126 replies to this topic

[dizzyd]

The episode title was a give away and makes me cringe. Albeit predicted, I actually enjoyed this episode, very well executed and cohesive, I was hanging on every word and action that was lacking since about episode 4 this season. Very satisfying indeed.

So is Pepper an alien? The 1st alien appearance in Briarcliff was the night she went missing. 2 weeks!!!

[the fresh maker]

Only a crazy-ass Nazi would understand the motives of crazy-ass aliens.

Either Pepper's an alien, or she's a clone who's been given superior intellect. It would make sense that the aliens would send her to care for Grace and the baby in order to protect the "experiment."

If Sister Mary Satan hadn't been in the presence of a fetal Threddy Face, Jr., would he have had a chance at a somewhat normal life? I wonder if she imparted something to him when she touched Lana.

Let the Lana and Judith kicking ass begin, please.

[FinePoint]

Dylan McDermott--why would he confess his crimes to the therapist? Did she not inform him ahead of time that if he confesses to a crime, she's going to report it? Or it's just his insanity that made him ignore that. Or they didn't inform patients back then that if they confessed to crimes, they report it. His face also looks thinner this season. Maybe it's the facial hair.

Nazi man has gi-nor-mous nostrils. Really noticed that from the side shot when he was talking with Tater. Can't wait til his character eats it. I hope they wait until they can make it gloriously bad.

The way they lit the Monsignor this week, I saw shades of his brother dressed as Voldemort. So now he's close to gone, too. I wonder if Psycho Santa will be back next week.

Is Frances Conroy as the Angel of Death supposed to be comforting? She doesn't have that same wonky eye from last season, but she creeps me out.

When the hell did Pepper get abducted to come back with Grace? And Grace came back with lipstick on.

Jessica L looks so great with her hair down and at that length, not pulled back in that nun habit any more. Even when she's supposed to have ratty hair, she still looks great. And she has such a great quality to her voice, even when she's whispering.

Lanabanana sure gets around that place. Loved it when she was acting like she was going to use the hanger on herself in front of ZQ. And he has the nerve to call her a monster. When burly man in white coat caught her with the knife, I was thinking to myself, just use the hanger on ZQ. How barbaric that there used to be "rabbit tests" for pregnancy. We haven't evolved much farther what with the awful Draize tests used in so many cosmetics. And girls having to harm themselves with coat hangers.

On a lighter note, how does Lily Rabe say her lines without cracking up? She's so much fun to watch.

And I loved the commercial break (after we saw the Monsignor caressing Jude's red nightie):

-----"American Horror Story is brought to you by Victoria's Secret." Hahahaha.

Edited by FinePoint, Dec 12, 2012 @ 11:08 PM.

[Turkish]

That was one impressive gaslighting of Sister Jude. Wow, did they set her up good or what?

Sister Mary Eunice's machinations are still endlessly entertaining to me but that's mostly just because of how Lily Rabe is playing it. She was so deliciously evil with Lana tonight.

I don't know why I didn't expect this show to actually not show Lana using that coat hanger. This is a Ryan Murphy production after all. I had to turn away. I just couldn't do it.

Where has Bloody Face run off to now?

What the hell does Arden want with the aliens? What did they do to Pepper? Kit isn't really dead right? So many questions.

This is just speculation on my part but I don't think the Angel of Death is there to take the Monsignor. I think she was sent by God to use him as a proxy to take the Devil down for good what with the crucifixion and all(very subtle Ryan and I say that sarcastically). That had to be Joesph Fiennes' purpose was all along otherwise I don't get why he would sign on for a role on a show that's barely used effectively until now. Shit is about to get real and I can't wait.

Edited by Turkish, Dec 12, 2012 @ 11:15 PM.

[karra]

When the hell did Pepper get abducted to come back with Grace?

Movie night

[Nightmare Logic]

Well Hot Damn! That was one hell of a winter finale.

Sister Jude found out the hard way that its not paranoia when they really are out to get you. I really did like her conversation with Lana that was a long time coming. Also enjoyed the destruction of the record. Finally we are free from"Dominique".

Dr. Arden, Alien Hunter. That was an interesting story with Kit. And Pepper's back!!!!! Plus pregnant Grace.

