American Horror Story- Murder House- Episode 9- Spooky Little Girl

**This review contains spoilers**

Synopsis: In 1947, Dr. David Curan owns the Murder House. Dr. Curan treats his patients in the Murder House to provide a more convenient location for his surrounding neighbors. One day, an aspiring actress named Elizabeth Short (Mena Suvari) visits Dr. Curan. Elizabeth is obsessed with fame and the bright lights, and she needs dental work, but she’s low on cash, so Elizabeth offers sexual favors as a form of payment. A reluctant Dr. Curan sedates Elizabeth, and Dr. Curan rapes an unconscious Elizabeth.

But Elizabeth dies after an accidental overdose of nitrous oxide. Dr. Curan tries to dispose of Elizabeth’s body, but he’s having a lot of trouble alone, so the ghost of Dr. Charles Montgomery (Matt Ross) shows up to help. Charles uses a set of demented skills to dismember Elizabeth’s corpse, and Charles carves a permanent smile on Elizabeth’s face to end the procedure. After the discovery of Elizabeth’s mutilated body, Elizabeth receives “The Black Dahlia” as a nickname, and the story of Elizabeth’s unsolved murder dominates headlines throughout the US.   

In the modern world, Constance (Jessica Lange) and her young boyfriend, Travis Wanderley (Michael Graziadei) are stuck in a miserable relationship. Constance is still grieving over Addie’s (Jaime Brewer) death, but Travis is worried about his failing acting career.

A furious Constance scolds Travis for a lack of compassion, but Travis finds solace in Hayden (Kate Mara) during a late night walk with his dog. Travis starts a secret physical relationship with Hayden, but Constance suspects something fishy. Unbeknownst to Travis, Hayden is using him as an experiment. The experiment? Hayden is dead, but Hayden wants sexual intercourse with a living man. After a few nights with Travis, Hayden’s experiment is a success.

Ben (Dylan McDermott) moves into the house again, but Moira (Alexandra Breckenridge) is determined to ruin Ben’s life. A relentless Moira seduces Ben, and Ben runs into another problem with a new patient. Elizabeth Short shows up for therapy. Ben refuses Elizabeth as a patient at first, but Ben succumbs to Elizabeth’s needs for treatment.

To add to his growing list of problems, the doctor crushes Ben’s spirit with a shocking phone call about Vivien’s pregnancy. Ben is not the father of both twins, and after a persuasive chat with Hayden, Ben immediately suspects Luke (Morris Chestnut) as the second father.

Hayden’s sister, Marla surprises Ben with a detective, because Ben is the primary suspect in Hayden’s missing persons case. Hayden appears at the Murder House to kill any suspicions, but Hayden wants a relationship with Ben. With Vivien (Connie Britton) out of the way, Hayden believes in the chances for a happy life with Ben, and Ben lowers his guard to confide in Hayden after the doctor’s phone call.

Meanwhile, Constance visits Vivien in the sanatorium with some words of encouragement, and Constance believes Vivien’s story about the Rubber Man’s rape. At the house, Constance wants a one on one confrontation with Violet (Taissa Farmiga), because Constance suspects Violet as Travis’ lover, but Moira (Frances Conroy) denies Constance’s accusations.

Constance confronts Tate (Evan Peters) about the rumors of sexual intercourse with Vivien. Tate tells Constance the truth: Tate is the father of Vivien’s second twin. Constance unleashes her anger on Tate with a quick beating, and Constance learns the shocking truth from Billie Dean Howard (Sarah Paulson) about the consequences of Tate’s actions………

Review: Travis? I’ll admit, I dismissed Travis as a one night stand after Home Invasion, but he popped up again on Halloween Part I, and Murder House takes more time to explore Constance’s relationship with Travis here. Basically, Travis is this lazy (“I work two hours a day reading scripts!”) bum, and he’s holding on to this pipe dream of being a famous actor, and it’s hard to ignore the age difference between Constance and Travis (if I’m taking a wild guess, Travis is in his early or mid twenties).

Constance and Travis have a weird love-hate relationship. One minute, Constance rips Travis’ head off, but Constance asks Travis to be a father (i.e. stealing one of Vivien’s twins) after another big argument? Of course, Travis rejects Constance’s offer, because he’s not ready yet, and Travis wants to focus on his acting career. As usual, Constance belittles Travis again, and Travis shares another intimate moment with Hayden to blow off some steam.

