**This post contains spoilers**
The Story- In 1962, days before Christmas, Leigh Emerson (Ian Mcshane) murders a Salvation Army Santa Claus outside of a grocery store. Starting with a little girl’s family, Emerson goes on a killing spree dressed as Santa Claus to deliver his twisted version of justice. Emerson is sent to Briarcliff for his crimes, where Sister Jude forces him into solitary confinement and brutal cane beatings.
In the present, Lana and Kit team up to help each other out. Lana vows to clear Kit’s name after discovering the truth about Bloody Face, but a returning Dr. Thredson complicates her plans.
My Thoughts- Ian McShane delivers a great performance in this episode. Leigh Emerson is a genuinely sadistic and disturbed man. McShane brings dark charisma to this character, portraying a man who’s vicious, but he also revels in his misdeeds.
But we do get to see some moments of vulnerability from Leigh. When Sister Mary Eunice tells the story of how Leigh was imprisoned for stealing bread and how he was raped in jail by five men. You can see the sadness on his face, when he’s reminded of this, and it’s easy to point to this as the moment where Emerson broke mentally.
Sister’s Jude’s plan to save Mary Eunice from her possession horribly backfires. She was escorted off the property at Briarcliff as a trespasser for the first time. Her second mistake? She was gullible enough to trust Dr. Arden’s fake pleas for help.
Arden pulling a bait and switch on Jude by locking her in her old office with a vindictive Leigh Emerson wasn’t a big surprise. They tried to throw a curveball with the perception that Arden secretly went to ask for Jude’s help without telling Mary Eunice, but it’s already been established that while Arden is a stubborn and arrogant narcissist, he knows possessed Mary Eunice is too powerful to betray.
Jude actually managed to stab Leigh in the throat, but what happens now? Arden and Mary Eunice already have their plans set in place. Monsignor Howard has turned his back on Jude, so when you consider all that, Jude has no support system. And to make matters worse, she’s locked in a room with a bloody man that she stabbed.
The bond between Mary Eunice and Dr. Arden seemingly grows stronger in this episode. Arden proved his loyalty to Mary Eunice by playing a big part in setting the trap for Sister Jude. But things also continue to be shaky between the two, because Arden still wants the pure and sweet version of Mary Eunice back. Arden gives Mary Eunice a pair of ruby red earrings he took from a Jewish woman at a concentration camp, after the woman’s failed attempts to hide the earrings by swallowing them.
Arden was disgusted Mary Eunice didn’t refuse the earrings. He knows the real Mary Eunice would’ve been horrified at the thought of taking “s*** stained earrings” that Arden had to retrieve by searching the woman’s feces. Mary Eunice mocked and scolded Dr. Arden for being pathetic, and she once again reminded him who’s truly in charge.
Kit and Lana teaming up to expose Dr. Thredson is a big development in this episode. Kit has always been a forgiving man, so he didn’t have to think twice about trusting Lana. Lana was ready to kill Thredson, but Kit put a stop to it. A confession from Thredson is the last chance Kit has to avoid the death penalty, so they both agree to keep Thredson bound and gagged and hidden until they can figure out the next steps.
There’s also a somber dream sequence from Kit in this episode. Kit imagines he’s home safely, celebrating Christmas with a pregnant Alma and Grace. It shows you what could’ve been, if all the madness never happened, and it’s a dream sequence that does a good job building sympathy for Kit.
The big takeaway from this episode is, Jude has probably hit the point of no return. It’s going to look like she broke into Briarcliff and attacked a patient. To make matters worse, Sister Mary Eunice received Monsignor Howard’s full endorsement for her leadership, and her attempts to reform Leigh (although that was short lived. Very short lived).
Mary Eunice also continued her relentless efforts to tie up any loose ends by killing Frank. A sad ending for Frank, because he wanted to come clean after accidentally killing Grace, but he hesitated after a warning about doing the right thing from Dr. Arden.
Another big question from this episode is, you have to wonder if we’ve seen the last of Grace? The aliens took her body before Dr. Arden had the chance to dump her in the woods, so the creatures could eat the evidence.
How long will Kit and Lana be able to keep holding Dr. Thredson as a hostage a secret? Will a confession do anything for either of them? Yes, Lana and Kit put a stop to Thredson’s second run as Bloody Face and his plans to claim Lana as his new victim. But Thredson revealed to Lana that he already cleared his home of any evidence tying him to Bloody Face, and Kit is already the prime suspect.
Unholy Night is definitely an AHS style Christmas episode. Everything from the Christmas tree in the common room being decorated with personal items from the patients, including dentures and ribbons of freshly cut hair, to Ian McShane’s portrayal of a demented killer Santa Claus. It’s one of the best AHS guest star appearances, definitely a memorable performance. The only setback is Leigh Emerson is such a deeply layered character that he would’ve needed an entire season to be truly fleshed out. McShane knocked it out of the park here, but it’s the type of character, where it’s hard to predict the true potential for in the middle of the season, and possibly being limited to only a couple of episodes.
Rating- 10/10
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