American Horror Story Recap: A House Dead-Vided.

Sorry this recap is so late!  I hope you all had a great holiday–however you celebrated.  Friends, this has been an absolutely interesting adventure for me (and hopefully you) and I give a heartfelt thanks to Flipit for letting me recap the first season of American Horror Story. I went into the season finale of this show with great anticipation and excitement then afterwards, I was like “WTF”?  And “WTH”?  And “WTSH”?  (What The Sam Hill????)  Does my DVR not work anymore and what am I watching?  But by the time you’ve read this, I’ve watched the finale several times and I have to tell you it is kind of like coffee.  You either love it.  Or hate it.  Or acquire a taste to it.  First, I hated it.  Then I acquired a taste for it.  And finally, I loved it.  We didn’t get a lot of questions answered, but did we really expect to?  Are we disappointed that it is obvious Ryan Murphy had to shorten the season finale and push a whole bunch of junk at us like a speeding hearse?  With a garbage pail on the back?  To be fair, a freshman season of anything we’ve grown to love and enjoy can always start out with so much promise and then fizzle out as the seasons pass.  Will this do the same thing?  I can say there are a lot of roads this can take.  But enough ranting.  Let’s get to the real deal.

We start out with a flashback.  Ben and Vivien are back in Boston and he is in the kitchen, excited about a house for sale he saw on the internet.  Vivien comes downstairs with her bags packed.  Well, only two bags packed.  The title tells us this was only nine months ago.  Wow–feels like they’ve been in the house forever.  Especially for them.  Vivien tells Ben she’s going to go.  She’s taking Violet to her sister Jo’s in Florida and wants to get there before the school year starts.  Ben tells her he doesn’t understand.  They talked about going to Los Angeles.  Tearfully, she tells him she just can’t do it.  He doesn’t think they’ve tried enough.  She tells him as much as she’s tried to let him in, a wall comes up and she can’t get past it.  He pushes her to just look at the house he saw online.  He tells her how much she’s always wanted a house like this and although he doesn’t know why it has been on the market for so long (take the tour, Ben!), he thinks it is perfect for them.  As he is talking, we are seeing pictures of inside the empty house we’ve all gotten to know so well.  She still tells him no, absolutely not.  And once again, I try to prevent the inevitable by yelling at the TV to stay in Boston, Vivien!  Or go to Florida.  Or Kentucky.  Ben tells her when he first saw the house it absolutely spoke to him and they were meant to be there.  We see visions of the Vivien rape as he’s talking about all of them being together as a family and then Violet cutting herself.  He begs Vivien just to fly out and come see the house.  He tells her for the first time since their troubles began, this house that is the only thing that has given him hope.  Yeah, this show is famous for disturbing flashbacks, but this one really sucks because had she done what she wanted, she and Violet would still be alive.

Why can’t you hear me screaming at you from my family room?

Now Ben is running around an empty house calling out for Vivien and Violet, getting no response.  He ends up by the sofa where Violet gave birth and then passed away.  Ben asks, “Where are you?”  So we know Ben has finally believed Violet when she told him once you die in the house, you can’t leave.  He’s trying to understand why he can’t see his wife and daughter.  After the opening credits, we join Constance in her kitchen with the baby and she is telling Ben she wasn’t expecting him until the next day.  She has been caring for the baby while Ben was making arrangements for the service (services?).  He tells her he doesn’t want to burden her anymore and that Viv’s sister Jo is here now to help him out.  Constance is not thrilled with this and Ben tells her forcefully he is there to pick up his son.  With bitterness Constance replies, “Your son…yes.”

