In the ‘American Horror Story: Roanoke’ recap for the season finale, Lee’s story after ‘3 Days in Hell’ is documented and her fate is finally revealed…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
Following a season built on skewering reality television, the finale of ‘American Horror Story: Roanoke’ did one better as the show within a show was reinvented once again as an exploitation digging into the life of the soul survivor from “Return to Roanoke: 3 Days in Hell” — Lee Harris.
Of course we know how Lee Harris survived — she revolted against her redneck captors the Polk family after they cannibalized her while still living and then made a deal with the devil — namely the wooded witch Scathach — before murdering the last few people still alive from cast and crew until she was only person left standing.
Now at some point in the future after Lee escaped and returned home, the season finale of ‘American Horror Story: Roanoke” documents her journey from accused serial killer back to that awful house in the woods once again as her story comes full circle as seen through the eyes of several reality series.
Considering the election cycle that the United States just recently endured, it appears creator Ryan Murphy had a feeling how things might turn out and he wrote this season of ‘American Horror Story’ as a satire commentary on our obsession with reality — even when reality isn’t real.
With that said, let’s recap the season finale of ‘American Horror Story: Roanoke’ titled ‘Chapter 10’…
Trial of the Century
Long before the premiere of ‘Return to Roanoke: Three Days in Hell’ the cast and crew gathered for an event at the Paley Center where they met fans from around the world who became obsessed with the show. Some fans just wanted hugs and others went as far as creating art that involved the real people behind the series, but it was clear that people connected with this show like nothing else before.
Fast forward a year later and Lee Harris is the only surviving member from the reality show inside a reality show and fans are conflicted on how to feel about her. In one way, Lee is the ultimate survivor — escaping her captors, who flayed her alive and ate pieces of her body while she was still conscious — while other see her as a brutal murderer who killed her husband and then slaughtered three more people on her way out of Roanoke.
After returning home, Lee went on trial first for the three murders committed on the reality show — including Monet, the woman who played her, as well as the unsuspecting ‘Roanoke’ enthusiast who offered her help just after she made the deal with Scathach. In the trial, Lee’s defense lawyer introduced the fact that she was tormented by the Polk family and fed drugs — some of which contained hallucinogenic properties that had her seeing things that simply weren’t there. Those visions combined by the extreme torture led Lee to lash out and resulted in murder. The jury believed Lee’s case and ultimately exonerated her of the crime.
The prosecutor in the case wasn’t satisfied, however, and he decided to put Lee on trial one more time — for the murder of her ex-husband Mason.
He thought he had an open and shut case — Lee confessed to the killing on tape while in captivity with the Polk family and they still had evidence of a phone call shared with Mason just before the time that he met his demise. Add to that the video that showed Lee leaving the house and returning in the exact window when Mason was murdered and it all made sense. That wasn’t all the prosecution was banking on because they also had an eyewitness to the murder — Lee’s own daughter Flora.
According to Flora, she was in the woods on the night Lee killed Mason and she watched the entire thing unfold. From an argument that then turned violent as Lee bashed in Mason’s head with a rock before setting him on fire, Flora had every graphic detail scarred inside her little head.
But the defense then argued that Flora clearly didn’t know what she was talking about after the girl admitted that she was in the woods with her ghost friend Priscilla on the night of the murder. Needless to say, the jury was conflicted but there was plenty of reasonable doubt and so Lee Harris was set free once again.
The Lana Winters Special
Following her vindication in court, Lee decided to sit down for a special interview with Lana Winters — the survivor of the Briarcliff Asylum and woman who brought down the infamous Bloody Face. Of course, Lana Winters is also the character Sarah Paulson played in ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ back in season 2.
Lana came out of retirement — while still looking rather young — to do this interview with Lee. She was curious about Lee, who like her was a survivor of some awful events that happened in her life but at the same time after slaying so many monsters, is it possible that she became one herself?
Lee’s curiosity in the interview came from her investigation into Lana’s own journey to stardom after she escaped the asylum, killed her tormentor and then ultimately killed her own son when he took up the mantle of Bloody Face and came after her. In many ways, the two ladies are similar — at least in Lee’s own fractured mind.
