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Hello! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday and your turkey didn't taste like rubber. Heeeeeyyyyy! Speaking of rubber, guess what we all found out on Wednesday's American Horror Story? Did you know or at least suspect who was under that rubber suit? Let's get to it and see where it takes us.
Our opening this week is another flashback, but not from years ago---just six months. We see the ominous rubber man coming down the hallway and then the scene shifts to outside, where Marcy is putting up the "Sold" sign and movers are bringing in the Harmons' furniture. Six months, huh? I'd say it has been a fairly eventful six months for this family. Nora, the abortion doctor's wife from the twenties is walking around inside the house crying. She's saying that nothing is right. These are not her belongings and oh yeah, the furniture is ugly too.
And what the hell are "Precious Moments" and why are there so many of them?
Suddenly, we see a hand on her shoulder and a man's voice asking, "How can I comfort you?" Nora responds she wants her baby. The man takes that more as "a" baby, but whatever. We see the trash can outside the house and when the lid is lifted, we see the rubber suit in there. As you recall, this is the same rubber suit the Harmons found in their attic and Ben threw away. So the mysterious hand grabs the rubber suit and we see the familiar scene of Vivien in the bedroom getting ready for bed and the mystery man in the rubber enters the room. They have sex and we see Ben sleep walking his way back up the stairs and the rubber man passes him on the way downstairs. Ben gets back into bed and we see Vivien's freaked out face again. Does she know that guy wasn't Ben? I'm certainly not going to ponder whether a wife would or should recognize physical, ahem, attributes of her partner, but I'm going to go out on a limb that Vivien is about 99.9% sure that wasn't little Ben. We see the rubber man standing in front of a mirror and as he unzips the hood and takes it off...
Violet is pretty easy going, but this? Will be tough.
Yep, Tate is our mystery rubber man. Surprised? I wasn't really. Tate is one of the most complex characters on the show. He is sympathetic and horrifying in the same moment.
Back in the present, Vivien is sitting in the kitchen with realtor Marcy and Moira. She is showing Marcy the photo of Nora, Charles and baby Thaddeus Montgomery and explaining Nora came to the house and talked with such familiarity about details of the furnishings, she is certain it was really her. Marcy blows it off saying she must have had a granddaughter. Well, Marcy was on the same Murder Tour Vivien was and it was clear that there were no descendants. Murder--suicide---dead child. Yep, that adds up to no grandchildren. Moira jumps in and says it could have been a doppelganger. Vivien shuts her down and says it feels like someone is trying to make her feel like she is crazy. Marcy asks Moira to fix a nice calming cup of tea for Vivien and Vivien tells her not to patronize her. She tells her there actually is someone who wants her husband and wants her life. Good ol' shovel face, Hayden. Marcy starts talking about how her cousin had issues when she was pregnant and it was all taken care of with hormones. Moira jumps in and says there are things that can't be explained by the rational mind. Marcy makes a quick exit, saying she has to run by Mr. Escandarian's office (the dead Armenian from last week) because he hasn't been returning her phone calls. He was really the only serious buyer and she has to get in touch with him. She even makes a joke that maybe he's a ghost too.
A really high pitched ghost, that is.
After she leaves, Moira tells Vivien that she believes in the things unseen and they're really all just lost souls. Vivien responds, "Maybe I am going crazy". Flashback! Chad and a girl friend are drinking mojitos and he says the exact same thing. But he is talking about his suspicions about his partner, Pat. He tells his friend (sister?) how he's gotten weird. Pat doesn't want to talk about having a baby and they are having money problems. Chad says he is distant, distracted and even been sleepwalking. She tells him none of this is proof of infidelity. He says he found the proof in his computer. He found out Pat has been chatting on an S & M site and he just couldn't believe what he was seeing. He's been having a truly vile relationship online with someone who calls himself "JungleJim4322". So does that mean there are 4321 other "JungleJim's"? Friend/sister jumps in and says that perhaps Pat doesn't want to talk about this stuff with Chad and he really needs to fight to keep the relationship. Even if it involves tittie clamps.
That would make the best Hallmark card ever. What rhymes with clamps?
