I realize that I'm a week behind (but my plan is to get through both episodes tonight). However, I couldn't pass up a chance to discuss last week's installment of AHS.First and foremost, I have to say a HUGE hurrah for the return of Frances Conroy, one of the best aspects of the first season, and here she plays the Angel of Death, and truly stole the episode. Though I do question the fact that she manages to show up so frequently and be rejected so readily (if we all could see Death with such regularity, I must say that she would be better known). That said, every interaction she had in this episode was gold, and since I have the next episode on tape and avoided the "next week on..." preview, I will admit that I don't know if this is a one-and-done or if she'll be returning, but I have to hope that it's the latter.
Particularly splendid were her interactions with the two nuns, almost complete yings and yangs at this point. First, Sister Mary Eunice, and we got full and complete confirmation that she is in fact Lucifer, the fallen angel, cousin to Conroy's Angel of Death. It was great to see that beneath Satan's guise, Sister Mary Eunice still resides, and is desperate to be freed. I also thought it was a fascinating look at what the demon feared most-this Angel of Death. Again, it makes me very curious about what's in store for her-what is her plan, and how could Death get in the way of it?
We also got to see Death interact with Sister Jude, and really, almost everyone. The Sister Jude story line seemed a tad bit far-fetched-how frequently had they seen each other, and how is it that Sister Jude never checked on the little girl she ran over with her car. That's right-after all these years, it turns out that little girl never died, but just had a few broken bones, which likely makes Sister Jude feel even worse, I'd imagine, at least in the long run-she could have helped the girl and not thought herself a murderer all these years, and though there was a lot in this episode about destiny, and Sister Jude's destiny to end up at Briarcliff, it does seem peculiar that she never read the girl's obituary or found out more about her. Granted, these were the days before the internet, but there were still newspapers.
Outside of these stories, there wasn't a lot going on (seriously, my enthusiasm surrounding the return of Frances Conroy made me uninterested in almost anything else happening on-screen). We got to see Dr. Arden taken down a peg or two (there better be more coming there, though), as Sister Mary Eunice showed him who was really in charge, and I suspect that he'll be her simpering fool for the rest of the season's run.
We also saw the return of evil Dr. Thredson, who raped poor Lana (lending some credence to the Bloody Face, Jr. idea I've been toying around with as the present day murderer haunting Briarcliff), and then decided that he wanted to kill her (not before meeting Ryan Murphy's requirement that all attractive men on this show appear in the nude at least once-I'm sure that shot's going to be screen-grabbed across Google images soon). However, his plan goes awry, and Lana thankfully escapes, only to get into the car with a suicidal Ethan from Lost, and this leads her back to Briarcliff in a twist that again, seems far too convenient to be completely believable, but I suppose we need Lana around to ensure that the story keeps going for all involved.
Except, of course, for one. You couldn't have a major guest star playing the Angel of Death without at least one of the principle characters being killed off. All things considered, after last year's Murder House, it's surprising that we haven't seen more deaths, though that season had the benefit of being able to keep everyone around as ghosts. This episode, it was Grace, poor, tortured Grace, with her complicated Lizzie Borden-esque background, who was brought over to the other side, and I love how they never revealed what came on the other side-several of these characters, it seems may have been more prone for a hellish demise, but the Angel of Death, under the masterful hand of Frances Conroy, never shows her cards.
All-in-all, I thought it was one of the weaker entries of the year, but with one divine grace in the return of a champ of the Murder House. But what are your thoughts-please share, while I go out and see what this week's "Unholy Night" is like.
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