American Horror Story: Delicate ends Part 1 with Episode 5, which adds more mystery to the whole situation while also seemingly clearing out certain matters as well. So far in the series, we have seen actress and model Anna Victoria Alcott dealing with a horrible pregnancy phase, as she even had a miscarriage once. But scarier and stranger things have been happening to our protagonist, as she is stalked around by two women who seem to warn her about something, while two other figures miraculously bring back the baby inside her womb. While Delicate Part 1 has successfully built the mystery and creepy premise, the finer details as to what exactly is going on will only be revealed in Part 2, which will arrive some time later.
Spoiler Alert
What does Ms. Preecher reveal?
Following the same pattern of beginning with a scene from the past, as seen in last week’s episode 4, Delicate episode 5 takes us to 1987, in Manhattan. A pregnant woman is being taken into the operation theater, helped by two men who are acquaintances of her, but neither is her partner. In fact, the father of the baby that she is going to have is missing from her life, for she does not know where he is. When the doctor walks into the room and speaks with the woman, she is revealed to be Ms. Preecher, obviously much younger than we have seen her till now. The gynecologist operating on her is also known to us, for he is Dr. Andrew Hill, the same man Anna has been consulting throughout her pregnancy. There seems to be some difficulty in Ms. Preecher’s birthing efforts, and when Dr. Hill calls on for some help, the two black-clothed figures, referred to as the Ashleys earlier, now enter the room. It is with their help that the baby is born and immediately sent away to some other room, and the sequence ends here.
Back in 2023, Dexter and his mother, Virginia, are seen taking a walk near the Hamptons house, where the man and Anna have been staying for the past few days. Virginia had already told her son about how she suspected her father to have satanically abused her for many years. She is about to sue the ex-husband for this reason and wants Dexter to provide his testimony on her behalf. As the son is confused about what exactly he would have to do, for he had never seen or felt anything like this happening against his mother, Virginia responds that he should simply testify for her character and also against that of his father. Dexter clearly does not have any displeasure or dislike against his father, though, and there might even be a reason for this, as his mother swiftly points out. Everything that Dexter has been able to achieve in life so far is because of his father’s money and influence. Dexter is even more angered after hearing this, and he insists that Victoria drop the trial altogether.
When Anna visits Siobhan’s office in New York, she once again sees Ms. Preecher following her around, and this is again proved to be an actual reality and not just the protagonist’s hallucination. We follow Virginia for a few minutes when she files the case against her ex-husband, together with her lawyer, who insists that numerous women go through satanic abuse without having any idea about it, just like her. As the woman walks out of the building and walks through an alley, she is spooked by some mysterious whispers and laughter, and then suddenly, four figures dressed exactly like the Ashleys walk towards her. Virginia retraces her steps, and as she returns to the main street, the elderly Ms. Preecher runs into her, almost as if she had been waiting around for her.
Upon Ms. Preecher’s request, the two sit down for some conversation over coffee, and the woman now reveals something she knows for certain. She first tells Virginia about her own past, for she was a gifted fashion designer during her youth. Ms. Preecher had come to New York for her studies at the FIT, and she had already started working under famed designers like Yves Saint Lauren and Karl Lagerfeld even before graduating. The young woman was genuinely making a place for herself in the fashion industry when a night of fun got her accidentally pregnant. Ms. Preecher did not mind dropping the baby, and she had decided to get an abortion, but then a random woman on the street approached her with a different proposal. This woman said that if Ms. Preecher gave over her baby to the woman, then she would give something in return to the mother.
Ms. Preecher had no idea why the woman was asking for her baby, and she admits that she still does not know why. She had accepted the proposal and gone through with it only because the stranger had promised to give her anything she wanted in return. It seems like she had asked for fame and money, and while both came to her very indirectly, the promise was never exactly kept. Virginia now wonders why she is being told all of this and asks whether it is in relation to what her own ex-husband once did to her. However, Ms. Preecher reveals that she is warning Virginia about her son Dexter, not her husband. The council of women in all-black, whom Ms. Preecher refers to as the group working against her and the others, had grown extremely angry at Dexter when the man had taken away one of their core members with his love. This member seems to be Dexter’s deceased ex-wife, Adeline, and it is therefore suggested that the supernatural occurrences on Anna were because of the mysterious group’s anger against her husband.
What more does Anna experience?
Anna’s bewildering act of chomping on the body of the dead raccoon from last week is not made any mention of, at least directly. There is a moment when the woman coughs up a few bloodied nails from her mouth and then also what seems like a long canine tooth, which appears to be that of the raccoon. But no other mention of it is made, and the focus is instead on other strange happenings, like when some of Anna’s hair falls off with blood on their roots. Soon, she finds another doll with her resemblance, on which the hair is plucked away with some blood on the doll’s scalp. It is almost like someone is performing voodoo on the woman, since whatever strange happens to her is always found to have been done on the dolls as well. Anna coughing up the nails also suggests this, as a doll had earlier been stuck with nails on its belly.
