American Horror Story Asylum - Episode 8- Unholy Night

**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

American Horror Story Asylum- Episode 7- Dark Cousin

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- A patient named Miles (Tongayi Chirisa) is struggling to fight the voices in his head. Cracking under the pressure, Miles attempts to take his own life. After the failed attempt, Miles comes face to face with The Angel Of Death (Frances Conroy). Miles, feeling hopeless and unwilling to fight his demons, accepts the angel’s kiss of death.

Sister Jude is lost with no hope left to clear her name after Sam Goodman’s murder, and Sister Mary Eunice is about to make things worse. 

Lana begins to lose hope for escaping a vile Dr. Thredson. Meanwhile, upon learning about Grace’s failing health, Kit makes a risky decision to return to Briarcliff. 

My Thoughts- Frances Conroy’s arrival as The Angel Of Death perfectly fits with the direction the story is going in. Grace, Lana, and Jude are all broken. Each one of them is stuck in a nearly impossible dead end situation. They’ve lost all hope, especially Grace. Grace was the only one to not outright refuse or second guess accepting the kiss of death.

Conroy does a good as the angel. She’s not some scary or intimidating figure. The Angel Of Death is a soothing presence. She puts emphasis on not judging whoever calls her, because she wants to provide comfort in their final moments. The Angel’s black wings spreading wide before she delivers the kiss is an amazing visual. Yes, death can be a somber experience, but the way it’s done with the angel, you get the impression it’s a peaceful release for someone, who can’t fight through the suffering anymore.

Dr. Thredson continued to sink to new lows. After raping Lana, Thredson basically decides to end their one sided arrangement. He gives Lana the choice of dying by slitting her throat, or strangulation. Luckily, Lana manages to fight off and finally escape Thredson after a struggle.

But Lana’s triumph is short lived once she finally reaches the outside world. Lana thinks she’s finally been rescued by a man who happened to be driving, when she reached the road. But the man is bitter about a divorce from his wife of ten years, and he hates all women, and he scolds Lana for burdening him with her rescue. The driver shoots himself, and as he dies, the car crashes, knocking Lana unconscious.

Lana leaves one nightmare to return to another one, when she wakes up imprisoned in Briarcliff again. Lana pleads with Sister Mary Eunice to listen to the truth about Thredson’s true identity as Bloody Face, but unbeknownst to Lana, Mary Eunice is not someone who she can trust. 

Mary Eunice finally reveals to Jude that she was the one who killed Goodman. And to add to her devious plan, Mary Eunice intends to frame Jude for Goodman’s murder, leaving the news article about the girl she hit in Goodman’s hotel room. To make matters worse, Mary Eunice coldly offers Jude a way out in the forms of a knife and Kentucky bourbon.

Jude finally gets some much needed positivity in her life. The girl she hit on her bike is actually alive. Not only is she alive, but she’s a mother and working a job as a nurse. The setup for this scene was perfect. You have Jude ready to give this teary eyed apology to her parents, but the girl shows up healthy and alive. The apology and trying to lift that burden of guilt was supposed to be Jude’s final task in life before she accepted the Angel Of Death’s kiss.

Grace suffered a lot in this episode, and it would only get worse. Dr. Arden agreed to fix the damage done by the aliens, but honestly, Arden didn’t do it out of the kindness of his heart. He was trying to cover his own butt. 

The reunion with a returning Kit was short lived, as Grace sacrificed herself to save Kit from a gunshot from Frank. Grace had practically been begging to be put out of her misery, so she finally accepted the Angel’s kiss.

Dark Cousin is a somber episode. Grace and Kit finally thought they had a second chance to escape, but now Grace is dead and Kit is stuck in Briarcliff again. 

Another big takeaway is Sister Mary Eunice is clearly holding all the cards now. Using her powers, Mary Eunice was quick to remind Dr. Arden who’s really in charge after he slapped her. It’s also going to be interesting to see how things play out between Mary Eunice and The Angel Of Death or Shachath. For a moment, Shachath almost brought out the real kind hearted Mary Eunice, and you know they will cross paths again.

They’re clearly making an effort to build sympathy for Jude here. The flashback from 1949 showing how she was kicked out of the band for being an unreliable mess was a downer. But in a weird twist of fate, she happened to crash her car outside of a church surrounded by nuns. Jude had found her calling, but does someone who was so cruel and power hungry really deserve redemption?

