American Horror Story's Connie Britton on the Big Shocker of "Birth" and What's Ahead
[WARNING: The following story contains major spoilers from Wednesday's episode of American Horror Story, "Birth." Read at your own risk.]
Who could possibly survive giving birth to the maybe-Antichrist in a house full of would-be baby-snatchers, both living and dead? Sadly, not Vivien.
In the end, it was too much: Ben had been such a small man; Hayden, a crazy, home-wrecking bitch. Poor Viv had eaten brains, fought with ghosts, been impregnated by a Rubber Man, visited the loony bin and after all that, died a deflated death in American Horror Story's penultimate episode, "Birth."
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But Connie Britton wasn't surprised; the actress had known from the beginning that Vivien wasn't destined to live long.
"I always knew Vivien was going to die," she told TVGuide.com right before filming the gruesome birth last month. "In a way, I feel like I finally made it now that I'm a ghost. In this world that Ryan Murphy has created, it's cool to be a ghost." During the filming of the episode, Dylan McDermott mercilessly teased his co-star: "Viv's bleeding out! You're bleeding out!"
And bleed out she did, which was a big deal to no one except the house's last (living) man standing, Ben. Dr. Charles took the first baby, pronounced it stillborn, and then handed it off to his still-grieving wife Nora. The second baby was claimed by Constance -- and a minute later, Hayden. (And who knows? Chad and Patrick could still change their minds and make another play for the little guy.)
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As for what's next, Britton teases, "Hayden is always going to be a bee in Vivien's bonnet."
But maybe sharing the afterlife will give Viv an advantage. "Listen, in that situation more than any other, that is where Vivien can prevail," she continued. "Now they're on the same playing field."
Before the show's launch, Murphy described Vivien as a "heroic character," and at the time, Britton said not playing the victim was part of the project's appeal: "To have Vivien actually take some power and what it looks like, that's what I'm really committed to doing here. It's challenging because this is not a genre that is usually open to that."
Asked if that still holds true heading into the finale, Britton said she had no doubt. "I am trusting Ryan here -- in the last episode, Vivien is going to prevail. She's going to prevail as a ghost."
What do you think will happen next? Will Vivien and Hayden throw down for one of the babies? Is one of them really the Antichrist? Will Ben be toast too? What is Tate's next move? Are you already anticipating having nightmares starring Thaddeus Montgomery? (I am!) Leave all your thoughts in the comments and let's discuss.
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