Well, they don’t hand out SAG nominations for being subtle

With a few reminders on how to warm the baby’s formula, Ben and baby are out the door with a warm hug between the too.  Kidding!  Constance tells Ben he just can’t take that baby back to the house.  There are forces inside that house that will do the baby harm.  Like the forces that killed his sweet wife.  And then she gets downright angry and asks him about Violet.  Did he buy her a casket too?  He tells her the baby will be fine and she screams at him that for everything he’s seen, how can he still be so blind?  Word, Constance.  Ben looks over her shoulder and sees the picture of Tate with Addy and…flashback.  This is the scene where Ben is calling Tate’s mother to let her know he can no longer treat her son because he crossed a line with his daughter.  On her end of the phone, Constance uses a towel to cover the receiver to disguise her voice, while Addy sits at the table.  In the present, Ben asks Constance, “Where is he?”  She tells him in his grave, where’s he’s been longer than he was alive.  Ben tells her she destroyed his family and she responds he is paying for his sins.  Infuriated, he tells her to lock her door and pray he doesn’t come back.  As he grabs the baby and leaves, you can almost hear the wheels turning in Constance’s mind.

It is not usually good for anyone else when she gets an idea.

Back at the house, Moira is talking to Vivien in the kitchen and Moira asks Vivien how her adjustment is going.  Vivien tells her the hardest thing is watching Ben because he is so devastated and Moira agrees.  The living left behind are the ones who suffer the most.  Suddenly they hear Ben enter the house and Vivien goes to hide behind the counter.  Moira tells her she doesn’t need to do that.  Ben can’t see her unless she wants him too.  She looks at the baby and says she wants to nurse him so bad.  Ben walks with the bottle towards the microwave and Vivien says, “No…not the microwave.”  Almost as if Ben hears her, he turns away and heads to the faucet to warm up the bottle correctly.  Moira warns Vivien not to hover.  Vivien reminds Moira that despite all of Ben’s flaws, he is a really good father.  Moira is not convinced.

He’s a good father when he’s not banging his students, right?  Wait.  Did I say that out loud?

Vivien is still right by Ben and the baby and Moira finally asks her if she wants Ben to see her.  Vivien vehemently denies this saying she made Violet promise with her they would not reveal themselves to Ben because if he sees them he’ll never leave the house.  He has to leave the house and raise their baby.  Moira tells her sharply to keep her distance then and keep her eye on the end game.  Ben is reassuring the baby it will all work out.  As Ben takes the baby out of the kitchen, Vivien sits next to Moira and tells her Ben seems so different.  So sanguine or almost optimistic.  Because Moira can’t help herself, she tells Vivien maybe he’s thinking of all the women he can have sexual relations with now.  HAHA.

Thanks.  This little talk really helped.

Moira apologizes and Viv asks her to make her a cup of tea.  Moira tells her no and that Viv’s denial is impressive.  See, Moira doesn’t work for the dead.  They are equals now.  They come to a truce and Vivien asks her to please call her by her first name.  Moira tells Vivien one more time to leave Ben be and don’t torture herself.  Ben is with the baby in the bedroom and he tells the boy his Aunt Jo will be there for him soon.  He puts his jacket on and starts setting out Post-It notes with keys to everything, a contact list and a life insurance policy.  And we already know from the previews where this is headed.  He sits in his office, smoking, drinking and oh yeah, loading a gun.  He puts in his mouth and then sees a picture of Violet and stops.  He puts it against his head and suddenly Vivien is there to pull it away.  She tells him he can’t do this.  He begs her to let him do it so they can be together forever.  She tells him the baby needs a father and he tells her he is not that baby’s father.  She tells him the baby is hers, though and reminds him he shouldn’t be smoking.  Crying, he tells her he’s so sorry for everything he’s put her through.  She tells him she forgives him and they’ve had enough drama and tragedy in their family.  Understatement of the year.  She tells him the one bright spot is that baby.  He can start over and do something different.  She wants him to leave.  He needs to raise that child–not her sister.  He asks, “What about Violet?”  And suddenly she is there too.  He tells her he hasn’t been a good father.  She wasn’t eating or going to school and he didn’t even realize she was already gone.  She tells him she shut him out on purpose because of what her suicide would do to him.  They have a tender moment and she tells him he has to leave.  Every minute he is in the house, he is in danger.  He stands and sees Vivien is wearing her wedding ring and then they kiss.  And just as quickly, they both disappear and he stands alone.

And this isn’t even the oddest thing that has happened in this office.