And speaking of pregnant.....Lana so is the demon baby Blood Face Jr. hers or not? Probably yes. I really enjoyed badass, proactive Lana, and I was kinda hoping she would finally get to kill Thredson. It was kinda chilling the way she was talking about how she always wanted to get into the mind of a killer and now she was (or something like that.) I am starting to think that will be her major story arc for the back end of the season. Does she or doesn't she cold blood murder Thredson.

As for Monsignor Timothy can a man be more gullible? First with Sister Mary Eunice and then with Satan Clause. All you have to do is appeal to his need to be pope and you can get the man to do anything. Good to know but bad for him. (oh well..nice knowing you you stupid stupid man.) Hey the Angel of Death was back of as well. Hi Angel of Death.

Edited by Nightmare Logic, Dec 12, 2012 @ 11:14 PM.

[frostedglass]

Lily Rabe is amazing. I never heard of her until this show, and this season, as I didn't see season 1. She's like a prettier Jill Claybergh, (no offense to JC!) She was so good as innocent Mary E, and sooooo good at being bad as the ultimate evil.

Agree with the poster upstream who says JL can do a lot with a whisper. JL's breathing/cadence is an effective acting choice for heaven's sake. So glad I discovered this show.

Although a lot of things, I guessed and predicted ended up happening, I've still enjoyed watching it unfold.

[Candy Moocher]

This Show. My disbelief has been fully and wholly suspended and I am strapped in and loving the ride.

Well, we know one thing for certain: the cops eventually get the real Bloody Face, aka Oliver Thredson. How else did "John Morgan" know his identity? Poor Ollie, living on borrowed time.

I hope Angel of Death is back to possess the Monsignor (or something) to take on Sister Mary Satan. I would love to see an epic battle.

When Dr. Arden was plotting to summon the aliens, did he not wonder what they might do to him? What a moron.

Loving...LOVING... everything Sarah Paulson and Jessica Lange are doing this season. Thank God they won't be in the same awards category when the time comes. Also loving Lily Rabe but hey, only one person can win (usually).

Is it 1/2/13, yet? The world better not end in 8 days, I need to know how this ish ends.

Edited by Candy Moocher, Dec 12, 2012 @ 11:19 PM.

[mustbekarma]

I could not tell who the hell it was hanging on the cross. Other than that, I'm not feeling the mystery to this episode. Of course, Lana wasn't going to be successful with her coat-hanger abortion. Of course, the aliens were going to come back. Of course, Satan Claus was going to kill the stupid priest. Or at least that's how I saw it.

Really, how sucky were the 60's when a fucking serial killer's word is better than a nun's?

[lanorigb]

I missed it-what are "rabbit tests" of pregnancy? I loved this episode, finally something happening! This has got to be the most lax psych hospital ever. Knives readily available and an Evil Santa allowed to walk about.

[karra]

Lily Rabe is amazing. I never heard of her until this show, and this season, as I didn't see season 1. She's like a prettier Jill Claybergh, (no offense to JC!) She was so good as innocent Mary E, and sooooo good at being bad as the ultimate evil.

Lily Rabe is Jill Claybergh's daughter!

I missed it-what are "rabbit tests" of pregnancy? I loved this episode, finally something happening! This has got to be the most lax psych hospital ever. Knives readily available and an Evil Santa allowed to walk about.

Rabbit tests are a reference to an old style of pregnancy test where they injected a rabbit's ovaries with a woman's urine and if the rabbit's ovaries changed, that meant the woman was pregnant because the ovaries would only change if a pregnancy hormone were in the urine.

Edited by karra, Dec 12, 2012 @ 11:24 PM.

[summerwind74]

So Monsignor Timothy seems to have taken Ben Harmon's place as The Guy Who Just Doesn't Get It, No Way No How.

I'm looking for some comeuppance in the next four episodes, and I just don't think that figuring out What The Aliens Are After is going to do it for me. Although apparently it is known in the show's modern day that Thredson actually was Bloody Face, so somehow the truth DOES get out---I will be interested to find out how it does.

I know it's unfair to ask for things to make sense in a Ryan Murphy show, but his understanding of mental disorders leaves much to be desired. I can't follow the thread (ha) from Thredson to Bloody Face Jr. (assuming his being the actual son of Thredson isn't a sick fantasy). I don't like the implication that there's something like a "bad seed."

[frostedglass]

Lily Rabe is Jill Claybergh's daughter!

No way! Wow, I'm shocked and not shocked at all. Talented duo right there. Thanks for the tid bit.

