**This post contains spoilers**
The Story- Kit, Grace, and Lana try to adjust to life after Briarcliff. Kit and Grace come home to shocking a surprise, and Lana has one final confrontation with Dr. Thredson.
Meanwhile, Johnny Morgan snaps again during an unusual session with a prostitute named Pandora (Jill Marie Jones).
My Thoughts- The execution for everything that went into pulling off Lana’s escape from Briarcliff was perfect. Keeping her word to Sister Jude, Mother Superior Claudia helped sneak Lana out of Briarcliff in a disguise. A lot of genuinely tense moments, when Lana is going down the staircase, and Kit is doing everything he can to keep Thredson’s attention on him, so he doesn’t notice Lana walking right behind him. The shot of Lana holding up the confession tape and flipping off Thredson, as she speeds away in the taxi was truly the icing on the cake.
Now a free woman, Lana has plans to release a book exposing the horrors at Briarcliff, finally saying goodbye to Wendy, moving to New York, and rescuing Jude from Briarcliff. But the first important order of business is taking care of Dr. Thredson.
With the police en route, Lana surprises Thredson at his home with a gun. Thredson is exposed and the secret of his identity as Bloody Face has gone public. But to no surprise, Thredson remains defiant, as he arrogantly drinks his last martini. Thredson reminds Lana he probably won’t receive the death penalty. On top of that, Thredson makes sure to taunt Lana with a horrifying story about engaging in necrophilia with Wendy’s corpse, and dismembering her body afterwards. Lana, fed up with Thredson’s games and not wanting to take any chances, shoots him dead before he can grab his gun.
Thredson put Lana through hell so many times. Yes, Thredson was a slimy piece of garbage, but Lana realized he was smart enough to possibly weasel his way out of the death penalty by pleading insanity. She felt she had a responsibility to be “the one” to finally stop him.
During Lana and Thredson’s showdown, we also get to see Johnny Morgan’s strange visit from Pandora in Dr. Thredson’s old apartment, as both stories weave back and forth between the future and the present. Morgan, wanting to feel what it would’ve been like to be breastfed and nurtured by his mother, goes berserk and attacks Pandora, when she mentions his obvious abandonment issues. It’s a creepy scene on Morgan’s side, especially when you consider Pandora put emphasis on the fact that she just gave birth. And if things couldn’t possibly get any stranger, Pandora also told him she refused to breastfeed her own baby, just so Morgan could receive the full experience he was paying for.
With the truth out in the open for Thredson being the real Bloody Face, Kit finally signs his release papers from Briarcliff to be a free man. But Kit has some business to handle with Monsignor Howard first. After Dr. Thredson used his position at Briarcliff to have Kit and Grace’s child taken away from them, Kit demands Howard use his influence to return the child to their rightful parents. He also wants Grace’s release, using the death certificate signed by Dr. Arden as evidence to keep things quiet. Kit’s asking price? Silence and secrecy. Kit won’t expose the wrongdoings to the press, and fearing a full blown disaster, Howard agrees to his terms.
Kit and Grace prepare to live a peaceful life together as a family, but they’re surprised by Alma waiting at home, with Kit’s second child. Alma still being alive wasn’t a huge shock for me. It was the same pattern with Grace, but there were more than enough clues to suggest Alma was still alive. And the attempted swerve with Grace supposedly seeing a dead Alma, while she was still being held captive by the aliens just wasn’t convincing.
The walls are closing in on Monsignor Howard. The newspaper headlines and Lana exposing the truth are too big to ignore. And with Arden and Mary Eunice dead, he can’t really look to anyone else to take the blame. Things get worse for Howard, when Jude confronts him for all of his lies and being a phony. Jessica Lange did a fantastic job here showing genuine anger and rage, as Jude scolded a man who she deeply believed in and loved. You could really feel Jude’s disappointment and heartbreak in this scene, and of course Howard’s response was to have Jude locked away in solitary confinement.
Lana didn’t want to bring Thredson’s baby into the world, but at the last possible second, she refuses to go through with a planned abortion. The PTSD flashbacks reminded Lana of everything she went through, and she had enough of all the killing and death in her life. Lana chooses to give the baby boy up for adoption instead after giving birth. There’s an emotionally tense scene here, where Lana is angered at seeing the baby, because she doesn’t want to acknowledge his existence. But when the baby won’t stop crying, she agrees to hold it. You can see the conflict in Sarah Paulson’s face, because on one hand, she would love to be a mother, but the child will always be a living, breathing reminder of Dr. Thredson.
Staying true to her promise, Lana goes to Detective Byers ( Matthew John Armstrong) and Detective Connors (Joel McKinnon Miller) to help rescue Jude from Briarcliff. The detectives are reluctant to help at first, but Lana pushes hard, because Jude’s list of allies are running thin. Mother Superior Claudia was forced to transfer to Puerto Rico, and she knows Monsignor Howard is not someone who can be trusted. On a side note, there’s a moment here, when Detective Byers tells Lana she’s a tough cookie, and Lana strongly responds “I’m tough, but I’m no cookie.” Paulson really did a good job of showing poise and delivering that line without flinching.
With a court order in hand, Lana and the detectives go to Briarcliff to get Jude, but Monsignor Howard insists Jude is dead after hanging herself. Lana is quick to dismiss this news as a lie from the Monsignor to cover up his secrets, and her suspicions are proven true, as a broken Jude is shown in solitary confinement in the closing shot.
Split Milk closes Dr. Thredson’s chapter, and a lot of questions still remain as the strong push towards the end of the season continues. How will Kit, Grace, and Alma coexist under the same roof with two children from different mothers? Will jealousy be a problem, or is the situation too unpredictable to sustain? Is Jude truly done for? With Mother Superior Claudia gone, Kit and Lana are the only two people who can help her. You also have to wonder how much more dirt will Monsignor Howard be able to sweep under the rug. A united front from Kit, Lana, and a coherent Jude would be the final nail in his coffin.
Rating- 7/10
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