It was enough for him to make up his mind to leave and he has the baby and his bags when our good friend Hayden stops him.  There is no way he thinks he is just going to leave, right?  He tells her to get out of his way.  He starts to go down the steps and a large rope gets thrown around his neck and the serial killer guy from the home invasion is behind him pushing him over the top of the stairs with the help of the serial killer girl.  So, Ben is hung on the chandelier and Hayden tells him they now have all the time in the world.

Your light fixtures need to be both decorative and extremely sturdy.  Good to know.

With no idea how much time has passed, the doorbell rings and Marcy the realtor, holding the DOG (OMG) answers the door.  She opens the door and welcomes an attractive Latino couple called the Ramos, Stacey and Miguel.  Typical Marcy remarks on the exotic nature of his name and assumes he’s from the south of the border.  He corrects her saying his family is actually from Spain.  She tells them that is even better, since European Hispanics are vastly superior.  HAHA

I wish I could tell you Marcy is the creepiest thing about this house.

She starts her spiel about the house being built in the twenties when she goes to shut the door, almost shutting out the Ramos’ teenage son.  The Ramos’ are impressed with the house and like any intelligent person, Stacey asks why the asking price is so much below the market.  Mold?  Radon?  Marcy fesses up with the “full disclosure” bit, telling them the previous owners passed away in the house.  Miguel wants to know the details and Marcy tells him the wife died during childbirth and in his grief, the husband hung himself from the chandelier.  She gestures to the dog and says this is the only remaining member of the family and she has adopted him.  Absolutely no mention at all of Violet.  What do outside people think happened to the teenage girl?  Miguel hilariously says, “Well at least they weren’t murdered.”  Marcy tells Stacey she’d be happy to show her another house, but keep in mind you are always moving into someone else’s history.  She reminds them of the deep discount on this particular house.  Miguel asks his son Gabe what he thinks of the house and the death story and Gabe brushes it off, saying he doesn’t believe in ghosts.  And so the tour continues.  We hear Marcy telling the couple about the pasta arm in the kitchen and the lovely gazebo in the back yard.  Gabe goes off on his own, riding his skateboard around the house when he crashes and falls to the floor.  Those trouble-making ginger twins threw something that made him crash and they laugh behind him.  Gabe turns and they are gone.  His skateboard moves slowly back toward him and then Miguel comes in and asks him if he’s okay.  Gabe says he’s fine, but he is obviously shaken and his Dad tells him his Mom has fallen in love with the kitchen and they most likely have just bought a house.  You can hear Marcy still talking–this time about sipping mojitos in the gazebo and making a comment the Ramos can certainly handle the summer heat better than the rest of “us” gringos.  Season two:  Please don’t kill Marcy.  Make her join the ACLU or something hilarious for us.  As the scene ends, we see Violet sitting on the steps just watching.

Violet:  Please see my request about the ACLU and Marcy.  Thanks.

And they are moving in!  A relieved Marcy is putting the sold sign out in front and the movers are working.  Think about the commission this lady has made on re-selling the same house over and over again.  I know the price is always drastically reduced, but the turnover would make up for it, right?

Deep down in the dark recesses of their hearts, every realtor really does want their own Murder House.

