By Joe R
So I guess this is how the show decided to do the Arden's Backstory episode, huh? By introducing Franka "Run Lola Run" Potente as a new inmate who claims to be the 20-years-dead Anne Frank. Not only that, but at the first sight of Dr. Arden, she begins screaming, recognizing him as a Nazi from Auschwitz named Hans Gruper. She tells Sister Jude her story and even though Jude starts out thinking her crazy, the idea that Arden could truly be a monster intrigues her. And it's exacerbated by two homicide detectives who come by to ask Arden about the accusations of a certain prostitute. They later ask Sister Jude questions about Arden that make it clear they're investigating him as a possible Bloody Face culprit.
As for our currently incarcerated Bloody Face, Kit is having a rough go of it this week. Dr. Thredson is really pressuring him to admit he killed those women and in exchange he'll say he's crazy and spare him the electric chair. Thredson presents a whole scenario wherein the poor guy did kill Alma and those other women, and Kit begins to doubt his own sanity and innocence. He turns to Grace for comfort. She tells him her story -- she was framed for the axe murder of her father and stepmother -- and they get caught having sex in the kitchen. Later, Devil Eunice hands Kit Grace's file and it turns out she DID kill her father and stepmother, but only because he'd been raping her.
Dr. Thredson is also helping ("helping") Lana, as she's determined to get the hell out of Briarcliff any way she can. So she agrees to aversion/conversion therapy, which just looks awful. It involves her staring at sex-charged images of women while an IV drug makes her sick to her stomach; then later Thredson brings in some sad twink of a boy for Lana to put her hands on. It's all so awful and uncomfortable and Thredson feels bad enough about it later that he promises Lana he's taking her with him when he leaves in a week.
All this while, Arden's been experimenting on poor legless Shelley, injecting her with all manner of experimental serums, many of which are causing her skin to bubble and her hair to fall out -- it's harrowing. When Arden corners "Anne Frank" about her accusations, he locks her in his operating room, but she turns the tables when she pulls out a gun she swiped from the cops earlier. She shoots Arden in the leg and demands the key to his locked room. She opens the door to find Shelley, crawling, barely human anymore, begging for Anne to kill her.
Featuring Sophie's Choice, as performed by Anne Frank and Dr. Arden/Hans Gruper, and the Lizzie Borden murders, as performed by Grace.
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