So we see an obviously horrified Chad at an S & M store, staring at the foreign (to him) merchandise much like me in the produce section. After a few admissions of "I don't like pain" and "My partner has been in some chat rooms", the helpful store clerk pretty much pulls out of Chad that he is normally the dominate one and maybe his partner is looking for a change. He shows him the rubber suit and Chad really doesn't understand all of this. The store clerk explains the rubber suit dehumanizes the person and pretty much turns him into a rubber sex toy. Since it doesn't involve stretching, pulling or clamping-- -sold! This place is like the Home Depot for alternative lifestyles---so helpful! Pat is in the bedroom, clipping his toenails when Chad, donning the black rubber suit enters the room.
He looks way too happy clipping his toenails. Downright giddy when he's flossing.
Pat immediately starts laughing at him and says, "Decided to go as a sausage for Halloween this year?" Ouch. Pat's kind of a jerk. The seduction doesn't work at all and Chad furiously rips off the hood. They argue and Chad confronts him on his online chatting. Pat claims to only having the relationship online and Chad tells him to get out. Stay at a Motel 6 since that is all he can afford. Pat tells him to keep the suit on, since it shows how much of a little bitch he really is. Wow. They argue over money since they will probably be losing the house. Pat walks out of the bedroom after telling Chad he likes leather, not latex. Chad sits on the bed and starts crying.
We jump to the present, with Nora sitting in that same bedroom on the Harmons' bed, crying. Hayden walks in and tells her to knock the shit off. All the crying is making her crazy. Nora asks Hayden what she's doing in her house and Hayden responds she is stuck there, like the others. Hayden tells Nora that since they died there, they can't leave. Nora doesn't believe that Hayden is dead, much less herself. Hayden becomes very sympathetic and we see her playing with the red ball and rolling it with Beau. She is telling Nora there are more souls like her who are trapped. And then there are other ones who are in on the game. As Hayden puts it, "They're bitches." We see Moira telling Hayden, "I don't like you." Moira is telling Hayden she doesn't like her type. Well, we all know that Moira in her young version had an issue with a married man that basically caused her death so yeah, I can see where she's coming from on that. Hayden taunts her, calling her an old bat and saying she knows Moira fed brains to Vivien. Moira defends her actions and Hayden knocks a glass off the counter. Oops. Back to Hayden and Nora's conversation, Hayden is telling Nora they have to linger there with the living. No rest for them and no rest for the ghosts.
And that gazebo? Not my idea.
Hayden tells Nora that the house has a hold on them and that the house has a power. But it is a power they as ghosts can use. We see a scene in Ben's office where a book falls off the shelf. Hayden is saying they can make themselves unknown and when they really need it, they can make themselves known (seen). Hayden says she has so much rage, she almost trembles with it and although she is supposed to be fixing her issues, she just doesn't. We see her having sex with the ghost of Constance's husband (Moira's former lover) and then she stabs him repeatedly. Since he's already dead of course, he just gets up and asks if she wants anything from the kitchen. We see frustration on Hayden's face that she just can't kill him. Back to the bedroom conversation, Nora is telling Hayden that she is speaking madness. Nora tells Hayden she is not dead. Hayden grabs her arm and makes her feel the back of her head, with the huge exit wound in the back of it. Nora is incredulous---why would she do such a thing? And where is her baby? Hayden becomes sympathetic again and asks Nora if she lost her baby. When Nora says yes, Hayden tells her she lost hers too. And it is not fair. How come the bitch that stole Nora's house gets two babies and they get none? Hayden wants her and Nora to each take one of Vivien's twins. Nora says, "We can do that??". Hayden tells her they'll have too. Babies need mothers and you can't raise a baby in the loony bin. Hmmmm....
It is nighttime in the house and as Vivien looks in the mirror, she tells herself she's just tired. She hears a noise and goes down the hall. The red ball comes rolling slowly to her feet. And I must say for being under all kinds of stress, her toenails look great! As she goes to pick up the ball, the lights flicker, get brighter and then all go out. Vivien screams as Hayden laughs behind her and knocks a vase of the mantel. She grabs a candlestick and yells out, "Who did that?" A lamp breaks and a large cabinet comes pushing towards her She goes back into the bathroom and locks the door behind her. She sees the hood from the rubber suit on top of the sink and overwhelmed, she faints.
