American Horror Story – Inside

By: Kelly Kearney

The eighth installment of the anthology series picks up during the Kennedy administration where we find out, in a bedroom romp with Marilyn, Jack is getting ready to break the alien treaty signed by former President Eisenhower. In a series of flashbacks, we learn the contents of that treaty and how the fear of a Russian powerplay forced a sitting President to sacrifice American lives to win the Cold War. Richard Nixon, and his shady back-room dealings makes an appearance as does Hollywood beauty and Jack Kennedy mistress, Marilyn Monroe, who each play a pivotal role in how to tackle the truth, which now we know really is out there. A lot goes down in this episode as it mixes actual history with an alien invasion cover-up, so let’s dive in to this planetary mystery that would surely light any X-Files or Alien film fan’s heart ablaze.

1963: President John F. Kennedy

We begin nine years after the Eisenhower (Neal McDonough) Presidency, with Ike and his Vice President and national sweaty trickster, Richard Nixon (Craig Sheffer), on the golf course. Dick, fresh off his moist televised debate and subsequent election loss, is his usual alarmingly racist self, as he rants about the current administration’s possible discovery of the UFO crash in Nevada and the following treaty they signed with the aliens. Dick thinks Jack’s Roman Catholic faith means he is beholden to a certain type of morality and being a Democrat, according to dishonest Dick, means he will have issues lying and will be tempted to tell the American people the truth. Rather than having the current President stumble onto this massive reveal, Nixon and Ike decide transparency is the way to go and deliver a confidential file to the Oval office containing all the juicy UFO details which includes the treaty they signed with the aliens back in 1954. The document reveals a deal made that allows for the abduction of five thousand Americans each year in exchange for advanced alien technology. According to the Extraterrestrials who carelessly destroyed their planet (sounds familiar) and their species, they are hoping to save themselves through forced impregnation to build a hybrid race. What in the Dana Scully “X-Files” world was Ike thinking when he agreed to this? Probably Russia and using this tech to get ahead of them in the midst of the Cold War.

It is no surprise when Kennedy (Mike Vogel) is disgusted and enraged by this reveal, especially since Vice President Tweedle Dick and Tweedle Ike have been keeping this national security secret from him like two fools who hope they won’t get caught in the biggest conspiracy the country ever embraced; well, that is until Nixon’s Watergate and the Insurrection of 2021.

Later Jack is in bed with Marilyn Monroe (Alisha Soper), who died the previous year in 1962 (making this timeline a bit off but let’s not question it) and admits Dick and Ike have pushed him into a corner he cannot seem to find a way out of. The movie star, who just got finished professing her love for the married President, tells him he should go with his gut and tell the public the truth. This is exactly what Ike and Dick feared the Democrat would do, and not surprisingly it is how Ryan Murphy chose to rewrite the lovers’ famous deaths. Monroe dies of an overdose and Kennedy never gets a chance to reveal the treaty-truth because during a microwaved (thanks, alien tech) TV dinner, Mamie (Sarah Paulson) and Ike watch the news break: President John F. Kennedy has been shot and killed in Texas! Whether or not Ike had anything to do with Kennedy’s motorcade murder isn’t revealed, but his guilt over the outcome is and it is obvious Jack’s love of truth was the main motivation in his murder. Unlike her husband, Mamie could care less and shrugs off Ike’s treaty-guilt as an act of patriotism. Goodness, Mamie would’ve loved the treasonous politics of 2021, wouldn’t she? Anyway, she questions her husband’s shame over the signed agreement and asks him why he did it if he had concerns. Her question lands us in another flashback to nine years earlier when President Eisenhower met with his top military experts to discuss the treaty. There, we see Maria (Rebecca Dayan), the housewife turned head blasting alien, agreeing to give the U.S. government their advanced hi-tech radar detection as well as a promise to triple the speed of their electronic devices if Ike signs. All of this could mean one thing: winning the Space Race before the Russians can launch another dog or satellite. The Cold War and the Space Race were two games the United States was determined to win, and this alien technology would give whoever gets it a leg up. Maria further explains how their extinction brought them to Earth, but the planet’s toxins and human viruses are preventing them from living alongside mankind. Through the abductions and the eventual breeding program, the aliens hope to learn all they can about the human-borne threats and how to combat them. After Maria’s speech is over the alien inhabiting her body blasts her head all over the air force base’s walls, but not before she gives them one final piece of information: breeding test subject #1 failed.

