An exploration of the story as a whole and what made it so good.
Synopsis
Briarcliff is an asylum in the 1960’s run by a corrupt crew who torture their patients (“Welcome to Briarcliff“). Many horrors are drawn to its halls (“Tricks and Treats” & “Nor’easter“) – including evil scientists (“I Am Anne Frank” Part 1 & Part 2), a serial killer (“The Origins of Monstrosity“), demons (“Dark Cousin“), and aliens (“Unholy Night“). The story follows three major characters: Sister Jude, the headmistress; Kit Walker, a young man accused of being the horrendous killer Bloody Face; and Lana Winters, a gay reporter who becomes falsely admitted and unable to leave (“Coast Hanger“, “The Name Game“, “Spilt Milk“). By the end, Sister Jude finds redemption, and Kit and Lana are released and make new lives for themselves (“Continuum“). While they are always haunted by the demons of their past, they each find their path to closure(“Madness Ends“).
Overall Review
This season is so much better than the last one. In Murder House, it felt like the creators were trying too hard to be edgy and threw a bunch of random crap at the wall to see what stuck. While there were still things I very much enjoyed about Murder House, as a whole it was sloppy and had many plotholes and disconnective tissue. Asylum, in contrast, was solid through and through. There was the occasional oddity (I couldn’t help nitpicking the incredible speed in which they could tell a woman in the 1960’s was pregnant) but they were few and fair between, and very minor in the grand scheme of things. In fact, nearly every time I had a little confusion on some plot point, they cleared it up later on, proving that they had thought everything out thoroughly in advance. While the ending of Murder House felt cheap, this ending took its time and thoroughly explored all the nuances of the consequences the characters experienced. All in all, it was a great season.
Kitchen Sink of the Supernatural
At first I was worried the story would not be able to withstand the weight of all the many separate horror and supernatural entities it included from the start, but by the end these various concepts worked well together and the story worked itself out. Sometimes they even crossed over and worked each other out. The angel of death helped defeat the devil (fun fact, I noticed at the end that Sister Mary Eunice died in the exact spot where the Saint Mary statue stood before Dr. Arden knocked it down early in the show). The Nazi scientist both created and killed the creatures. Once you got used to the concept that this show was going to keep spicing up the lineup with new horror/supernatural elements, it really did flow together in an impressively cohesive manner. When compared to Season 1 Murder House, this aspect was akin to the frequent references that season made to true horror stories.
Cast and Crew
This show was impeccably cast. Every single actor fit their roles perfectly. I mentioned back in season one the kind of energy Jessica Lange brought to the table then, and she keeps it going here with Sister Jude. We got to see more from several minor actors in the first season – such as Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, and Zachary Quinto. Evan Peters got to be a sweet and sincere man this time around and I really liked him in that type of role. Then there’s the directing. I haven’t exactly been subtle in my episode reviews of my feelings on Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. Although he only directed three of the 13 episodes, his visual prowess was phenomenal. I’m bummed that he isn’t a bigger name in the film and television industry, because I would love to see more of what he can bring to the table. He directs about half of the next season, Coven, so I’m stoked for that.
Lana Banana
Lana is the real backbone of the story. She’s the one we follow to Briarcliff. She’s the one who learns Bloody Face’s true identity and deals with his torture. She brings down Briarcliff with her expose and stops two serial killers and a corrupted cardinal. Yet, despite all of her amazing accomplishments, she still has moments in her life where she falters – sacrificing parts of her personality for the appeal of fame. I love that she’s such a well-rounded character, passion and flaws and all.
Sister Jude
Jude had an incredible character arc, starting as an atrocious woman who caused many of the problems at Briarcliff and turning into a sympathetic woman who becomes a victim of her own system. When those closest to her betrayed and trapped her inside Briarcliff as a patient, she gradually went truly insane as a result of the medication and electrotherapy they forced on her. Watching the descent of such a strong presence into an incoherent mess of a woman was so sad, but then watching her regain her sanity and live out her few remaining months in a safe place was kind and deserved by the time she got there. Honestly, her character arc is one of the most impressive things about the show in my opinion. I was not expecting to root for her so hard by the end. They did a fantastic job showing us why she became the hardened warden of Briarcliff, and why she was able to turn herself around by the end, despite the obstacles in her way.
Kit Walker
While Lana was the backbone and Jude had the most drastic character arc, Kit was the heart of the story. His compassion and love shines through the series, starting with his openness to loving someone when it was not accepted by society, moving to his willingness to trust someone in an asylum because he saw the good in her that no one else believed, and culminating in his ability to take Jude into his home at the end of her life, despite the pain she caused him during his stay at Briarcliff. He claims he didn’t do it for her, but he clearly saw that Jude needed help and decided he was able to give her the family she never had. It’s honestly absurd that anyone could mistake this sweetheart for a brutal serial killer.
Sister Mary Eunice
We only got to see the real Sister Mary Eunice for two episodes before she was possessed. They really picked the perfect person to corrupt with possession, because the real Sister Mary Eunice was so sweet and shy, so it was a huge juxtaposition to see her be so cruel and conniving. It’s a shame that the real Sister Mary Eunice had to die in order to defeat the demon, but at least her soul was finally freed.
Dr. Arden
Much like with Constance in Season 1, Dr. Arden’s actor turned him into a fascinating character to watch despite how despicable he was. He was never the biggest threat to the main characters, compared to Satan Mary Eunice and Bloody Face, but he certainly did his fair amount of damage regardless. He clearly had some unresolved issues. I found his infatuation with Sister Mary Eunice interesting because he saw most clearly her change in character but still remained loyal to her, despite her no longer having the traits that originally appealed to him in the first place.
