Smoldering Children 

In 1994, Larry gets burned. In the present, Ben begins to understand what happened to cause Vivien's institutionalization. Constance is questioned by the police in Travis' death. Violet learns something about herself that she doesn't know.

Director:

Michael Lehmann

Writers:

Ryan Murphy (created by), Brad Falchuk (created by)

Stars:

Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton, Evan Peters

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Dylan McDermott	...	Dr. Ben Harmon
Connie Britton	...	Vivien Harmon
Evan Peters	...	Tate Langdon
Taissa Farmiga	...	Violet Harmon
Jessica Lange	...	Constance Langdon
Denis O'Hare	...	Larry Harvey
Charles S. Dutton	...	Detective Granger
Michael Graziadei	...	Travis Wanderly
Jamie Brewer	...	Adelaide 'Addy' Langdon
Rebecca Wisocky	...	Lorraine Harvey
W. Earl Brown	...	Phil Critter
Malaya Rivera Drew	...	Detective Barrios
Derek Richardson	...	Harry Goodman
Gregory Sporleder	...	Peter McCormick
Sam Kinsey	...	Beau

Storyline

In a flashback, the origins of Louis' burn are revealed. Ben visits Vivien in the psych ward and admits to her that he now believes she was raped. The police interview Constance over Travis' death. She has little to tell them - other than she didn't do it - but her history of accidental deaths leave the police highly suspicious. She's off the hook when someone unexpected confesses to the crime. Ben is still upset with Violet for missing so much school and they agree that a new school has to be found. Tate has something to show her however.

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Plot Keywords:

pregnancy | flashback | haunting | victorian house | los angeles california | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

[All trivia items for this title are spoilers.]

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Goofs

At the opening scene of Constance's family dinner, Larry takes a piece of bread and some vegetables into his plate. However later when Tate stands up, Larry's plate is empty.

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Quotes

Constance Langdon: Now, who wants to say grace?
Tate Langdon: Oh, Mother, may I?
Larry Harvey: Oh, of course, son. I was hoping you would choose to become a part of this family.
Tate Langdon: Dear God, thank you for the salty pig meat we are about to eat, along with the rest of the indigestible swill. And thank you for our new charade of our family. My father ran away when I was only six. If I'd have known any better, I would have joined him. And, also... because she's been trying to get back into this house ever since she lost it, Lord, a big thank you for...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 American Horror Story Moments (2017)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

A Better One

Things get even nuttier. More over the top stuff that defies description. We learn how burn man got burns.

The funny part is, for a family that is nearly bankrupt and a doctor who has no patients, they don't seem to have much problem paying the bills.

This is actually one of the better episodes, but that's not saying all that much.

We find out who else is dead. OK My goodness this is one full house. Scary stuff in the crawl spaces and flies all over the place.

I really wish the writing was better.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 2011 (USA)

Filming Locations:

1120 Westchester Place Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

42 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD