Review

Back in 1983 Constance wasn't just the crazy lady next door; she and her husband owned "the house" and had a resident Maid. Apparently the Hubby had a wandering eye and tries to bonk the Maid, which doesn't go down well with Constance who first shots the maid then blasts her husband into oblivion. Not sure how she got away with that to be honest.

Meanwhile back in the present Vivien wants to sell the house, Violet wants to stay due to it having soul, and Ben is having financial issues. Not helping is Ben's ex fling Haydon who arrives unannounced, states she didn't have the abortion and is moving to L.A! Should have kept it in your pants Ben. With the usual assortment of spooks floating around things are about to get more complicated for our resident Shrink.

For once we get an episode where it's all about exposé rather than simply moving the plot along, which is either going to work like a brought one for you or drive you nutso with some slow moving scenes. I'm giving the episode two thumbs up as American Horror Story needed the background filled out more.

An episode that brings explanation to the forefront while throwing some curve balls, one day I'll sort it all out

So what do we learn, well the Maid - who can either be a hot young thing or a dull older lady - is in the house due to Constance killing her. We later find out the Maid's body was buried in the back yard. Reading between the lines our resident hottie, "Men see what they want to see", can only be seen by Men. Nice touch for mine, and will no doubt come into play later in the season. We also get the skinny on the actual house. It was built in 1922 by Doctor Charles Montgomery, acclaimed surgeon to the Stars, for his Wife Nora, a prominent East Coast Socialite. The couple hit hard times with the good Doctor becoming addicted to drugs, in the process developing a Frankenstein complex, hence the creepy basement. Nora, ever more practicable than her husband, organised a home abortion racket to earn a few extra quid to make ends meet. This no doubt didn't end well as Nora is now haunting murder house. And my thanks to tour guide Stan for the back story.

Moving to the present, the now pregnant Vivien wants to sell the house due to that whole home invasion thing, and quite possibly the oppressive nature of the actual interiors. Violet naturally wants to stay; hey the chick digs the gothic, got to love that. And Ben has some bad news for the family. Seems their investment portfolio is shot to pieces, meaning they can't afford to move, besides which his practice is currently operating out of the house. Vivien, showing a practical nature Nora would approve of, immediately hits up the Real Estate agent who sold them the house and threatens dire legal action if the Agent doesn't get the house on the market and sold for what the Harmons have sunk into the pile.

Complicating matters for Ben is Haydon, who has arrived in L.A and demands that Ben pays for her new life style. Since this isn't likely to be cheap, our resident numb nuts is between a rock and a hard place, as for sure he doesn't want Vivien to find out that his pregnant ex-girlfriend is making house calls while Vivien is out. Since Ben seems incapable of decisive action it's left to the weird scared dude, who constantly hits him up for money, to take care of business. Add one more body to the growing unmarked graveyard in the back yard. But hey it's not all doom and gloom, at least Ben builds a gazebo out the back on a solid concrete foundation, so there's a win for Vivien. For the viewer I'm thinking it's not going to be too long before the revenant of a murder pregnant ex lover makes the cosy interiors of "murder house".

So what else went down during the episode, a couple of weird apparently disjointed scenes, and one of the great arse shots, curtsey of our favourite Maid. Leaving behind, snigger, the arse shot let's focus on Ben's patient Sally Freeman. Sally has to be the World's most boring person, she rope learnt NFL to be able to talk to her husband but possesses not one iota of passion for anything. Hence she's bland, boring, and a cipher of a human. Naturally we learn she's an accountant. For no apparent reason she thieves off with Ben's tape recorder, Ben blames the maid, and for no apparent reason implicates Ben in her attempted suicide. There's no logical reason for these segments to be in the episode! Sure I dug them but they didn't advance the plot, highlight any character motivations, or do anything else to add a bonus to our Murder House tour. Guess all will be revealed in a later episode if we are lucky.

Nora, who must have been murdered in the house, of course makes an appearance; just how many spooks does this house contain? Vivian thinks Nora is looking at the house with a mind to purchase, Nora is simply hanging in the paranormal activity hood. Great scene where Nora simply doesn't understand Vivian's modern kitchen appliances, that had the true ring of crystal as Stephen King is apt to put it.

Strangely missing in action for most of the episode were Adelaide, Violet, and Tate. Guess those characters might get a bit more focus next episode, fingers crossed there.

Figures bounced from last week's low to 2.59 million, indicating the show has an audience but beyond the core isn't must turn in material as yet. Have no idea how they pushed this one in North America but solid enough results over three weeks though clearly some folk tuned in and then haven't been back due to the horror content and perceived scare factor. Fingers crossed the show keeps finding new demographics.

While Murder House did change down gear somewhat from the all out insanity of the first couple of episodes I was still digging the Eternal Darkness Tour of the history of the manse. The conflicts are now firmly established and the season really has found its feet. I'm looking forward to what the next nine episodes might deliver upon us. Still not quite sure why Ben kept waking up with a shovel in his back yard, but guess some influence to uncover past wrongs and give at least one phantom eternal rest. Hey full recommendation, excellent television, this show rocks!

ScaryMinds Rates this episode as ...