Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from American Horror Stories season 4, episode 3, “X.“American Horror Storiesreturns with a new set of episodes just in time for Halloween 2024, and one of the installments,“X,” revolves around a mysterious (and ghastly) patient at a hospital.Hulu’s horror anthologyTV show created by Ryan Murphyand Brad Falchuk serves as a spinoff to the duo’s original (and widely successful) horror seriesAmerican Horror Story. Every episode depicts a different, terrifying narrative, andAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4, episode 3, “X,” is certainly among the show’s creepiest installments, mostly thanks to the aforementioned patient. It also helps that it’s the first black-and-white episode in the series.
The exact timeline ofAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4, episode 3, is unknown. However, based on patient records, it likely takes place in the late 1970s.
Mia Isaac stars as Claire Michaels inthe cast ofAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4, episode 3.Claire is a nurse who stumbles upon a peculiar escaped patientat the story’s beginning. The woman, Alice Taylor, cannot speak but also can’t close her mouth as it’s gaping open. As “X” continues, Claire uncovers the truth behind Alice’s condition and where she came from — Alice is a part of the Springhill Program, which is seemingly designed to provide lifesaving (and free) care to cancer patients. Instead, doctors are torturing them and using them as test subjects. Unfortunately, Claire joins them by the episode’s end.
Ward X & The Springhill Program Explained
Ward X Is Where The Zombified Patients Are Held
Claire learns aboutWard X, which is where the Springhill Program patients are held,after meeting Alice inAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4, episode 3. Alice’s condition (plus the fact that she murders an orderly and is on the loose) pushes Claire to dig more into her time at the hospital. Her file on the computer doesn’t contain much of her history, but it claims that Alice is deceased. Since Claire obviously knows she’s not, the nurse searches and finds Alice’s paper file, which goes into further detail about what happened to her at Pinecrest Memorial Hospital.
The patients are turned into zombie-like figures in the episode of theAmerican Horror Storyspinoff.
Alice was admitted for squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer) and her cause of death is listed as “patient expired on the operating table.” Then, Alice, assumed dead, was transferred to Ward X, wheremedical professionals involved with the Springhill Program perform experiments on cancer patients to cure them.However, as proven by Alice, the tests have adverse side effects. Essentially, the patients are turned into zombie-like figures inthe episode of theAmerican Horror Storyspinoff.
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Dr. Nostrum is in charge of Ward X inthe story ofAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4, episode 3. Meanwhile, Justin, the orderly who Alice killed, was also a part of the program, as was Claire’s nurse friend, Lilly Mulling. In fact,many people (except for Claire, of course) at Pinecrest Memorial Hospital know about or are involved with Ward X.Consequently, it’s hard for Claire to make any headway in shutting down the Springhill Program, other than saving a young boy with cancer who was about to be admitted. So, it makes sense why Claire’s attempts are ultimately unsuccessful.
Why Dr. Nostrum Tries To Kill Claire
Claire Finds Out About Ward X
Once Claire learns the truth about Ward X, she takes the information to Dr. Nostrum, played byHenry Winkler in the TV show. She’s unaware of his influence on the horrible program, but the oncologist soon lets her in on his secret.Dr. Nostrum attempts to recruit Claireby trying to convince her that they are helping people. But, after seeing what they did to Alice, Claire knows not to trust Dr. Nostrum or the Springhill Program and refuses to aid in his research. She evidently makes the right call as Dr. Nostrum then tries to kill Claire.
Dr. Nostrum, seeing how passionate Claire is about stopping the program, wants to prohibit her from telling anyone about Ward X. He begins to choke her, wanting to subdue the nurse and make her his next test subject. However,Claire gets the upper hand and injures Dr. Nostrum’s eye before knocking him out inAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4, episode 3.
Do Claire & Malcolm Die In American Horror Stories Season 4, Episode 3?
Claire & Malcolm Get Admitted Into The Springhill Program
Unfortunately, neither Claire nor Malcolm gets happyendings inAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4, episode 3. Malcolm, the hospital’s security guard, helps Claire in her pursuit to unravel the truth in “X.” However,Malcolm’s association with the nurse results in him being brought to Ward X alongside herat the horror anthology episode’s conclusion.
Despite the oncologist’s death, Claire and Malcolm still end up in Ward X, where they are tested on and turned into “angels” (as Dr. Nostrum calls them) like the rest of the Springhill Program patients.
While Claire and Malcolm are on the operating table, Dr. Nostrum explains that he plans on giving them cancer so that they can become his next test subjects. However, Alice escapes again and helps Claire kill Dr. Nostrum and the attending nurse. Despite the oncologist’s death,Claire and Malcolm still end up in Ward X,where they are tested on and turned into “angels” (as Dr. Nostrum calls them) like the rest of the Springhill Program patients.
Why Detective Samuels Doesn’t Stop Ward X
Ward X Has Ties To Law Enforcement
Claire thinks the horror is over after Dr. Nostrumdies inAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4, episode 3. However, when she later wakes up, she soon learns that is not the case. Claire tells Detective Samuels everything she knows about Ward X and the Springhill Program after killing Dr. Nostrum. Wanting to see the place for himself,Detective Samuels lets Claire show him where Ward X is.When they get there, though, it becomes clear that the law enforcement officer won’t be Claire’s (or anyone else’s) savior, especially when she sees Alice has been put back into her cage.
Janet E. Anderson
Tall Doctor
Detective Samuels lets the other nurses take Claire away to perform tests on her atthe end ofAmerican Horror Storiesseason4, episode 3. He explains to Claire that his daughter has leukemia and would do anything for her. Evidently, those behind the Springhill Programpromised to cure Detective Samuels' daughter in exchange for his silence and cooperation.
How The Springhill Program Continues After Dr. Nostrum’s Death
Springhill Has More Connections Than First Thought In American Horror Stories
Claire remarks duringthe finale ofAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4, episode 3, that Ward X should be shut down because she killed Dr. Nostrum. But as one of the nurses points out,the Springhill Program is “bigger than any one person.“Its reach expands far past Dr. Nostrum’s influence and has many more people involved than Claire ever imagined. They won’t stop until they’ve perfected the cure, and until then, Claire, Malcolm, Alice, and several others will continue being tested on while the world thinks they’re dead inAmerican Horror Stories.
American Horror Stories
Cast
The creators of American Horror Story reunite to launch American Horror Stories, a horror anthology series created for FX and Hulu. Centering on a new, unique horror story each episode, AHS follows various new characters through each episode as they experience their own terrifying tales, often including the supernatural.
