Every Season Of American Horror Story - Ranked

2012 was the year of AHS’s second season, Asylum: the season which marked the show as an anthology. There were many recurring actors, but the characters were all new. This showed us that American Horror Story could go in any new direction it wanted.

And the direction for Asylum was the exploration of mental illness, and the horrors of improper and cruel treatment.

Sarah Paulson finally took centre stage as Lana Winters, a journalist in the 1960s investigating the serial killer, Bloody Face, and the mental institution he resided in.

Unlike its first season, the viewers were able to see the horrors of past ignorance. Gay conversion therapy, electroshock treatment, and countless cruel punishments are subjected to the residents of Briarcliff Manor by the abusive nuns that run it.

This season started the trend of American Horror Story’s variety – lots of different themes put together in one season. Mental illness, Christianity/Satan/exorcisms, Nazi experiments, and serial killers all joined hands to create a complex tapestry of horror.

The only fault of the season is a strange alien sub-plot that never goes anywhere. Hopefully in the future, AHS will be able to do the alien theme proud, but Asylum is not the season to do that.

Looking past this, there’s also a random musical number featuring Jessica Lange that’s not bad.

A true variety show.