Lee also explains that the only reason she decided to talk now was because she’s been cut off from Flora ever since the trial ended. Mason’s parents took custody of the girl and she wants nothing to do with her mother. Lee made an impassioned plea to her daughter on live television, but that’s when Lana cuts her off.
She wants to know what Lee has done with her daughter.
In turns out, an hour before the interview began, Flora’s grandparents reported her missing and they believe Lee is the prime suspect. It’s clear, however, that Lee had no idea this had happened and now she’s frantic while trying to figure out where Flora has gone or who has taken her.
Before Lee can go on the search for her daughter, Lot Polk — the last remaining Polk family member — shows up with a machine gun and takes out all of Lana’s television staff and security at the filming location. Lana does her best to talk him down from the rage and anger he’s feeling while searching for vengeance against Lee for killing his mother and all of his brothers. Lot doesn’t end up killing Lana but rather just smashing her face with the butt of his gun.
Just when it looks like he’s about to kill Lee, shots ring out and Lot is killed by the police.
Spirit Chasers
The final chapter in this twisted little reality tale takes place alongside a camera crew of ghost hunting enthusiasts on a TV show called ‘Spirit Chasers’. While the Roanoke house has been boarded up and abandoned ever since ‘Return to Roanoke: Three Days in Hell’ turned into a bloodbath, this crew wouldn’t take no for an answer. They even bring along Ashley Gilbert — the actor who played Cricket Marlowe in ‘My Roanoke Nightmare’ but didn’t get asked back for the reality show sequel
Without permission to enter, the crew breaks into the place, sets up infrared cameras all over the house and they are determined to find out of this place is truly haunted or this was all one big staged reality show. ‘Spirit Chasers’ also decided to do all of this on the first night of the blood moon.
Like clockwork, strange things start happening all over the house but the most odd occurrence happens when Lee shows up out of nowhere in a mad search for her daughter Flora. Lee believes if the spirits in this house took her once before, they might have lured her back again.
Her search is fruitless at first as the ghosts begin to attack including the Piggy Man slicing up Ashley Gilbert, the Chen family taking one of the ‘Spirit Chaser’ hosts and all sorts of other evil apparitions show up to pick off the crew one by one. The police even show up after the house is broken into, but they are also killed by a barrage of arrows that rain down upon them once they enter the sacred land.
Despite everybody else being killed, Lee’s prayers are answered when she finally discovers Flora, who had returned to the house to care for her friend Priscilla as the blood moon fast approached.
The police end up in a stand off outside the house, believing Lee is holding her daughter hostage, but in reality she’s just trying to convince the little girl to go home with her and leave this place for the last time. Flora refuses not only because Lee killed her father, but also because she’s decided to stay forever and protect Priscilla from the evil butcher, who torments her on every blood moon.
In other words, Flora wants to die so she can stay there with Priscilla.
All Lee ever wanted was to protect her daughter and make sure she grew up safe with a full, happy life so she offers to make an exchange. Lee will stay here forever to protect Priscilla — she went up against the Butcher twice before and lived to tell about it. Now she’ll offer to die in this house to stay with Priscilla so long as Flora agrees to leave and only come back to visit when it’s not the blood moon.
A few minutes later, smoke starts pouring out of the house as Flora walks outside before being greeted by the police. The fire inside intensifies as we see Lee point a gun at her heart and tells Priscilla to pull the trigger. A shot rings out, the fire bursts into an explosion as the house is destroyed — a long overdue occurrence — and we then see Lee outside holding hands with Priscilla as she waives goodbye to her daughter.
Flora leaves the site while looking back at her friend, who she only wanted to save and her mother, who only wanted to save her. Up on the ridge away from the burning house, we see torches lit up and the back of the Butcher, who has been looking on this entire time. This land always belonged to the Butcher and with the house gone, there’s no one left to take it from her.
‘American Horror Story: Roanoke’ comes to an end with Flora as the true, lone survivor — a promise fulfilled from Priscilla earlier this season when she said that the little girl would be the last one killed when the ghosts from this haunted house were done with them.
As it turns out, Priscilla was right — Flora is the only one who made it out alive
‘American Horror Story’ has already been renewed for a seventh season and will return in 2017.