Rating-8/10

American Horror Story Asylum- Episode 6- The Origins Of Monstrosity

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- In 2012, the imposter BloodyFace killers are brutally slaughtered by an unknown assailant. A mysterious man calls in to report the murders, while Teresa is nowhere to be found.

Back at Briarcliff, a distraught mother brings her daughter Jenny (Nikki Hahn) to Sister Jude. Jenny is accused of murdering her best friend Josie, but Jude has bigger problems to worry about. Dr. Arden is a shark that smells blood in the water, seeing a chance to finally get rid of his nemesis. Unbeknownst to Jude, Sister Mary Eunice has her backed into a corner, and Jude is about to lose Monsignor Howard as her only ally.

Meanwhile, Dr. Thredson explains his past to Lana.

My Thoughts-  Getting an in depth look at Thredson’s dark past provides the creepy and unsettling moments in this episode. It’s not just his underground torture chamber, but the flashbacks showing what led him to become BloodyFace. We learn that Thredson was abandoned by his mother at an early age, and he’s been looking to fill that void for years. Thredson was transfixed with the corpse of a woman at med school, he had an unusual obsession with skin that played a part in making his mask, and Thredson believed Lana was “the one” he’s been looking for all these years.

Thredson, being a devious and cerebral villain, carefully and meticulously planned everything out. From stalking Lana before their encounter at Briarcliff, to tricking Kit into confessing to the murders, including Alma, to take the heat off him as Bloody Face. This is a sick and twisted individual, and Zachary Quinto does a great job of showing his dark side here. He’s cold, ruthless, and calculating. And you get to see just how distributed Thredson is, when he catches Lana secretly working on her escape by cutting her chains. 

Paulson is phenomenal in this episode. Lana is still traumatized over Wendy’s death and learning about Thredson’s true identity. Paulson also did a great job of showing emotion and a soft side, when Lana is trying to pander to Thredson’s need for a mother figure, so he can hopefully lower his guard and trust her.

It looks like Sister Jude is just about done here. Arden has leverage over her after being shot by Anne Frank, and on top of that, Monsignor Howard is choosing to save his own butt. It’s weird. Seeing those flashbacks with Arden and Howard, when Arden was the director of the tuberculosis ward at Briarcliff. You got the sense Howard might’ve truly been a good man. But his unholy alliance with Dr. Arden came back to bite him.

Howard basically gave a deformed Shelley a mercy killing by strangling her with his rosary. But he really didn’t do it to put Shelley out of her misery. No, no real compassion was there when he murdered her. It was to help Arden get rid of his dirty laundry, and to protect himself from getting caught in the crossfire. It’s a sad ending to Shelley’s story. She could never catch a break, and you really have to wonder, if she would still be alive if she hadn’t run into Dr.Arden on the night of the storm.

With Arden threatening to take Monsignor Howard down with him, if he followed through with his plans to expose him, Howard decided to send Jude away to be the director of a home for wayward girls. 

To make matters worse, Jude’s plan to get Arden’s fingerprints for Sam Goodman backfires, when Sister Mary Eunice double crosses her. Mary Eunice murders Goodman, Jude’s last ally, to protect Arden.

On one hand, I kind of wanted to feel bad for Jude in this episode. Not only did she put Monsignor Howard on the highest of pedestals, she genuinely loved and respected the man. He turned his back on her to protect himself and a sick freak like Dr. Arden. And she still doesn’t know about Mary Eunice plotting against her. 

But can you really feel sympathy for Jude? She was always such a cruel and cold person, a dictator who took pride in showing no mercy. So maybe you start getting the feeling karma has finally come to collect after everything she’s done.

Lily Rabe continues to excel with her performances as the possessed Mary Eunice. Not only is Mary Eunice becoming more devious, but you can tell she’s settled into her new dark persona. Dancing to You Don’t Own Me, and celebrating in Jude’s lingerie really shows the old Mary Eunice is gone. She had no remorse whatsoever for what she did. She also made sure to keep some of the evidence proving Arden was a Nazi war criminal, just incase Arden had second thoughts about trusting her.

You also get to see a glimpse of what led to her bitterness about trying to fit in and being a good person. The robe prank from college, where Mary Eunice was the only in the nude after everyone else was supposed to be naked was truly cruel.

Jenny’s story seemingly concludes with her killing her family with scissors. The same story about blaming it on a man with a beard and a coat. Makes you wonder if it’s a demon and if that’s Mary Eunice had such a close connection with her?

