The 8th episode of American Horror Stories season 3 is the first one I’ve seen with something actually supernatural (I’ve only seen 6 and 7 from the episodes released today, so take that with a grain of salt). It follows a group of boys called the Eastie Boys in a small town. The episode begins with a scene from 1851 where a drunken man gets lured to jump into a well because of his greed for gold. After the title credits, we see that same well, but the surroundings have changed drastically. It’s now presumably the present day, and a guy named Colin is making his way to his fiancée and the bank she works at. Hailey is pregnant, and they make some small talk until it gets serious and she asks him about work. He says he’s got some interviews lined up but that he’s also meeting one of his childhood friends, one of the dudes from Eastie Boys. Hailey doesn’t like this idea, and she tells him he should look for an actual job rather than hang with deviants, but he tells her it’s just for a beer (if only it was just for a beer).
Spoiler Alert
What Do The Eastie Boys Plan?
The Eastie Boys meet at the local bar and there’s a new member in the group who Colin wonders about. Liam, the gang leader I suppose, starts talking about how it really feels like the town’s cursed because people have been going missing and it feels like something’s been after them for a while now. An old man sitting at the bar then starts ranting about leprechauns and how they’re real and people don’t believe in them, to which Liam replies that what he’s really scared about is the current economy (which, fair point Liam). Anyway, this is the perfect segue for him to talk about why they’re gathered there. Liam explains how the new guy, Declan, is there because he’s the reason Liam’s come up with a new plan. See Declan works in surveillance, so while Liam was at his house, and trying to distract him from work, Declan gave him a huge speech about how people’s lives depended on him. This gave Liam the perfect idea- to steal from the bank. And the bank he has in mind is obviously Hailey’s bank. Of course, this makes Colin consider walking away, which he does until his greed takes over when Liam tells him how much gold is in the bank. They can’t steal the cash because it’s traceable etc, and this is the perfect way to make the leprechaun story work, so you know where it’s going from here, no?
A huge chunk of this episode goes into the plan behind how these people are going to rob the bank. According to them, it’s a foolproof plan (at least in a small town, it seems to be) but they don’t know that there are creatures lurking in the dark. There’s just one problem; ironically, Declan is put in a position to be caught by the police first, but he seems to not get this until the plan’s already in motion. Finally, it’s time to make it happen and Colin pretends he’s working on his CV while Hailey goes to see her grandma all by herself. He asks her to be careful, seeing as people have been going missing, but we’ll get to that in just a bit.
What Happens To The Eastie Boys?
On the night of the robbery, Declan suddenly realizes that using old footage in the surveillance doesn’t make sense because he’s the one monitoring it, so now, if the police catch them, Declan will be the first person they’re suspicious of. Declan starts to panic, but the guys pretend this is some sort of challenge before he’ll be accepted into the Eastie Boys. Declan then notices that there’s someone following the boys in the bank. When he warns the guys, they notice a weird-looking statue. I guess it seems like Declan’s just making things up at this point so he doesn’t get in trouble, but he’s not, because that “statue” really is something sinister.
Declan’s the first to go, as a leprechaun gets him in his truck. What I don’t understand is, I thought it was all about greed for gold, not simply greed for a better life, so why exactly did Declan have to die? I suppose he was greedy in association because he was so desperate to be in the Eastie Boys. In the meanwhile, Hailey gets a call at her grandma’s saying there was a false alarm at the bank. At the bank, the rest of the boys go to the vault where all the gold is. One of them is sent to bring a torch, and on his way, he notices a gold coin. When he picks it up, there’s blood on it and then the creature kills him. Only if they touch the gold, can they be killed. Eventually, Hailey shows up and Liam and Colin try to talk to her about Colin’s involvement. However, the creature arrives there, scaring both boys, not so much Hailey.
Turns out Hailey herself is a half-breed and the leprechauns need blood to survive, which is why people have been going missing. People stopped believing in them and so they had to resort to trickery. Hailey explains how they’re starving and they have to do everything in their power to get human blood. They don’t really have a choice. Even though the magic doesn’t work anymore, people are still greedy. Hailey tells Colin that he’ll be fine because he didn’t touch the gold, but he pulls a coin out of his pocket. She begins to cry, but he calmly gives her a hug. This is his final goodbye to her and their unborn daughter. He’s willing to sacrifice himself for their survival (plus so much for having to find a real job, eh?).
At the end of American Horror Stories episode 8, Hailey returns to her grandma with her medicine. It happens to be Colin’s blood (yikes). Sure they’ll survive for now, but what happens when the greedy disappear? Colin was doing just fine with Hailey and should’ve just listened to her when she said not to hang out with his friends. If only she’d told him the truth, considering his daughter would be half leprechaun too? I guess this was their sacrifice and the kid will know of her father as a hero.