I remember when I was younger there was an expression I rarely hear anymore for discovering a woman was pregnant: "The rabbit died." I didn't realize it was so literal. Yikes.

Edited by frostedglass, Dec 12, 2012 @ 11:28 PM.

[Turkish]

Lily Rabe is amazing. I never heard of her until this show, and this season, as I didn't see season 1. She's like a prettier Jill Claybergh, (no offense to JC!) She was so good as innocent Mary E, and sooooo good at being bad as the ultimate evil.

Well, she is her mother's daughter after all. You can really tell when she laughs. It's the exact same laugh. I wish her mom was still around to see how awesome she's doing on this show. She would be so proud.

[ca94nhl]

Why oh why did Monsignor Timothy's baptism of "Bad Santa" cause me to flashback to Father Ralph de Bricassart in "The Thorn Birds?" Blind ambition... well played, Bad Santa. Well played.

Still think that the "Lana is modern Bloodyface's mommy" is too darn obvious.

I never liked the Singing Nun anyway. Hope I don't have to hear "Dominique" anytime soon.

[ThatPoshGirl]

She doesn't have that same wonky eye from last season, but she creeps me out.

There is something funky going on with her eye. When they did the close up on her a couple of weeks ago you could see it. The one eye looked kind of glassy.

I could not tell who the hell it was hanging on the cross.

It was the monsignor.

I imagine during a mugging the monsignor would be like "oh, you're trying to give me your gun? I'm so happy you have turned to a life of ch..." BLAM

I can't believe how much the preview gave away.

Edited by ThatPoshGirl, Dec 12, 2012 @ 11:38 PM.

[summerwind74]

In the extras on the Season 1 DVD, Conroy says that her eye is actually naturally that color as a result of an injury. She commented that she was glad that for once she didn't have to wear contacts.

[Rachelli]

Lana doesn't have unfiltered cigarettes? No problem, Jude just rips of the filter and sparks that bad boy up!

[Petunia13]

Total ripoff of Psycho when the patient turned the chair and saw the shrinks body.

Not sure how Bloody Face Jr found out his pop Thredson was BF but that could be a red herring Thredson gets eventually busted. Maybe he found out from Lana.

[Whatsyourface]

I wonder if the Monsignor had a similar pool party experience as Sister Mary Eunice because he is incredibly dumb. I hope they show us is back story soon.

I wonder why Ian McSanta didn't kill him. Also, how did he get him up there? Props. Maybe he really is Santa.

Still think that the "Lana is modern Bloodyface's mommy" is too darn obvious.

Maybe they will make some twist with Grace and Kit's baby. Or maybe the whole thing turns into a Raising Arizona type of affair.


They have matches? How has no one tried to burn it to the ground?


Always nice to see the increasing amount of staff. I've got to hand it to them for being so hard working and oblivious.

[Snookums]

Called Grace being back and pregnant! And I guess abduction's not all bad if you happen to be Pepper, huh?

Let the Lana and Judith kicking ass begin, please.

Well, hot damn, yes! I was nice to see Judy finally learning her lesson: that you can't beat/terrorize/pray out of others what you won't accept in yourself. And she learned it right away--no weeks or months of dragging out her "I'm just one of them now" scenes. Loved her coming in the common room while the patients pretty much ignored her but the nuns and orderlies looked daggers. That's why it's better to make yourself loved then feared; you never know when, where, or why you'd need an ally.

I had a flash of hope that during the whole Leigh/Monsignor scene the Mons was the one playing Leigh, that he was just pretending to fall for his repentance act. Alas, the good Monsignor is truly as dumb as he looks.

(Query: how long does it take to haul down a man-sized crucifix, remove the Christ statue from it, nail a man to it and haul it back up? It just does not seem like a one man job. Plus, with the nails through his palms and no other support, wouldn't M's body weight have torn him loose? Or he would have suffocated due to his diapraghm being compressed?

Also, Leigh's just what? Running around outside somewhere? How does Briarcliff keep its accredation? "Yep, lost Bloody Face and then Bad Santa. Also, there seems to be a bunch of mutant werewolves running around loose. And a helluva lot of our patients get knocked up." Don't even private/church run institutions get inspected now and again? Especially if they sell food to the public?)

And speaking of food, here's to big sharp knives just left around loose in drawers in the asylum for the criminally insane! On second thought, I'm not surprised they lost those two, I'm surprised any of the staff is still alive!