Hey, it is Charles S. Dutton again!  He and his female partner are in Constance’s kitchen and Dutton peers out the window and remarks there is a new family next door.  Constance says she hopes they are a nice family.  She says she would go over there and welcome them but as they can imagine, Constance returning to that house would be too difficult.  We flashback to Constance in the foyer of the house, staring up at a hanging Ben and calling him a stupid son of a bitch.  Now before this scene, I truly thought Constance was behind the murder of Ben to get the baby for herself.  She would certainly have no problem convincing Hayden to do it and as for the serial killers, well, they dig that sort of thing.  But she seemed genuinely surprised that Ben had “killed himself”.  Back in the present, she’s asking the detectives if they are back here with any more bad news.  Dutton tells her they don’t have any real news.  Constance says that means they still haven’t found that precious baby yet.  Not-Dutton wants to go over her statement again.  So in her original statement, Constance said she went over to the Harmons to check on Ben and his daughter.  When she didn’t get a response to ringing the doorbell, she came into the house.  Constance tells her that since she herself is no stranger to tragedy she was understandably concerned.  In the flashback, Ben appears behind Constance and says, “I can’t believe she killed me.”  Constance replies, “Serves you right.”  In the present, Constance tells the police her first instinct was to flee, but then she remembered the baby.  In the flashback, Constance goes to the baby carrier and it is empty.  Vivien comes down the stairs half smiling at Ben and hugs him, then Violet joins them.  They all hold each other–reunited again.  Constance looks at them and sarcastically says, “Well, that is all very touching, but where the hell is the baby?”  Back in the present, Constance is telling the police that she went looking for the Harmons’ daughter and when she discovered she was gone too, she realized what must have happened.  In the flashback, Constance finds Violet’s dead body so I guess up until that time, she really didn’t know that Violet was dead.  Something we assumed last week, right?  In that same flashback, Constance walks into another part of the basement and sees Hayden holding the baby.  Constance tells her she has come to fetch her grandson and Mrs. Harmon agrees with her.  The house of the dead is no place to raise a child.  Hayden tells her it is for this baby.  He’s special.  Constance tells her he is hers.  Hayden:  “Over my dead body.”  Oh, Hayden.  Your comic timing is awesome.  Just then a hand with a large knife comes from behind her and slits her throat.  Constance looks startled at first and then her dead young lover, Travis hands her the baby.  Since we know Hayden can’t be killed again, this was nothing more than just to cause distraction for Constance to leave the house with the baby.  Back in the present, Constance finishes her story to the police by saying with Violet and the baby both gone, it is obvious the teenager took the baby and fled the scene of her father’s suicide.  Sounds good to me.

He’s totally buying all this.

Constance stands up to usher the two detectives out of her house and Dutton reminds her to please call them if she remembers anything at all Violet would have told her.  They leave, very clearly suspicious of Constance.  What do you think Ben told his sister-in-law when he made the arrangements for her to come and get the baby?  Did he tell her Violet was dead too?  Or was he waiting to tell her anything at all until she got there?  Because you would think the police would also question her.  Right?  Of course after the detectives leave Constance goes to the closet of mirrors she used to punish Addy in and there is the baby, well hidden and virtually soundproof from the intruding police officers who would certainly have had an issue with Constance just taking Ben and Viv’s baby.  Constance holds the boy and calls him her little angel.

Interesting decorating idea for a nursery.  For future psychopaths.

Back at the Murder House (I still want to call it the Harmons’!), teenager Gabe comes into his room and finds Violet playing music on his stereo.  Instead of screaming “Intruder!”, Gabe asks Violet who she is and she just tells him he has awful taste in music.  He asks again who she is and she tells him she is a ghost of her former self.  She laughs and tells him her name is Violet and she lives in the neighborhood.  He tells her that her hand is cold.  HA!  He should see the bugs coming out of her mouth.  She dumps a bunch of his CD’s on his bed and he gets mad again and tells her to get out.  Violet asks him, “Are you sure you want to be alone?  This house is haunted.”  He laughs it off and tells her she’s kind of twisted.  When she tells him he doesn’t know the half of it, the camera backs up and shows us Tate, listening in to every bit of this exchange.  Uh oh, Gabe.  Tate is definitely not going to be a friendly ghost to you if Violet becomes the object of your affection.

Not exactly the face of someone who has moved on from his last relationship in a healthy way.

Stacey and Miguel are busy moving into the kitchen and Miguel is joking about how hot Marcy is.  Stacey laughs and says, “Really?  I might have to waste that bitch.”  NOOOOO!  We hate Marcy, but we need her to feel better about ourselves.  They start kissing and getting all hot and heavy.  Ben and Vivien are standing there watching this whole thing and that is just gross.  Geez, you two.  Vivien takes Ben’s hand and says she remembers when they were like that.  The loving (alive) couple are interrupted by a door slam.  They continue talking and discuss the possibility of having a baby.  Vivien tells Ben she lost two babies in this house, one who never even took a breath and Constance stole the other one.  Wow, no love for Violet??  Ben and Viv agree Stacey and Miguel are nice people and they can’t have a baby in this house.  Ben agrees and says they’re going to have to do something.  Moira walks in and says, “You’re going to need some help.”  She goes on to say there are evil spirits in the house who want to inflict pain and others, like her, who are just innocent victims and don’t want to see any more pain.  She’s telling this to Ben and Vivien on the other side of the kitchen island, where Stacey and Miguel are back at it, hot and heavy.

