RECAP: ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ Meets ‘Glee’ In Its Latest Episode

American Horror Story’s sophomore season has not fallen short of its WTF moments, and last night’s episode is no exception.

“The Name Game” begins where December’s shocking mid-season finale left off: Kit (Evan Peters), nearly killed by Dr. Arden (James Cromwell) in an attempt to contact the aliens responsible for Grace (Lizzie Brocheré) and Kit’s wife’s disappearance, is resuscitated; Pepper (Naomi Grossman), the mentally challenged patient falsely accused of killing her sister’s child, is mentally challenged no longer and becomes Grace’s alien-appointed protector; Monsignor Timothy (Joseph Fiennes), crucified by an escaped patient, is visited by the Angel of Death (Frances Conroy) and learns Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe) is possessed by the devil; Dr. Thredson, aka Bloody Face (Zachary Quinto), strolls into Briarcliff as a full-time therapist, back to torment baby mama Lana (Sarah Paulson); and Jessica Lange’s Sister Jude, subjected to electro-shock therapy, hallucinates a cheesy and irreverent, albeit Glee-ful music and dance number in true Ryan Murphy fashion. Just another day at Briarcliff Asylum, right?

The episode progresses from one jaw-dropper to another. Thredson suavely creeps around the asylum, sneaking in to Arden’s office in search of a truth serum to use on Lana and Kit (remember they hid Thresdon’s taped murder confession in an earlier episode). Instead he finds Grace in labor, the ever-diligent Pepper acting as midwife. Thredson uses Kit and Grace’s newborn son as bribery for the tape’s location. Kit obviously caves, as Thredson is next seen in the hydrobaths, looking for the evidence against him. Lana enters with the upper-hand, announcing Thredson’s confession is stashed away somewhere he’ll never find. One point Lana, zero for Bloody Face.

Meanwhile, Sister Mary seduces Monsignor Timothy, feeding off his insecurities and stripping him of his virtue. Later on, with the advice of a brain-scrambled Sister Jude, the monsignor finally gains enough strength to do away with the devil and put poor Sister Mary out of her misery, pushing her over the third floor railing of Jude’s “stairway to Heaven.” Her literal fall from grace reflects the inability of her fellow religious figures to resist temptation earlier in the season. Sister Mary is dead, but what of the devil? Whose body will be possessed next? Before Mary dies, the Angel of Death says she’ll take both of them. But does she mean the devil or Dr. Arden? Only future episodes will reveal the devil’s fate.

Dr. Arden is on a downward spiral after recovering Grace from the aliens. Faced with a force that science can hardly explain and walking in on Sister Mary having sex with the monsignor, Arden kills his creepy zombie-like creations – his self-proclaimed next steps in human evolution – and laments over Sister Mary’s impurity. After she dies, he insists her body be cremated. The episode concludes with the Nazi doctor climbing atop Mary’s angelically lit corpse as it heads into the furnace to be burned. A fitting end for a truly warped duo.

Who knows what the final three episodes of the season will bring? At this point, anything is possible. The aliens could be controlling the whole course for all we know. However, despite American Horror Story’s convoluted storylines, fans will keep returning for more, regardless of how ridiculous the show may become.

Check out a preview for next week’s episode below:

— Jill Wronski