The mystery of the modern day Bloody Face continues, as Leo is dead and Teresa is held captive by Bloody Face. The voice on the mysterious phone call to the police is clearly not Thredson’s voice, so there’s another mystery for who’s behind the mask.

The tide strongly turns in favor of the bad guys in this episode, and that includes Monsignor Howard. Spivey was Arden’s latest victim for his experiments, so you have to believe he’s done for. 

Grace is completely broken after the procedure and she has her first encounter with aliens. Lana’s life could end at any moment as Thredson’s prisoner, and Kit is stuck in a hopeless predicament in prison after Thredson’s betrayal. The only small sign of hope is Alma might be alive. Grace was able to see her with her own eyes, so Kit still has a reason to fight. A lot of intriguing cliffhangers to think about, and the acting from everyone was superb in this episode.

Rating- 8/10

American Horror Story Asylum- Episode 5- I Am Anne Frank Part 2

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story: Continuing her quest to expose Dr. Arden, Sister Jude enlists the help of Sam Goodman, a Nazi hunter and a holocaust survivor, who dedicates his life to tracking down Nazis. Refusing to take any money for the investigation, Goodman emphasizes the importance of secrecy, and he warns Jude about the dangers of openly confronting Arden.

Meanwhile, Anne Frank holds a wounded Arden at gunpoint in Jude’s office, but Frank steps in to stop Frank. Frank is sedated, when her husband, Jim Brown (David Chisum) arrives at Briarcliff. Brown tells Jude Frank’s real name is Charlotte Brown, and together, they have a sick baby. The illness was too much to handle for Charlotte, so she obsessed over Anne Frank’s story to escape from reality.

Charlotte is released from Briarcliff, and she returns home with Jim, but Charlotte can’t adjust to a normal life. After she tries to smother their child, Jim readmits Charlotte at Briarcliff. Looking for a solution, Jim agrees to try Dr. Arden’s suggested lobotomy. Unaware of Dr. Arden’s true intentions, Jim returns home with a calmer and more subdued Charlotte.

Dr. Arden tells Sister Jude he will press charges against Jude for Frank’s shooting, and Arden has plans to talk to Monsignor Howard about removing her from Briarcliff. Jude is distraught at the thought of being forced out of Briarcliff, and she doesn’t know about Mary Eunice secretly removing a deformed Shelley from Arden’s office to protect him.

Dr. Thredson finally coerces Kit into confessing for the killings as Bloody Face, and Kit’s sterilization procedure is cancelled, but Grace is not so lucky. Sister Mary Eunice informs Grace her procedure will go on as planned, but Grace receives a visit from the aliens first. Eventually, Kit is arrested by Detective Connors and Detective Byers for the murders.

Dr. Thredson follows through on his promise to free Lana from Briarcliff. Thredson brings Lana to his home, but Lana slowly realizes something is off. To protect the secrecy of his actions, Thredson doesn’t allow Lana to make any phone calls. A panicky Lana wanders through Therdson’s house, and Lana learns the truth about Wendy and Thredson’s strange behavior, when he reveals himself as Bloody Face.

Review: The ground is shrinking beneath Sister Jude’s feet, and she knows it. Arden finally has something concrete to use against Jude, he doesn’t have to worry about Charlotte anymore, and it’s clear Monsignor Howard is not in Jude’s corner. Lange shows a more vulnerable and emotional side of Jude, when Jude tells Frank about her past, including Jude having a squirrel as a kid to fill the void in her empty house, her mother being an alcoholic, and God answering prayers.

It’s getting to a point, where Jude is backed into a corner, and the deck is stacked too high against her. Mary Eunice is trying to destroy Jude, Monsignor Howard doesn’t trust her anymore, and Arden is close to driving the final nail into Jude’s coffin.  Jude is slipping (i.e. the one night stand with the random guy at the bar), and using Goodman to expose Dr. Arden is Jude’s last shot at putting an end to Arden and keeping her job. Mary Eunice continues to prove her loyalty to Dr. Arden. Dumping Shelley at the bottom of the stairs leading to the school playground (a deformed and weakened Shelley crawling up the stairs, with the children watching and screaming is truly a horrifying and uneasy scene to watch here) proves Mary Eunice is willing to risk everything to protect Arden.

