American Gothic recap: The Gross Clinic

We’re now more than halfway through American Gothic, and as with any good mystery, the questions continue to pile up. (Shout-out to all the sleuths in the comments working diligently to figure this thing out before it’s over… I see you, Olive Hammer.) In episode 7, Madeline once again reminded us of her place among the Hawthornes — the matriarch to end all matriarchs, driving less-than-subtle fear into each of her children.

At the beginning of “The Gross Clinic,” we see Garrett has survived his brutal injuries, and he explains himself to the rest of the Hawthornes from his hospital bed. He tells them what he told police: Fourteen years ago, he found some suspicious items amongst Mitch’s possessions — a rope, the bells, etc. He confronted Mitch about the murder of David Morales, and Garrett took Mitch’s angry reaction as an admission of guilt. It was then Garrett decided to leave town, but promised that if he heard of another SBK murder, he’d come back and expose Mitch for what he really was. This all sounds well and good (the police thought so, too), but we know Garrett is still not telling the whole story.

Garrett tries his hardest to get back into Christina’s good graces post-stabbing — it seems he genuinely cares for her. He explains he felt guilty for Mitch’s actions, so he found her and wanted to make sure she’d been living a decent life since her father’s murder. He did not, however, expect to become involved with or fall for her (just low-key stalk her for a few months, NBD). She doesn’t buy it, and suspects he’s still withholding some truth about the situation and his motives. She leaves angrily, telling him to leave her alone, but it seems deep down Christina still cares for Garrett, too.

Twice in this episode Garrett speaks to Madeline alone, but not really, because their conversations center on one gigantic elephant in the room — the “truth.” Garrett confesses he doesn’t know how much longer he can keep lying to the people he loves, to which Madeline says, “Of course you can, you know what’s at stake.” (And the audience continues to scream internally: NO! WE DON’T! WHAT IS IT?) During this war of few words, Garrett at least gets Madeline to acknowledge (in her silence) what she did to Mitch, asking “Is that what happened with Dad? He wanted to tell the truth and you killed him?”

The conversation ends with Madeline assuring Garrett that telling the truth won’t solve anything — he won’t get the girl back, and the whole family will once again crumble in his wake. “It’s best to let your father take the fall for everything,” she insists.

At this point, Alison’s campaign is in the toilet. Her personal life isn’t doing so hot, either, considering Tom’s made it clear he wants Naomi out of the picture. Naomi claims to be in love with Alison and wants to push her campaign forward, even though Alison thinks she won’t recover from the news of her father’s transgressions.

Alison tells Madeline she plans to drop out of the race, and Madeline slaps her across the face, daytime-soap-opera style. She goes on to say, “You have an obstacle in front you. You can go over it or around it, but you cannot let it stop you.” Madeline reminds Alison she “cannot squander what I’ve been able to give you,” and we get the impression that perhaps Madeline is attempting to live vicariously through her daughter.

Alison ultimately decides to continue her campaign, and gives a rousing speech where she bravely compares herself to the brother of John Wilkes Booth. After talks with Tom, talks with Naomi, and one of the twins nearly drowning at the hands of their nutcase cousin Jack, Alison realizes she needs to put her family before her extramarital affairs — and fires Naomi from the campaign. (Tom missed that memo, though, and had sex with a news anchor in the Hawthorne mansion during Alison’s press conference. Way to go, Tom.)

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Naomi is, of course, not pleased with this decision, and that’s three women now that Alison Hawthorne-Price has burned along her campaign trail. Will any of them be making a comeback?

NEXT: “I want to be the Scully to your Mulder!”

Elsewhere in Boston, Tessa’s trying to keep everyone else sane (Cam, Garrett, Jack) while barely managing to keep herself together. She finds out she’s pregnant, but continues to be distraught by the realization her father was a serial killer. She shares with Brady a memory of her father on her 10th birthday, which would have also been the day of the first SBK murder. Then, she angrily breaks the gift her father gave her.

This story sparks Brady’s interests, though, and he’s suddenly off to figure out if the state’s timeline for the first SBK murder could possible make sense with Tessa’s birthday story. Cutter (completely out of nowhere) gets involved while Brady’s testing this theory, and the two start to work together. They visit the original home of the first SBK murder, which is now owned by a true-crime/SBK obsessive who wants to help them. They reenact the steps that would have needed to take place in the time in which they needed to occur. While talking to the current owner of the home, they learn of security-camera footage that would have been seen from a house across the street. Upon watching it, they learn a new piece of the SBK puzzle — the killer was not working alone.

Oh, and Cam relapsed at the hands of lovely Sophie. Again. And is going to rehab. Again.

Honorable Mentions Ep. 7

• A new favorite in the Episode-Title painting vs. In-Episode depiction. This version of “The Gross Clinic” by Thomas Eakins is damn near perfect, and it’s so fascinating how they pulled it off! The hand placements, the hair, the facial expressions. It’s truly a (drumroll, please) work of art.
• “You’re all insane.” —Christina to Cam, as Cam tries to convince her to let Garrett explain himself. Truer words have never been spoken, Christina.
• “I want to be the Scully to your Mulder!” —Cutter, now looking to be Brady’s friend?
• “We did find that having a serial-killer father is better than being a serial killer yourself… But it’s still worse than bestiality.” —Boston’s best market-research consultant.
• Every single thing Jack did in this episode. Just when you thought they couldn’t make a young child seem more insane, Jack tries to drown one of his cousins.
• “Ouch, you’re crushing my pancreas!” —Garrett’s customizable talking hospital bear.

Who Actually Dun It?

Pretty much everyone remains a suspect, and we’ve learned that if Mitch was involved at all, he didn’t act alone. Considering everything (we think) we know thus far, here are some details I’ve continued to think about:

• If Madeline did indeed have an affair, when did said affair occur? Who was the other party in the affair and where are they now?
• What was Tessa’s original diagnosed condition and what exact medication did she stop taking (while trying to get pregnant)?
• Whose hair did Tessa “plant” in the brush (if that’s indeed what happened)?
• What was Cam’s diagnosed condition as a teenager?
• Is it a coincidence both younger Hawthornes have had diagnosed mental issues and hallucinations (and been prescribed medications)?
• Why Christina Morales? Of all the potential children-of-SBK victims for Garrett to be worrying about, what makes Christina special?
• Really, what happened to Phyllis? I’m sure she and her cats served a purpose, so why has she been absent as of late?

Head on over to the comments with your thoughts or any other major questions you’re still thinking about!