarlett says that she wants to stay.
Troy shows contractor Adam around the renovations. Adam is not pleased by what he sees in the amateur work. Troy admits that they have been dipping into their savings to finish the work, and is close to begging for a low bidding contractor. Michael interrupts the two and they banter before Adam leaves to compose a bid. Michael is not amused that Troy is being cruel by flirting with Adam. Michael is desperate to move out of the house and frustrated at the suffering their marriage is taking while they stay.
Troy is indeed cheating with Adam. Adam's associate Martin interrupts them to draw their attention to the chimney shaft Scarlett finished earlier. There is a decay smell coming from it, and Adam demolishes the wall to reveal the corpses of the four missing girls. Adam quickly bludgeons Martin to keep the discovery secret. Adam, too, has secret legal problems and does not want to have further issues. He suggests Martin's corpse be added to the others in the crawlspace. He wants to partner with the pair to get the haunted bed and breakfast running, and also to have sexual privileges with them. Michael is furious at the blackmail attempt and Troy's infidelity, and tries to rush Adam out of the house. Rubber Man meets them on the porch and fatally stabs Adam before he can cross the threshold. They try to flee, and find they can not leave the house. Indeed, they are already both ghosts — killed by Scarlett's girlfriend.
Scarlett arrives home and calls after her dads. She finds the exposed crawlspace with new corpses added, and her dads bodies in their bedroom. In a surprise session with Dr Grant, the parents are surprised that they did not remember being murdered; the therapist explains that it's common to repress the trauma of their own murders. She muses that she and the other therapist are working on a book about the phenomenon. Scarlett explains to the ghosts that her girlfriend killed them to keep her around; while they may think it is not safe for her, she has no intention of leaving. She leaves to get dressed for a Halloween outing. She dons the Rubber Man suit, and — because of the special Halloween rules for ghosts — is able to leave with her ghostly girlfriend. Overhearing this new wrinkle in the rules, the four teen girls plot to kill Scarlett outside the house.
While they muse on life after death, Scarlett makes Ruby (her girlfriend) promise that she won't cut her life short. As they explore street faire, they encounter Shanti. Shanti is upset that Scarlett pays her little attention now that Ruby is in her life, and Shanti runs off. Scarlett follows her, and tries to talk her down. Shanti believes Scarlett has not returned to school — not because she's traumatized — because Scarlett fits the traits of a psychopath. Scarlett tries to explain that she keeps Shanti away for her own safety, but Shanti knows that Scarlett killed the girls. She has covered for her former friend out of guilt, but now wants nothing to do with her. Scarlett leaves, and Maya's foursome takes the opportunity to attempt an attack on Shanti. Before they can hurt her, Ruby emerges to protect Shanti. The girls leave, and Ruby says they will not bother Shanti again. Shanti urges Ruby that if she really loves Scarlett that she will set her free.
Scarlett wanders a "haunted house", and finds Ruby enjoying some carnage. The foursome track Scarlett down, as they have realized that Scarlett is vulnerable off-premises and will die without a ghost. Ruby tells her to run, and they give chase. Nicole, one of the four, is recognized by William, her brother.
Scarlett hides until Ruby finds her, and they walk home. The foursome bar Scarlett's entry, and Scarlett pleads with Ruby that she needs to live her life elsewhere. She just wants an opportunity to get her things and say goodbye to her dads. William asks Nicole if he can tell about her to mom and dad. As they enter, Nicole tells William that the police should find the bodies in the house, and Ruby chimes in that he should claim Ruby killed them all.
The family says their goodbyes, and Scarlett leaves the Murder House. Ruby hugs her on the way out, and they profess their love for each other.
Ten months later, Ruby's cell phone rings. Scarlett has called during extended-family breakfast with some news: Scarlett has found "Uncle" Tony, and Rubberwoman is going to ensure it is his last day on Earth. When Halloween comes, the two lovers will reunite. [1]
Cast[]
Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Harrison Xu | William |
| Abraham Luna | Martin |
| Cynthia Quiles | Detective Juarez |
| Leith M. Burke | Detective Chapman |
| Davee Youngblood | Tony |
| Mike Estes | Skeletonman/Host |
| Abigail Hunt | Performer |
| Dane DiLiegro | Scare Patrol |
| Farron Marcus Gonzales | Performer |
| Tiana Powel | Performer |
| Devyn LaBella | Performer |
| Brianna Pavon | Performer |
| Precious Gilbert | Performer |
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.
- Actress Kaia Gerber is credited as Kaia Jordan Gerber in this episode. She is the daughter of famous super-model Cindy Crawford.
- Stunt double Troy Castaneda plays the Rubberman in this episode. He is uncredited for his participation.
- This episode establishes that Michael's surname is Winslow. Presumably, Scarlett shares the same last name.
- It is established that Scarlett Winslow is 16-years-old during the main events from this episode. Assuming that the main events take place in the same year in which the episode was released, this would place Scarlett's year of birth sometime around 2005.
Allusions[]
- Michael Winslow speaks of seeing the ghost of the Piggy Man in this episode. This is a reference to Kincaid Polk, who was a butcher from the late 19th century who wore a pig mask while slaughtering animals. Following an accident, the pigs avenged themselves by tearing him apart. The Piggy Man appeared in both the "Murder House" and "Roanoke" storylines. Kincaid Polk and his family were featured in "Chapter Two" of "My Roanoke Nightmare" from 2016.
- Michael makes reference to another ghost therapist living in the house. This would be Ben Harmon, who was one of the main characters from season one of American Horror Story. He was murdered by Hayden McClaine, and his death was made to look like a suicide by hanging in "Birth".
- The ghost who appears in Ruby McDaniel's fantasy is Gladys. Gladys was a student nurse who was murdered by R. Franklin on January 14th, 1968. Her death was chronicled in "Home Invasion".
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.
See also[]
External Links[]
- "Rubber (Wo)Man (Part 2)" at IMDB
- "Rubber (Wo)Man (Part 2)" at TV Time
- "Rubber (Wo)Man (Part 2)" at Trakt TV
- "Rubber (Wo)Man (Part 2)" at the AHS Wiki
- "Rubber (Wo)Man (Part 2)" at Themoviedb.org
Keywords[]
1119 Westchester Place | 2021 | 2022 | California | Chainsaw | Dreams | Falling from a great height | Flashbacks | Ghosts | Griffith Park | Halloween | Hammer | Head injury | Homosexuality | Immurement | Knife | Los Angeles | Los Angeles County | Los Angeles Police Department | Maggots | Mallet | Mask | Piggy Man | Severed face | Slit throat | Snakes | Stabbings | Throat injury
References[]
- ↑ American Horror Story Wiki; "Rubber(wo)Man"; Part 2. See the History section for a list of contributing editors.