Ryan Murphy is acutely aware of aesthetics, as they pertain to places, eras and feeling. You don't have to have met the man to know this. Just watch any of his shows, hits and misfires alike. Especially the latter.
"Ratched" was a bomb, but the psychiatric hospital where Sarah Paulson's wicked nurse worked was an interior designer's Shangri-la. "The Politician" flopped, but Gwyneth Paltrow's impeccable costumes and framing made a strong argument for studying certain scenes after hitting the mute button.