Not sure how Bloody Face Jr found out his pop Thredson was BF but that could be a red herring Thredson gets eventually busted. Maybe he found out from Lana

He said he found out when he was in prison for armed robbery, had nothing but time, and tracked down the information on the internet. The question is, is he really Son of Bloody Face or has he just convinced himself he is?

(Do you think the actress playing the shrink is allowed to pop people in the face if they come up to her and start in on the "lotion on its skin" or try to hand her a little dog or whatever?)

Edited by Snookums, Dec 13, 2012 @ 2:25 AM.

[Turkish]

how long does it take to haul down a man-sized crucifix, remove the Christ statue from it, nail a man to it and haul it back up?

I'm thinking Leigh had a little help from the Devil and her telekinetic abilities in getting him up on that cross.

[bcharmer]

And I guess abduction's not all bad if you happen to be Pepper, huh?

I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper,
She's a Pepper, we're a Pepper,
Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?

[Snookums]

I imagine during a mugging the monsignor would be like "oh, you're trying to give me your gun? I'm so happy you have turned to a life of ch..." BLAM

Honestly, the man is so damn stupid that the only reason he's still alive is people can't believe he's that stupid. He must be so used to reactions of "....really? Really?" that he thinks it's just normal. He makes remarks about rare birds or found object art and wanders off while his would-be opposers blink rapidly and try to rearrange their thinking to include the idea that a man this simple has achieved his rank in the church.

I really, realllllly hope it turns out that he's not really "in charge" of anything: it's just he's powerful church official's idiot nephew or something, so they send him off every day to "work" at Briarcliff and then he comes home and eagerly tells his keepers his plans and dreams and they nod and smile and say "Of course you'll be Pope some day. Here's a cookie. Let's get your pajamas on."

It would make sense that the aliens would send her to care for Grace and the baby in order to protect the "experiment."

I guess Kit and his stopped heart and rapidly disintegrating brain are screwed.

Of course, Lana wasn't going to be successful with her coat-hanger abortion.

I knew she wouldn't, because, This Show, and also because she wasn't a) dead, b) in a coma from blood loss, or c) fighting a massive infection but up, walking, and downright chipper about taunting Ollie.

Edited by Snookums, Dec 13, 2012 @ 2:54 AM.

[TWoP Tennison]

Thanks for starting the thread. I totally spaced on this episode.

[Riff Randell]

Can poor Lana ever get a break? God. She'd laugh if she knew that buddying up with Jude is probably going to be one of the best things to happen to her in that place. I just need the two of them to triumph in some way by the season finale (not that I'm hopeful after last season, but, y'know). Speaking of - hope Jude starts smashing more things than just terrible records. More applause would follow.

I'm not really concerned about Kit (he and Grace bore me to tears) except for the fact that he's the one responsible for hiding the Thredson evidence, and as long as he's under Arden's Herbert West-lite administrations, Lana is going to remain screwed over.

Arden was slaying tonight. "No, I want to almost kill you." I'll be disappointed to see him go, if only because James Cromwell is so fantastic.

Ian McShane is a god, but Grace was by far the creepiest part of this episode. She looked like an alien herself with that glassy-eyed stare, ugh.

The Monsignor is both naive and power-hungry - not exactly a winning combination. Mary Eunice has already started playing the flattery card, and that's his Achilles heel.

The reverent way he touched Jude's things, and his stuttered response to Eunice's implication that she lusted for him, makes me think her feelings weren't as one-sided as first seemed. Not that he's in love with her - his only real love is ambition - but there seemed to be a longing. Earlier, I'd thought he was going to be secretly gay, or at least have some other skeletons in the closet that Arden was holding over him, but I guess it really was just his ignorance over Arden's schemes that was enough for blackmail. Of course, the instant he starts to develop a conscience (or a brain), he'll be a dead man.

I wonder if the modern day Bloody Face isn't a red herring for some other plot twist, or there was severe misdirection regarding his parentage - because it's either that, or else the audience called it a long way back. Can't say I'm a huge fan of the modern day segments in general, but at least there's no more Adam Levine.

[RedLips]

There have been a lot of comments about the alien storyline and how crazy it is to have Nazis and aliens in the same show. If you Google "nazi alien connection", you'll see that the writers didn't pull this out of thin air. There have always been these "theories" that the Nazis developed their advanced technologies with the help of space aliens. Yah, I know. I'm laughing too. :-)

[KermitD.Frog]

Wonder where Threds is holing up?
Why did the therapist still have her face? DM, you suck at skinning. Loved his rat tail mullet, BTW.