Grace’s run-in with the aliens, and a sighting of a pregnant Alma raises a lot of questions, and now we know Alma is still alive. Grace and Alma’s futures are uncertain,  and barring a miracle, Kit’s fate is sealed. Thredson is using Kit as fall guy, and there’s no reason for the police to continue their search for Bloody Face.

The set up for Thredson’s reveal as Bloody Face and the execution towards the build is flawless. After a while, you realize something is not right at Thredson’s house, and Thredson’s subtle taunts towards Lana adds to the tense series of events at his house. He’s showing Lana a candy dish that’s made out of a skull, and a lampshade made of skin, because he knows he has Lana right where he wants her, and it’s only a matter of time before he kills or takes Lana as his prisoner. The little slow burn build to Thredson’s reveal doesn’t work without Sarah Paulson’s unnerving facial expressions and her body language, and that horrified look on Lana’s face, when she realizes Dr. Thredson is not her knight in shinning armor really pulls everything together. Wendy’s corpse laying next to Lana is a creepy sight (Thredson used her teeth for his mask…yikes), and Lana is trapped in a place that’s worse than Briarcliff now.

In the closing moments, they show a picture of a young Hans Gruper standing behind Adolf Hitler, confirming Jude’s suspicions about Gruper’s fake identity. I know he didn’t care anymore, because he was focused on other plans, and this is just a theory on my part, but if you stop and think about it, Thredson could’ve saved Charlotte from the lobotomy and a life as a robotic personality. Remember, Jim asked for Thredson’s opinion and his help, when he returned to Briarcliff, and Frank did his best to convince Thredson to listen.

I Am Anne Frank Pt. 2 delivers a memorable shocker with the big Bloody Face reveal, and I can’t forget about the flashbacks for Charlotte and Jim’s life before Briarcliff. You’re basically watching an unconventional 1960’s sitcom about a married couple with the TV screen POV, and the irony here is, the picturesque lifestyle of a happy married becomes a reality, when Charlotte returns to her house after the lobotomy.

Rating: 10/10
 

American Horror Story Asylum- Episode 4- I Am Anne Frank Part 1

**This review contains spoilers**

The Story: Grace finally opens up to Kit about the murders. Apparently, Grace’s stepsister, Patsy and her boyfriend, Red were in cahoots, and together, they came up with a plan to kill Grace’s father and her stepmother. Red used an axe to murder Grace’s father and her stepmother, and Patsy fingered Grace for the killings. Grace and Kit have sex after Grace’s confession, but Frank catches them in the act.

Sister Jude demands separation for Kit and Grace, and Jude issues orders to sterilize Kit and Grace. They’re determined to stick together, but Sister Mary Eunice gives Kit something to think about, when she gives Kit Grace’s file. Kit demands the truth after reading Grace’s file. Reluctantly, Grace finally tells the real story: Grace murdered her father after years of sexual abuse. Grace went to her stepmother for help, but she just gave Grace candy to stay quiet, so Grace murdered her.

Dr. Thredson rattles Kit with a new theory: Kit is Bloody Face, because mentally, he couldn’t handle living with the secret of being married to a black woman, so he snapped. Kit murdered Alma, and Kit invented the story with the aliens, because he couldn’t accept the truth.

In a last-ditch effort to leave Briarcliff, Lana agrees to aversion therapy with Dr. Thredson. Lana can’t withstand the session, but Dr. Thredson promises to rescue Lana from Briarcliff before he leaves, and he gives Lana a picture of Wendy for safe-keeping. 

Meanwhile, a woman (Franka Potente) claiming to be Anne Frank is sent to Briarcliff after a scuffle at a bar. Naturally, Sister Jude has trouble buying into her story. But Frank insists she had to hide herself from the public eye, allowing Anne Frank to become martyr. Frank was reduced to living a life in the shadows, but her self imposed exile was necessary to help shed light on the atrocities during The Holocaust.

The validity of Frank’s story raises a lot of questions, and things take an odd turn, when Frank recognizes Dr. Arden in the common room. Frank claims Arden is working under a false identity, and according to Frank, Arden’s real name is Dr. Hans Gruper, a Nazi war criminal, who tortured women during cruel experiments. Arden dismisses Frank’s claims, but Frank is certain she remembers Gruper. Meanwhile, Arden continues his experiments on a deformed Shelley, and Arden tries to force Kit into a confession for possibly infiltrating Briarcliff as a spy with physical abuse.