Would be a total mood killer if she suddenly became “seen”, don’t you think?

The Ramos’ are in bed asleep…well, Miguel’s not.  He’s pulling a Ben with wide open eyes and we just know the house is “speaking” to him.  I think it is at this point, this episode really went off track.  It became Beetlejuice for me.  I don’t mean to sound crabby about this, but I just think it got a little too silly for such a serious show.  Miguel heads downstairs, in sleepwalking mode.  Stacey is still in bed when we glimpse The Rubber Man.  He appears to be touching Stacey or at least getting very close to her.  In a more serious moment, Gabe walks up startled and Tate is in his room, staring at him and asking him what he was dreaming about–was it her?  He’d dream about her too, if he could dream.  Gabe asks Tate what he’s doing in his room.  Tate tells him it used to be his and then it was hers.  Violet’s.  When Gabe asks, “That freaky chick from before?”, you can almost hear a snapping noise in Tate’s head.  Gabe must have heard that too, so he backpedals immediately and says she seemed cool, but nothing happened and he didn’t know she had a boyfriend.  Tate tells him they kind of broke up.  The Rubber Man touches Stacey again and this time lets her see him fully.  We see immediately it is Ben behind the mask.  Really?  This was the plan?  Isn’t it odd that Vivien would be totally okay with Ben touching the attractive wife who just moved in?  And wouldn’t she be a little traumatized by her own real rape to re-create that scene?  I thought the writing on this was pretty bad.  I wouldn’t need an intruder dressed head to toe in rubber to actually touch me for me to freak out.  He could be emptying my dishwasher or ironing my clothes and that would be enough for me to call the police and run screaming out of the house.  Well, I’d wait until the dishwasher was completely empty of course.  My point is I believe the ghosts still have some feelings of sorrow and remorse and this seems just a little too cold, even for them.

Anyway, Stacey screams which is enough to get Gabe to remove himself from the confrontation with Tate, but Tate knocks him to the floor.  While Stacey is screaming, Miguel is downstairs turning on the stove’s burners.  Who wants popcorn??  Stacey is fighting Ben in the bedroom, screaming and then finally gets out into the hallway.  Just then the attic stairs drop and Beauregard jumps down and starts yelling at her.  She locks herself into the bathroom.  Back with Tate and Gabe, Tate is still being crazy ex-boyfriend saying that Gabe seems like a nice guy and more importantly, normal.  When Gabe tries to get out of the room, Tate punches him right in the stomach and screams, “I don’t want to hurt you!”  And then he pulls out a knife and says, “But I do have to kill you.”  Back in the kitchen, Miguel is still holding his hand over the burner, when Vivien approaches and tells him it is now time for him to open his eyes and to see the house for what it is.  He turns and behind him is Larry’s burned up wife who says, “I need someone to feel my pain.”  She pushes his hand down on the flame and when he flinches, they disappear and old Moira is there, telling him she wants to lead him.  As she takes his hand and starts to walk him away from the stove, she becomes young Moira.

You have no idea how lucky you are you didn’t plan on tearing the house down to build condos.

In the bathroom, where like the basement nothing ever good happens, Stacey is still (understandably) freaking out when nurse Gladys sits up in the bathtub and says, “Look what he did to me.”  Stacey screams and leaves the bathroom, seeing “Run” printed in what looks like blood on the wall in the hallway.  Back with Gabe and Tate, Gabe is asking why he’s doing this.  Tate grabs him and goes to stab him, attempting it twice but not able to do it and then he asks Gabe if maybe he could not look at him.  This is so typical Tate.  Can he really pick and choose when he feels bad about doing something?  He tells Gabe it is not personal; it is just that she’s so alone.  So, he wants to kill Gabe to be with Violet??  Gabe starts praying and Tate is getting impatient.

