Ep 13. Madness Ends

In the final episode of American Horror Story season 2, aptly titled "Madness Ends," all of the questions that viewers have had throughout the season are finally answered. The episode opens with an interview between the present day Lana Winters and a journalist who is determined to get the whole story of what happened at Briarcliff.

From there, we see a flashback to the early 1960s, when a young Kit Walker is desperately trying to piece his life back together after the death of his wife and abduction of his children. He returns to Briarcliff to confront Dr. Arden, only to find that the institution has been shut down and is now being used as a government storage facility for dangerous genetic experiments.

In an effort to clear his name and find closure, Kit agrees to meet with Lana for an interview. As they talk, it becomes clear that both of them have spent their lives desperately trying to outrun their pasts. Lana admits that she never fully recovered from her time at Briarcliff, and that the horrors she experienced there have haunted her ever since. Kit, meanwhile, reveals that he was visited by aliens after his abduction, and that he believes they were responsible for his wife's death and his children's return.

As the episode progresses, we see Lana's eventual rise to fame as a respected journalist and feminist activist, while Kit rebuilds his life with his two children and an unexpected third member of the family. They both carry the traumas of their past with them, but manage to find some degree of happiness in the present.

The final scenes of the episode show a now-elderly Lana returning to Briarcliff, which has been abandoned for years. She reflects on the horrors that occurred there, but also on the courage of those who fought against them. As the camera pulls back, we see that Briarcliff is just one small part of a larger landscape of violence and trauma throughout American history.

In the end, "Madness Ends" offers a bittersweet resolution to the story of Briarcliff and its inhabitants. While there is no denying the horrors that occurred there, the episode also acknowledges the strength and resilience of those who survived. It's a fitting conclusion to a season that has been equal parts terrifying and heart-wrenching.