Eisenhower takes off running to test subject #1, Amelia Earhart’s bedside, to find her dead and her alien hybrid newborn killing everyone in the delivery room. Regardless of the amazing scientific discoveries an alien hybrid lead to, Eisenhower is enraged by the death of Amelia and he takes out a gun and kills the alien baby before it can take out any more people on the base.

FLOTUS Floats

After his E.T. Infanticide, Ike heads home where his wife Mamie is preparing for her big birthday party while bragging over the fact she started the party trend. Apparently, before 1952 only children celebrated birthdays, but after the First Lady threw a bash for herself the masses followed suite. So, if you hate surprise parties or aunts who always buy you socks, blame Mamie! Ike cannot focus on his wife’s celebratory mood and tells her he is worried about the repercussions of signing over the lives of thousands of Americans per year for a little tech boost. Mamie shuts that down and reminds him he doesn’t have a choice because if he refuses to sign, the Russians certainly will. So, like most FLOTUS’ who lead from the passenger seat of the Presidential ride, she calls for a secret meeting with Tricky Dick to try and persuade him into convincing her husband to sign the deal. Mamie is smart. She knows Dick is still sweating his loss to Kennedy and continues to aspire to one day sit in the Oval Office. If this treaty isn’t signed, he can kiss his future Presidency goodbye. Nixon agrees and gets Ike to sign on the dotted line by promising the President they could use that alien tech against the visitors when the time is right. This all but insures Nixon’s path to the White House and, of course, his inevitable fall from grace.

Ike, who is no fool, starts to realize his wife went behind his back to cut a deal with his V.P. and is violently angry. He confronts Mamie over it and when her eyes go white and she floats above the living room floor he realizes this alien threat is now holding his wife hostage! He either signs that treaty or Mamie’s head will paint the walls of their home!

Modern Day Problems

In another modern vibe switch that continues to kill the film noir buzz of this second half, we catch up with the four uber-annoying college friends who are freaking out over their pregnancies. Kendall (Kaia Gerber), Cal (Nico Greetham) Troy (Isaac Powell) and Jamie (Rachel Hilson) head to the OBGYN for answers since they have been pregnant less than twenty-four hours and already seem to be in labor. The two men hide their pregnancies while Jamie gets prepped for an ultrasound and the news isn’t good: there are two heartbeats! Then, the doctor spots something concerning on the screen and excuses herself so she can go discuss her findings with a colleague. She never gets that far because the Men in Black show up and murder her while she is making the panicked phone call. So, what was the doctor’s big concern? Well, we find that out when Kendall decides to use the ultrasound wand on Troy and sees his baby has a tail and looks like something that burst out of Sigourney Weaver’s chest in the Alien films! Troy starts freaking out and screaming the question we are all wondering: how is this baby coming out of him? His drama is cut short when all of a sudden the Men in Black come in and inject them with a green serum knocking them unconscious. Kendall is the first to wake, tied to tubes and floating above the ground in what appears to be a laboratory run by a masked alien named Theta (Angelica Ross) who speaks English. Theta is acting as their nurse and when Kendall demands to know what is happening Theta explains they were chosen to be their saviors and, as such, she should be honored they were chosen as their hybrid species creators. Kendall is not convinced and who can blame her? When she asks Theta how giving birth to aliens is supposed to save earth, the alien laughs it off because “who said anything about earth?” Then, she puts Kendall in some sort of dream-like state where her body is paralyzed but her mind is in a cafeteria setting watching Steve Jobs (Len Cordova) and a woman named Calico (Leslie Grossman) talk shop at a nearby table. It isn’t long before her friends show up as confused as she is, but she tries her best to explain what she remembers happened but has a brain block and Calico steps in to help her out. She tells them to erase what they saw from their minds and everything will be fine. And she should know as she has been there since 1979! Kendall interrupts and says she was told by Theta this is a one and done type thing, and Calico agrees that it usually is but some people, like herself, are on an annual plan and that’s why she looks so young. Troy hears this and loses it again, crying over his fears of baby penile deliveries. He gets no answers for his questions and, in turn, slaps the plate of Jell-O laden chemical cubes they’re served for dinner. He is out of control and the alien’s taser and drag Troy away. When he wakes he is strapped to a bed and, once again, asks Theta the same delivery questions. However, a masked alien gives him the same response Calico gave him “life finds its own way.” Then, she removes her white mask and reveals her true alien-self. She looks an awful lot like the alien version of the Chemist from Provincetown!