RECAP: ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ – Aliens Visit Kit In ‘Continuum’ – Or Do They?

The second to last episode of American Horror Story gave us a glimpse into the collective futures of our favorite Briarcliff inmates. Unfortunately, in typical Ryan Murphy fashion, there are more questions than answers. On last night's episode, named "Continuum," the year is 1967, and in Kit’s (Evan Peters) house, family photos show that he is living happily with both baby-mamas and their children. The camera pans to a shot of Kit in his underwear, face bloodied and tugging an axe out of someone’s body. He collapses in a chair as an off-screen child calls out to him. “Daddy’ll be there in a minute,” he replies tearfully.

In a snapshot of Kit’s perfect polygamous life, Alma (Britne Oldford) is busy preparing a meal and caring for his children, Thomas and Julia, while Grace (Lizzie Brochere) sketches aliens. Alma is anxious over her ongoing obsession. Kit arrives home, inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and the nationwide marches. Later, while he tries to distract Grace from the aliens after Alma complains, the lights begin to flicker. A bright white light floods Alma’s bedroom, making her believe that the aliens are back. Kit grabs his gun as a brick crashes through the window. It’s not aliens, but racists and possible anti-polygamists.

The next morning, Alma and Grace disagree about why the aliens visited them. Grace stresses that Kit’s a progressive thinker (marrying an African-American, campaigning for civil rights) and that’s why the aliens chose him. That night, Kit wakes to find Grace drawing on the floor and ranting about her hopes for the future. The future of what exactly, remains undetermined. Just as soon as Kit starts speaking to her, Grace dies by the very weapon she used to kill her father and stepmother: Alma buries an axe in her back, bringing us to the first scene of the episode. Kit kisses Grace goodbye as he removes the axe and backs away, stunned.

Flash-forward to 1968. Back in the asylum, Pepper (Naomi Grossman) and Jude (Jessica Lange), who was renamed Betty after Jude “died,” play Candyland in the common room. Jude is weirdly lucid as she sends Monsignor Timothy (Joseph Fiennes) off to become a cardinal in New York. Before he leaves, Timothy promises her that she will be released soon. Jude looks relieved. In the bakery, she meets the new patients, one of who closely resembles the Angel of Death (Frances Conroy). Jude is horrified as the patient establishes herself as head honcho at the asylum – and Jude’s new roommate. Alma is seen in the crowd too, newly admitted for her crime against Grace.

Plagued by memories of the Angel’s almost-death kiss, Jude attacks a patient she thought was the Angel of Death and winds up in a straitjacket. Dr. Crump (Robin Bartlett), the new head of Briarcliff, says it’s been two and a half years since the Monsignor left and Pepper died. Jude’s past conversations with Timothy and Pepper were merely hallucinations.

In 1969, Lana (Sarah Paulson) is a big-shot author, attending a reading and signing of her New York Times bestseller entitled Maniac. The audience is enraptured. Suddenly, Dr. Thredson (Zachary Quinto) and Wendy (Clea DuVall) stand up in the crowd – repressed manifestations of Lana’s guilt at bending the truth in her novel. They criticize her, but Lana defends herself. Kit, with longer and furrier sideburns, shows up at the reading. They go for lunch, and Lana gushes over her television appearances and her ideas for a new book. Kit reminds her that she once wanted to destroy Briarcliff. Lana snaps that people change, while Kit reveals Alma’s unexplained death and Jude’s survival in the asylum. Things have apparently gotten worse at Briarcliff. In a flashback to Kit’s visit, the patients are chaotic and violent, and the orderlies few. The asylum is now under the state’s care. Its downfall is a not-so-subtle jab at the American mental healthcare system of that era. Kit discovers Jude hooked on “The Flying Nun.” Lana is sympathetic, but stubborn to aid Kit, and they part on uneasy terms.

Flash-forward to the present. Johnny (Dylan McDermott) lurks into a dusty bookstore in search of Lana’s novel. The cashier refuses to sell it because it is the only copy she owns. Johnny persists, offering a wad of cash. The elderly cashier continues to rebuff him. In a chilling monologue, the son of Bloody Face says his destiny is to locate, meet and kill Lana, thereby finishing his father’s work. As expected, the book is relinquished.

There’s only one more episode left in the season! Who do you think is next to die? Will Johnny succeed in killing Lana? Who will emerge victorious…or at least alive? —Jill Wronski