You can never be too sure as to who is dead or alive around here.
Wow. That is the best word to describe “Smoldering Children.” Midway through I felt as though the plot line wasn’t really going anywhere and then the shocker of all shockers was dropped on us… Violet is dead! And she has been for quite a few episodes, which makes some of the things surrounding her storyline make sense now, primarily the fact that she has been able to see all of the other dead people in the house and why she and Vivien weren’t able to escape a few episodes back. I must say the way the writers dropped the bombshell was classic. Tate was trying to protect her from knowing the truth but in the end he has no choice but to tell her.
A truancy officer comes to the house to inform Ben that Violet hasn’t been in school for sixteen consecutive days. He has a talk with her and she’s willing to try another school. Ben decides that a boarding school might be best and Tate overhears him. He tells Violet of Ben’s plan and tells her that he has a way for them to be together forever. He wants them to commit suicide together. At this point I was a bit annoyed with Violet because Constance has already told her that Tate is dead but she continually seemed to be in denial about it. Of course Violet freaks out and tries to get out of the house, but, she cannot escape.
It’s at this point that Tate takes her to the crawl space beneath the house and shows her body. She immediately realizes that she succeeded in killing herself when she took a bottle of pills. I must say she took the realization that she is dead quite well, but, it doesn’t seem like she’s that excited to spend eternity with Tate. I guess the Harmon’s won’t be leaving the Murder House anytime soon. I am just curious to know how the writers are going to drop the news on Violet’s parents.
Meanwhile it seems like we have seen the last of Larry. He decides to confess to the murder of Travis, or as the cops have dubbed him, “The Boy Dahlia.” Of course since Travis died in the house he is still there and when Larry returns to the house he sees his dead wife and daughters there. It’s the first time since their death that he has been able to see them. I just wondered why it was that his daughters didn’t acknowledge him. Larry wonders why it is that he finally able to see them and his wife tells him that it was time. He vows to make Constance pay for the damage she has caused to their family and his wife says that it’s not Constance’s fault.
This is what ultimately prompts Larry to confess to the murder. He feels that it is time to repent for the deaths that he has inadvertently (his wife and daughters) and advertently (Beau) caused. Constance goes to visit him and all he asks of her is to admit that she once loved him. That knowing that will enable him to get though his time in jail. She refuses to give him that satisfaction. She just used him as a ploy to get what she wanted. If she truly had loved him she wouldn’t have been able to easily forgive Tate who set Larry on fire and caused his disfigurement.
Some stats and info about American Horror Story, “Smoldering Children”
TV SHOW – American Horror Story
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 10
AIRED ON – December 7th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – Hulu/FX
GENRE – Horror, Drama
CREATED BY – Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Halley Feiffer
CAST – Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Denis O’Hare, Lily Rabe, Kathy Bates, Frances Conroy, Emma Roberts, Jessica Lange, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Angela Bassett, Cheyenne Jackson,
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.