American Horror Story: Murder House re-watch – Episodes 4 and 5

Zachary Quinto as Chad Warwick moments before he becomes a PERMANENT resident of the murder house. (Photo: FX)

Join 1428 Elm’s Lorry Kikta as she re-watches American Horror Story: Murder House and American Horror Story: Coven before the release of the 8th season of the beloved series, American Horror Story: Apocalypse airs September 12th on FX.

Caution: This article contains detailed spoilers. Watch the episodes on Netflix if you’ve never seen them!

When we flash back to the present with the Harmons, Vivian and Ben are in the kitchen with their realtor, Marcy. Vivian is complaining about how only one woman had come to see the house so far, which was Nora Montgomery.Marcy tells him the house has an image problem, and we find out that the twerp twins are back and egged the house. Marcy tells them they need a fluffer, which is someone who comes in and makes the house look like something out of a magazine when a family is ready to sell. Marcy says she knows two, but that the gay man she knows is more affordable. The Harmon’s pick him.

We then are in the Langdon kitchen. Addy and Travis (Michael Graziadei; The Young & The Restless, upcoming season of True Detective), Constance’s much younger boyfriend, are sitting at the kitchen table while Travis reads a book about Halloween to Addy. Constance enters the room after they’re finished reading while Addy is whispering to Travis what she wants to be for Halloween. Constance is definitely becoming agitated because she thinks Addy is flirting with Travis. She sends him off to buy chocolate chips and while he’s gone she has this to say to Addy:

“Now you listen to me, good little girl, I have given every inch of my life to you for the last thirty-some years. I would kill or die for you, but I will not share the affections of the men I bring into this house with any woman, do you understand?”

Constance is clearly still troubled by her husband cheating on her with Moira almost 30 years later. Addy tells her mother she wants to go as “a beautiful girl” for Halloween. Constance says she’s going as Snoopy again. She also tells her no more reading with Travis.

Addy says to Constance, “The dead can walk freely on Halloween.”

To which Constance responds “You’ve always known that.”

Onward towards our favorite burn-victim, Larry Harvey knocking on the Harmon’s door. Ben opens and sees him standing there with a Halloween pumpkin. Larry is still trying to extort Ben for a thousand dollars. Ben has had it with Larry and punts the plastic pumpkin, and says “I have a patient.” Larry says “And I have patience, but it has a limit.” The patient Ben has in this office is Tate.

Larry Harvey says “Trick-Or-Treat” (Photo: FX)

Ben is concerned because Tate didn’t go see the new psychiatrist he referred, and didn’t call to cancel. Tate says that the only psychiatrist he’ll see is Dr. Harmon, so they come to an agreement to meet up for coffee because Ben won’t see Tate in the house. Tate promises to be there and also promises “no weird sh*t.”

While Ben is in his appointment with Tate, Vivian is talking with Luke from their new security company. He has been installing a new system since the old one was “from the Reagan era.” Luke is played by the incredibly talented Morris Chestnut (Boyz N The Hood, The Best Man). He vows to be there for Vivian after the horrors that just occurred with the home invasion. Vivian and Luke seem to have a little bit of chemistry, but we’ll find out more about that in later episodes.

Moira is carving pumpkins and tells Vivian she enjoys crafts. She asks if she can have Halloween off to see her mother. I’m sure a lot of people who were watching this on its initial air date were wondering how that would be possible. Without offering an explanation (yet), we see our couple in trouble from the start of the episode, Chad and Patrick, out in the yard. Vivian confuses them with “the fluffers” that Marcy spoke up at the beginning of the episode.

Chad and Patrick come inside and Chad starts his Halloween decorating from the previous year all over again. He is not exactly enthused at what the Harmon’s have done with the place so he makes sure to add his touches to all of the decorations. While decorating, Ben hurts his hand and since Patrick is an EMT he stitches Ben’s hand up in the bathroom and then afterwards, makes a pass at him, soliciting him for sex. Ben very firmly declines his advances. Chad tells Vivian that Patrick is a cheater and that a good way to find out if your spouse is cheating is by looking at the cellphone records, because even if someone erases a text, they still exist on the bill.

Violet is in her room, looking at herself in the mirror, when someone grabs her foot from underneath the bed. Violet is not amused and out from other the bed comes Addy saying “trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat”. Violet tells her she has to stop sneaking into the house and she screams “I like it here! My friends are here!” She also asks if Violet is Tate’s girlfriend. The main reason for Addy being there, this time, however, is that she wants Violet to help make her a pretty girl for Halloween. Violet applies make-up and fixes Addy’s hair. She’s extremely excited, saying “Violet, I look beautiful!”

When Addy returns home, Constance chases Addy around the kitchen with a dishcloth. She’s saying “I want to be a pretty girl”. Constance breaks down and screams “Well, you’re not a pretty girl and you know it!”

“But I want to be” Addy replies.

In one of her more insulting speeches, Constance says to Addy “Do you know what they think when we walk down the street? There but for the grace of God go I! You make them feel lucky…and they think that I’m a hero..as though I’ve had some choice!”

