Afterbirth (21 Dec. 2011)

The aftermath of Vivien's difficult labour is revealed and Ben makes plans to get out of the house. Some of the spirits have other plans and the family has to pull together to make it through these very tough changes.

Director:

Bradley Buecker

Writers:

Ryan Murphy (creator), Brad Falchuk (creator),

Stars:

Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton, Evan Peters

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Dylan McDermott	...	Ben Harmon
Connie Britton	...	Vivien Harmon
Evan Peters	...	Tate Langdon
Taissa Farmiga	...	Violet Harmon
Denis O'Hare	...	Larry Harvey (credit only)
Jessica Lange	...	Constance Langdon
Kate Mara	...	Hayden McClaine
Charles S. Dutton	...	Detective Granger
Frances Conroy	...	Moira O'Hara
Alexandra Breckenridge	...	Young Moira
Lily Rabe	...	Nora Montgomery
Christine Estabrook	...	Marcy
Michael Graziadei	...	Travis Wanderley
Anthony Ruivivar	...	Miguel Ramos
Lisa Vidal	...	Stacy Ramos

Storyline

Ben is in mourning following Vivien's death and plans to take his own life. Constance is taking care of the newborn but Ben wants him back so the child can be raised by his sister. Vivien and Violet purposely avoid him - he could only sees them if they choose to allow it - thinking they don't want to give him any reason to stay. Hayden has her own plans however for Ben and his spirit soon joins that of his now dead wife and daughter. When the house is sold and a new family moves in, the Harmons ensure that they don't fall into the same trap they did.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | cigarette smoking | pistol | playing cello | forgiveness | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 2011 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, Ryan Murphy Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Quotes

Tate Langdon: I don't want to hurt you! Though I do have to kill you.

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Connections

References Beetlejuice (1988)

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Soundtracks

"American Horror Story Theme"
(uncredited)
Written by Cesar Davila-Irizarry and Charlie Clouser

User Reviews

Excellent finale!

So it's happened... the finale to American Horror Story's first season. By the time it was over, I was really sad. I am definitely going to miss it. My thoughts...

The finale was excellent. I can see why some people will have problems with it, but I honestly loved how it ended. It did so much things in one single episode, but then again, that is one of the trademarks of this show- it always does so much you can barely pause to think about everything that happened. I love how we had the 'boo' scares from the Harmon family to a new one. It seems that the house is divided- we have the sane, happy ghosts (The Harmons, Moira) then we have the vengeful ghosts full of hate.

What can I say about the ending of the episode? Perfection! Jessica Lange's final monologue is brilliant, and the closing scene of the episode was as well. In a way, we want to see this storyline as well, but I doubt we will. This could easily be seen as a series finale, but now we know how every season of this show will be constructed. I cannot wait for it, and all in all, an excellent finale to an excellent season!