American Horror Story: Delicate Just Isn't That Serious, Babe

The end of American Horror Story: Delicate is almost upon us. The 12th season of Ryan Murphy’s horror anthology, which premiered on FX in September 2023, will deliver its finale — and perhaps a demon baby — on Wednesday, April 24. 

AHS: Delicate, which is based on the novel Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine, centers on Anna (Emma Roberts), an actress who finally becomes pregnant after she and her husband Dex (Matt Czuchry) struggled with infertility. When strange and frightening events start to happen — stalkers breaking into their apartment and leaving ominous lipstick messages on the mirror, her biggest competition getting decapitated in a freak accident, the works — she becomes convinced that someone is targeting her and her baby. In the meantime, she faces enormous pressure from her ruthless publicist and best friend Siobhan (Kim Kardashian), to campaign as hard as she can for an Oscar… no matter what it might cost her.

The penultimate episode, “Little Gold Man,” begins with a flashback, transporting the audience back to 1967 as Mia Farrow is filming Rosemary’s Baby. When the actress starts hallucinating bleeding out onto the floor, seemingly pregnant with a literal demon baby, a stranger knocks on the door offering to help — and that stranger turns out to be Siobhan. It’s not exactly a bombshell given viewers already know Siobhan can’t be trusted, but it’s still a pretty wild opening sequence, even for American Horror Story. 

It’s also revealed that Dex, who's never been husband of the year, has been cheating on Anna with Dr. Hill’s receptionist, Cora (Tavi Gevinson). Not only does Cora tell her about the affair, she admits that she’s the one who messed with Anna’s calendar, broke into the couple’s apartment, and terrorized her with those creepy messages. “I became addicted to watching you,” she says. “Your life just seemed so perfect. I wanted it for myself.” She also warns Anna that Dr. Hill and the women who work for him are “doing something” to her baby. 

Although the episode has its entertaining moments, it’s not especially terrifying. In fact, that’s kind of been the case for this entire season. This may be a horror show, but AHS: Delicate is at its best when it leans into comedy and embraces its own ridiculousness instead of trying to dish up more lackluster scares.

Take the big reveal about Dex and Cora, for instance. Cora may be there to warn Anna about whatever sinister thing is happening, but it’s hard not to focus on how painfully oblivious she is. She actually seems caught off guard when Anna is understandably horrified — apparently she should just take the stalking and terrorizing as one big compliment? Cora only did it because she wanted to be like Anna! 

The sex scene flashback with Cora and Dex is also so over-the-top that it’s laughable. The cherry on top is when she tells him how great he is, and he responds with, “I’m a piece of sh*t.” Maybe viewers are supposed to be reeling from the “twist,” but it ultimately comes off as more ridiculous than unsettling.

Delicate shines brightest when it leans into morbid and self-aware humor. Kardashian has actually been one of the season’s strongest players, perhaps because she’s essentially playing a supervillain version of Kris Jenner. Siobhan is undoubtedly awful, both as a publicist and a “best friend,” but that’s exactly what makes her character such a blast to watch. In Episode 6, she and Anna are having dinner together when a news announcement pops up on the TV declaring that Hamish (Dominic Burgess), the director of Anna’s new film, was found dead, apparently by suicide. Anna is stunned and horrified, but Siobhan (who’s the one actually behind Hamish’s death) barely bats an eye. “Such a bummer!” she says as if she just found out a friend has to cancel brunch. It’s so unbelievably awful that you can’t help but laugh. 

This season’s best episode so far is “Vanishing Twin,” which includes a 1500s flashback where Mary I makes a deal with Satan and subsequently gives birth to a demon child, but that’s not why it stands out. The highlight of the episode is when Anna, at the advice of Siobhan, makes a girlboss Instagram reel to rehabilitate her image after humiliatingly throwing up at the Gotham Awards. Emma Roberts chanting, “It’s my body! I’ll vomit if I need to!” is simply incredible, and the fact that the video goes viral and actually works feels like a clever self-aware nod to how ridiculous Hollywood can be.

Ultimately, American Horror Story: Delicate is most entertaining if you view it as a very dark comedy rather than a psychological horror. Sure, Anna keeping a dead raccoon in a bassinet like a baby and then straight-up eating it later is wildly disturbing, but it’s also so absurd that it’s hilarious. This season may not be genuinely scary the way that AHS: Murder House was, but at least it’s funny — even if it’s not always trying to be.

The season finale of American Horror Story: Delicate airs April 24 at 10:00 PM ET on FX, and streams next-day on Hulu. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Kelly Martinez is a TV Reporter based in Los Angeles. Her previous work can be found at BuzzFeed and People Magazine, among other outlets. She enjoys reading, spending time with her cat, and explaining the plot of Riverdale to people.