When at Dr. Hill’s for a checkup, the doctor says that her body is showing signs of being in her third trimester, and Anna is quick to correct him that she is only in her second trimester. The doctor is not perturbed by this at all, but this too seems suspicious, for it suggests that when Anna got pregnant the second time, it was not really a new pregnancy but that the old fetus inside her had somehow been revived. Either way, the woman is told not to travel at all, despite the night of the Golden Globes approaching very soon. Obviously frustrated by her situation, Anna asks for a guest at her house, but her choice is also suspicious, for she invites Dexter’s new client, Sonia Shawcross, to the house. The main reason seems to be the fact that Anna suspects that her husband is having an affair with the woman, especially because Sonia looks exactly like his ex-wife, Adeline. Anna even shows her the old photograph of Dexter and Adeline with their friends, but Sonia admits that she had not seen the photo earlier. There is something mysterious about this picture, too, as for a brief moment, Anna sees Ivy seated at the back of the photo before the woman strangely disappears again.
The presence of Sonia also very clearly disturbs the house manager, Nicolette, and Anna notices this, too. Nicolette refers to Sonia by her surname even though it has not been mentioned, and it is almost as if she knows Sonia from before. American Horror Story: Delicate has still not made it very clear as to whether Nicolette is present at the house to harm Anna or to protect her, and this episode adds to the mystery further. Towards the end of the episode, Anna also has a terrible argument with her husband, Dexter, when she finally reveals that his behavior has been making her feel as if she is the one going crazy. Dexter does admit that is indeed the case, for he does not believe any of the things Anna has been reporting about her situation, and this leads to an ugly spat between the couple.
Is Siobhan involved in the supernatural occurrences?
In last week’s episode 4, the first major point of suspicion against Siobhan was presented when she was seen having an affair with Anna’s film director, Hamish Moss. The two had also talked about a secret with regards to how the script of Hamish’s latest film had been acquired, and this matter is dealt with in this episode as well. It is now revealed that even Hamish does not know how the script came into existence or who wrote it, as it was Siobhan who gave it to him. Siobhan had told Hamish to make a film using the script and also to cast Anna, even though every other producer and advisor had told Hamish to avoid the script and definitely not cast Anna. It is almost as if Siobhan knew from before that this combination would bring the film success, and this now bothers Hamish as well. The director is genuinely surprised that such a film is now being nominated for every major award, with Anna leading the nominations. He asks Siobhan about where she got the script from, but there is obviously no answer provided yet.
When Anna visits Siobhan’s office, she is also shocked to find that her younger rival, Babette Eno, is also being represented by her best friend. This is hurtful for Anna, especially since Babette is always indirectly rude to her, and also because Siobhan had never told her about this development. When Anna confronts Siobhan regarding this, the best friend almost lashes out, saying that this was her professional decision and that she was not answerable for her choice of clients. However, later in the episode, Siobhan’s stance and identity look all the more peculiar when she calls up Anna on the night of the Golden Globe Awards. The young Babette wins the award for the best actress category, defeating Anna in the process, and Siobhan calls the protagonist right at this time.
Siobhan asks whether Anna genuinely wants to win the Oscars and whether she would do anything and everything necessary for it. Anna obviously answers positively, for she does aim to win the accolades. The very next morning, Dexter shows Anna horrible news on his phone—that Babette Eno has tragically passed away in a car accident on the very night that she won the Golden Globe award. This does make it seem like Siobhan Corbyn is incredibly linked to this entire matter, either directly or in some supernatural manner. It seems almost like Siobhan has been working as an agent for the Ashleys and others working for the Devil.
What can we expect from Episode 6?
As the first part of American Horror Story: Delicate comes to an end, the supernatural situation Anna finds herself in looks very real. Whether she will ultimately give birth and whether her baby will be a satanic child that will be taken away by the mysterious figures remains to be seen. Ms. Preecher now finally seems to be on the positive side, as she wants to save Anna from the same situation that she had once been in. But Ivy, who until now seemed to be on the same side as Ms. Preecher, now looks more suspicious, as the young woman can be seen keeping an eye on Ms. Preecher and Virginia Harding during their meeting. Ivy’s sudden emergence in the photograph of Dexter and his friends is also probably hinting at her being a friend of the ex-wife, Adeline. Sonia Shawcross and her slight eccentricities also seem a bit suspicious, while Dexter seems to be off the list of suspects for now. The answer to all these questions and more will surely arrive with Part 2 of American Horror Story: Delicate when the series returns after a long break.