But Travis runs into a big problem after another quick fix session with Hayden. Hayden is upset, because Ben kicked her to the curb (more on that later). Hayden is desperately seeking companionship, but Travis’ feelings for Hayden are limited to viewing Hayden as a sex object or a sense of temporary relief. Naturally, Travis’ “Okay, I’m done. See ya later!” attitude upsets Hayden, so Hayden murders Travis.

As a ghost, Travis returns (remember, if you die at the Murder House, you‘re trapped on the property forever as a ghost) to the Murder House, and Hayden is stuck in a troubling dilemma, because she’s clinging to a slim chance of starting a life with Ben. But if the police find Travis’ body, Ben will go to jail, or he’ll move away to escape the heat. Oddly enough, Charles shows up to cut Travis’ body into pieces, and Charles uses The Black Dahlia blueprint to dismember Travis’ corpse. Still, Hayden needs to move the body, but the ghosts can’t leave the property.

Enter Larry Harvey (Denis O’Hare) to solve the problem. Remember, Larry owes Hayden a favor, because you know, Larry is the one, who murdered Hayden. So Larry dumps Travis’ corpse in an open field (again, all of this is similar to what happened with Elizabeth) next to a basketball court.

Hayden and the younger version of Moira attack Ben with a full-court press in this episode. Moira pulls out all the stops to seduce Ben, but a resilient Ben stands his ground, and Ben fights his urges to succumb to Moira’s advances. Moira uses Elizabeth to lure Ben into her world of seduction, but Ben vehemently refuses Moira’s offer. To end Moira’s attacks, Ben fires Moira, and he asks Elizabeth to leave, and Ben drops Elizabeth from his list of patients. Moira’s threats for a lawsuit, if Ben fires her? Ben doesn’t care anymore, and he’d rather take his chances in court, because he’s sick and tired of Moira bullying him.

And there’s a twist to the end of the Moira VS Ben saga. As Moira leaves the house, the young Moira transforms in to the older version of Moira (Frances Conroy).  You have to assume Ben finally passed all of Moira’s tests, so she revealed her true form. Also, Moira knew any chances of Ben cracking under the pressure flew out the window. Ben was focused on Vivien 100%, so Moira threw in the towel for her mission to seduce Ben, and the look of shock on McDermott’s face for seeing the older Moira is perfect.

There’s a sense of calming closure to the end of Ben and Moira’s relationship, because Ben endured Moira’s advances without any mishaps, and Moira appreciated Ben’s honesty. The end to the Hayden/Ben saga? That’s another story. The timing is right, and the stage is perfect for Hayden to swoop in and steal Ben. Vivien is in the hospital, Violet resents Ben, and Ben shares a few beers with Hayden, because Ben needs someone to talk to. Hayden tells Ben the relationship and the affair was “written in the stars,” but Ben refuses Hayden’s final push to capture his heart. Instead, Ben fires back, and he tells Hayden he doesn’t love her, and Ben “used” Hayden as a temporary fix during a rough setback (the miscarriage) in his marriage with Vivien.

Hayden is a psychopath. You’ll see Hayden’s dark side in full force here (i.e. murdering Travis), and Hayden is the one, who devised the “We need to trap Vivien in the asylum, so I can have Ben all to myself” plan, but I have to admit, I could feel a little bit of sympathy for Hayden here. Why? Because she’s this lonely person, who’s more than willing to pour her heart and soul into someone else, but Hayden’s partners never reciprocate her feelings. Instead, they use her (i.e. Travis), and when they’re done, the users throw Hayden in the dumpster like a piece of trash. Hell, Ben openly admitted to using Hayden. And kudos to Kate Mara for selling the moment with a believable look of devastation, and a few tears.

Hayden’s sister Marla? Eh, I can’t say too much about her. Marla makes one appearance during the scene with the missing persons detective at the house. You can tell there’s some bad blood between Hayden and Marla, because Hayden is tired of loaning Marla money, and that’s about it.

What about Vivien? Well, Ben knows the truth about the twins now, so Ben visits Vivien in the asylum, but it’s not a peaceful visit. Ben rips Vivien a new one, with accusations of hypocrisy and Ben scolds Vivien for a holier than thou attitude. I alluded to this in my review for Halloween Part 2, and Ben doesn’t know about Vivien’s affair with a married man. Anyway, Ben leaves the asylum, because he’s disgusted with Vivien, but Ben changes his tune, when he returns to the house.

