American Horror Story Asylum Season 2 Recap - Episodes 1 & 2

I hadn't been privy to the awesomeness that is FX's American Horror Story last year. When I saw wicked adverts splashed across Facebook of Season 2; American Horror Story Asylum, I was hooked before even watching an episode!

Now that I have watched the first two episodes (and promptly watched  eight episodes of Season 1 while waiting for the second episode), what do I think? Here's my recap:

Episode 1: Welcome To Briarcliff

The first episode starts with just the right mix of creepy asylum back story, sex and gore. We find two horror buffs honeymooning their way through all the haunted places across America. They are fornicating in each place, which we find out pretty quickly would be considered a no-no to the fantastically stereotypical (but excellently portrayed) Sister Jude (Jessica Lange). What could possibly go wrong with having sex in abandoned creepy places? Well, it can get your arm ripped off, that's what! And this is an excellent way to mess with the time frame and send us back in time to meet the aforementioned Sister Jude; a woman who hates sex of any description (especially of the homosexual persuasion). The time changes are super cool and crazy-creepy by the way!

We also meet some pretty great characters. There is Shelly the Nymphomaniac (Chloë Sevigny), Kit Walker (Evan Peters); who loves his wife in an age when blacks and whites don't mix, Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe), Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson); a journalist who is gay - this has to end badly for her and the terribly evil Dr. Arthur Arden (James Cromwell).

There is so much story being set up in this first episode that the time flies with incredible speed! Basically, after we leave the poor unfortunate honeymooners (the groom being played by the hunky Adam Levine from Maroon 5), we discover that in 1964 there was a serial killer on the loose; a horrible person who goes by the name of Bloody Face. When Kit is arrested for killing his coloured wife, he is also accused of being Bloody Face and sent to Briarcliff for psychiatric evaluation. Is he the killer? I don't think so, neither do the writers at FX - they blame the aliens! Lana arrives on the scene and attempts to interview Sister Jude. Needless to say, she 'accidently' gets herself committed and her girlfriend signs the relevant paperwork rather than being outed as a lesbian.

Dr. Arden appears to be a sicko that would rival Bloody Face. He not only has strange mutated plants in his lab, but patients seem to be dying on his watch - patients who have no family to kick up any great stink. Sister Eunice appears to be a quiet little meek thing, but I have my suspicions about her (or maybe it's just because I have been watching her in Season 1 of American Horror Story).

We also discover that the prudish Sister Jude is such a nasty bitch and so Fifty Shades because she really just wants the Monsignor to see her sexy red lingerie. As a result of built up sexual tension, people get whipped with canes.

Episode 2: Trick and Treats

The first episode had so much promise. Unfortunately, Episode 2 left me feelings a little dejected. There was so much promise and yet I found myself checking how long I had to go to the end of the episode this time round. I hope it is just a temporary glitch, since Season 1 is just so damn fantastic.

This week we find our honeymooners still in strife. Teresa (Jenna Dewan Tatum) hides in a closet and watches Bloody face stab her husband, Leo (Adam Levine). I can't see Leo lasting to Episode 3. We then get one of those cool time changes where Bloody Face is banging on the closet door and the door morphs into a 1964 door belonging to Lana's (Sarah Paulson) girlfriend, Wendy (Clea DuVall). Speaking of not lasting to Episode 3, poor Wendy ends up getting stabbed by Bloody Face!

So how is Lana faring as an inpatient? Not so great, she manages to gets caught writing notes, receive electric shock therapy, make a friend, attempt an escape and get Kit (Evan Peters) punished for trying to escape with her. Her week sure does suck.

TheDr Arden (James Cromwell) character is explored more this week. This is the only interesting part of the episode, as far as I'm concerned. We find he has a thing for nuns. Especially ones that go by the name of Sister Eunice (Lily Rabe). We find he likes her so much that he hires hookers to dress just like her. He has a sick 'good girl' fetish going on which freaks the hooker out so much she kicks him in the balls and escapes without payment.

Dr. Thredson (Zachary Quinto) is introduced in this episode. He is one of the reoccurring cast members from Season 1. He is horrified at the way in which the Briarcliff asylum is run. Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) tells him to suck it up and then they both get to witness an exorcism.  This exorcism goes terribly wrong; it seems the devil is well and truly stuck in the body of the poor man and he dies as a result. The spirit of the devil then escapes upon death and it appears that Sister Eunice just may be possessed now - I told you this character was too nice for words!

What did you think of the second episode of American Horror Story? Do you think it will live up to the first season?

And if you can't wait until next week's episode, why not try reading my book, The Ring of Lost Souls - set in the real abandoned asylum, Larundel and the reason I started watching American Horror Story Asylum. 