I think the Pepper/Grace scene was just a hallucination brought on by the aliens so they could get to Kit and revive him. They wanted Arden far out of the room so they could collect their experiment. I mean, even if Kit is kicking out alien sperm through his neck bug, would Grace's baby grow to full-term before Alma's? Alma was certainly not ready to give birth when Grace saw her, and that had been months after her abduction.
And seriously, no crop circles or Nazca line mentions? Show, why are you holding out on us? :p

The reverent way he touched Jude's things, and his stuttered response to Eunice's implication that she lusted for him, makes me think her feelings weren't as one-sided as first seemed. Not that he's in love with her - his only real love is ambition - but there seemed to be a longing.

I actually thought it was because he was embarrassed at having been caught looking at a woman's underwear. He's such a naive milquetoast, I assumed he was asexual.

What's gonna happen to that tape? Arden knows Kit put something there. Hopefully Kit had time to move it before being put to death. Did he seriously say he couldn't remember Alma anymore? That's really sad, especially after having that vivid dream about her and Grace just a few days ago. Is his name supposed to be a play on 'kitten'? Because he certainly seems to be the only pure innocent this season.

I'm shocked that Lana had enough forgivenss for Jude that she not only refrained from laughing in her face, but was actually nice to her. Between these two and Kit, no one else knows what's going on at Briarcliff that actually wants to stop the evil. Even if they did escape, they've been patients, so there's no way anyone will believe them about anything - it will just sound like paranoid jabber.

When the Mons was drowning, he looked like Elliot Stabler. YMMV, of course.

[slwg]

I just finished watching it online, and of course when there were 10 minutes left the plug-in crashed. Wonderful.


I was fully engrossed in this episode, but even then I had a constant thought in the back of my head: "God, the people in here are so f%"$ing STUPID." The staff, I mean. The most oblivious people I've ever seen. The fact that they were more concerned with keeping Jude on lockdown rather than keeping tabs on the rumored Bloody Face (we drugged him up! He could totally just take it out but psh he wouldn't do that...it's not like he tried to escape multiple times before) and other, y'know, notorious murderers really shows where their priorities lie. I saw the drowning of the Monsignor coming from a mile away. That guy is an idiot.
Just because Jude also "snapped" and stabbed Bad Santa doesn't mean he's automatically innocent and can just stroll around! He legitimately confessed to murdering 18 people, but because he said he wanted "redemption" they just let it fly. Don't they realize by now that the lame shackles won't really prevent anything?

I love Lily Rabe, and Sr. Mary Eunice is usually so fun to watch, but this week I got less amusement and actually found myself hating her. During the scene when they were all recounting their stories about Jude my blood was boiling.

Also, didn't Arden realize last week that Mary Eunice was the devil? Or was that idea just canned? Also I don't really get why they keep mentioning the nazi thing, I can't really see it going anywhere or adding anything if the truth actually does come out. There's not really any point in revealing it now. We already know he's a bad guy regardless. I suppose it would undermine his authority though. Cromwell was great this episode, though.

Ugh Grace. She looked like a pregnant elf. Kit better not be dead, even though his plotline is ridiculous. I found the alien bit a little more tolerable though, I have to admit, now that Arden's involved and it's not just Kit running around insisting he's not crazy. Basically what I'm getting from this storyline is that even aliens are obsessed with Evan Peters and just want his sperm.

It was nice to see Lana being a little more proactive this episode instead of just bitching. Just gonna throw it out there, I don't really think practicing on a pillow is the same as a human body, but whatever gets the job done.

One last point. JESSICA LANGE IS A GODDESS.

[JenE4]

So is Pepper an alien? The 1st alien appearance in Briarcliff was the night she went missing. 2 weeks!!!

Either Pepper's an alien, or she's a clone who's been given superior intellect."

My take was that Pepper was, indeed, Pepper. She was abducted the night of the movie, and the aliens have been experimenting on her--and succeeded in "fixing" her mental disability. Either time is different on their planet or they have a method to "speed up" anatomical development; if they can make Grace ready to give birth so quickly, they could quickly "heal" Pepper's disabilities. Well, heck, they brought Grace back to life and even scooped her lady parts back in. So, even though Arden's left Kit for far too long without reviving him, fear not, the aliens will be able to bring him back to life!