Ben intentionally triggers a false alarm for a “man to man” talk with Luke, because Ben suspects (with some help from Hayden) Luke as the second father for the twins. But there’s one big problem with Ben’s theory: Luke is sterile. After the confrontation with Luke, Ben finds the Rubber Man’s mask (keep in mind, Ben doesn’t know Tate is the Rubber Man), and Ben believes in the possibility of Vivien’s rape. Ben is stuck in a state of shock, because he believes someone raped Vivien, and he knows he made a crucial mistake.

Constance visits Vivien in the asylum, and Constance offers her support as a friend. Vivien tells Constance the truth about the rape, and Constance promises secrecy after Vivien’s admission. So if Vivien is telling the truth, why is she determined to keep everything a secret with Constance? Because Vivien wants to leave the asylum, so she needs the doctors to believe Tate’s attack was nothing more than a bad dream.

Towards the end, Billie Dean Howard paints a disastrous picture for Tate’s actions. According to a prophecy reserved for The Pope’s eyes, if a baby from a living human (Vivien) and a ghost (Tate) is born into the world, the child is the Antichrist, and his arrival is the first sign of the apocalypse.

It’s an uneasy and eerie cliffhanger. After Billie Dean’s foreboding words, they pull the plug. No cut scenes, no reaction from Constance, no shots of Vivien in the asylum. Nothing. What’s the solution? Can they stop the impending reign of terror? How does Vivien feel about all of this? Keep in mind Vivien doesn’t know about the prophecy or the Antichrist. So many tantalizing unanswered questions for the next episode, and the prophecy is another monumental hurdle for Ben and Vivien.

Murder House offers another conspiracy theory for The Black Dahlia murder mystery, and Murder House mirrors the events for the real life discovery of Elizabeth‘s body. Mena Suvari brings a nostalgic presence to the Elizabeth character, and the sight of Short’s dismembered corpse is genuinely horrifying. The sub-plot for Elizabeth is low on the totem pole for prominent storylines in this episode, but Elizabeth’s story is one of the more memorable flashbacks during American Horror Story’s first season.

Spooky Little Girl is another satisfying episode, and you can feel the build towards the finale here. They closed Ben’s chapters with Hayden and Moira, because it’s all about the twins, the prophecy, and Vivien giving birth now. Will Ben and Vivien fight back against the evil forces at the house? Do they stand a chance in a seemingly unwinnable fight? Spooky Little Girl is better than a run-of-the-mill episode, and I’ll give this one an extra bump for a pair of stand out performances from Kate Mara and Dylan McDermott, and another superb cliffhanger.

Rating: 9/10

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American Horror Story- Murder House- Episode 7- Open House

**This review contains spoilers**

Synopsis: In 1994, Larry Harvey (Denis O’Hare) is obsessed with Constance (Jessica Lange). Larry lives in the Murder House with his wife, Lorraine (Rebecca Wisocky) and their two daughters, but Larry can’t control his urges to indulge in an affair with Constance.

One night, a grieving Constance asks Larry for a favor. After Tate’s death, the state has plans to take Constance’s disfigured and feral son, Beau (Sam Kinsey), and Constance will go to jail for charges of criminal child neglect. Beau lives alone in the attic, and he’s shackled in chains. The favor? Constance wants Larry to go to the attic and murder Beau before the police arrive. Larry is willing to do anything to please Constance, so Larry surprises Beau in the attic, and Larry murders Beau.

During dinner, Larry announces his plans to leave Lorraine and his daughters, because he can’t deny his feelings for Constance. Larry promises financial support for Lorraine and the kids, but Lorraine locks herself in the girls in a room upstairs, and Lorraine sets the room on fire. Larry breaks the door down, but Larry ran out of time, and a helpless Larry watches the horrifying demise of his family.

In the 1920’s, Nora (Lily Rabe) tries to adjust to Charles’ (Matt Ross) creation. Charles used the beating heart from one of the abortion patients to resurrect the Montgomery’s dismembered and deceased son. But Nora walks into an unpleasant surprise in the nursery. The new Thaddeus (Ben Woolf) is a savage monster, and Nora is ashamed of Charles’ creation. Nora is overwhelmed with guilt, shock, and grief, so Nora murders a defenseless Charles with a gunshot to the back of the head. After Charles’ death, Nora turns the gun on herself, and Nora commits suicide without hesitation. 

