American Horror Story: I Am Anne Frank, Part 1 (#2.4)

It's a Ryan Murphy day at my apartment, and so I also caught the latest installment of American Horror Story, and while it didn't have the shock of last week's episode, I think I almost liked it better.  AHS is always at its best when it's steering more toward the psychological horrors that are being inflicted on characters than the physical horrors.  And this week, aside from poor, poor Chloe Sevigny, it was more focused on the psychological horrors of the episode rather than strange beings in the woods or aliens.

We were introduced to a woman claiming to be Anne Frank (played ferociously well by Franka Potente), who claimed Dr. Arden was a Nazi doctor, and from the looks of things, was a Josef Mengele-style sociopath (note the nod to twins, a subject that fascinated Mengele).  While the stories on the surface seemed initially preposterous (that of her being Anne Frank-the Nazi war criminal thing, considering all we know about Dr. Arden, seems to fit like a glove), perhaps Sister Jude had spent too much time in Briarcliff, as she believed her (I haven't made up my mind, but I do think that she is telling the truth about knowing Arden, even if he hasn't confessed yet; I'll wait until next week before I decide whether she is telling the truth about her identity-the Black Dahlia story last year proved Murphy doesn't mind bringing in some history).  She brought this to the Monsignor's attention, only to be brushed aside, and in an "I knew it!" moment, it appears that the Monsignor is very aware of Dr. Arden's past.

Lana Banana seemed to be headed toward the edge of the insanity cliff, and it was hard to tell if Zachary Quinto was trying to lead her there or truly attempting to help.  Considering his promise to her that he'd get her out further on in the episode, I suspect the latter.  However, we got to sit through a wildly uncomfortable aversion therapy session, where Lana was given some sort of Ipacec-type substance while she was viewing naked women, and after vomiting profusely, was then asked to pleasure herself while in the presence of a guy from page 21 of the Abercrombie catalog.  This of course didn't work, but we did get to see that Lana has a determination, and is being driven primarily by the Pulitzer Prize that she's sure she'll win, and less by her ex-girlfriend (whom we still know little about, but is presumably dead, though in a horror story, you never can tell).

Meanwhile, love sprang eternal at Briarcliff, as Kit and Grace, one of the odder romantic pairings we've seen on-screen so far this year, finally decided to cash in on that chemistry they've been feeling for weeks after Kit heard Grace's story about how her sister's lover killed her father and stepmother.  After being discovered in flagrante delicto, the wily Sister Mary Eunice, so eager to punish them (the devil's gotten into her), decided to let Kit in on a secret-Grace, it seems did commit the crimes that she is being accused of.  In an action extraordinarily similar to the Lizzie Borden crimes, she had taken an ax to her stepmother and father after her father had molested her, resulting in her being sent to Briarcliff.  Kit, feeling betrayed and confused, seemed to accept this with relative ease (it seems if you're in a mental institution and slowly going insane, you've got to find a friend somewhere, even if they gave someone 40 whacks).

Kit's scenes with both Zachary Quinto's character (gotta learn that name at some point) and Grace led to one of the episodes best highlights-his teaming with Sister Jude.  I've gotten over the fact that I'll always think of those two as the Langdons on some level (they were that good), and so the scene of Lange, so conflicted over comforting Kit, whom you can tell she is starting to believe more and more did not kill his wife and those women (a conclusion she started to realize after the detectives and her Mother Superior told her to start questioning the situation), was all the more moving and yet unsettling because of the season one parallels between a son begging for forgiveness to a mother who is trying to forgive.

Which leads us to the cliffhanger-Franka Potente, whose character may or may not be crazy, but is certainly smart, is able to break into Dr. Arden's office, and knowing his true character, brings a gun with as insurance.  She even shoots Dr. Arden's leg, and looks like she might finish the job, but then hears moaning in a locked prison in Dr. Arden's office.  She opens the door, and we see Sevigny, grossly deformed with blood and puss spewing from all over her body.  Clearly there is some connection between what she is becoming and the animals ravaging in the woods, but I guess we'll just find out next week.

And what about you-did you believe Anne's story?  What exactly is the connection between Dr. Arden and the Monsignor?  And will Lana (or anyone) ever break free of Briarcliff?