Young Moira is leading Miguel into the dining room, acting all naughty but it is old Moira who greets Miguel in the room saying, “What would Stacey think?”  Then Miguel sees Black Dahlia lying (in two pieces naturally) on the table and he says out loud and with relief, “I’m dreaming.”  Then Black Dahlia  (Elizabeth) opens her eyes wide and says, “You’re wide awake.”  Ben is chasing a screaming Stacey down into the basement.  Miguel finally hears Stacey yelling for him and he runs to her voice, running into the exterminator guy and then goes into the basement.  Ben (still in rubber) starts attacking the both of them (but not really hurting them) and they fight back.  Vivien comes in yelling, “Ben!  You sick perverted bastard.”  Ben removes his mask and the terrified couple ask who they are.  Vivien tells them she used to be married to Ben and then she pulls out a big knife and stabs Ben right in the chest.  And because that is not enough, she rips his heart out with her hand, saying, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”  Ben takes a gun and shoots Vivien right in the head, saying the exact same phrase and then they both fall “dead” on the floor.  After a pause, they get up and Ben looks right at Miguel telling him this is what the house does to people.  And then Vivien tells them to run.  Which of course, they do.

While Tate has a knife to Miguel’s throat, Violet finally walks in and tells him to stop.  Tate tells her he has to do it.  He is doing this for her.  He says he did try to save her but now she’s all alone.  So, he’s like the weirdest (and most homicidal) matchmaker ever.  Violet tells him she’s not alone; her family is here now.  She tells him she doesn’t want Gabe.  She tells him she used to want him (Tate).  This gives Tate pause and he turns away from Gabe and crying, he says, “You told me to go away.”  Violet agrees but she tells him she never got a chance to say good-bye.  He goes to her and they start kissing.  Violet gives Gabe a look to get the heck out of there, which wisely he does.  Miguel and Stacey are at their car, honking like crazy and yelling for Gabe.  He comes running out and they peel out of the driveway.  The Harmons watch them leave and Vivien says, “There is just going to be another poor family moving in here.”  But they know how to get them out.

Seriously, this wouldn’t have been enough?

Marcy is in the front yard with yet another For Sale sign, slapping a reduced price sticker on it, when the Murder Tour comes driving by with the guide now talking about the tragedy of the Harmon family.  Marcy is trying to shoo them away with the whole “nothing to see here…”.  Ben is sweeping the floor (what he is cleaning up, I have no idea), when Tate comes into the room and asks if he has a minute.  Tate tells him he knows he is the last person Ben wants to see right now.  Ben tells him he is a monster.  Tate continues, telling Ben he misses their talks and he feels like they were helping him.  Ben tells him he is a psychopath and no amount of therapy could help him.  Tate starts getting upset again and asks Ben, “You really think I’m a psychopath?”  Ben tells him yes and not only that, but he is the worst kind.  He is charming and a pathological liar.  But hey, don’t listen to him—he’s just a fraud.  Therapy does not work.  Ben tells him the reason people even go to therapists is because they don’t want to take responsibility for their own crappy lives and they can blame everything on their crazy mothers and feel better.  Ben tells Tate they aren’t so different after all.  He hurt the people who were closest to him.  Tate tells him they forgave him and maybe Violet can find a way to forgive him.  Ben tells him it doesn’t work that way.  People can only forgive someone when they’ve hurt them directly.  The people Tate murdered are the only ones who can forgive him and Tate took away their chance.  Crying harder now, Tate asks if this is it.  He has no chance for mercy?  Ben does the whole sarcastic slow clap thing and tells him a real psychopath has no remorse.  He fell for this act as did Violet.  Let’s try it again, okay Tate?  Ben tells Tate he took away everything that mattered to him.  What could he possibly need from him now?  Tate apologizes again and Ben tells him saying sorry is easy.  Tate needs to take responsibility for the things he’s done.  Ben turns his back on him and then Tate says, “In 1994, I set my Mom’s boyfriend on fire and then I went and killed 15 people at Westfield High.  I murdered the gay couple who lived here before you.  And I raped your wife.”  He tells him he did bad things to other people and he’ll tell Ben all of it.  Ben tells him he is not his priest and he cannot absolve him.  Tate says he knows that, but maybe they can hang out anyway?