In the present, Marcy (Christine Estabrook) hosts an open house for the Murder House with Vivien’s (Connie Britton) help. A wealthy Armenian developer is interested in buying the Murder House with a ridiculous lowball offer, but Vivien is desperate to sell, so she considers the offer.

The younger version of Moira (Alexandra Breckenridge) seduces the developer, with hopes of building a swimming pool in the backyard, and Moira persuades the developer to tear down the gazebo, and release Moira’s (Frances Conroy) remains, so she can move on to the afterlife with her mother.

But there’s a big problem with the developer’s plans for a swimming pool: He’s lying. The developer plans to tear down the house for a bigger profit, and his actions force Moira and Constance to seriously consider a temporary partnership to stop the developer.


Larry shows up to the open house to ask questions as an interested buyer. But an irritate Ben (Dylan McDermott) surprises Larry at his home, because Larry ignored Ben’s “If you step foot on this property again, I’ll kill you” warning.

Vivien is still furious with Ben, but a shocking announcement  from the doctor changes Vivien’s thought process. Vivien is healthy and safe, but new test results reveal Vivien is pregnant with twins. Ben is happy, and Vivien wants to express her joy with two new children in the family, but one question bothers her: How is this possible?

Violet (Taissa Farmiga) experiences a series of strange occurrences after her suicide attempt. Violet can see dead victims, who share a dark past with Murder House, but Tate (Evan Peters) offers a solution for Violet’s problems: Violet needs to stand up to the dead Murder House residents and victims of the past, and if the fear is too much for Violet to handle, Violet needs to shout “Go away!” to send a clear message with no mix-ups. Tate is Violet’s shield of protection from the malevolent forces at Murder House, but what’s going to happen, when Tate disappears? 

Review: Larry Harvey is a liar. Larry wasn’t the one, who tried to burn down the Murder House years ago. Lorraine is the one, who started the fire, and she’s responsible for the deaths of Larry’s daughters.

On top of that, Constance is using Larry. Larry is obsessed with Constance, and he’s head over heels for her, but Constance doesn’t feel the same way. Constance sees a weak and pathetic man with no self-respect, because Constance knows she can use Larry to do her bidding (i.e. murdering Beau) with no questions asked.

Ben? Yeah, he’s not worried about Larry anymore, and you can see it with Ben’s demeanor during the surprise visit to Larry’s apartment. Throughout the first half of the season, Ben was always unnerved, frustrated, and angered by Larry’s presence.

Here? Ben is cool and calm, because he knows Larry is nothing more than a sniveling weasel, who’s obsessed with the house and Constance. To put an end to Larry’s constant harassment and surprise visits at the house, Ben files a restraining order against Larry, and Ben will report Larry to the police. And Ben leaves Larry’s home with two words to crush Larry’s hopes for a $1,000 loan and a chance at moving into the house again: “Game over.”

The end to Nora and Charles’ story? Gruesome. It’s the best word to describe it, and Nora couldn’t shake the guilt for ruining the lives of the young abortion victims. As far as Thaddeus goes, we never see Thaddeus, when Nora visits the new and improved version in the nursery. You’ll hear a lot of hissing, and you’ll see Lily Rabe’s petrified facial expressions, but that’s it.

The less is more thought process/approach works here, because Thaddeus as a monster is horrifying and hideous, and they can’t show the audience a full view, because it’s too much to handle. And there’s a nasty shot of Nora’s bloody chest after a failed breast feeding attempt, because Thaddeus wasn’t interested in milk. Also, the shot for the splatter of blood after Nora turned the gun on herself is genuinely sickening.

The Armenian developer lied to the younger Moira for sexual favors. He never had any plans to build a swimming pool. Nope. The Armenian developer is going to tear everything down for his future projects, so what’s going to happen to the dead residents and victims from the past, who reside and walk the earth at Murder House? Will they fade away into nothing? Or will they answer for their crimes with an eternity of punishment? Tate “hates” Constance, but Constance believes in a second chance to fix her relationship with Tate. Beau can’t comprehend the situation, and with a happy Addie resting in the afterlife, Constance is terrified at the thought of an eternity full of loneliness and despair.

