American Horror Story: Asylum was the second season to the chilling American Horror Story series. The series itself has been nominated for 67 awards and has earned 19. The unique, suspenseful, and horrifying series had captivated audiences since its airing of the first season, American Horror Story: Murder House, on October 5, 2011.
American Horror Story: Asylum aired from October 17 of last year to January 23. The second season is entirely different from the first, having new characters and a different location. The season is a nail-biting, frightening, and creepy series of episodes, involving murder, ghosts, aliens, Nazis, and possessed nuns. The season is filled to the brim with truly “insane” and horrifying occurrences.
The series opens at Briarcliff Mental Institution in the year 1964. Throughout the season, viewers learn of the eerie goings-on in the institution, from the staff to the patients. The entire season was shocking and spell-binding overall, but here is a list of ten of the best moments of the season.
10. Dr. Arden makes Shelley one of his creatures- Episode 4
During this episode, a patient calls herself Anne Frank and accuses Dr. Arden of the asylum a Nazi doctor who tortured and killed Jews in concentration camps during the Holocaust. While the supposed Anne Frank is snooping around Dr. Arden’s office, she stumbles upon Shelley, a recently missing patient of the institution. Only Shelley is missing her legs and is now an entirely deformed creature, hardly resembling a human being at all. Shelley, crawling on the floor using only her hands, begs Anne to kill her.
9. Alma puts an ax in the back of Grace’s head- Episode 12
Alma and Grace, both lovers of Briarcliff patient Kit, had been living a Sister Wives life, both raising children of Kit and inhabiting the same household. During this episode, Alma finally loses her mind, since she doesn’t entirely understand how she was resurrected from death earlier in the season, and brutally murders Grace with an ax.
Here is a recap of the episode:
8. Lana shoots Dr. Thredson- Episode 11
After escaping Briarcliff with the help of a couple of nuns, Lana outs Dr. Thredson of his murderous past and how he had raped and attempted to murder her. She sneaks into his house and surprises him when he arrives home. After frightening him with words of her being pregnant with his child and planning on murdering it, she ends up shooting him in the head when he reaches for a pistol to shoot her.
7. Dr. Arden gives Sister Jude intense electric shock treatment- Episode 10
In an attempt to keep her quiet, Dr. Arden, accompanied by Sister Mary Eunice and Monsignor Howard, uses electric shock treatment on Sister Jude. Sister Jude becomes severely mentally damaged from the treatment, making the treatment a success for the collaborators.
Here is a recap of episode 10:
6. Grace returns from the dead with Kit’s baby in her belly- Episode 9
Dr. Arden hypothesizes Kit is mysteriously connected with aliens somehow. In an attempt to understand this connection, he temporarily kills Kit, which ends up showing him some strange lights. While Kit is still dead on the operating table, Dr. Arden walks through the asylum, following the strange lights, and stumbles upon resurrected Grace, almost nine months pregnant with his baby. Aliens are believed to be at play.
Here is a recap of the episode:
5. Sister Mary Eunice gets possessed- Episode 2
Early in the season, the staff of Briarcliff tries to give a patient an exorcism. However, the exorcism entirely backfires. The patient dies during the procedure and the possessing entity forces itself into innocent Sister Mary Eunice. This possession lasts almost the entire season, causing multiple disastrous events.
4. Doctor Arden jumps into incinerator with Sister Mary Eunice’s dead body- Episode 11
During a heated conversation with Monsignor, Sister Mary Eunice is shoved from the top of the staircase in the asylum, causing her death and ultimate release from the evil entity. She is to be placed in the incinerator in the basement to be cremated. However, in a shocking turn of events, Dr. Arden, after turning on the switch to have her body slowly entered into the flames, climbs on top of her and enters the incinerator with her.
3. Lana kills Bloody Face’s son, Johnny Thredson- Episode 13
In the exciting season finale, Lana confronts Bloody Face’s son, Johnny Thredson. He makes it clear he wants to kill her right there, but Lana convinces him to not do so. The moment she catches him off-guard, she takes a pistol and shoots him directly in the head, killing him instantly. This woman is clearly not to be messed with!
2. It’s exposed that Lana is the current Bloody Face’s mother- Episode 13
The season finale is jam-packed with shocking events! During her confrontation with Johnny Thredson she reveals that she is actually his mother. Johnny, along with viewers, is shocked with this reveal.
Here is a recap of the season finale:
1. Lana finds out Dr. Thredson is Bloody Face- Episode 5
Even though one would believe the most shocking occurrence in the season would happen in a later episode, it actually happened in only the fifth episode! Dr. Thredson, the psychiatrist of Briarcliff, appeared to be a kind, helpful and sane staff member. After he informs Lana earlier in the season that he could help her escape, Lana places her full trust in his hands. But, she soon regrets that decision. Dr. Thredson takes Lana into his home, leads her into his basement, revealing that he kidnaps girls, rapes them, and murders them. One of which, he confesses, was her long-time girlfriend, Wendy. After Lana is kidnapped and tortured by Thredson, he finally reveals to her and viewers that he is the infamous bloody face by placing the atrocious and horrifying mask on his head. This was definitely one of the most frightening and crucial scenes in American Horror Story: Asylum.
American Horror Story: Coven begins Wednesday, October 9 at 10:00pm on FX. Be sure to catch it then! Below is a trailer for the new season:
image: FOX