On October 17, 2012, the second season of the anthology series American Horror Story premiered on FX.
In the first season, the story centered around the Harmon family: father Ben, mother Vivien, and daughter Violet. Ben, a psychiatrist, moved his family from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien had a miscarriage and Ben cheated on her with Hayden, one of his students.
Upon their arrival in their new house, the Harmons soon learned that an alarmingly high number of people had died in it. It also became apparent during the first season that nothing is as it seems. The majority of the characters, from Violet’s boyfriend Tate who was killed years ago after shooting up his school to the maid Moira who appears as an old lady to females and as a young, beautiful woman to males, had back stories that were slowly revealed as the season went on.
After the two-part season finale, American Horror Story fans across the country were craving a second season. The creators responded but added a twist to the second season. They revealed that the second season would be shot in a different location, would follow a different storyline, and would contain a mostly different cast than the previous season. The name for the second season was later revealed to be American Horror Story: Asylum, with the setting changing to an insane asylum.
American Horror Story: Asylum takes place at Briarcliff Insane Asylum both in 1964 and in the present day. The present-day storyline follows newlywed couple Leo and Teresa as they explore the ruins of the insane asylum and encounter the various horrors that still remain.
The present-day storyline takes a back seat to the 1964 storyline. Jessica Lange, who played the Harmons’ neighbor Constance in the first season, returns to the cast for the second season as one of the central characters. She plays Sister Jude, the nun in charge of Briarcliff Mental Institution.
Evan Peters, who played Violet Harmon’s boyfriend Tate Langdon in the first season, returns for the second season as Kit Walker, a man who is admitted to Briarcliff after being accused of being a serial killer.
Even though the setting and plot of the show have changed for the second season, the appeal of the show has stayed high. In the second season premier, the mystery that is American Horror Story is as present as it was in the first season. The characters are strong and mysterious, but the plotlines do seem a little bit simpler and easier to follow.
For fans of the first season of American Horror Story, the second season is a can’t-miss, especially as the plotlines and characters develop as the season goes on.