posted by @HeyItsKamo

Two crazy episodes in a row, one with a huge plot reveal and jaw dropping twist, and another that left us wondering what the fuck is going to happen next (Tate, you need to bust out of jail, kid), American Horror Story: Asylum turned the creepy dial up a few notches in the past couple of weeks. Let’s talk about what the hell is going on (spoilers!), shall we?

Season two of AHS is essentially about an insane asylum, a crazed doctor that performs terrible experiments on the patients committed there, and a mysterious killer of women known as Bloody Face (is this just a forgetful Tate? NOPE!), which you would think would be nice and creepy, but so far I think season one was a hell of a lot more frightening. Besides the demonic possession episode, the brief “alien encounter/abduction” scenes, the modern day “Bloody Face” opening scenes, and the opening title sequence, there’s not much that has really creeped me out so far the second time around. That’s not to say that this season of the show isn’t entertaining- it is, and it keeps me coming back week after week. It’s just that the thing that hooked me on the show last season was all the creepy shit that kept going down each episode. Season one had a plethora of unusual twists and events that flat out scared me; I think this current season is turning from the creative supernatural that we were accustomed to in season one of AHS (ghosts, demons, crazed lunatics, murderers), to the more “mainstream” supernatural that we’ve been seeing a lot of lately (zombies, aliens, Nazi occult, evil children).

If I sat down and watched the first and second seasons of AHS at the same time, as if they were two different shows, I would probably enjoy season one more than season two. I think the idea of the haunted, creepy, demon infested house, and the way the story introduced the characters (the distraught family trying to start a new life, the weird neighbors… Zachary Quinto and his partner had an outstanding introductory episode), was all around good television. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy Asylum, I just think that season one had a more interesting job with telling each of the ghosts back-stories and the gruesome tales surrounding the house. All we’ve really seen with Asylum is a creepy demon for the end part of an episode, a few glimpses of aliens and what appear to be zombies, and a brutal ex-Nazi scientist performing weird experiments on asylum patients.

The past two episodes of season two have really kicked the story into a higher gear. We were treated to a flashback of the Monseigneur and Arden discussing experiments with diseases which would make them both famous and powerful people. We continue to see Sister Judes struggle with her past drunken behavior, her present crisis at Briarcliff with Dr. Arden and her loyalty to the Monseigneur, and what her future might hold if she doesn’t do something to stop our favorite ex-Nazi mad scientist. Tate is in jail, wrongfully accused (although it’s partially his fault because Zach Quinto tricked him into admitting to the Bloody Face murders on tape) of murder and awaiting his eventual execution at the electric chair. ZQ helped Lana (the reporter) escape from the asylum, only for her to discover that he is actually the insane killer Bloody Face and now the bitch is chained up in his basement!

The two most interesting characters so far have been Arden and Thredson, although I still feel as if the writers are looking to make Sister Jude and Kit Walker (Tate) the main characters. If I know anything about ANY PREDICTABLE STORY EVER, Arden and Thredson won’t make it to the season finale- I’m guessing one of Arden’s creations will get him, while Thredson will go in an equally violent manner (Lana kills him during an escape attempt perhaps?).

Dr. Arthur Arden – the development of this character has been all over the bitch. He started off as some creepy doctor that was (maybe) performing some suspicious/deadly experiments on some patients in an insane asylum, to becoming an ex-Nazi war criminal doctor that likes to beat up (kill?) hookers, cut people’s legs off, and perform fucked up experiments that turn average people into puffy-faced monsters. Lobotomies and electroshock therapy are nothing new to this guy; cutting people’s necks open to remove alien technology is his bread and butter. Arden is one of the most interesting individuals on the show so far because, in terms of the hospital and not an awesome character to be on this creepy program, he really serves no purpose. He doesn’t prescribe medicine to sick patients (that we see, at least), re-set broken bones, treat allergic reactions- he just fucking performs insane experiments, gives sass and back-talk to Sister Jude, and kills. The fact that he is employed by the asylum is bizarre because, like I said earlier, he doesn’t do any fucking doctoring- a flashback on last weeks episode revealed that he was previously employed at the hospital to treat patients with tuberculosis, and when the Monseigneur came in, he and his boys let Arden stick around because of false promises the doctor made. He told our boy that he would move up the church ladder quickly if Arden could continue his work (making a cure to TB I guess?). This dude is crazy and it’s going to be interesting when he gets outed as the ex-Nazi he actually is.

Dr. Oliver Thredson – with one of the biggest character arcs in the entire series (besides Sister Mary Eunice, who was possessed by a fucking demon), Thredson (Quinto) is an unbelievable character. I don’t mean “unbelievable” as in “wow, what a great character” although the character is pretty good, I mean it in the sense that there’s no fucking way he could possibly pass as a psychologist while hiding his deep seeded abandonment/mommy issues. I came to this conclusion after the episode where he revealed that he was Bloody Face and that Lana and Kit are completely fucked. You have this very caring doctor who genuinely wanted to help Lana and Kit (remember, this was a huge fucking twist because absolutely nothing in his character hinted at his true purpose on the show) turning out to be a crazed/mean/cruel killer that skins his victims and makes lamp shades and masks out of their skin. And all of this because he was abandoned by his mother? No. I’m not buying that shit. Either the writers need to go in to his back story a LOT more -which I’m sure they will, this show loves going in to a characters past- or they expect the audience to just sit down and take it: “Oh, it turns out he was the killer the whole time, gee isn’t that weird? He seemed so normal.” It’s a cheat, and while I want to accept it for what it is, I can’t because of Thredson’s actions leading up to his reveal as the killer. The only thing I can think of that may have hinted at Thredson’s true colors was the demon possession episode- the possessed boy said something to ZQ that I can’t for the life of me remember. It may have been the name of a Bloody Face victim, but I just can’t recall- I’m hoping the writers do us good and justify this character trait in a future episode. I DO understand why they put Thredson in Briarcliff in the first place- Kit was framed for his crimes, he needed to ensure that the attention stayed off of him and on this rube.

So what the he*k is going to happen in the coming episodes? For one thing, shit between Arden/Jude/Monseigneur is going to pop off. All three know about Arden’s past, so it’s only a matter of time for homeboy. Sister Mary Eunice, now possessed by a demon, has befriended a murderous little girl, who I’m hoping comes back to Briarcliff to start some shit with Sister Jude or whoever, it doesn’t matter, she’s just going to kill people. Mary Eunice’s character is going to get a lot more screen time- a nun possessed by a demon is too interesting a concept to keep on the back-burner. Tate is fucked, I’m really not sure how he’s going to get himself out of this situation unless the aliens abduct him and send him back to the asylum. Bloody Face/Thredson and Lana have a weird relationship going: she’s chained in his basement, and now she’s pretending to be his mother and he’s buying into it because he’s totally insane.

A lot’s changed since week one, but was season one any different?

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