Summary

  • "Bestie" is a standout episode in American Horror Stories, exploring online relationships and mental health in a terrifying manner.
  • The character Bestie serves as a powerful and influential villain, highlighting the insecurities of teenagers in fitting in.
  • The anthology format of American Horror Stories allows for deep exploration of important themes, making each episode feel like a mini horror movie.

As a horror fan, I like checking out as many creepy TV series as possible, from the short-lived Netflix thriller Archive 81 to Mike Flanagan's well-crafted shows such as Midnight Mass. The American Horror Story spinoff, American Horror Stories, is an engaging anthology series that explores various popular horror tropes in every episode. While there may be a lot of scary TV shows, American Horror Stories feels fresh because of the intricate, intense, and memorable world that Ryan Murphy created in the original series. Although this is a different TV show, there are references to AHS, including the terrifying Murder House setting.

While there are many solid episodes of American Horror Stories, there is one episode in particular that I think is smart, genuinely scary, and the most unforgettable one yet. Although the series has featured solid episodes about pregnancy, a fresh take on Bloody Mary, an evil dollhouse, and smallpox, I think one episode stands out the most.

What Is The American Horror Stories Episode "Bestie" About?

Characters at school in American Horror Stories Bestie episode

American Horror Stories season 3, episode 1, "Bestie," is a terrifying story about online relationships, dangerous friendships, confidence, and mental health. While fans might have wondered if the spinoff could be as good as American Horror Story, I think it's just as compelling, if not even more so. The anthology format allows each episode to function as a mini horror movie that dives into some important themes. Like the best elevated horror movies, these episodes are about more than meets the eye and get pretty deep.

In "Bestie," Shelby Brubaker is having a horrible time. She is grieving the loss of her mom from cancer and lives with her abusive father. While watching an influencer named Anna Rexhia (a reference to terrible pro-anorexia websites and forums), she begins chatting with a girl online named BFF4EVA/Bestie (Jessica Barden). While the focus of the episode isn't on eating disorders, this is a smart way to set up how vulnerable characters like Shelby are. She has had to face the kind of loss that no child or teenager should, and since she can't find comfort in her father, she spends too much time online. Although "Bestie" doesn't have a particularly eerie setting like some horror movies, it depicts a spot-on and realistic online world.

Like many horror movie villains, Bestie encourages Shelby to hurt others, and I think she is one of the most powerful and memorable villains on American Horror Stories. I've always been a fan of horror movies about teenagers because this is a specific time in life that is anxiety-inducing, and adding horror elements like ghosts, stalkers, witches, or killers emphasizes the fear that these characters face. Through Bestie, the TV series explores the insecure nature of teenagers and how desperate they are to fit in. She is so scary because she has so much influence.

Through Bestie, Shelby meets River Wallace (Allius Barnes), a character with disabilities, and River kills Shelby at the end of the episode. While this is of course incredibly dark and sad, like the 2014 Blumhouse horror movie Unfriended, "Bestie" delves into how obsessed high schoolers are with being liked and seeming cool. This was the only possible ending given how afraid Shelby is of saying no to Bestie.

Bestie may be an online figure for most of this American Horror Stories episode, but she's an effective way for the series to talk about the topics of popularity and friendship. Like other horrifying teenage characters, Bestie knows her target's weaknesses. Bestie tells Shelby to face her fears, which emphasizes the message that the influencer Anna Rexhia has near the beginning of the episode:

"What is fear? Fear is like this person who's always there... Hey. Hey. Watching you, telling you what to do. And when fear commands, most of us just blindly obey. But what if we said no?"

What Are Some Other Great American Horror Stories 3 Episodes?

Reid Scott and Annie Hamilton in American Horror Stories episode Daphne

There are many other great American Horror Stories season 3 episodes, including "Daphne" and "Tapeworm." In "Daphne," the anthology series takes on both the COVID-19 pandemic and AI, as Will Caswell (Reid Scott) is living in a lockdown and dealing with a freaky AI named Daphne. "Tapeworm" delves into the sad topic of eating disorders when Vivian Lee Finch (Laura Kariuki) wants to be a famous model. Gwyneth Paltrow and Lisa Rinna have small roles in "Daphne" and "Tapeworm," respectively.

While American Horror Story season 12 part 2 was exciting and proves the original series is still going strong, I think American Horror Stories season 3 featured the best episodes yet. I'm looking forward to American Horror Stories season 3, which will premiere in October 2024.