Kathy Bates Brings Back 'Titanic' Vibes On AHS

Kathy Bates' character Iris on American Horror Story: Hotel, looks like she is going to be sharing a heartbreaking past with us at some point in the near future. We already got a glimpse of her tragic backstory when we saw her attempting and failing to save her son Donovan from the clutches of drug addiction and Sally, but I have a feeling that she isn't exactly living her best life. This week however, when she shared the horrifying backstory of Mr. March, I couldn't help but feel a serious '90's kid throwback to her character, the Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Everyone remembers Kathy Bates as the brash but lovable Molly Brown in Titanic. One of the scenes that surely sticks in the heads of '90s kids everywhere is when Rose smoothly explains the various (mostly scandalous) backstories of the absurdly rich passengers on the Titanic, to Leo's character Jack. She refers to Bates' character as "new money" and watching American Horror Story: Hotel tonight took me right back to that moment. Iris tells the horrific story of Mr. March with the same zeal and gossipy glee. The way she describes Mr. March's zest for opulence seems to throw us right back to how her character Molly was described as living luxuriously due to ignorance of a new fortune. And yeah, she throws around that term: "new money."

Also, Kathy Bates is kind of like the female Morgan Freeman; she can narrate a story like it's nobody's business.

Ryan Murphy knows how to use his actors' strengths and I think this was just one of those choices that resonated on more levels than he originally intended. Nostalgia city!

Images: Frank Ockenfels/FX