| "Halloween" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| American Horror Story episode | |||
Former owner of the house, Chad (Zachary Quinto), notices the bucket he was drowned in by The Rubber Man. |
|||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 4 & 5 |
||
| Directed by | David Semel | ||
| Written by | James Wong (Part 1) Tim Minear (Part 2) |
||
| Featured music |
|
||
| Production code | 1ATS03 (Part 1) 1ATS04 (Part 2) |
||
| Original air date | October 26, 2011 November 2, 2011 |
||
| Guest stars | |||
|
|||
| Episode chronology | |||
|
|||
| List of American Horror Story episodes | |||
"Halloween" is a two-part episode, consisting of the fourth and fifth episodes of the first season of the television series American Horror Story. The first part aired on October 26, 2011, and the second on November 2, 2011. Part 1 was written by James Wong and part two was written by Tim Minear; both were directed by David Semel.
Contents |
In 2010, Chad (Zachary Quinto) and Patrick (Teddy Sears), a gay couple, own the house. Chad is getting the house ready for a Halloween party, while Patrick is heading to the gym. The couple have a tumultuous relationship, exacerbated by their finances; they are trying to sell the house now. After fighting over Patrick's infidelities and Chad's unloving attitude, Patrick leaves to buy a costume. Chad is in the dining room when the Rubber Man appears in the room. Chad thinks it is Patrick and tries to apologize, but the Rubberman attacks him and snaps his neck. Patrick then walks into the room in a cowboy costume and is surprised by the Rubber Man.
Vivien (Connie Britton) calls in a patrol officer named Luke (Morris Chestnut) over to install more defense mechanisms for the house, and the two appear to have some chemistry. The Harmons hire interior designers ("fluffers") to make over the house to help it sell, mistaking the arriving Chad and Patrick as the fluffers. Chad tells Vivien that he once caught Patrick cheating by checking his phone bill, suggesting she do the same. Meanwhile, Larry (Denis O'Hare) harasses Ben (Dylan McDermott), demanding payment for killing Hayden (Kate Mara), but Ben rebuffs him. Ben agrees to continue sessions with Tate (Evan Peters), but outside the house only.
Addie (Jamie Brewer) argues with Constance (Jessica Lange) about wanting to dress as a "pretty girl" for Halloween. Constance laughs at her, but later buys her a “pretty girl” costume to make up with her. While trick-or-treating, Addie is hit by a car. Constance attempts to get her to the Harmons' lawn before she dies, so Addie will be able to haunt the house that she was connected to. Violet (Taissa Farmiga) meets Tate and demands to know what is in the basement. Tate says it is the still-living abomination created when Dr. Montgomery (Matt Ross), driven insane, tried to bring his dismembered child back to life by sewing the pieces together with various animal parts.
Confronted with his phone bill, Ben tells Vivien that he and Hayden are over. Thinking that Ben is lying, Vivien demands that he leave. Suddenly, the baby kicks - an impossibility, as Vivien is only eight weeks into the pregnancy. At the hospital, an ultrasound reveals that the baby is more developed than it should be. The nurse collapses after seeing the baby on-screen.
On Halloween night, when “the dead can walk freely,” Moira (Frances Conroy) visits her comatose mother in a hospice and disconnects the life support. But she is unable to pass on with her pleading mother’s departing spirit. Violet, left alone in the house while her parents are at the hospital, hears Larry knocking at the front door. She calls her father, who tells her to wait for her parents to return. Violet hangs up, not noticing that the Rubber Man is standing behind her.
When the Harmons return from the hospital, they find the house broken into and Violet missing. Ben answers a knock at the door, finding Hayden’s ghost standing there, covered in dirt.
Violet goes upstairs and Larry leaves. The Rubber Man, unnoticed, also disappears. Violet sees Tate below her bedroom window and he and Violet go out on their date. Ben and Vivien return to the house looking for Violet, but after Violet calls Vivien assuring her that she is safe, Vivien allows her to stay out. Tate and Violet go to the beach and he tells her that high school was a terrible time for him. Five mangled and bloody teens appear and harass Tate, prompting him to leave with Violet.
Ben shuts the door on Hayden and finds Larry outside and attacks him, believing that Hayden’s murder was staged and that both of them are attempting to extort him. Larry realizes that Hayden has come back as a ghost, but Ben does not listen to him and threatens to kill him if he sees him again. Back inside, Vivien reiterates her desire for Ben to leave, and goes to prepare a bath. Hayden calls her on her phone and they argue, ending with Hayden's haunting message, telling Vivien to ask Ben about Boston, appearing on the steamed mirror. Vivien tells Ben that Hayden is in their house. Ben finds Hayden in the basement, but Larry knocks him out with a shovel. Larry ties Ben up, planning to burn the house down but Chad's ghost intervenes. Nora (Lily Rabe) unties Ben, urging him to save his child.
Hayden appears to Vivien, and they are shocked when they learn that they are both pregnant. Hayden attacks Vivien with a shard of glass but is stopped by Ben, who is forced to admit he impregnated Hayden months after Vivien discovered the affair. Having heard the alarm, Luke arrives at the house and arrests Hayden. After talking with Luke, Hayden disappears from his car. Meanwhile, Ben packs his belongings and sadly leaves the house.
The teens find Tate and Violet, but Tate protects Violet by making them chase him. Constance grabs Violet and takes her to her house, revealing that Addie is dead and that Tate is her son. The teens catch up with Tate and are revealed to be ghosts from various cliques at Westview High, who were seemingly killed when Tate committed a school shooting. The ghosts angrily demand to know why he killed them and that he admit what he did, but Tate cannot remember anything about them. One of the ghosts says if she had lived she would now be 34, much older than Tate appears to be. With Halloween night ending, the teens solemnly leave.
The other ghosts, including Moira, Chad, Patrick, Troy and Bryan (the twins from the first episode), and Nora, wearily return to the house.
Part one was written by co-executive producer James Wong, part two was written by consulting producer Tim Minear. Both parts were directed by David Semel.
Regarding the house and its ghosts, series co-creator Ryan Murphy speaks as though the Harmon house is alive. "One of the things about the house we’re trying to say," he says, "is that the house always has sort of a prescient intelligence in that it knows exactly the right moment to send the undead back to f— with the people who live in the house. The house knows what you’re afraid of and will scare you. The house also knows what you need to hear and then will provide it. So the timing of it, it’s almost like what’s going on in these character’s personal lives is what conjures these spirits."[1]
About the character Chad, Murphy likes Zachary Quinto's take on him: "I think there’s a great sadness that he [Quinto] plays to somebody who sort of gave everything to something, be it the house or a relationship, and then it doesn’t turn out to your preconceived notions. I think he plays that frustration well. I also love his [Chad's] connection to Vivien in that he and Vivien are both with sex addicts. So there’s great pain and frustration to loving somebody with that situation and also like, 'Why do you stay?' I think he created this world of beauty and comfort and hopefully children in the future and so I like the rage of it."[2]
IGN's Matt Fowler gave the first part an overall score of 8, describing the episode as a "fairly unsettling romp", adding that the death of Adelaide was unexpected and that Constance's reaction to her daughter's death was "wrenching".[3] Todd VanDerWerff from the The A.V. Club gave the first part a C+ grade.[4] He awarded the second part of the episode a B grade.[5]
In its original American broadcast, Halloween Part 1 was seen by an estimated 2.96 million household viewers and gained a 1.7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49; a then series high.[6] The second part received a 1.6 ratings share among adults 18-49, down a tenth of a point from the first part.[7]
|
||||||||||||||||