American Horror Story season 6 episode 5, review: My Roanoke Nightmare ends?

Evan Peters FINALLY turns up to play - just as everything starts descending straight into madness

*WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AMERICAN HORROR STORY SEASON 6, EPISODE 5*

So, it turns out I was only half right about who our dear Evan Peters would be playing in American Horror Story: My Roanoke Nightmare; he's no Pig Man - we still have no idea who/what/why the Pig Man is - but Peters did finally make his appearance as Edward Phillippe Mott, who originally ordered the construction of the very haunted house back in 1792.

A Mott of the same bloodline as Freakshow's Dandy, who got a brief shout out by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin as history's last Mott, dying in scandal in south Florida in 1952; all while she recounts the sad tale of Edward's death at the hands of the Roanoke colonists. Yes, it took Evan Peters four episodes to turn up, and he died in the first ten minutes. Ryan Murphy continues to know exactly how to drive his fans up the wall.

That said, I think we can assume this won't be the first and last we see of Peters (surely), even if he's taking more of a backseat with this season; plus, it's fantastic just to see him play crazy again, after last season's stand-out performance as James March.

Edward's intense social anxiety leads him to the seclusion of Roanoke, buying a plot of land and building Shaker Mansion to conceal both his collection of priceless paintings, and his gay interracial relationship with servant Guinness. The latter which offered us another sex scene for the season; which is good, because going an entire American Horror Story episode without one just feels kind of wrong.

However, it's not long before the Roanoke colonists get their claws into him; not without first destroying his precious art collection, which brings out that old Mott trait of murderous tantrums - his little show of yelling, stomping, and pouting a nice kind of throwback to Finn Wittrock's utterly fabulous performance as Dandy. Edward locks all his servants in the outdoor cellar, gets impaled and torched by the colonists, and Guinness escapes only to be arrested for Edward's murder. Happy times.

Cutting back to Matt and Shelby's predicament, we're reminded that episode 4 essentially left the couple in ultimate peril; with the colonists advancing on the house, and the Dying Grass Moon in the sky meaning these ghosts now have the power to kill. And, surprise! We've now been introduced to a new, genuinely terrifying addition to the Butcher's victims: a totally unexplainable Grudge-like creature who grabs Flora and scampers across the floor with her.

I'm not really sure if we'll ever get an explanation as to who the J-horror ghost is or whether this is just an added piece of WTF-ery thrown in for Murphy's own personal delight, but I'm going to selflessly admit that it worked and that this episode was genuinely kind of horrifying. Roanoke's first four episodes had their chills and thrills, but they were always let down by this constant sense of build-up; more concerned with setting up the inevitable twists than delivering satisfaction in the moment.

Episode 5, thankfully, is the start of American Horror Story's delivery with season 6; its descent into madness. A whole bunch of things happen in this episode, to the point that it all sort of flashes by in one wild scream; J-horror ghoulies crawling up walls, followed by Matt and Shelby being aided to safety by Edward's ghost - whose ashen face turns into a creepy skeletal visage anytime a torch is waved near.

And then - hillbilly cannibals. Beckoning in the grand return of Frances Conroy as the sinister Mama. Sure, everyone might be still recovering from Peters' long-awaited appearance at this point, but a great aspect of this show is how even the cast members who aren't huge names are utterly beloved by its fans; it's simply thrilling to see her back.

Mama is the head of the Polk family of hillbillies, who swiftly kidnap Matt and Shelby; taking them to their deserted barn where they unveil that Elias isn't actually (yet) dead, but has been kept alive to provide a source of jerky for the family. He's now missing most of his arm and leg. Unfortunately, Mama enters to declare that Elias produces "bad meat"; so Elias gets his face smashed in. All in all, it's a pretty short reunion between our heroes.

At this point, we hear Shelby in the talking head start to talk about how, "there were still so many things I wanted to do with my life. Be a mother, grow old with Matt, open my own yoga studio." The thing is, American Horror Story is so brash and ballsy in its treatment of narrative that at this point down the line, you start to think maybe Matt and Shelby did actually die and these talking heads are just some sort of weird ghost projection.

Except, they do survive and, more importantly, the episode actually ends with their miraculous escape from both the Shaker Mansion and their Roanoke Nightmare. Lee arrives at the scene after her release from jail; though it's not her that saves Flora from the colonists' flames, but Wes Bentley's Ambrose in a sudden change of heart. Smacking the Butcher over the head, he tackles her into the fire; giving Matt, Shelby, Lee, and Flora the opportunity to escape and drive off.

The re-enactment's celluloid burns up and Shelby utters the ominous phrase, "I'm just grateful that I will never have to see that godawful place again." Honey, we're only halfway through the series; this is only the beginning. Though what exactly does this tell us about episode 6's obsessively-hyped "twist"? The most telling hint isn't in the episode itself, but in the trailer for next week.

That's the interviewer we've heard offscreen during the show's talking heads (played by Cheyenne Jackson); revealing that the next section of the season will break away from the "My Roanoke Nightmare" format and, apparently, go behind the scenes on the show. Will the colonists somehow follow Matt and Shelby back to California? Where else is this show headed? Is the promo's new featured title of American Horror Story: Roanoke hinting that we'll finally get a title sequence? Honestly, I have no idea - I can't wait for next week.

American Horror Story airs Wednesdays at 10PM in the US on FX, and airs on FOX UK the following Friday at 10PM.