‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ episode 3 review: A storm is brewing…
When you watch a show like “American Horror Story: Asylum,” you really want it to blow your socks off every week based on the nature of what you are seeing. It’s grotesque, often shocking, and there are so many interesting characters that are a part of it.
With all of this being said, did anyone else find the third episode of the season to be a little bit of a letdown after a stellar week two? There were some fine moments throughout here (including a drunk Jessica Lange), but it felt almost as though there was something missing from it, and that this episode for whatever reason really did not have any sort of end. There’s no way that Arden can send a patient back out after he has cut off her legs, so what was the point of this, even?
The best way to describe what happened here was an excellent middle sandwiched between what was a subpar beginning an end. It was not too great a loss to see the end of Adam Levine and Jenna Dewan’s characters, mostly because they felt almost like characters in any horror movie that we knew would die within minutes. The twist here is what makes us sad to see them go: they were immediately replaced by two “you took this too far” dudes who were every horror movie stereotype in the book, like they went out to Briarcliff for a night that went terribly wrong. We have a feeling Bloody Face will be after them next, anyway.
As for the excellent portion of the story, it was watching the entire structure of this asylum fall apart in the middle of a torrential storm outside (a bit of sad irony given the timing). With the devil inside of her, Sister Mary Eunice completely and totally gave in to its primal urges, which included driving Sister Jude and Arden to the point where they are losing their own minds, and neither of them is up to what she is doing just yet. Meanwhile, Lana and Kit teamed up again thanks to a key revelation from Dr. Thredson to try and escape, only to realize that what was lurking outside the asylum was far more sinister than what lies within. This was largely rewarding in that it would not have been that climactic had Lana and company escaped so early; while it’s no guarantee they ever will, it will be far more incredible if they manage to make it happen a little bit later on in the season.
The real challenge now for the show is finding a way three episodes in to keep that fresh feeling going. In order to do that, we will eventually need to see some more progress somewhere, whether it be through an eventual escape plan or Kit’s own case. Even though there is more information out in the open now, it almost feels as though the episode really did not travel far and ended many of the characters in either a similar position as the beginning, or somewhere far worse.