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American Horror Story and American Horror Stories have aired some truly gross episodes over the years. But none compare to “Milkmaids.” Full of boils, welts, and oozing pus, writer Our Lady J and director Alonso Alvarez’s episode takes body horror to a whole new level.
Set in New England in the 1750s, Episode 4 revolves around a small town battling a smallpox outbreak. In the midst of all this death and destruction stands a single milkmaid who claims she can cure everyone. The catch? That cure involves sex and drinking from her seeping wounds. Good job to Our Lady J for making this one as disturbing as possible while still staying true to history.
Our Lady J isn't new to Ryan Murphy's universe of shows.
“Mlkmaids” may mark the first time that Our Lady J has written an episode in the American Horror Story universe. But this is far from the first time she has worked with the super-producer. Our Lady J was a writer and producer for FX’s Pose, a fantastical drama about the ball scene in the 1980s. She’s also worked on Prime Video’s Transparent. Don’t worry; there aren’t as many boils in either of those projects.
You've probably seen Julia Schlaepfer before.
It’s always great to see Cody Fern return to this twisted universe as Thomas. But chances are that he wasn’t the star that left you Googling this time around. No, that honor likely belonged to Julia Schlaepfer, who played Celeste, the religious milkmaid at the center of this disease-ridden tale. Prior to “Milkmaids”, Schlaepfer starred in Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan’s The Politician. She played Alice Charles, Payton’s (Ben Platt) chilly girlfriend and one of his fiercest defenders.
'Fanny Hill' was a real, highly scandalous novel.
The second that Delilah (Addison Timlin) shows Celeste the novel she’s reading, we know that something scandalous is about to go down. The source of that scandal? Memoirs of a Woman in Pleasure, better known as Fanny Hill. Written by John Cleland and first published in 1748, the novel is considered to be the very first instance of erotic fiction, at least erotic prose written in English.
The novel follows Fanny as she recalls her sexual exploits, from her time with a bisexual prostitute to becoming a sex worker herself. Funnily enough, one of the first events Fanny details is her parents dying of smallpox. Fanny Hill became one of the most prosecuted books in history due to its sexual content.
Cowpox really did protect people against smallpox, and a milkmaid helped discover this.
On its surface, “Milkmaids” seems like just another crazy story in a universe that thrives on that descriptor. But it’s closer to real life than you may realize. As the legend goes, there was a beautiful milkmaid at the height of smallpox. She claimed that because she already had cowpox, she was immune to smallpox. Whether this women really existed or not, what happened next is true. In 1796, a scientist discovered that a mild infection from cowpox provided immunity against smallpox, a discovery that led to the first vaccine. “Who was that scientist?” you ask. That brings us to…
The boy in 'Milkmaids' is Edward Jenner.
“Milkmaids” ends with this episode’s little boy (Ian Sharkey) stabbing his milkmaid mother to death, convinced that she is unclean. That boy’s name? Edward. Yep, in the world of American Horror Stories, this intense, God-fearing, murderous child went on to create the first vaccine.
Even the timelines seem to match up. In real life, Jenner said that he heard the milkmaids claims when he was 13, but he didn’t create his vaccine until well into his adulthood. Since this episode takes place in 1757, that gives AHS‘ Edward 39 years to create the first vaccine.