Really, Tate?  “Hang out” might be the wrong way to say it.

We now see Vivien playing the cello when she suddenly hears a baby crying.  She goes into the basement and Nora is with the ghost baby.  She tells Vivien, “Thank God you’re here.  I’m so exhausted.  Are you the nanny?”  Vivien looks genuinely startled at the sight of her baby and tells Nora she’s sorry she’s late, she didn’t know the baby wasn’t stillborn.  Aha!  The baby wasn’t stillborn.  The baby was alive when he was born, had one little cry and then died in the house!  Nora finally recognizes Vivien as the birth mother but warns her the arrangements have been made and the baby, although an unhappy weakling (her words), is hers.  Vivien tells her she understands, but does have some tricks on how to quiet the crying baby.  Nora gives in and hands the baby to Vivien whose lullaby instantly quiets the child down.  Nora tells her the baby has been crying for days.  Nora leaves the baby with Vivien, telling her she’s not real sure if she’s cut out to be a mother.

Vivien takes the baby upstairs where Moira is cleaning the kitchen cabinets.  She tells Moira she found the baby in the basement with Nora.  Moira tells Viv she knew Nora just wasn’t cut out to be a mother.  Vivien asks Moira if she wants to hold the baby and Moira takes her.  She said she would have made a good mother if she hadn’t been such a tramp.

Oh sweetie, I know a lot of trampy good mothers

Vivien asks her if she would be the baby’s godmother.  With tears in her eyes, Moira agrees.  As we hear The Little Drummer Boy in the background, Violet is decorating a Christmas tree and Moira hands her a box of ornaments she found in the attic.  Violet tells her they look ancient.  Moira reminds her “ancient” has no meaning anymore.  Now everything for her is just one big day.  The whole scene turns into “Christmas With The Dead Harmons and Their Trampy Maid” as Ben holds Vivien in front of the tree and tells her how happy he now is.  Looking in through the window are a much less happy Tate and Hayden.  Hayden is telling Tate to just get over her.  She’s never going to talk to him again.  He tells her he’ll wait.  Forever if he has to.

Suddenly it is three years later and Constance enters a beauty salon.  It is her regular salon that she apparently hasn’t been to in ages since she has been housebound.  When her hairdresser asks her why she’s been housebound, Constance tells her she had a baby boy.  She quickly clears up the obvious confusion about her giving birth to the child saying her distant cousins had him and they died tragically in a car accident.  And now it is just her and little Michael.  The stylist does her hair and tells Constance she has never seen her glowing like she does now.  Constance goes into a (brilliant as always) monologue about how when she was younger, she knew she was destined for greatness.  But laurels turned into funeral wreaths.  And now she realizes all of the tragedies in her life have prepared her for now.  That boy is going to be destined for greatness and she is the perfect mother to guide him.

Constance comes home, calling out “Flora?” and apologizing for running so late.  She starts to set down her groceries when she sees the refrigerator door is open and there is blood on the front of it.  A broken cookie jar is on the floor.  Constance follows a trail of blood down the hallway and she walks into Michael’s room.  The babysitter is dead on the floor, her throat slit.  The little blonde boy is in the chair, rocking and smiling.  He proudly shows her his bloody hands.  Constance gets close to him and says, “What am I going to do with you?”  And then, she smiles.

So…that’s it for season one of this show.  Were you disappointed with the finale?  I really was the first time I saw it, but then it really did grow on me.  I look forward to seeing what direction this will take next season.  Will any of our questions finally be answered?  Will the Harmons just always try and get people out of the house?  And what about Constance’s (Tate’s) demon child?  When will we meet Constance’s 4th child?  Will there be constant battles between the good ghosts and the bad ghosts?  How sad is it that baby will always remain that exact same age and never grow up?

As always, thanks for joining me!

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