The thought of the unknown after the destruction of the house  is enough to scare Moira, and together, Moira and Constance agree to bury the hatchet (temporarily) to work together. And a delusional Larry provides a helping hand, because he’s clinging to the hopes of buying the Murder House for a second chance with Constance.

The plan? The young Moira lures the Armenian developer into the basement with the promise of oral sex. But Moira ends the pleasurable experience with dismemberment. Larry pops out of nowhere, and Larry uses a plastic bag to suffocate the Armenian developer. But Constance orders Larry to remove the developer before he “expires,”(you can walk the earth as a dead person, if you die at the Murder House) because Constance doesn’t like the idea of a confrontation in the future.

Ben is stuck in no man’s land, but he reaches out to Tate for help with a disgruntled and suicidal Violet. Tate offers his advice to Ben, but there’s a bigger problem with Violet: She can’t control sightings for dead victims (including Beau) of the past. Tate offers a solution, and when Violet tells the ghostly figures of Murder House’s past to “Go away,” they disappear without a trace. Violet has a temporary solution for the “I see dead people” problem, but that’s not going to last for long. The evil forces of Murder House are persistent, and “Go away” won’t solve the problem in the long run.

Towards the end, Violet is going through some pictures from the attic. Vivien joins Violet in her room to look at the pictures, and Violet shocks her mother with a grainy black and white picture of Nora, Charles, and Thaddeus from the 1920’s. Remember, Nora took a tour of the house with Vivien as an anxious buyer in episode 3, and Violet wasn’t around, so she doesn’t recognize Nora’s face.

Vivien’s eyes are stuck on the picture with this stunned look, because she gave a tour to a dead woman, and the screen cuts to black with Vivien looking at the picture to end the episode. It’s another great cliffhanger. How is Vivien going to handle the Nora problem? Will she tell someone? Or will she keep the secret to herself out of fear? Because Vivien’s going to have a tough time convincing others to believe in a story about a dead woman from the twenties walking around the house.

Open House ties up some more loose ends for Charles and Nora’s story, and you’ll see how far Moira, Constance, and Larry are willing to go to protect the house. They’ll do ANYTHING to save Murder House, and the union between Moira and Constance is a nice surprise, because they’re bitter enemies stuck in a never-ending feud. The Armenian developer? It’s kind of hard to feel sympathy for his death, because he crosses the line for unlikable characters. Basically, he’s a suave and soulless businessman, who’s obsessed with money, and women are just disposable sex objects for him.

Also, you have to believe Ben is on the verge of forcing his way into the house again. Vivien is clearly having trouble carrying the load on her own, and Ben needs to put in some more work for the redemption zone, but Vivien is struggling  alone. On top of that, Vivien has to deal with the Nora problem, because Violet is not alone in the boat for witnessing dead people walking around the house.

You’ll see another excellent performance from Jessica Lange in Open House. Yes, Constance is a heartless and manipulative person, but I could feel a little bit of sympathy for her in this episode. You can see the devastating look of heartbreak on Lange’s face, when Tate dismisses Constance’s pleas for reconciliation. And Lange’s passionate and emotional talk with Moira about losing the Murder House? Amazing. You can feel Constance’s desperation and fear, because Lange’s performance is spot on.

Larry is reduced to a hollow shell of a man here. He’s not a creepy and intimidating menace anymore. Now, he can’t bully Ben, because Ben knows the truth about Larry, and Larry is Constance’s punching bag. And the twins? Wow. Another legit shocker, and remember, we still don’t know if Ben is the father, because the stranger in the latex suit seduced an unsuspecting (on the pilot episode) Vivien during Ben and Vivien‘s romantic day/night. Open House features another jaw-dropping cliffhanger, and the story is progressing at a nice pace. I thought about a lower score, but I’ll give this one an extra bump for Lange’s top notch performance.   

Rating: 9/10

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American Horror Story- Murder House- Episode 3- Murder House

**This review contains spoilers**

Synopsis: In 1983, Moira (Alexandra Breckenridge) is trying to clean a room in The Harmon’s future home, but Constance’s husband, Hugo interrupts her. Hugo is looking for more after an unexpected one night stand with Moira, but Moira quickly rebuffs his advances. Hugo won’t take no for an answer, and Hugo tries to rape Moira, but Constance surprises Hugo and Moira with a gun. Constance shoots and kills Moira. Hugo begs for a second chance, but a heartbroken Constance murders Hugo after a brief pause. Constance bursts into tears, and with no one else to turn to, Constance takes a seat next to Hugo’s corpse for comfort.

