American Horror Story is really trying to clean up its messes, which is a huge bonus for me. I can watch the show for the simple reason that it's a crazy-ass way to spend 45 minutes, and before it was sort of a like a train derailing in slow-motion. Now, American Horror Story is getting a bit of substance, it's starting to make a little bit of sense, and even some of the characters are becoming a bit more well-rounded thanks to some flashbacks, romantic twists, and even - gasp! - a little personal drama peppered in with the ghost hauntings.
"Open House" has to deal with the fact that the Harmons still live in their house, even after all of the insane things that they can't explain. It's already a tough position to fill, but the episode makes good use of the malevolent nature of these spirits and actually uses their powers for more than just spook scares and harassment.
We're also given a lot more information on just why Burnface Man wants the house so bad. Turns out he was one of Constance's lovers, and he was going to leave his wife and kids and move into the house with Constance. Now perhaps this doesn't make a whole lot of sense, seeing as Burnface Man's wife doesn't want to fight for the house and instead sets herself and the kids on fire; but who cares? At least there's a stronger motive for Burnface Man, even if it does mean that he has some sort of unrequited love for Constance that he should know won't be rekindled (get it? he's burned).
Guess what? Vivien's got twins. Yes, that's right, she has two little demon babies inside of her now. Did I also mention there's a deformed child in the attic of the Harmon house? Well there is, and where before I would have jumped all over this episode for introducing yet another ridiculous and ill-placed scenario, I've found myself shying away from criticizing the irrationality of the thing. I'm not saying that we should totally absolve the writers of the awful ways in which American Horror Story presents its story arcs; nor should we overlook the fact that, for the most part, it's felt like the show has been flying by the seat of its pants.
But "Rubber Man" makes me hopeful that at least somebody on the set of American Horror Story has an idea where all of this is headed. The episode ties together a ton of loose plot lines, including why the gay homeowners are included in the plot at all (although that's still a tenuous connection), where the rubber suit came from, and who the Rubber Man is! The reveal is a little rushed (like, let's say, the first two minutes of the episode), but it was necessary for the plot to progress, and I'm glad to see the shift in morals with Tate. He's a kid trying to figure out his hatred, even after he's dead, and it's good to see a conflict pulling at him from all sides.
Hayden is also more useful as a ghost here, although she does seem to make up some rule about the ghosts being able to remain invisible that we've never really seen before. She uses this device to make Vivien go crazy and shoot Ben - she wants her babies, mind you, for herself and Nora. It's not clear how they will get the babies after Vivien leaves the house, but it's not important right now. Someone has finally left the house - perhaps for good! It'll be interesting to see how that plays out in the next episodes, and dare I say it'll be good for the Harmons' disgustingly redundant divorce fights all the time.
Slash to the Point: I'm starting to put aside my qualms for the things that don't make sense in American Horror Story. It's not solid writing, it doesn't seem to follow any sense of narrative device, and at times it's totally unrealistically hokey. But after becoming so fatigued with its avoidance of anything tolerably believable, I'm coming to accept where American Horror Story is headed. It's even, somewhat, fun.
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