Bloody Face
They did a great job hiding Bloody Face’s true identity at the start of the show. When Dr. Thredson arrives, he seems like a breath of fresh air among the staff, someone who finally acknowledges that their methods are flawed and stands up to the head staff. He also supports the patients, befriending Lana and working with Kit on his case. On the other hand, when the twist is revealed, his personality is explained in such a way that his fake sympathetic doctor persona makes sense. While well hidden, there are subtle clues if you were looking, so it wasn’t completely out of the blue, and his true identity didn’t feel unreasonable underneath the mask of his professional appearance.
Johnny Morgan
Lana really tried to give Johnny a chance at a good life. She didn’t go through with the abortion she wanted because she was sick of all the violence. She gave him up for adoption because she knew she could never bring herself to love him, but she wanted him to have a loving family. Unfortunately, she inadvertently gave away the truth of his parentage by checking in on him while he was a kid, which led to his discovery of the rest. I wonder if he would have become a killer if he had never found out about who his father was. While he clearly had the willingness to engage in violence, I got the impression that wasn’t necessarily part of his nature like it was with Thredson, but rather much of it was caused by his drive to imitate his father.
Monsignor Timothy Howard
More of an anti-villain than a villain, I found Monsignor (or should I say Cardinal?) Timothy Howard to be an intriguing character. He is a man of God who is firm in his beliefs and vows, but he allows evil to happen if it means it could help him rise the ranks of the church. He rarely gets his hands dirty himself—the only two times he kills, it’s an act of mercy—but he also does not stop Dr. Arden when he learns the truth of his monstrous acts. He promises to free Jude from Briarcliff before leaving, but doesn’t actually bother. But for all of his mistakes, he is the one who defeats the devil, allowing Shachath to take it away. I have such mixed feelings about him, in a good way. Sometimes I hate him, sometimes I applaud him, and sometimes I feel really bad for him. At least in the end he accepted blame for the role he played in the atrocities at Briarcliff.
The Aftermath
This show really took its sweet time exploring the lives of the three main characters after main events of the series. The last two and a half episodes take place after Lana and Kit are freed and just about all of the villains are dead. You might think that much time just covering the lives of various characters over the span of the next few years and decades, with little threat from villains, would be boring. You’d be wrong. Those were some of my favorite episodes in the show. The payoff was delicious and thought-provoking. Lana stood her ground and defeated first Bloody Face, then her own son, because it was what was necessary. Both scenes were so powerful. Kit, who only ever wanted a happy life with his family, got his wish and lived a fulfilling life. Jude found peace and happiness, and went willingly and gladly when Shachath came for her one final time. The fact that the show was willing to slow down and thoroughly look into these characters after the horror they endured was a wonderful choice. We even got to see Lana’s middle era, where she faltered and fell into the trap of fame, forgetting for a while who she really was before Kit helped steer her back on track. I found that concept to be so interesting and I’m glad they thought to go that route. It showed that the silver lining doesn’t always go the way you’d expect, and sometimes losing sight of what’s important can turn you into someone you no longer recognize.
Social Issues
From a social justice perspective, the depiction of Pepper is problematic. Her mental disabilities are magically cured by the aliens, and she becomes a totally neurotypical person, though she still retains her physical disfigurations. While I acknowledge this is probably ablest, I also think it was good that Pepper was finally able to defend herself. Also, it is important to note that this was created and released back in 2013, so ableism wasn’t as spotlighted as it is now.
Other social issues that were brought up from the start of the show were the inclusion of a gay main character and a prominent mixed race marriage (turned polygamous relationship to boot). Honestly these aspects ended up just being natural parts of the story that I don’t have much to say about, and I think that’s kind of a good thing. While Lana’s sexual orientation did play a fairly big role in her plotline, it also was by far not the only thing that defined her. She was a well-rounded person, which is exactly how I like my LGBT+ representation. As for the Walkers, being a mixed race couple was a big deal in the first episode but never really a major factor after that. I’m not really sure it needed to be. They made their point, then they allowed Kit and Alma to still be in love, even with everything else that happened to them.
Downsides
There were very few downsides that I noticed, honestly. That nitpick I mentioned earlier was the one the bothered me the most for some reason, but otherwise there were just a couple of minor things. The creature storyline didn’t really go anywhere. I still don’t totally understand why Alma’s heart just randomly stopped one day, and if there was supposed to be some underlying cause I didn’t catch. And what was that alien microchip spider thingamajig anyway? Where did it go, and what was it for? Considering all of the other complex and crazy stuff that happened, I’m really not mad about some super minor plotlines not panning out, and I can chalk the alien microchip up to “alien crap we just don’t understand and never will,” so they really aren’t big complaints, just things I noticed.
Conclusion
As a whole, this was a very good story with lots of things to like about it. The writing was well thought out and the ending was satisfying, which is difficult to pull off. The acting and directing were spectacular. The only issues I had were very minor and didn’t ruin the rest of the story. This season was a major improvement after the first season, and it’s hard to believe they were developed by the same people. Let’s hope they keep up this quality writing in the remaining seasons, rather than reverting to the sloppiness that was Season 1 Murder House .
Score: 9/10
Ranking:
1 – Asylum
2 – Murder House
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