Television Review

Michael Whitcomb

"Asylum,” the second installment in the American Horror Story series, is the story of Kit Walker (Evan Peters) and Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) in an insane asylum, infamously known as Briarcliff Manor. Kit is wrongly accused of being the serial killer known as Leather Face and Lana is a journalist looking for the story of the century. Lana is thrown into Briarcliff by the head nurse, sister Jude (Jessica Lange), after she tries exposing Briarcliff’s dark secrets, including doctors performing sick and twisted science experiments on their patients. The two form a bond once they both realize that neither of the them are crazy or guilty, and go through Hell trying to escape Briarcliff and the evils it contains.

American Horror Story: Asylum created a creepier and more sinister vibe than the first season. It is filled with sub stories of the devil, monstrous creatures, forbidden love, and plot twists which leave you wondering what will happen next. This season was decent, however, it does leave a few unanswered questions to be asked. There was an alien subplot and the aliens were never explained to us during the entire season. Besides the plot holes, the season touched on issues such as lesbian rights, religion, and mental issues. This season will keep you wanting more. This show is a new brand of horror that tries and succeeds in keeping people entertained with a rich story and ambitious characters.

The writers of the show make sure to talk about important issues in society: homosexuality, racial issues, and being falsely accused. Homosexuality is brought up as Lana Winters is secretly a lesbian. This season illustrates how controversial and hard being gay in that time period could be, due to social ridicule and intolerance. Asylum also does this with the issue of racism. Kit’s wife is black and the couple gets constant abuse from the people in town, having bottles thrown at their house and other people (the KKK) coming up in trucks harassing the two of them weekly. It also brings up how being falsely accused and thrown in jail actually happens, and how it can ruin someone’s life. For example, Kit was traumatized by the things that happened to him and what he saw in Briarcliff. The show did a great job expressing all of these ideas, making you feel genuinely bad for the people in each situation.

All in all, the second installment of American Horror Story did a great job balancing being genuinely scary and entertaining. Characters in the show were relatable, and creepy... yet loveable. The show rarely had dull moments because something interesting was always going on. 8/10 stars

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Labels: entertainment