Saturday TV Special - AHS: Asylum 2x08 Unholy Night / 2x09 The Coat Hanger

What would Christmas look like in the asylum? Well, we know it now, thanks to episode 8 of season 2 of American Horror Story. The episode starts with a prologue featuring brilliant Ian McShane as a demented killer - Lee - dressed up like Santa Claus. During one Christmas Eve he massacred 18 people and it results in him ending up in Asylum. But now, when sister Jude is no longer in charge and Sister Mary Eunice aka the Devil calls the shots, he will have the opportunity to determine who was naughty and who was nice yet again. Mary Eunice also gets to decorate the Christmas Tree. Now how would Satan decorate the Christmas Tree? With all sorts of disturbing stuff found in the Asylum, of course.

Meanwhile Dr Threadson aka Bloody Face visits Lana in Asylum and she manages to overpower him with the help of Kit after which she tells tied up Threadson that "one day she will bury him". That's right - Lana is no longer a victim - she is set on revenge. At the same episode, Dr Arden appeared to have a change of heart but only for a little while - he pretended to be helping Jude defeat the Devil in Sister Mary, but in the end of the episode it turned out he was working with Sister Mary all this time and after Mary killed the lovable guard Frank, Arden and Mary locked Jude in the office alone with scary Santa Swerengen. After some very disturbing lines and the caning, Jude managed to prevent him from raping her by stabbing him in the neck. But it's a miracle! He survived just to give us some more Ian McShane in next episode.
Another juicy moments of the episode included Dr Arden giving Sister Satan rubies that literally came from some one's ass - he stole them from Jewish woman who hid them inside her for a long time. Ain't love grand? Arden had another big moment when he was trying to dispose of Grace's body and suddenly aliens appeared and took her with them. Yep, aliens. They are the big part of the show now.

This week's episode wasn't the best and it did feel a lot like the filler episode and in some ways it was - it's all a set up for four final episodes that will start airing on January 2. So the episode ended with few big cliffhangers but the best part of it was the opening - when there were several homages all at once, all of them - accidental. First we got a funny connection to season 1 - Dylan McDermott, who played a shrink there, now is the patient. And the shrink here is played by Brooke Smith, who played abducted girl in The Silence of the Lambs, the film from which Murphy is borrowing heavily this season.
In this prologue we found out that McDermott plays the son of Dr Threadson and considering we also found out that Lana is pregnant and carrying a boy, it's safe to assume that it's her son that grew up to be yet another Bloody Face. McDermott's performance was really awesome, especially few humorous bits thrown into the scene. Of course the shrink didn't make it out alive of the meeting with him and she is found by her another patient in a very cool homage-to-Psycho scene. Meanwhile, back in the 60's, Lana tries to abort the baby using the coat hanger - well, that was unpleasant. Can you imagine pushing a hanger up your va-jay-jay? And this is what women actually did. But then Sister Mary informs her that her attempt was unsuccessful.

Lana also visits Threadson, to tell hm she killed his child, back when she believed she succeeded. He calls her a monster and seems heartbroken that his baby is gone while Lana is disgusted by how sick and delusional he truly is. He gives his confession, which Kit records. Unfortunately, then we find out Threadson escaped and what a shame since Lana was going to kill him with repurposed coat hanger. Where is he now? Who knows. Hopefully the confession gets to the police before he does something awful to Lana again.
One of the highlights of the episode was the conversation Jude and Lana shared. In it Jude apologized to stunned Lana for keeping her in Briarcliff and also she has done something I'm immensely thankful for - she destroyed the record with the song Dominique that was playing all the time in the common room driving me nuts. Lange and Paulson had really awesome moment here, reminiscent of those they shared in season 1 and I'm hoping that new alliance between them will bring us many more amazing scenes. I think these two will bring down Sister Satan and Threadson together. If anyone has a chance it's them - they are sufficiently desperate and pissed off.

Meanwhile, Dr Arden apparently got a crush course about aliens since now he is super well informed about them and offers Kit a chance to see Alma and Grace.Arden figured out that the aliens are studying Kit so if he is in danger, say on the brink of death, they will come to rescue him. So Arden proposes to Kit that he will try to "almost' kill him. Kit, who is apparently bored with dealing with all these crazy chicks, says yes. And when they do that thing, the aliens show up and as Arden opens the door to the room, from which the bright lights were coming from and...we see Grace, naked and very pregnant. Surprise - long time no see Pepper is also there and she appears to be super intelligent.
Episode The Coat Hanger might have just as easily been called "The Stupid things Monsignor Timothy does". I mean seriously, he is hot, but he is so dumb it's unbelievable. First he really thinks sister Jude killed Frank, then he sees the potential of rescuing Lee's soul - yes, if there is someone whose soul can be rescued it's a dude who dresses up like Santa Claus and murders entire families. So he attempts to baptize Lee and of course, Lee drowns him. Wait there is more. In the last few moments of the episode a janitor finds him and Monsignor is crucified. The Angel of Death played by Frances Conroy appears. And now we have to wait till January 2 to see what happens.

I really can't wait to see what they will do to wrap this up. But I'm fascinated. And I truly hope we will get one hell of a back story for Bloody Face in modern times.And on the side note - may I just say that if season 3 focused on Salem witch trials and featured Peters, Cromwell, Lange, Paulson,  Sevigny, Farmiga and McDemortt it would be the best thing ever?

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