Review: American Horror Story: Asylum, S2 Ep 6, “The Origins of Monstrosity”
Air date: Wednesday, November 21, 2012, 10pm ET/PT, on FX
Rating:
Warning: possible spoilers.
With Lana (Sarah Paulson) now in Dr. Thredson’s (Zachary Quinto) trap, will he or won’t he kill her? This may not be the more interesting part. The way he proffers croque monsieur and tomato soup is almost kindly, but watching him lament never knowing his mother and how his yearning for a mother’s touch led him to an unorthodox behavior in medical school is stomach churning. I feel sorry for him, but also left pretty cold, knowing he’s beyond redemption. This will become a battle of the wits—Lana learns quickly she can appeal to the lonely son inside of Thredson and present herself as a mother figure (“A mother’s love is unconditional. Everyone deserves that, even you. Baby. My baby”) to escape his murderous clutches. Watching this little cat and mouse game, it could go either way.
Monsignor Howard confronts Dr. Arden
The title of this episode is fitting. We get flashbacks of several characters’ stories, notably the first time Monsignor Howard (Joseph Fiennes) and Dr. Arden (James Cromwell) meet. It’s a benign enough meeting, but after the monsignor has to deal with the now monstrous Shelley (Chloe Sevigny), he’s forced to confront the maniacal doctor about ending his experiments. But being the coward he is, the monsignor fires Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) instead of doing right by the patients at Briarcliff. As if they aren’t already living in hell. What is Dr. Arden’s reason for his inhumane experiments? And why does the monsignor not stand up to Arden, especially when Arden feeds him nonsense like, “All in the name of progress… Briarcliff is a receptacle for human waste…These patients came to me less than men, and now they’re more than human. ” Does the monsignor’s fear stem from being a willing accomplice of Arden’s, even if he didn’t know the full extent of his experiments? I think he just may fear Arden himself.
Sister Mary Eunice attempts to entice Dr. Arden
The most intriguing relationship at Briarcliff is between Dr. Arden and Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe). Since she’s possessed by the devil (this remains a glaring oversight on the show, not acknowledging where the hell the devil went when he left a previous patient’s body), she’s been flirting mercilessly with Dr. Arden. Now that the Sister knows the truth about him—that he’s actually Hans Gruper—she has him right where she wants him. Little does he know what will happen when he gives up his soul (which we know he will do; he won’t have much of a choice). Why she wants Arden’s soul in particular is no puzzle—of course the devil wants to continue to perpetuate evil and Dr. Arden is the perfect candidate, being fraught with evil himself. Just think of what sort of partnership they’d both make—hell on earth. I love the moment where Sister Mary Eunice takes glee in calling him Hans, and seeing his pitiful defense for his indefensible work as a Nazi: “I’m not a monster, I’m a visionary.” Well, he’s confessed to being just like the devil only, come on, the devil is honest about being … the devil.
Jenny (Nikki Hahn), a little girl dumped at Briarcliff by her mother, is a psychopath. This is evident in her flat affect and lack of response to any of the awful things happening at the asylum. The exchange between her and Sister Mary Eunice in the kitchen is chilling, especially when the Sister calls Jenny’s murdered friend a “phony little shit,” and proclaims herself as the devil. Jenny doesn’t even bat an eyelash. I’m hoping for more Jenny because she just might become the Sister’s little helper; I’d love to see Jenny inflict gruesome pain upon Dr. Arden.
Will Jenny become Sister Mary Eunice’s helper?
Poor Mr. Goodman (Mark Margolis), the Nazi hunter. The work of the good man was going to be torn asunder but not before he calls Sister Jude to confirm her suspicions about Dr. Arden. When she learns that one of her own, a nun, is behind Mr. Goodman’s gruesome murder, she’s horrified. It’s a mystery to me how she will handle this but I suspect she is going to blow everyone’s cover at Briarcliff. I can only see the strength of Sister Jude winning out in this scenario; in fact, it has to, because right now, evil is winning out at the hospital.
At the now abandoned Briarcliff, it’s a mystery why there are three Bloody Faces strung up. It’s obviously a copycat… or is it?
American Horror Story: Asylum airs Wednesdays, 10pm ET/PT, only on FX Networks.
LIKE the show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americanhorrorstory.
Follow American Horror Story: Asylum on Twitter: @AHSFX.
You might also like to follow co-creator Ryan Murphy @MrRPMurphy, Director/Producer Brad Falchuk @BFalchuk, Dr. Thredson @ZacharyQuinto, Lana Winters @MsSarahPaulson, Spivey @MarkConsuelos, and Kit Walker @tweetsonurface.
Photos ©2012 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Juana
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1 comment
Loving the reviews Juana! Makes it easier for me to follow since it’s too scary for me to continue watching. I still want to know what happens. 🙂