Orphans (American Horror Story)
| "Orphans" | |
|---|---|
| American Horror Story episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 10 |
| Directed by | Bradley Buecker |
| Written by | James Wong |
| Production code | 4ATS10 |
| Original air date | December 17, 2014 |
| Running time | 53 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Orphans" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story, which premiered on December 17, 2014 on the cable network FX. It was written by James Wong and directed by Bradley Buecker.
Although American Horror Story is categorized as an anthology series, the episode is notable for being the first in the series to directly tie two seasons together, acknowledging that both plot lines and series of events exist within the same universe. In the episode's finale, Pepper (Naomi Grossman) is institutionalised in Briarcliff Manor, the main location of American Horror Story: Asylum (in which she also appears) and is shown meeting Sister Mary Eunice McKee (Lily Rabe) two years before the events of Asylum take place.
Pepper awakens in the middle of the night and is horrified to find that her beloved husband, Salty (Christopher Neiman), has died in his sleep. Although she tries, she cannot resuscitate him and remains inconsolable as Paul (Mat Fraser) and Eve (Erika Ervin) try to comfort her. At lunch the following day, Eve confronts Elsa (Jessica Lange) about her concerns of the dead body, knowing that it will start to decompose quickly. Stanley (Denis O'Hare) offers to get rid of the body, but Elsa says no – stating that Pepper would want a proper burial. As Stanley gets more pushy, Elsa tells him to leave – both her tent and the circus. Before he does, he hands Elsa a slip of paper (supposedly a telegram from a Hollywood producer who wants to meet with her the following week) and asks her what he needs to do for her to trust him.
In Pepper's tent, Desiree (Angela Bassett) reads to Pepper, ostensibly calming her. Desiree realizes that her time to perform is almost up, but as she gets ready to leave Pepper's tent, Pepper has a meltdown and tears her tent apart. The next day, Desiree talks with Elsa about what to do about Pepper. Elsa discloses the history of the freak show, starting with her days as a chorus girl in a carnival in Boston, Massachusetts, after she immigrated to America back in 1936. Noticing that freaks weren't treated as they should be, she deciding to start a company of her own. She first recruited Pepper (then 18 years old), from an orphanage, and quickly befriended her. Pepper’s sister abandoned her because she did not want the responsibility of taking care of her.
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