American Horror Story: Asylum Episode 12 Continuum
It’s 1967. We start out with a little Kit in his skivvies. That’s right, actor Evan Peters has stripped down once again for us in the episode titled, “Continuum”. Alas, he was semi covered in blood, and carrying an ominous axe, but still, skivvy’s folks! Ahem.
We see Kit’s dysfunctional home complete with two “wives” and two kids. The tune of “Let’s Live for Today” is playing in the background. Foreshadowing? Perhaps. Grace sketches detailed charcoal pictures of what she calls The Doctor. It looks to be one of the aliens that her and Alma were exposed to. But Alma isn’t comfortable discussing it. To make a strange situation even stranger, Alma sends Kit to spend time with Grace to help her. When asked, Grace says she draws the aliens because she feels the kids need to know where they come from. Flashbacks of the murder Grace committed are peppered in to this gentle exchange between her and Kit. When it looks like the aliens have decided to return, it ends up being humans acting like idiots and trying to burn down their house. It seems to have been prompted by the townsfolk thinking intolerance of his lifestyle.
Interestingly, Grace and Alma differ greatly on their views of their alien abduction experiences. Alma feels that she was tortured and violated, living with a fear of the aliens returning, while Grace sees it as a blessing that gave her back her life and provided both of them with miracle children. As the women argue and it escalates, Grace pictures an axe chopping wood. Not good. Alma slaps her and Grace walks away. Pretty impressive for a once upon a time murderer and her obvious explosive temper issues. In a surprising turn of events, Alma rushes in later and kills Grace with an axe while her and Kit are talking, hence the explanation of the bloody opening scene. Or maybe it was just an excuse to see more skivvies. You know my opinion by now.
Fast forward to 1968 and Jude is out of solitary and back in the common room at Briarcliff. She tells Pepper to have the doctor check another patient because his lithium dose is too high and when the Monsignor shows up, she plays coy because he’s claimed her dead and renamed her Betty Drake. The Monsignor reveals he has been appointed Cardinal and Briarcliff has been donated. He’s arranging for Jude’s release out of guilt. Enter the Angel of Death, to some Hendrix nonetheless, as a new patient, a real bad ass smoking cigarettes and threatening Jude to join her or else. Jude is frightened of her due to her experience with the Angel and knowing why she shows up.
Jude has really come into her own now that she’s been through hell and back. When she’s put into her room later, the Angel is in there, too. A new roommate apparently. She has a thing for the ladies and accosts Jude, but Jude won’t have any of it. I have to admit, it’s disturbing to see Frances Conroy playing this new evolution of her character, but she does it with style. When the patient that was taking too much Lithium doesn’t play by Conroy’s rules, she stabs him in the common room and finishes it by blowing Jude a kiss, inciting a violent reaction in Jude that night when she hallucinates the Angel bringing her death. However, the real woman that she’s sitting on top of and beating is definitely not Conroy. In a straight jacket, Jude comes to in the office of a staff member. The reality we saw was not reality at all. Jude has been having problems with her female roommates for quite some time, and when Jude asks about the Monsignor, she is told that he was appointed Cardinal two and a half years ago and that Pepper is now dead. Where has our Jude been? Jude’s, erm, Betty’s memory may be shot, but I still hold out hope that she will get back in the swing of things and kick some ass, take some names and cane her way out of that place. I’m on Team Jude any day.
It’s now 1969 and Lana is at a book signing for her autobiographical novel, “Maniac” where she’s performing a reading. Her dramatic selection had the audience perched on the edge of their seats. Then Dr. Thredson pops up from amidst the chairs and next, Wendy, both calling her out on their respective discrepancies in her narrative. Lana blames this on being a writer. The truth is she’s imagined the whole thing, and when she comes back, the room is staring at her. They blame her awkwardness on her traumatic experience, which may be true, and applaud her. Signing books later, Kit walks up and the two of them reunite with a hug. She offers her condolences about Grace, but follows that up with bragging about selling the rights to her book to Hollywood. Oh Lana. She’s very self-centered, but Kit is still interested in Briarcliff. He points out that she was supposed to expose Briarcliff, not be a celebrity, but she responds with the fact that people change. She’s sold out. And no wonder Kit has an interest in Briarcliff seeing as Alma is a patient now, probably due to her murderous act. Conditions have deteriorated at Briarcliff. Amazing, but true. Then we are hit with another scene showing that Alma has died. I can’t help but feel sorry for poor Kit. This leaves Kit, Lana and Jude as the only one’s that are left alive, and Jude is still in Briarcliff.
Jude elbows her way through the craziness of the common room to watch the TV when Kit spots her as he is coming to claim his dead wife. She says she’s still there because they sold the rights to her story. She’s watching nuns and her thoughts become crossed with what she sees. She believes she will fly away some day. Kit wants Lana to shut down Briarcliff, do what she said she would do. Lana sees Jude’s fate as being karma for her horrific past actions and leaves to go sign her book.
In present day, McDermott’s Johnny goes into the same book store Lana was signing in many years ago, which is old and going out of business now. He’s looking for Lana’s book. The elderly owner won’t sell the book because it was her mother’s and gave her the courage to leave her father. The woman tells him that Lana’s child died at childbirth. When McDermott sees her signature it stirs up emotions and he admits that Lana is his mother. He tells the woman his plan to find Lana and confront her that he is her son and also kill her, but he needs the book to complete this. He gets it.
I am wondering what all will happen next week in the season finale of American Horror Story: Asylum. We never know until we see, but there are quite a few scenarios rolling around in my head and the teaser was just enough to make me think about it for the next 7 days. With rumors of a tiny nod to next season tucked away inside this episode, I will be curious to see what the writers come up with. I also hold out hope that Jessica Lange will be included in Season 3, too.
It’s almost over… Until next season, that is. Thank you for joining me as I wrangled the words to bring you a recap for every episode.
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Posted by Amber Keller
on Wednesday, January 16th, 2013. Filed under Dark TV, Headline, Images.
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Tags: ahs, american horror story, asylum