Detective Connors (Joel McKinnon Miller)  and Detective Byers (Matthew John Armstrong) arrive at Briarcliff to question Arden about the prostitute, who escaped from his home. The Detectives are also interested in Kit, but Jude sees a golden opportunity to finally get rid of Arden. Jude pleads her case to Monsignor Howard, but The Monsignor refuses to believe Anne Frank’s story. To make matters worse, Monsignor Howard doubts Jude’s stability after he learns the truth about Jude’s drunken calamity during movie night. Unbeknownst to Jude, Monsignor Howard calls Dr. Arden, urging him to get rid of any dirty laundry.

Eventually, Arden confronts Frank about the accusations. Arden locks Frank inside his lab, but Frank turns the tables on Arden, when she reveals a gun. Frank becomes suspicious, when she hears noises coming from Arden’s locked closet. Arden tries to attack, but Frank shoots him. A wounded Arden reluctantly gives Frank the keys to the closet, where Frank discovers a mutilated Shelley…..

Review: Is it possible? Did Kit imagine the aliens and the invasion, because he just couldn’t handle and accept hiding an interracial relationship, and living in secrecy? American Horror Story is known for pulling switcheroos throughout the years, so there’s a chance Dr. Thredson is telling the truth, and now we’re back to the possibility of Kit being Bloody Face.

After a few failed attempts, Lana leaving or escaping Briarcliff is probably a lost cause at this point, but it looks like Lana finally found a trustworthy ally. It’s clear Dr. Thredson is willing to risk it all to free Lana, but what’s going to happen, if someone else catches Lana during another botched escape attempt?

Lana’s future is uncertain, but one thing’s for sure, Kit and Grace have an unbreakable bond with unquestionable trust and loyalty. Kit could’ve ended his relationship with Grace after he learned the truth about the murders, and Kit tries to push Grace away during the early stages here, but we’re looking at two people, who realize they need each other. Grace was there for Kit, when the walls of Briarcliff were starting to close in on him, and when he needed a friend. And Grace found a soul mate after everything she went through with her family.

Sister Jude is faced with a troubling dilemma. She despises Dr. Arden, but will she go against Monsignor Howard? Jude basically idolizes and worships The Monsignor, but she’ll have to choose between doing the right the ring or defying Monsignor Howard. After all, Jude believed she had a partner in Monsignor Howard, but he’s secretly protecting Dr. Arden.

“Anne Frank” is a strange case. Lana tried to give her some friendly advice about the dangers of writing, but she received the cold shoulder. You know Dr. Arden is hiding something, but at the same time, you can understand why anyone else is having a hard time buying into Frank’s claims and her story.

I Am Anne Frank Pt. 1 features some unnerving and gruesome moments and images, including Lana’s aversion therapy sessions, and Grace’s stepmother’s bloody and mangled corpse stuffed into the pantry, and the dreary and dark black-and-white flashback during Frank’s story about Hans Gruper really works. AHS Asylum packs another episode with thought-provoking storylines, intriguing questions, and another good cliffhanger. Arden is wounded. He can’t run or hide, and she’s probably not the most credible source, but someone else knows the truth about Shelley now.
 
Rating: 8/10

American Horror Story Asylum- Episode 3- Nor'easter

**This review contains spoilers**


The Story: In 2012, Bloody Face closes in on Teresa, but Leo throws his body into Bloody Face to save her. Teresa uses the opportunity to repeatedly stab Bloody Face. Teresa and Leo take another shot an escape, but two more men dressed as Bloody Face show up, revealing all three men were working together. One of the Bloody Faces shoots Teresa and Leo, but a fourth man, working alone and dressed as Bloody Face also, arrives.

In 1964, a fierce storm is approaching Briarcliff, and Sister Jude receives an unpleasant surprise in the mail. Dated June 28, 1949, Jude is shocked to see a newspaper featuring a story about the little girl she hit with her car, while driving drunk. Meanwhile, a possessed Mary Eunice intimidates and forces one of the patients to pray with her in her room. The patient (or “The Mexican”) knows Mary Eunice is possessed by the demon, and after they finish praying together, Mary Eunice uses a pair of scissors to murder her. After the murder, Mary Eunice dumps The Mexican’s body in the woods to feed to the creatures (or The Raspers). Under Sister Jude’s orders, Mary Eunice announces a special movie night during the storm, featuring a showing of The Sign Of The Cross.