After the home invasion, Vivien (Connie Britton) pushes Ben (Dylan McDermott) to sell the house, because Vivien doesn’t want to raise a child in their new home. Ben dismisses Vivien’s concerns with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, but Vivien is determined to move.

But there’s one problem with Vivien’s plans: The Harmon’s are broke. Ben lied about a series of bad investments, and without the house, The Harmon’s don‘t have enough money for a move. Ben agrees to Vivien’s one last chance terms, and Vivien forces Marcy (Christine Estabrook) to help The Harmon’s sell their home with the threat of a lawsuit (Marcy lied about the number of murders in the house).

Meanwhile, Larry Harvey (Denis O’Hare) pesters Ben for a $1,000 loan, and a returning Hayden (Kate Mara) surprises Ben with a visit at the house. Hayden is still bitter about Ben abandoning her at the clinic, and Hayden drops a bombshell on Ben: She never had the abortion. Hayden is keeping the baby, because she wants Ben as a father, and Hayden is planning a new life with Ben as a family man. To add to his growing list of problems, Ben accuses Moira of theft for his missing tape recorder, and Ben tries to fire Moira (Frances Conroy), but Vivien demands answers for the hostile confrontation.

Violet (Taissa Farmiga) leans on Tate (Evan Peters) for comfort, and Violet threatens Vivien with the promise of running away, if Vivien and Ben sell the house. A distressed Vivien (using an inconspicuous disguise) takes a tour to learn about the history behind her infamous new home. The “Murder House” was built in 1922 by Dr. Charles Montgomery (Matt Ross). Charles lived in the house with his socialite wife, Nora (Lily Rabe), and their infant child. The tour guide retells the gruesome story for Charles and Nora’s past, but Vivien abandons the tour, when she suspects signs of a miscarriage…..

Review: The Murder House? That’s a creepy nickname for The Harmon’s new home, and the backstory for Charles and Nora Montgomery is very eerie and disturbing. An anxious Vivien listens to the tour guide’s shocking story, and the details hit Vivien in the face like a series of hard slaps.

Charles was a famed surgeon, who built The Murder House in 1922 for his wife Nora, a needy and whiny socialite. As a couple, Charles and Nora had one child, but Charles hit a downward spiral  with an addiction to drugs. As an addict with a disturbing “Frankenstein complex,” Charles experimented with animals in his basement. Need an example? Charles tries to sew wings on a small pig. Yeah, after one look at Charles’ creation (using that word loosely), you’ll think twice about making any “When pigs fly” jokes again.

But mangled pigs are low on the totem pole for the Montgomery’s list of problems. A snobbish Nora is complaining about a shortage of maids around the house, and Charles doesn’t have enough money to take care of the stack of unpaid bills. The solution? Charles performs illegal abortions for Nora’s handpicked clients in the basement, but in 1926 Nora and Charles’ relationship hit a shocking climax.

Charles and Nora’s backstory is genuinely creepy (i.e. the shot of Charles’ failed experiments in the basement), and Nora (in the modern world) surprises Vivien with a visit one day. Keep in my mind, Vivien’s doesn’t recognize Nora’s face, so Vivien assumes Nora is another potential buyer for the house. Vivien shows off the house for Nora on a mini tour, and Nora is not happy about the modernized upgrades in her precious home.

But an emotional Nora recalls memories from her past as a mother, after Vivien announces her pregnancy. Vivien microwaves two cups of water for tea, but when she turns around, Nora disappears. Towards the end, Vivien is sleeping, and Nora quietly sneaks in her room. Nora tries to touch a sleeping Vivien’s stomach, but Vivien turns at the last second.

“If you lie to me again, we’re threw.”

That’s Vivien’s stern warning to Ben after Ben tells the truth about the Harmon’s dire financial situation. But Vivien’s not the only one, who’s sick and tired of shenanigans in the new house, because Ben FINALLY reaches a boiling point with Moira after the mysterious case of the missing tape recorder.