Addy starts to cry and runs away from Constance. You finally see some hint of humanity within the character at this moment. Constance is rarely sympathetic, but when she is, she really is, especially in this episode.

Tate sneaks up on Violet in the basement in an attempt to scare her. Violet claims she wasn’t scared. He says “I didn’t scare you? I bet I can.” Tate sets up a table with candles and a Ouija board. Violet is extremely skeptical and Tate says that Charles can answer all her questions because he lives in the house. Tate then tells Violet the story of how Nora and Charles Montgomery secretly performed abortions in the basement of the house because Charles was a drug addict and they needed him to perform the procedures to keep them afloat financially.

The boyfriend of one of the girls in trouble found out where she got her procedure. He had not wanted her to go through with it. The Montgomery’s receive a phone call. Nora picks up and the voice on the other end says “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. At first she brushes it off as nonsense but when she goes to the baby’s room, he is missing. The couple panics and restlessly await ransom demands. Instead, police arrive at the door. The child’s body had been sectioned into pieces which the police put in jars. They desperately attempt to keep Nora away from the box, but she sees it.

Charles loses his mind even more so than he already had at this moment. He has now gone full Frankenstein and Nora walks in on him in the basement sewing the hoof of some sort of animal to their dead babies leg. The best part of this scene is the use of the song “Dracula, the Beginning” by Wojciech Kilar. It builds the grotesque tension of the scene and illustrates the exact moment that the Montgomery’s really crossed over to the dark side.

Violet does not believe this story and asks Tate to take her out on a real date. He says that he will the following night, which is also Halloween. Before he goes on the date with Violet, he has his meeting as promised with Ben. Ben tells Tate about how strong and brave Violet is, and also how he used to be like Tate when he was a kid. That no one would have ever expected him to become a doctor, and yet here he stands.

Constance, having felt bad about what she said to Addy earlier in the episode, gives her a “beautiful girl” mask, which is actually incredibly creepy, but anyway, Addy is thrilled to be able to go out trick-or-treating as someone other than Snoopy.

Addy gets her wish when Constance gets her this “beautiful girl” mask for Halloween. (Photo: FX)

Vivian’s curiosity gets the best of her and she follows Chad’s advice and looks through Ben’s phone records. Ben is getting into his vampire Halloween costume and asks Vivian where his fangs are, she hands them to him and he puts them in and says “Fangs A lot”. Vivian does not look pleased. .She confronts Ben about this and he says that he has ignored all her calls and hasn’t talked to her in over a year. Vivian’s phone rings and it’s Hayden. Vivian is furious and Ben is completely freaked out because how exactly could Hayden call him? She’s dead!

After this, Chad and Travis criticizes Vivian about her “Rite Aid witch outfit” and then calls out Ben with “never fear, Count Jockula is here to really add some class”. Chad is at his wit’s end when he realizes that Ben got gala apples instead of Granny Smiths, because this was the last thought he had while he was alive. He asks Vivian and Ben to leave, and Vivian says “You think we should just leave our house?”

Chad says “It’s not your house, we know it, you know it, and the house knows it. Frankly, you don’t deserve it!” Chad and Patrick won’t leave the house and Vivian starts to lose it and knock all the decorations over while yelling “Get out!” She then tells Ben she doesn’t believe him when he says he hasn’t talked to Hayden and asks him to leave the house.

Then she starts to have a pain like the baby is kicking, even though the baby is only eight weeks old and couldn’t possibly be able to kick yet. Ben and Vivian go to the hospital, telling Violet to stay there and not to answer the door. They put a basket of candy that says “take one” on it and Addy approaches the door and starts ringing the doorbell repeatedly. Some younger teenage girls come up and say “It says ‘Take One” and another one of them calls Addy short-bus. She gets upset and runs out into the street, only to be hit by a car.

Constance doesn’t find out right away. When she runs out and finds her strapped to a gurney, she argues with the EMT to help her carry her daughter onto the lawn of the murder house. They won’t do it and as hard as Constance attempts to get Addy there while she’s still alive, she dies right in front of the gate. Constance screams in pain and disbelief,

Moira is seen with her elderly mother in a state facility. She’s only being kept alive by machines. Moira holds her hand and expresses her regret for not taking care of her. She decides to take manners into her own hands and disconnects her mother from life support. Her mother’s spirit shows up behind her and tells Moira to come with her. “I can’t mama” she says and with that, her mother vanishes.

Violet is at home in her room, reading a manga, when the doorbell start furiously ringing and someone is screaming while knocking on the door. She runs down the stairs, it’s Larry Harvey screaming “BEN HARMON!” and “I’m not leaving here til I get my thousand dollars”. He tells the little kids behind him to “take one and get out”. Violet calls her dad and tells him about the guy at the door and asks if she should call the police. Larry says after she hangs up the phone, “I know you’re in there, that’s your daughter.”

Someone is standing behind Violet in the creepy vinyl suit, but ends up disappearing. Violet and Ben get home and Violet isn’t there. Ben tells Vivian to call her cell phone and then there is another knock on the door. It’s Hayden.