When the room with the creepy bathtub in it is the safest place in the house, you know things are getting serious.
We now flashback to Tate putting on the rubber suit and drowning Chad in the "Bobbing for Apples" bucket. Pat walks in just as Tate finishes with Chad and with almost superhuman strength, Tate picks up Pat and throws him on the table. He smashes him all around the room, destroying even more pumpkins and finally beats him to death with the fire poker. And then he turns him over and pulls down his pants. And right now, I am soooo glad this is on FX and not Showtime or HBO. We know how the story ends with the fire poker. We sure don't need to see it. He throws the now dead Pat down the steps. Nora is there and she touches his head and says, "He's dead." She goes on to say this this is wrong, all wrong. Tate comes down and pulls off his mask and she asks him what he did with all of her belongings. Tate tells her he knows she's suffered a long time and he is there to help her. She just wants her baby. Tate tells her the now dead couple had decided not to have a baby and maybe now a new family will move in the house. She seems very happy with that plan, but how are they going to stir the fire now?
Now Ben goes down the stairs and sees Violet playing with the red ball. Obviously wanting to play with Beau, who Ben cannot see. Ben asks her who she is talking to and she tells him no one. He wants her upstairs for a discussion. Seems our girl Violet hasn't been to school in two weeks. He asks her what is going on there? She tells him she's being bullied and gets upset he wants more clarification. She said that most parents hear that and pull their kids right out of school. When Ben asks her if she's talked to Vivien about this, since Ben doesn't really live there, Violet asks him how in the world as a shrink, can he not see his wife has totally lost her mind? When Ben pushes her about Vivien, Violet tells him about Viv eating the brains.
And that's how we found out Tic Tacs don't really work so well.
How does she know about the brains? I want to see that deleted scene. "Mom, can we get pizza tonight?" "You go right ahead. I'm all filled up on brains." Did Tate tell her? When Ben tries to continue to psychoanalyze her, she gets pissed again and says her Mom is going crazy and it is his fault. He drove her there. She calls him a cheater and gets specific--young girls, old ladies with feather dusters. Yay! We finally get to see Violet address walking in on Ben and old Moira. That had to be the most disturbing thing she's seen in this house and we know she has seen plenty! And just like that, she storms out of there.
Time for a man-haters meeting! Vivien is in the kitchen crying when Moira walks in and asks her if she's okay. Viv says it is her own fault. She got a prescription from her doctor to help with nausea and she didn't read all the side effects before taking it. Like everyone else, she needs to stay away from medical stuff on the internet. You could have a hangnail issue and the first article that pops up is about fingernail cancer. Scary stuff. Anyway, Viv is justifying all of the crazy stuff going on around her on the medicine. She absolutely needs to find a reasonable answer. Vivien is way too down to earth to embrace anything else. At the very least, the possibility she is losing her mind. Moira comforts her. Vivien tells her she knows Ben thinks she's crazy and she's too embarrassed to call Luke. Moira tells her that is what men do. They make their women feel like they're crazy so they can have their fun. Moira asks her if she's read "The Yellow Wallpaper". In a quick summary, Moira explains it is a short story about a woman whose husband locks her up to help her "recuperate" from a slight hysterical tendency. She ends up going mad and only feels safe in that room, staring at the design of the yellow wallpaper.
The second book, "Vinyl Paneling" wasn't nearly as compelling, so don't waste your time.
I think the movie Gaslight is even a better example of what Moira is telling her. But I'm a huge Ingrid Bergman fan. Moira summarizes that men make up diseases for women like hysteria, which is a Greek word for uterus. In the second century, doctors would masterbate "patients" to help cure them. Wow--what kind of magazines are in that waiting room? Even though that was a long time ago, Moira contends that men still find ways to push women over the edge. Take Ben for example, he cheated on her and left her alone and pregnant with twins and her truant teen-age daughter. Moira tells her any woman would lose her mind. Then she asks if she can speak freely. HAHA. She tells Vivien she is not crazy, nor is it the drugs. Moira tells her flat out this house is possessed. She's never told any of her employers that before now. Moira tells her things break, doors open and things move. She tells her flat out that she really needs to get out of this house while she still can.
