The episode begins with the revelation that Adam Levine’s lover character is in fact alive. After appearing dead, Levine attacks Bloodyface just before he harms his fiancé. The couple stabs the monstrous figure and searches for a way out, only to be shot and killed by two other young male characters in Bloodyface masks. One of the males is distraught over the shooting, the other expresses manic delight at killing the lovers and before the audience learns any more about the motives of these two, a third figure appears stalking the two men, also wearing a Bloodyface mask. It’s obvious that the audience will only be given small doses of this modern-day storyline, with the probable ending tying the past storyline together. Hopefully the payoff of this slowly delivered action will be well worth it. Dr. Arden has a lot of business this week, which is good and bad. Much is unveiled about the Dr.’s activities, but James Cromwell plays Arden as a one note baddie, twisted and insecure. Not only does he think that the alien technology he has discovered inside of Kip is actually meant to spy on him, but he also shows insecurity when devious Sister Mary Eunice throws herself at him. Arden declines sheepishly, disappointed with her loss of innocence. He blames Mary Eunice’s perversion on Sister Jude and the asylum, Sister Jude blames it on the time she spends with Arden. Both are horribly off. Meanwhile, Dr. Threadson is still hanging around Briar Cliff and is freely interacting with patients like Lana, while Sister Jude is busy reliving her spotty past. Lana pulls Threadson aside to speak and before Threadson can say that he’s already looked into her mysterious lock up, Lana interrupts him. She’s not concerned with her case, only with delivering a message to her lover, Wendy. Threadson agrees to deliver the message, but when he goes to Wendy’s home, he finds her missing, with the evidence eerily matching the disappearance of Kip’s alleged victims. When Threadson delivers this information to Lana, she begins to rethink the guilt of Kip Walker and her decision to blow the whistle on his escape. When she overhears Kip and Grace planning another escape attempt during an upcoming movie, Lana convinces them to make her a part of it. It’s nice to finally get a peak at Arden’s creatures, but the episode doesn’t reveal much else. The show goes over the top, veering dangerously close to campy with Lily Rabe’s portrayal of the Sister with the Devil inside and does the same trying to convince us of Dr. Arden’s evil. After the previous eventful and momentous two episodes, this episode slightly disappoints and slows the pace of the season. Though the insight into Sister Jude’s backstory is nice and Lange handles the scenes well, the time spent on Sister Jude’s hit and run is ultimately time wasted. Hopefully American Horror Story uses tonight’s storm-centric episode as a “calm before the storm” of the season in general. Best of the Rest
