Season 2 Talk AHS: Asylum

[maraleia]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments including the various patients, doctors and nuns of Briarcliff Mental Institution and of course the trippy Name Game song.

[Princess Sparkle]

This has been my favorite season so far.  For whatever reason, asylums in horror movies have always terrified me - I think it's because the depravity of real people always scares me more, than say, the supernatural pieces in the Murder House or Coven seasons (the parts that unnerved me the most in those seasons were when actual people were doing terrible things, as opposed to the ghosts or the witches).  It got weirdly over-the-top at the end, and I think they could've removed the alien sub-plot and it would've been stronger, but it's still a very enjoyable season for me.

 

And wow, James Cromwell made me forget he was the nice farmer in Babe - good lord, that man is terrifying when he wants to be.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Princess Sparkle

[jnymph]

 I agree with the over the top convoluted storyline that went in too many directions, but all in all Asylum has been my favorite season too.

There's something terrifying about people losing their minds & committed to an insane asylum.  And also, on what basis do you judge insanity?  (The Lana storyline)

A very real, provoking and dark thought. 

 

When Lana was held captive by Bloodyface.............it was terrifying. I still get chills thinking about that.

 

The alien storyline IMO was boring and contrived.

[ShadowHunter]

I liked Asylum and thought it was better then Coven. I will never forget James Cromwell screaming Whore. I do think it suffered from having to many characters.

It was right after Murder House and they wanted everyone to see it was all different and they ended up throwing to much at the viewers.

 

The acting was great the stuff with Kit and Jude in the finale was beautiful. The fact that after everything Kit still took her into his home I teared up.  

[Princess Sparkle]

There's something terrifying about people losing their minds & committed to an insane asylum.  And also, on what basis do you judge insanity?  (The Lana storyline)

A very real, provoking and dark thought. 

 

 

Exactly!  One of the most disturbing scenes all season, to me, was when she was getting "therapy" to "turn her straight".  And the fact that things like that really happened - just terrifying.  

[jnymph]

Princess Sparkle

  

30 minutes ago

 

 

One of the most disturbing scenes all season, to me, was when she was getting "therapy" to "turn her straight".  And the fact that things like that really happened - just terrifying

 

I agree.   Incredibly disturbing, sad and scary.

 

  I think reality is so much more scary than fiction.

[ladyrott]

I have just finished Asylum and started on Coven and, thus far, Asylum has been my least favorite.  I think part of it was the whole "aliens" thing....I am just not into aliens.  This season had it's moments, don't get me wrong (Kit and Jude dancing with the kids was awesome) but I pretty much hated Lana by the end.  I get where her wide eyed crusader of truth ideal got squashed when she was forced into an insane asylum (run by nuns....*shudder*....and I thought Catholic School was bad!) but for her to turn into a fame monger by the end just ruined the character for me.  When she read the excerpt from her book that never happened (Bloody Face bringing another girl in), it just made me really dislike her. 

[Mattipoo]

Asylum was the scariest for me, especially Dr. Arden's experiments and the creatures he created. I agree though the aliens and the whole storyline with Evan Peters and Grace was boring. If they had cut out that subplot completely it would have been perfect.

[Xazeal]

Asylum is by far my favorite season, and the only one I don't consider to be a "guilty pleasure" season - I think it's actually, legitimately great. Murder House was almost a comedy, Coven had scenes that were individually amazing but together turned into a clusterfuck of a show about a bunch of people killing eachother over and over again. Compared to those, Asylum was downright sophisticated. Yes, even with the serial killers, mutants, demonic possession, nazis, and aliens.

 

The Kit storyline will always bore me (although I did like Grace) but Lana, Jude, and Devil!Eunice were possibly the best characters the show has ever had. Lana, in particular, is one of the most compelling characters I've seen in recent years. The acting was also stellar, but that's to be expected from this show. 

 

Asylum also has my favorite ending out of all the seasons. I didn't hate the other two finales, but this was the only one that gave any sort of emotional closure. Lana turning into a cold famewhore was a great call in my opinion, since it was clear that the events at Briarcliff had left her severely damaged, and it prevented her from coming off as a plucky Mary Sue. I also liked that they didn't even bother to explain the aliens - not only because it leaves some mystery, but also because it's so AHS. AHS does crazy shit that makes no sense and shrugs it off with explanations like "magic, bitch". That's fun.

 

Overall, just a really, really great season. Scattered at times, ridiculous at others, but much more ambitious than Murder House and much more engrossing than Coven. 

[jnymph]

Great post Xazeal.! You made me think about the ending again. You're right, it really was perfect.

"......it'll look right back at ya"! (Jude) Cue the song "Dominique".

The only part I disgree on is the aliens.

[Watermelon]

I didn't mind the aliens, but it was unfinished. The aliens took a black woman and a white one, they came back impregnated(theoretically by Kit), but the kids have weird alien type powers as they grow. White woman loves the aliens, black woman is terrified of them and because she hated that the white woman encouraged the aliens to come back she kills the white woman. And then later, when she's in the asylum kills herself.

