REVIEW: American Horror Story – Season 11, Episode 7, “The Sentinel”

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Television Reviews

**SPOILERS**

In “Sentinel,” Gino and Patrick break into Whitley’s hideout and find Henry unconscious but alive. They’re distracted by his creation, allowing him to sneak up and knock them out. When Patrick wakes up, Whitley informs him of his plan to give his heart to the Frankenstein monster. Meanwhile, Henry cuts his hand off to free himself from his restraints while Gino cries out. They interrupt Whitley just before he can remove Patrick’s heart. Patrick kills Whitley and makes the news. However, Patrick decides to quit the force after his coworkers vandalize his desk. Patrick takes Adam to identify the remains. Adam suggests to Gino that there’s another killer out there. Gino tells him to move on and invites him and Theo to go on vacation. Hannah’s health deteriorates rapidly. 

We have a few more hints of the supernatural in “Sentinel,” particularly Patrick seeing Whitley’s victims and, later, Barbara. I actually find it more subdued and tasteful here, and the violence that is present serves a purpose. I would like it even more if Patrick saw these people, and it was left ambiguous as to whether he was seeing ghosts or just remembering. Big chunks of NYC have been very restrained in approach, and I liked that a lot, but it’s jarring when you wildly switch between that and the debauchery of “The Body.” “Bad Fortune,” the midseason episode, introduced angels and psychics. A season I initially praised for its slow, chilling approach to horror has become a mixture of that and sensationalized shock value. 

With that said, the acting is still outstanding. American Horror Story has never failed to attract talented casts, and several of the main characters this season are actors I’ve never seen before. But everyone fills their role nicely, particularly Joe Mantello as Gino and Jeff Hiller as Whitley. I’m almost sorry Whitley has to die in this episode; I get that we have other killers on the loose, but he was the most interesting, and now we have three episodes to go without him. Russell Tovey remains somewhat mysterious as Patrick. Leaving the force was probably the right call for him. I was genuinely surprised by how his partner Mulcahy treated him, mocking the fact that his desk got vandalized. Surely Patrick wasn’t the only cop in this precinct with any sympathy for Whitley’s victims? 

Gino is bound and determined to move past the killings and his run-ins with Whitley. We see this in his interactions with Patrick and Adam, both deeply traumatized. I think Gino is, too, but he refuses to allow Whitley to derail his life any further. Patrick retorts that Whitley has already ruined their lives and relationship, but I don’t see how. I sympathize with his grief over Barbara; being gay, he wasn’t in love with her, but he did care about her. It’s easy to imagine how someone in his position might feel guilty about what happened to her. I don’t see why this has him convinced that his entire life is ruined or that he can’t be happy with Gino now. Wallowing in grief won’t help Barbara; she’s already dead and isn’t going to get any deader. Patrick has struggled with his feelings and being open since the beginning, so I guess it’s little wonder he would react this way. This scene is so well done with Patrick and Gino in the apartment. I think it’s more emotionally affecting than Gino’s scene with Adam at the office because of Patrick’s vulnerability and Gino’s futile attempts to soothe him. 

Speaking of Adam, I wonder just how close he and Hannah are. He’s her sperm donor, and now we see that he invited her on vacation with him, Theo, Gino, and Patrick. That’s a pretty big deal, inviting her on someone else’s vacation you just got invited to. I would normally find this awfully presumptuous, but I imagine Gino would let it go after what they’ve all just been through. I’m surprised Gino isn’t willing to consider Adam’s theory about the multiple murderers; it would explain the additional missing men and differing MOs. Gino is an investigative reporter, so you’d expect him to at least have an open mind. I think this is his way of responding to the trauma, insisting it’s over. Whitley is dead, so all is well now. After all, admitting that there may be more killers out there and pursuing them is a whole new level of fear and danger Gino likely doesn’t want to get into. He wants to be alone with Patrick and heal, but in this show, that may be too much to ask. Henry again tells Gino Patrick is too young for him and that he needs someone his own age. I suspect Henry has a thing for Gino at this point, not just because of these comments. Why else would he stick his neck out for Gino when he openly admits he never got involved before? He suspected Whitley was butchering “[his] own people” and never once confronted him about it or intervened in any way. I honestly think everyone with the disease will die by the end, but I think Henry is at least trying to start a relationship with Gino. 

I feel dumb because I’ve been wondering all season if one of the mysterious diseases is AIDS or HIV. In “Sentinel,” Hannah clarifies that one of her patients’ illnesses is viral and the other bacterial. Obviously, if one is meant to be HIV, it would be the virus. Another gripe I have with “Sentinel” is the column Gino writes at the end. He says that Whitley did what he did because society considered him a monster. This is like the line in Zootopia about why a fox like Nick would try to be more than a thief when that’s all people saw anyway. But this is a horror show for adults, not a modern Aesop’s fable for family audiences. And Whitley is a murderer and a butcher, not a con artist. I don’t like this line of reasoning, and I’m tired of people’s behavior being blamed on society as a whole. I also found the use of montages in “Sentinel” to be tacky and distracting. 

Overall, “Sentinel” is a mixed bag. I like the scaled-back gore and the way it handles its characters. However, I still don’t like it as much as the first few episodes of the seasons.