Lana is desperate to contact Wendy, so she reaches out to and confides in Dr. Thredson. Lana urges Thredson to give Wendy a note, and Thredson quietly agrees.

Dr. Arden continues his experiments on Kit, and Dr. Arden suspects something fishy. Arden accuses Kit of being a spy. Kit denies the accusations, but Arden uses his surgical instruments to search Kit’s neck.

Mary Eunice tries to seduce Dr. Arden, but a disgusted Dr. Arden slaps her, and he rejects her advances. Continuing the string of odd behavior and her uncharacteristic habits, Mary Eunice offers Sister Jude communion wine after suspecting suspicious activity. Sister Jude rejects the offer, and she notices Mary Eunice wearing red lipstick. Jude wants answers, and Mary Eunice claims the red lipstick (or “Ravish Me Red”) was a gift from Dr. Arden. Jude confronts Arden about the lipstick and the newspaper, but Arden points the finger at Jude for slipping, and the possibility of Shelley getting inside Mary Eunice’s head. Jude returns to her office, and she receives a phone call from the girl she hit with her car many years ago. After the phone call, a distraught Jude starts drinking the communion wine.

During the storm, a drunken Sister Jude stumbles into the common room to start movie night after an awkward introduction. During the movie, Dr. Thredson informs Lana Wendy was nowhere to be found, when he visited her home. To make matters worse, Thredson found a bloodstain on the carpet, and other findings around the house suggests Wendy is Bloody Face’s latest victim.

Seizing the opportunity for another escape, Kit and Grace quietly leave the common room with Shelley. Fearing the worst for Wendy, Lana joins Kit, Grace, and Shelley. Grace is against giving Lana another chance to ruin their plans, but Kit allows Lana to join the group. Carl is patrolling the hallways, but Shelley distracts him long enough for Kit, Grace, and Lana to make it to the tunnel. Shelley eventually breaks away from Carl, but Dr. Arden blocks her path.

Outside, Grace, Kit, and Lana bask in the glory of a successful escape. Lana is desperate to find Wendy, and she knows how to get to the main road. But Grace doesn’t trust Lana, so Grace insists Lana will be on her own, when the trio reaches the main road. But the group has bigger problems to worry about, when they run into The Raspers. With a limited number of options in front of them, the group runs back to Briarcliff for safety.

Dr. Arden locks Shelley in his laboratory, he tries to rape her, and Shelley laughs at the size of Arden’s penis during the struggle. An enraged Dr. Arden knocks Shelley unconscious, and Shelley awakes to two amputated legs……

Review: Well, one thing’s for sure, Sister Mary Eunice is not a pure and innocent shining beacon of light anymore. You can add murder to her list of ill deeds, and it’s clear she’s trying to stir the pot between Sister Jude and Dr. Arden. Who’s side is she on? Or, is Mary Eunice carefully moving the pieces of the puzzle into place for something else? Maybe she wants Jude and Arden to take each other out, leaving room for her to control Briarcliff with no real restrictions? Lily Rabe really deserves credit for pulling off a complete one-eighty for a more devious and sadistic Mary Eunice, with a snide sense of humor.

Is Sister Jude starting to crack? Seeing a broken and vulnerable Sister Jude is more than enough to raise a lot of questions, and Jessica Lange nailed Sister Jude’s fragile state of mind before The Sign Of The Cross.

We didn’t need more proof to show Dr. Arden has one too many loose screws, but you can tell the guy is really loosing it, when he uses the tube of lipstick to deface The Virgin Mary statue. Also, after his paranoid suspicions about the possibility of Kit being a spy, it’s clear Arden is hiding more secrets.

Kit, Grace, and Lana’s bad luck streak for escape attempts continues. Think about something for a second. After everything they’ve been through at Briarcliff, Kit, Lana, and Grace would rather return to Briarcliff for SAFETY, because they didn’t want to take a chance with The Raspers. The Raspers are a serious threat, and you finally get a chance to see a more up close view of the grotesque and hideous creatures here.

Grace doesn’t trust Lana, and with the way things are going, Dr. Thredson is the only person she can trust 100% at Briarcliff. But Wendy’s mysterious disappearance could put a damper on Lana possibly leaving or escaping Briarcliff. Remember, the last time we saw Wendy, she was cornered by Bloody Face in her own home, and any chance of Kit being Bloody Face is pretty much gone now.