Ben fires Moira on the spot, because he’s tired of Moira’s tempting sexual advances, but Vivien wants both sides of the story before a final decision on Moira’s future as The Harmon’s maid. Ben pleads his case to Vivien: Moira is trying seduce him for another affair, but Ben is trying to fight off and ignore Moira. But Vivien isn’t 100% sold on Ben’s side of the story. After a visit from a detective (more on that later), it’s revealed men and women see different versions of Moira. Men see an attractive and irresistible young woman (Alexandra Breckenridge) with a skimpy and revealing wardrobe. Women? They see a withered old woman (Frances Conroy) with a frumpy maid’s outfit.


Anyway, Vivien bites her bottom lip to agree with Ben, but Moira throws a fit, when Vivien tries to fire her. Moira promises a lawsuit for Ben’s attack (Ben grabbed Moira’s shoulders), if Ben and Vivien fire her. Vivien wants to leave the house without a lawsuit, so she agrees to Moira’s terms (extended lunches with no questions asked, extended breaks, etc.).

Unfortunately, Moira’s blackmailing scandal takes a backseat to a bigger problem: Hayden’s return. Ben abandoned Hayden at the clinic to support Vivien and Violet after the break-in. Well, Hayden’s not too happy about Ben’s willing choice to comfort his family, so Hayden returns to force Ben into a corner with no escape route. Ben tries to dodge Hayden, but Ben forgets to show up to a crucial meeting with Hayden at a local Norms. A furious Hayden tries to expose Ben for his lies, but a nervous Ben agrees to an immediate meeting with Hayden. Hayden calms down, and together, Ben and Hayden leave the house for a talk.

But a surprise visit from Larry Harvey complicates Ben’s plans for a peaceful talk. Ben and Hayden take a few steps outside, and BAM! Larry Harvey smacks Hayden in the face with a shovel . Ben tries to stop him, but Harvey uses the shovel to kill Hayden. Harvey killed Hayden as a favor to Ben, because Harvey believes death is the only solution to stop Hayden’s plans for destroying Ben’s marriage and his family. Oh, and Harvey still needs the $1,000 loan.

With no realistic escape options, Ben works with Harvey to cover up Hayden’s death. Harvey digs the hole to bury Hayden’s body next to Moira’s remains in the backyard, and Ben uses a suggestion from Constance to complete the full proof plan: Ben builds a gazebo over the grave for Hayden and Moira.

Wow. Jaw-dropping stuff. Constance kills two birds with one stone. The gazebo helps Ben with his problem, and Constance earns another point in the never ending feud with Moira (with her remains buried under the gazebo, Moira is stuck at the house). Hayden’s death? A complete shocker, and the set up was perfect. A calm Hayden and Ben are walking out of the house together, and Larry clocks Hayden with the shovel before she has a chance to react.

For now, you get the impression Ben is in the clear. Hayden is gone, the situation with Moira is on ice, and during the closing moments of this episode, Ben and an oblivious Vivien share two tall glasses of iced tea. But it’s American Horror Story, and we’re only three episodes into this season, so ANYTHING can happen to change Ben’s seemingly quiet lifestyle.

Oh, and a detective investigating (Ben uses doctor/patient confidentiality as a shield)  an attempted suicide for one of Ben’s patients (Sally Freeman) returns his missing tape recorder. But there’s a disturbing plea from Freeman during a session. She threatened suicide, but Ben was stuck in one of his blackout phases, so he doesn’t remember the incident. Also, Ben collapsed in the doctor’s office with Vivien, and Ben (unknowingly) experienced another blackout in the backyard. Of course, Ben points the finger at a bitter and vindictive Moira for poisoning his coffee (tests reveal a foreign substance in Ben’s blood work). Moira’s response to the accusation? “Prove it.”

Murder House is another satisfying episode for American Horror Story’s first season. For now, Ben is safe, but he’s skating on thin ice with Larry. And you have to wonder what’s going to happen with Vivien after the strange false alarm? Long story short, the doctor dismissed Vivien’s spot of blood in her pants, as a harmless and normal discharge. BUT the bleeding stopped, when Vivien entered the house?

They introduced some new characters in this episode, and you have to believe in Nora having a major impact on The Harmon’s life. She’s another dead face with connections to the house’s past, and if I’m using the ending as a sign for things to come, Nora is targeting Vivien and her baby.

Rating: 7/10

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