 

That's so fucking odd. What was in it for the aliens? The kids grew up to be awesome, but not supernatually so. The host moms are dead...like. What was the point?

[Princess Sparkle]

Yeah, I feel like the aliens began as just a reason to get Kit in the asylum to begin with, and then Ryan Murphy had an "oh shit, I should probably do something with that, huh?", but didn't think it through.  So we got that half-assed storyline, when there could've been any number of ways for Alma to disappear while still implicating Kit.  

[Watermelon]

What makes it so weird is, there was an easy story right there (racists in the town don't like them shacking up. Take the woman and kill her, pin it on Kit). Boom, he's still in the asylum, we can say he dissociated and that's why he thinks there were aliens, and we don't have this incomplete ass storyline.

[aenea]

My daughter and I are late to the party, and just finished Asylum.  Overall I liked it a lot, but the aliens just seemed a bit silly to me.

 

The asylum, the really horrendous state of mental health care (every time they showed Briarcliffe I kept thinking of the Judge Rotenberg Center that's still open in Massachusetts), the place of women, James Cromwell as an evil Nazi, Mary Eunice, Shelley, really stellar performances by a lot of people- bug eyed monsters were just a distraction.  We watched the last 5 episodes tonight and the last two episodes were kind of a let-down for us- everything after James Cromwell's final exit was kind of a let down, except for Jessica Lange.  Good girl sells out to get ahead in business just bored me a bit,  and I was really hoping we wouldn't see any more of the annoying Adam Levine segments.  Dylan McDermott hiring a lactating sex worker did scare the crap out of me- I remember nursing, and I was just cringing waiting for him to latch on with his teeth.  It also felt like they never made up their minds what to do with the Monsignor, and while Joseph Fiennes did a very good job, he seemed pretty ineffectual overall.  I did love the Francis Conroy.  After Briarcliffe had been sold to the state and Jude got a new roommate both of us were dreading an OZ (jail, not wizard of) few episodes.  Kit/Grace/Alma was just a bit boring, and while I'm very glad that we didn't end up with another Antichrist baby, the aliens never really did anything interesting.

 

I'm cautiously looking forward to Coven, but really want to see Freak Show. 

[Gemma Violet]

I've seen Coven and Freak Show, but had not seen Murder House and Asylum.  A couple of weeks ago, I signed up for Amazon Prime and I'm now watching Asylum and then I'll watch Murder House.  Speaking of Freak Show, I see on Amazon Prime that they have Carnivale which I remember someone mentioning was very good.  So I'll give that a try as well.

[FanOfDorks]

Grace sure looked crazy lol.  Think its those huge eyes.  lol.

[Mattipoo]

Grace is my least favorite character in all the seasons. Can't stand that character! Glad the actress (whoever she is) hasn't returned since "Asylum", or I might stop watching!

[Petunia13]

I didn't care for grace either. Can't believe kit would take her to live w alma sister wives style. Alma should have shut that down before she moved her ass in. 

[DrSparkles]

Like others have said, for me Asylum was so good and SO scary bc this shit happened. Not the aliens, etc, but committing people (women) who were not 'normal' (straight, married, breeders, etc). So damn scary.

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, DrSparkles said:

but committing people (women) who were not 'normal' (straight, married, breeders, etc). So damn scary.

That was the part of Asylum that prevented me from watching it right before bed. Of all the seasons of this show, this was the one I wish had been more focused because creepy asylums, people being locked up who shouldn't be, that is horrific. I always found stuff grounded in reality far more terrifying than witches and ghosts and aliens.

[Duber]

I need to know if anyone saw what i saw! In s2 e11 at approximately 34 mins in kit is talking in a candle-lite room with the monsignor, who reaches for his wine while he speaks. If you watch his large shadow on the wall you will see that the shadow begins drinking before the real person brings the glass to his lips! It this suppose to hint that the monsignor is now possessed by the devil he attempted to remove by killing Mary Eunice? Im very curious as to why i haven't seen anyone else point this oddity out....

[Chaos Theory]

On 10/3/2016 at 5:19 PM, Mabinogia said:

That was the part of Asylum that prevented me from watching it right before bed. Of all the seasons of this show, this was the one I wish had been more focused because creepy asylums, people being locked up who shouldn't be, that is horrific. I always found stuff grounded in reality far more terrifying than witches and ghosts and aliens.

 This is on end of the reasons why I find Asylum the best in the series.    It fits into the genre of psychological thriller which has always been my favorite kind of horror.  The horror grounded in reality was often the best part.  Of course the season had its issues.  The alien storyline never quite gelled but other then that I thought Asylum was put together nicely as a good old fashion psychological thriller.

Edited September 20, 2017 by Chaos Theory