What happened?
Vivien’s attempts to move are thwarted by the realisation Ben’s handling of their finances has rendered them unable to leave without selling the house. Then she learns that the house is a notorious horror home, even featuring as part of a tour, and is known as the “murder house”. A couple used to live there performing abortions, but the doctor wasn’t just killing the unborn foetuses and was performing all manner of bizarre and grisly experiments.
Vivien does experience some bleeding but, though the doctor considers it harmless “spotting”, it seemed to get better when she returned to the house. The wife of the murdering doctor also appeared, apparently as a potential buyer, although Vivien never noticed the huge wound in the back of her head before she disappeared into thin air.
Ben had a bad time, experiencing blackouts drawing him to a patch of land in the garden he felt compelled to dig up. When one of his patients disappeared initial worries that he killed her turned out to be that she had killed herself after he had been blanking her. Whilst dealing with that and his Vivien’s pregnancy scare he missed an appointment with his mistress, Hayden, who wanted to keep the baby and tell Vivien everything. The burned man showed up and killed her, and buried her in the hole Ben had dug.
In the hole already were the remains of the housekeeper, Moira, and Constance slyly remarked that she was now stuck there after Ben built a garden feature over the grave.
Thoughts
The sheer size of the ‘what happened’ section above says it all – there was just so much going on this episode (and I kept it as brief as I could). No one can accuse the show of holding back or taking its time. Straight out of the gate the mystery behind Constance’s remark to Moira, about how she had killed already, were clarified in the opening scene set in 1983.
I don’t know if it was make-up, good lighting, CGI or a combination of some of those things that de-aged Constance for that scene but it was a flawless effect. And certainly interesting to see that Moira was a young woman when she was killed. There was a later remark about how women see the soul of the person, and men see only what they want to see. It was established here, by Ben and the detective, that when they look at Moira they see her as a sexy, flirtatious young woman. Women, meanwhile, see her as a withering, fussy old lady, which is apparently what her real soul appears to be.
I did enjoy the scene where Ben argued for Moira to be removed from the house, whilst Vivien defended her. The innate comedy as Ben described her coming on to him when we know that, to Vivien, he’s talking about this rather unpleasant and puritanical old woman was highly amusing.
The matter of her bones being buried in the grounds seemingly linked to her inability to be free is a curious one. Could it possibly be that all of the ghostly folk lurking around the building are there because their remains are dotted about the place (perhaps in the basement?). Hard to imagine that, since I fully expect there to be a whole host of other people to be killed in the murder house and appear as a spirit as the show goes on.
I’d imagine there will be a re-appearance from Constance’s husband before too long, for one thing. Just another plot line thrown into a whole stew of the things.
As I sort of expected, the selling of the house and moving out is not going to be easy, and without it the Harmon family are not going to be able to move. The moment where Vivien’s unborn baby seemed to be imperilled when she was away from the house, and calmed when she returned to it, might become something that really anchors her to the place. Once she makes a firm connection that the life of her child demands she remain at the house then there she will surely stay.
The history of the murder house was an interesting one, shedding some light on the jars of baby parts and strange splices sometimes seen in the basement. There’s the possibility that the thing in the basement is a product of the murderous abortion doctor’s experiments but right now I don’t feel like I know anything near enough to hazard further speculation.
This episode seemed to be tapping into the vibe of Stir Of Echoes, just as previous episodes have hinted at the likes of The Strangers (intruders in the house) and The Shining (ghostly twins). There are no doubt numerous other intentional movie references, as though American Horror Story wants to distil as many American horror movie inferences into its DNA.
Ben had a lot of hassle to contend with this episode, when he wasn’t inexplicably zoning out and being drawn to Moira’s burial place, he had blood on his hands, a mistress becoming increasingly uncontrollable, temptation issues with his hot maid and Burnt Face Man haranguing him for money so he can plough on with his ambitions of making it on the stage (possibly the most demented plot in the show so far!).
It’s unclear to me why Ben was so possessed to start digging the hole. There was no obvious suggestion to what was motivating him. But then there’s a lot that’s not known. Like what Burnt Face Man really wants with Ben (he seems to be helping him but twice now he’s displayed a sinister smile that suggests he’s up to no good). And what did the wordless exchange between Constance and Tate signify? And, and, and. . . well, I could go on and on.
If anything, American Horror Story potentially runs the risk of losing its character humanity beneath the intrigue, secrets and supernatural goings on. There was very little Violet this episode, so really I had to hang my empathy with Vivien and Ben. Ben I enjoy watching, though I certainly don’t identify with him and I can’t say I particularly like him. Vivien, however, I do like – I think the actress playing her really sells her as a forthright, fragile and fully-realised person and it’s perhaps the fact that she, a woman, seems to be taking the leading role that is all the more startling – in a good way. Make me care about all the Harmon family as much, if not more, than I just care for Vivien right now and this is a show that could really be something special.
What was the best part?
Hard to better the opening scene, with a more youthful Constance taking brutal (and rather unjust) revenge against Moira and her cheating husband. The shootings were remarkably cold – one through the eye for Moira (loved how Constance would later be delighted by what a crack shot she had been!) and several in the chest for her husband. Even the close out of the scene, shifting to the present day, making you think Vivien was about to walk in on the gruesome scene was nicely done.
What do I think will happen next?
Some clarity about the trinity of Constance, Tate and Moira is needed. Previous notions that Tate is Constance’s son don’t easily shake off, but how acquainted they are with ghosts and what their larger agenda is all about are sure to be ongoing concerns. It’s tempting to think all three of them are ghosts, but I don’t really see Constance being one. Moira is, Tate might be. If Tate is, maybe Constance was also responsible for his death!
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