top of page

Episode 1: Welcome to Briarcliff

By Christine Petralia

Images courtesy of FX Networks

October 18, 2012

Episode 1: Welcome to Briarcliff (aired Oct. 17, 2012)



Welcome to Briarcliff, a church-run haven for the ‘criminally insane.’ The series starts in present day with a young couple (played by Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine and Jenna Dawson Tatum) on their honeymoon. They are exploring the grounds of the abandoned, and maybe haunted, Briarcliff asylum in Massachusetts. As they take pictures and paw at each other, they find a room they want to have sex in. As they rip each other’s clothes off, they hear a noise and wonder if it’s ‘Bloody Face,’ a serial killer who was at the asylum in the 1960s. And soon, clothes aren’t the only things that are getting ripped off.



After the new credits roll, it is now 1964. We are introduced to Kit Walker (Evan Peters). A hard-working gas station attendant with a secret at home, he is married to a black woman. One night, after a discussion about how they shouldn’t have to hide anymore, Walker hears a noise outside, when he rushes in to get his wife, the place is in ruins and strange things start happening to him. We are lead to believe it is an alien invasion and the aliens have taken his wife.



Soon, we’re at the asylum where a young journalist, Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson), is looking to interview the head of Briarcliff, Sister Jude (Jessica Lange), about its bakery. When it becomes clear she is actually there to uncover what goes on behind the asylum’s walls. She has also heard that the man known as Bloody Face is being committed, while he awaits trial. Sister Jude is onto her, but Winters tags along as Walker is brought in. He is believed to have killed his wife, along with several other women, which is why they believe he is Bloody Face.



Winters goes home to her lover Wendy (Clea Duvall). She is determined to go back to Briarcliff and get the scoop, and when she does she plans to take it to a big magazine to expose everything. In the meantime, Wendy worries about the community finding out about her relationship with Winters and her reputation as a school teacher.



Back at the asylum, Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe) informs Sister Jude that another patient has died in the middle of the night and no one knows where the body is. Sister Jude confronts Dr. Arthur Arden (James Cromwell) about the missing patients. She believes he is up to no good, but she can’t put her finger on it. While he implies that he is really the one running the asylum and that she should just leave him be. And while Sister Jude prepares dinner for Msgnr. Timothy Howards (Joseph Fiennes), we learn that she actually lusts for him in a bizarre sexy dream sequence of Lange in red lingerie. Howards put Sister Jude in charge of the asylum and she informs him that she doesn’t trust Arden.



Meanwhile, Sister Mary, who we later learn is terrified of Sister Jude in some sick, twisted way, heads out into a yard to ‘feed’ whatever lurks out there at the direction of Arden. While back there, she runs into Winters and rushes her back inside. Winters bribes Sister Mary to show her around, which she does begrudgingly, but something happens and Winters is left alone. As she searches for Walker, who is actually being poke and prodded by Arden, she is knocked unconscious by another patient and wakes up strapped to a bed. Sister Jude informs her that her lover Wendy has committed her, after some bribing, so that she can be ‘cured’ of her lifestyle.



The episode ends in the present day, with the young couple. The wife is running for help and learns they are locked inside the building and when she turns the corner, she bumps into….Bloody Face.



The first episode threw a LOT of plot at us. There is a lot going on, but I know it will all intertwine some how, just as last season did. It definitely started off great with so much packed into just one hour.



We also met a few patients, including Shelley (Chloe Sevigny), a nymphomaniac who likes sex so much her husband had her committed, and Grace (Lizzie Brochere) who claims she’s innocent and didn’t kill people. She befriends Walker and tells him the ‘rules’ of the asylum and that she doesn’t trust anyone there.



The season previews imply exorcisms will happen and madness will ensue. I’m really curious to see where this goes. So far, I have not been frightened, but I know that will come in time. I really love how this show pushes the envelope on cable TV with the gore, language and story lines. And how can we forget the sex. And I really want to know about the alien story line. I freaking love aliens!!!!!

Missed an episode? Catch up on the entire season!

Heading the movies this weekend? Make sure it's worth seeing first!

All works created by Christine McGrath; Centereach, New York  All Rights Reserved 2024

bottom of page