FX’s “American Horror Story” has made its eerie return to the small screen with “Delicate” featuring AHS veteran Emma Roberts, former Gilmore Girls heartthrob Matt Czuchry and reality television icon Kim Kardashian.
Viewers are first introduced to protagonist Anna Victoria Alcott (Emma Roberts), a former child star who is pursuing an acting career and motherhood.
Anna has a newly released movie that has gotten her a lot of press with the help of her publicist Siobhan Walsh (Kim Kardashian), but the plotline takes a turn after a spine-chilling introduction to Ms. Preecher, played by Julie White.
Preecher has some prominence in the premiere after Anna finds what appears to be her social media account that constantly posts threats and hate comments about Anna.
While Anna’s fears of having a stalker, entering motherhood and continuing her career occupy her mind, odd circumstances taint her life, such as items around the house getting misplaced or her online calendar getting hacked.
The episode vaguely introduces viewers to a former relationship between Anna’s husband Dexter Harding (Matt Czuchry) and his first wife, who mysteriously died years before.
For this being the first episode of a new season of a critically acclaimed and well-funded television series, this is a disappointing premiere due to the poor acting and lackluster storyline.
The season’s concept is bewildering and made me regret putting off studying for 45 minutes to watch this sheer ridiculousness.
Past seasons have been so engrossing, but once I saw Kim Kardashian’s acting, it immediately enraged me for what was to come.
Kardashian is an incredible reality television star, which I am a frequent watcher of. I will even give her acting credit for her Carl’s Jr. commercial; however, I saw more emotion in her eating a hamburger than in her performance during the premiere.
With Kim’s mother Kris Kardashian being the poster child for a Momager, how could Kim not grasp onto the idea of being a publicist?
Her acting wasn’t organic and seemed very tense, but Kim was not the only actor to blame. Even seasoned actor Matt Czuchry could not give a convincing performance.
While Czuchry’s character Dexter easily portrays the distant husband with egotistical undertones, his acting is subpar. His acting in the Gilmore Girls reboot was better somehow.
Anna and Dexter’s marriage is hard to believe because he’s never at their apartment, and his only screen time is when the couple is at dinner or in the fertility clinic.
Whoever wrote this script was a new hire from the Hallmark Channel, an 80-year-old man or someone who has never seen an episode of American Horror Story.
The storyline throws so many concepts out at once, slapping the viewer with information overload and making the episode barely enjoyable. Although there should be more pros than cons, this season does not display this in the first episode.
Emma Roberts offers queen energy as she gracefully plays a character who is too mousy for her own good, but the costumes were very trendy.
Overall, “Delicate” has begun with a rough start, not that it cannot get better, but I will pray for a better second episode.
If you dare, the newest season of “American Horror Story” is streaming on Hulu and the FX channel. New episodes air every Wednesday at 9 p.m. on FX, then are available on Hulu the next day.