Hearing that from Moira pushes her into instant action as she hurriedly wakes Violet up and tells her they are leaving the house tonight and they're going to stay at Aunt Jo's. Tate seems them pack up the car and becomes very agitated. Violet sees him and they have a little bonding moment via eye contact before they get in the car. Hey, guess who else wants a ride to Aunt Jo's?
Or to the nearest hospital? I mean, any place that has vulnerable nurses.
Hey, it is our friends from "Home Invasion". Vivien screams and she and Violet go running back into the house. We then see a creepily smiling Hayden. Oh, man, they were so close. Backseat drivers can really jack up a good road trip. Ben is now yelling at Vivien about trying to take Violet and the unborn babies away from him and out of the state. She tells him he is missing the point. She tells him the serial killers came back but he said the police found no evidence anyone was there. She starts getting hysterical and he does what he does best---piss her off by shrinking her. He tells her she never really fully dealt with what happened to them. She tells him to back off and he switches tactics and asks her about the brain eating incident. He's worried about her consuming raw organs. She tells him if he doesn't believe her, go ask Violet. Violet is a little preoccupied as she and Tate have just finished making love for the first time.
Now would be a really bad time for you to ask him about past partners.
Awww...young love. You know, Violet, once you take that step, it is too hard to go back to holding hands and letting him lick blood off your arm. He asks her if it hurt. She says it didn't hurt, but it was intense. She says, "You're really here" and he responds, "I'll always be here." She asks if the "others" will always be there too, but Tate tells her they can't hurt her. She asks if those killers in the car are dead. He confirms they cannot hurt them any more. All they can do is scare. Violet says she wishes she could tell her Mom that, since Vivien is so freaked out. Tate tells her she absolutely cannot tell her Mom or anybody. People will think she's crazy and they'll try and take her away. Just then, Ben calls for Violet to come downstairs. Vivien is still arguing with Ben that he can't force them to stay in California. He tells her she can't go. She is mentally unstable and she is seeing things. She throws back at him saying he was seeing things too, like his little 10 year old mistress. She brings up the whole Boston thing again and then the fact that one of his patients attacked them. She starts throwing accusations around that he and Hayden (his little whore) planned this whole thing, like a whole "Gaslight" conspiracy to get rid of her. Aha! There's the reference for which I was searching! He tells her that is crazy talk.
Oh man, if only I thought of that! I wouldn't have that stupid gazebo in the back yard that has to be painted every year.
Then she grabs the rubber suit mask and asks him, "What is this?" He denies knowledge of leaving the mask around or her reference to their kinky night. He truthfully claims he threw it out months ago. Violet comes into the room and asks what is going on. Vivien asks her to tell Ben what she saw last night. And oh boy, Tate must be a wunderkind in the bedroom, with or without the rubber suit, because she completely lies about seeing anything other than her Mom horribly upset. Wow. I truthfully didn't think she'd do such a 180 on her own mother. The look on Vivien's face is pretty heartbreaking. Violet leaves the room and Ben informs Vivien he is staying in the house tonight. She doesn't want his protection. He's not staying there to protect her, he's there to protect his daughter.
Tate is down in the basement, when Hayden steps out of the shadows to taunt him. She wants him to take action, but he says he's tired of hurting people. Hayden tells him he needs to do something fast because she overheard Vivien booking tickets for her and Violet. He agrees he will do something but he has to work himself up to it. She offers to fool around and wonders what it is about being dead that makes her so horny. He resists her and tells her he can't because he is in love.
I'm kind of into more alive girls, if you know what I mean. And you always have dirt under your fingernails.
The next morning, Marcy shows up, bitching about being called over there in the middle of an open house at another property. Vivien tells her she and Violet will be leaving the next day to go stay at her sister's house. Marcy asks why she couldn't just tell her that on the phone. Vivien tells her there is more. She wants to know where Mr. Escandarian is as they accepted his offer, but haven't seen the escrow check yet. Vivien blames Marcy for this and Marcy pushes back, saying she is tired of the abuse. She says she has tried calling him for two solid weeks. And just maybe it is Vivien's fault. When he came back to the house, she wasn't there. Did Vivien tell him her ghost stories? In fact, maybe he laughed and you bit the man's head off. HAHAHA. Yeah, let's not flashback to that again. Vivien snaps at her that she is not crazy, she is pregnant. In fact, she's nauseous and dizzy. She's faking all of this because she wants Marcy to leave the room to get her a glass of water so she can steal the gun she knows is in Marcy's purse. Yeah, she definitely doesn't need Ben's protection.