Shelley is stuck in an impossible situation. Arden amputated both of her legs, and on top of that, Shelley is taking the blame for being the ring leader for another failed escape attempt. Shelley is stuck in a place, where no one can hear her screams, so she’ll basically need a miracle, if she plans to escape, because Dr. Arden is too smart to make any careless mistakes, right?

Sister Jude unknowingly following the alien in the hallways works as a tense sequence, and the alien’s presence at Briarcliff sparks more questions. What are they waiting for? Do they have a plan for Kit? Are they targeting someone else?

And the Bloody Face conundrum takes another bizarre turn here. First, we’re lead to believe it’s just the one guy in 2012, but two more Bloody Faces pop up, and one guy is working alone? The guessing game for “Who is the real Bloody Face?” is not so easy now, and Teresa and Leo are stuck in the middle.

Nor’easter is a loaded episode, packed with a number of thought-provoking storylines, featuring two top notch performances from Lily Rabe and Jessica Lange. You have to wonder how far evil Sister Mary Eunice will go to get what she wants, and what’s the ultimate goal for her master plan? Sister’s Jude’s stability is another big question mark. Will she pull everything together, or is it only a matter of time before she cracks? Nor’easter has a few unnerving moments, including Dr. Arden’s attempted rape, but you also have a few eye-catching and memorable AHS images in this episode. Dr. Arden breaking The Virgin Mary statue stands out, and Kit, Lana, and Grace losing themselves in the moment, while dancing in the storm, because they believed they were finally free.

Rating: 7/10
 

American Horror Story Asylum- Episode 2- Tricks & Treats

**This review contains spoilers**


The Story- Teresa struggles to drag an incapacitated and bleeding Leo to safety inside Briarcliff in 2012, but Bloody Face snatches Leo away from her, so Teresa barricades herself inside the same room, where Bloody Face cut off Leo’s arm for protection. Leo pleads for mercy, but Bloody Face continuously stabs him, while a helpless Teresa watches from inside the room.

In 1964, it’s the night before Halloween, and a distraught Wendy regrets her decision to sign the papers admitting Lana to Briarcliff. Wendy vows to free Lana from Briarcliff, but Bloody Face attacks Wendy at her home.

Meanwhile, Dr. Oliver Thredson (Zachary Quinto), the court appointed psychiatrist, arrives at Briarcliff to evaluate Kit. Kit sticks to his story about aliens, so Dr. Thredson diagnoses Kit with acute clinical insanity. During his visit, Dr. Thredson is disgusted with the cruelty and harsh treatments at Briarcliff. He expresses his concerns to Sister Jude, but Jude warns Thredson about overstepping his boundaries.

After showing signs of a demonic possession, Jed (Devon Graye) is admitted to Briarcliff by his parents. Dr. Thredson intervenes during Sister Jude’s meeting with Jed’s parents, and Sister Jude is not too happy about Dr. Thredson sticking his nose, where it doesn’t belong, but the parents are eager to hear Thredson’s opinion. Dr. Thredson pleads his case, but Monsignor Howard brings Father Malachi (John Aylward) for an exorcism. Dr. Thredson is faced with a dilemma, when Monsignor Howard requests his presence for exorcism, because the church requires a licensed physician for exorcisms, but Thredson agrees. During the exorcism, a possessed Jed forces Dr. Thredson and Sister Jude to relive painful memories from their pasts, and as Jed dies from cardiac arrest, the demon jumps into Sister Mary Eunice. 

Lana quickly befriends Grace, but she refuses to adjust to life at Briarcliff. Fearing the possibility of Lana telling the truth about Briarcliff, Sister Jude works with Dr. Arden to administer electroshock therapy to Lana to erase her memories. Lana makes little notes to preserve her memories, and Lana wants to hatch a plan to escape Briarcliff with Grace. Lana plans to use the secret tunnel for an escape, but Grace is caught in a sticky situation, because Kit is determined to escape before Dr. Thredson files his report. Kit wants to find Alma in the outside world, but Lana refuses to help him, because she believes Kit is Bloody Face. 