Check out the comparisons between the two institutions here.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Recap: Episodes 1 & 2

Who else was as excited as I was about the Season 3 premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead? Is it just wrong to love the undead this much? Well, my hubby seems to think so.....

In tribute of this fabulous show, I will be posting my weekly recap on each episode. And because we all can't get enough of the show, the very first recap is a two-for-one deal!

Episode 1: Seed

We start this episode with the discovery that our fave zombie-hunting crew are just a little bit older and quite a bit more wiser! They have established a 'taunt and kill' regime that is proving valuable for the livelihood of the group and (final-time) deadly to the undead. It's disturbing to see young Carl (Chandler Riggs) in the midst of all this killing, but I guess if you were in this situation, morals and general society standards fly out the window pretty quickly. I just hope the poor young actor who plays Carl is not scarred for life.

Speaking of children, a very noticeably pregnant Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) is now beginning to ponder the wisdom of bringing another child into the post-apocalyptic world they now live in. It's too late to go back, but as she voices her concerns with Hershel (Scott Wilson), the group's veterinarian medical consultant, we discover just how sickening it may get. What if that baby dies before being born? Considering everyone is infected with the zombie virus, will the little critter re-animate and attack it's own mother from the inside? Also, consider the fact that the baby may survive childbirth, but Lori may not. What happens then? Lori pleads for Hershel to give her the final death if this happens, before she attacks her own child. Of course, there was no mention of what would happen if Lori dies while she is pregnant and the baby still lives on. Only time will tell, I guess....

So what's happened to poor Andrea (Laurie Holden), I hear you ask? We find her (very briefly) with another woman called Michonne (Danai Gurira). This woman travels with two undead who are chained and have missing limbs and lower jaws. She does this in a bid to keep her living scent masked by that of the undead zombies - what an ingenious idea! Poor Andrea is sick though and Michonne must find aspirin for her.

The group have found a prison  It's a safe haven in a deadly world. They just have to get in and kill all the zombies first! It takes the whole episode to do this. Once they are inside the prison they discover they are not alone. After Hershel is attacked and bitten on the ankle by a zombie, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) takes only a split second to amputate his leg in an effort to save the man's life. I wonder if it will work? And we end this episode with the visuals of living humans peering out at the group from behind a wire window after they hear all the commotion of the amputation. 

Will these people be good or bad, considering the place they are trapped in?

Episode 2: Sick

So who are these new people? It's obvious they're inmates from the go-get. Some of them nastier than others. It's very clear, in this episode, that the writers are trying to show that age old problem that arises in post-apocalyptic worlds: who do you trust? It is portrayed in a very black and white scenario. There is no grey areas, no reason to feel empathy for these inmates who have been trapped in hell for a whole year without any idea of what the outside world is like.  There is simply Rick (Andrew Lincoln) who mistrusts them and Darryl (Norman Reedus) who wants to kill them. To make a long story short, Daryl wins in that battle of wits, but only because the inmate 'leader' Tomas (Nick Gomez) attempts to 'accidently' kill Rick when they are fighting zombies en masse. Rick retaliates by a machete chop to the head and then chases down another inmate who appears overly sympathetic to Tomas. The inmate is trapped in with some zombies and Rick locks him in there and walks away. My haven't times changed! The Ricktatorship is now in full swing!

As a result of this 'battle' for supremacy, only two inmates are left. Rick and Daryl let them have their very own cell block and help themselves to half of the remaining food. They also openly threaten to kill the inmates if they come anywhere near the rest of their group.

It is touch and go for poor Hershel (Scott Wilson) for a while there, but Carl (Chandler Riggs) finds some medical supplies and kills a couple of zombies in a bid to help him. This results in a very unhappy Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) - oh, so she'll let him kill them in a pack, but not alone? Hershel almost dies anyway, but after Lori gives him mouth-to-mouth, he manages to survive - this is lucky for Glenn (Steven Yuen) who was tasked with the possibility of having to kill the zombified remains of his girlfriend's dad!

Now, while they are all assuming that Hershel will become a zombie, Carol (Melissa McBride) prepares herself for becoming the main medical hack guru. This means that her and Glen catch and kill a zombie (hang on, why didn't they just use one of the finally dead ones lying around?) and she practises hacking it open, just in case Lori needs a C-section during delivery. This scene is creepy enough - and then it appears that someone else is watching Carol, while hidden away in the trees surrounding the prison.

It seems they forgot about poor Andrea in this episode.....

So, what did you think of the return of The Walking Dead?

And while you're waiting for episode 3 to hit the screens, why not check out Emeline and the Mutants or Zombie Apocalypse Now!?

(Photo Credits: AMC Inc.)