That night, Vivien is doing a total check under the be and behind the drapes to make sure no one is there. She gets into bed and has a great night's sleep. Kidding! She hears a noise and there is Tate in the rubber suit. As soon as she turns on the light, he is gone. She gets out of bed and checks again as Tate scurries behind her. Then he suddenly grabs her by the throat and she starts screaming and then he is gone again. She hits the panic button and grabs the gun. She hears a noise at the door and BAM! She shoots Ben, who came upstairs to respond to her screams. The police are all there and hey, there's Officer Friendly Luke!
ER doctors work fewer hours than this guy.
The EMT is telling Ben he should really see a doctor and he blows it off saying it was a through and through. Luke asks Ben what is going on. Ben blows him off too when Luke asks to talk to Vivien. Wow, jealous much? Luke starts explaining to the police why he is there and Ben interrupts him to tell him what happened. Luke doesn't take this lightly and he tells the police if Ben was honest about the fact he doesn't actually live in the house anymore. Then for more fun, he throws in the whole Hayden thing, because she has a criminal record. Ben pulls out the whole "I'm a psychiatrist" card and says he can spot a psychotic break when he sees one. HAHA---do we need to review once again how many repeat patients he has? Yeah, he's really good. Ben continues saying his wife is a danger to herself and others and Luke correctly assesses Ben wants to ship Vivien off to the looney bin. Ben has had enough and yells at Luke to get out of his house.
Vivien is in bed in a disturbed sleep and we can hear all sorts of whispering. Then Hayden yells right in her face, "WAKE UP!". What a great Christmas gift idea! The screaming Hayden Alarm Clock---available at all major department and discount stores!
Regular...or...
Chia!
Just rude and what a waste of a good Valium. Viv rolls over to grab her panic button, but Hayden has taken it and she throws it on the floor, breaking it. In a fog, Vivien tells Hayden she and Ben are now separated and she can have him. Hayden doesn't want Ben anymore. They both agree he is pathetic and Vivien tells her just to leave it alone. Hayden says she can't. She used to think she was so privileged---white, beautiful, educated but she's been deprived. She has needs---terrible gnawing needs. She wants Vivien's babies. Viv yells at her that she is sick. Hayden responds she's not sick, she's DEAD! And also, the father of your babies, Vivien? Well, he's right there. Tate shows up and jumps on Violet in the bed. Vivien is screaming as Tate tries to get inside her as she fights back. She opens her eyes and there is Ben, saying, "I'm not going to hurt you." Vivien is obviously very confused and asking, "Where did he go?" Luke is there too and she's trying to tell them both there was a rapist in the room, wearing the rubber suit. She also says that Hayden was there and she was dead and she wanted her babies. It goes about as well as you would expect. Violet comes in and says "They're ready for her." And just like that, she is shipped off to be "evaluated". She leaves the room after shooting daggers at Violet and although Luke tries to comfort her, she says, "At least I'll be out of the house." Violet tells Ben this is all her fault. He tells her she did the best thing she could do. She told the truth. Oh, burn...Ben leaves and Tate comes out to comfort Violet.
So Mother's Day is now going to suck for both of us. But at least we have each other!
We're treated to one more flashback and it is Tate carrying Chad down to the basement. He's not 100% dead yet and as Moira approaches she tells Tate he can't do it this way. These two men have friends and family and they will try and track them down. Oh...so it was Moira's idea to make that look like a murder suicide! As Chad tries to reach for Pat's hand one last time, Pat is too far away. Distant, if you will. Moira is telling Tate he needs to try and quit pleasing all the ladies in the house. Tate makes a joke about how he must have Mommy issues and maybe she knows a good therapist. After Tate does the shooting, he says "It is kind of romantic, isn't it? Now they'll be together forever." Yeah, we all know how well that all worked out for this couple.
And that was it for this week! So, Vivien is safely locked away. Violet is more than your average angst filled teenager. She picked Tate over her own mother. Next week---we're heading to the chapel.
Once again, thanks for joining me!
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