After the exorcism, a power failure releases the inmates from their rooms. Lana and Grace are quick to take advantage of a rare opportunity to escape, and Kit joins them. Lana is still adamant about leaving Kit behind, so Grace teams up with Kit to find their own escape route, abandoning Lana. Lana, standing still in a state of shock, screams for help, and the guards and the orderlies capture Grace and Kit. Sister Jude wants to reward Lana for her honesty, so she allows Lana to choose the cane for Grace and Kit’s canings. Sister Jude is eager to punish Grace and Kit, but at the last second, Kit takes the blame for planning the escape, and he agrees to take Grace’s canings (forty canings altogether)……

Review: Is Dr. Thredson the one? Lana is trapped behind Briarcliff’s walls, and nobody is buying Kit’s story about aliens, so Dr. Thredson is an ideal choice to be the one, who finally puts an end to Dr. Arden’s experiments and Sister Jude’s reign of terror, right? He’s smart, he’s willing to fight for what he believes in, and he’s not afraid to stand up to Sister Jude.

In the second episode, we get to see more of Dr. Arden’s dark side as a nasty misogynist. Sure, he’s polite and respectful towards Sister Mary Eunice, and he rewards her with a candy apple for keeping his secrets and feeding the creatures in the woods, but Arden shows a different side to Shelley, when she begs for a chance to see and feel some sunlight. Shelley offers sex to Dr. Arden in an exchange for some time outside, but Dr. Arden vehemently refuses, and he condemns Shelley for her promiscuous behavior.

And we get to see how far Dr. Arden is willing to go to fulfill his twisted perversions and sick fantasies, when an unsuspecting prostitute narrowly escapes Dr. Arden’s attempt to rape her at his home. After Dr. Arden demands a more polite and proper way of carrying herself,  the woman is forced to wear a nun’s habit. Yeah, one could only imagine, who Dr. Arden is thinking about, when the woman is dressed as a nun. Anyway, the woman finds a series of pictures, featuring women, who clearly suffered brutal forms of torture at the hands of Dr. Arden. From start to finish, the date with the prostitute is a tense and unsettling storyline, because you know there’s a chance Dr. Arden could snap at any moment, and this poor and innocent woman is stuck in a madman’s house.

The exorcism fiasco revealed more secrets in Sister Jude’s past, and she clearly reached a breaking point, when she attacked a possessed Jed. Jude’s troubled past includes a job as a lounge singer, a life as a promiscuous woman, an alcoholic, and she fled the scene after hitting a little girl on her bicycle, while driving drunk. The past is the past, but you have to wonder if she’s strong enough to truly move on, or is reliving a dark past enough to break Jude’s spirit?

Lana is quickly running out of options for freedom and escaping Briarcliff, and you have to believe she burned one of the last bridges she had with Grace. Wendy was attacked by Bloody Face, and you get the feeling there’s a chance Kit is more forgiving, but an angry Grace rejected Lana’s plea for forgiveness. Lana shouting for help, as Grace and Kit made an attempt as an escape was a strange and shocking moment. Lana hesitated, but after a brief pause, she completely squandered a golden opportunity to escape. Yes, you could say she had the best intentions for wanting to stop an accused murder, but you can’t rule out the possibility of Lana not being able to handle another betrayal. Remember, she’s still recovering from a broken heart after Wendy signed the papers, so it’s understandable if something just snapped inside of Lana, when Grace chose Kit over her.

Tricks And Treats is a strong follow up to the season premiere. Jed’s exorcism is a real nail-biter, and it’s hard to forget about the uneasy moments during Lana’s electroshock therapy and Dr. Arden’s dinner date. The second episode in AHS’s second season is loaded with a good amount of thought-provoking scenarios and questions, they did a good job of playing up the “it’s now or never” sense of urgency for escaping Briarcliff, and watching Dr. Arden and Sister Jude working together is borderline mind-blowing. Of course, Jude is just being nice to and using Dr. Arden, because she wants something, but they’re still sworn enemies, who can’t stand each other. They reveal more info about the pasts of different characters, and more questions are answered, when Jude comes face to face with the demon. Also, Shelly’s story about her past, the double standards for promiscuous women, and her philandering and abusive husband provides some good food for thought.

But one of the bigger carryover storylines for the next episode has to be a possessed Sister Mary Eunice. The crucifix shaking on the wall after Mary Eunice throws the bed sheets to the side was the first sign, and you could tell she was a different person during Dr. Arden’s visit. She wasn’t intimated, uptight, nervous, or scared. No, Mary Eunice was more calm, confident, and relaxed. Mary Eunice is a sweet and sincere person, and she’s always willing to help, but the demon has control of her now.

Rating: 8/10