"Madness Ends" is the thirteenth and final episode of the second season of the FX anthology television series American Horror Story.
The episode, written by executive producer Tim Minear and directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, originally aired on January 23, 2013.
In the episode, Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) is interviewed about her career, including shutting down Briarcliff, exposing now-Cardinal Howard (Joseph Fiennes), and the fates of the surviving patients Jude (Jessica Lange) and Kit (Evan Peters).
Johnny Morgan breaks into the boarded-up asylum, listening to an audiobook called Tales from Briarcliff, written and read by Lana.
He puts on the Bloody Face mask, pulls out a machete, and chops off Leo's arm holding the camera-phone.
The interview is held in her spacious New York City apartment where she lives with her new life-partner, Marian, a famous opera singer who leaves for work.
The young interviewer, April Mayfield, wishes to begin by discussing Oliver Thredson, but Lana refuses by saying he has become a "household name" and is undeserving of further mention.
The interview resumes with Lana's exposure of Timothy Howard in the 1970s (he had since been anointed as the Cardinal of New York), with his knowledge of Dr. Arden's experiments and the general mistreatment of the asylum patients.
April listens as Lana admits to lying in her book about her baby's death as well as certain details about her life and sexual orientation.
Feeling the guilt of his crimes, Johnny finally snaps as he lowers the gun and breaks down in tears, admitting that he's hurt everyone in his way.
The original finale was gonna be Sarah Paulson now free, a Jacqueline Susann / Truman Capote type, gets a kick in her conscience from Kit and goes back in and shuts that down.
Some of that was [FX Network president] John Landgraf who felt very strongly that Kit needed to go back in and get Sister Jude out not for himself but for his children.
"[1] "Madness Ends" received a 1.3 18–49 ratings share and was watched by 2.29 million viewers in its original American broadcast, slightly lower than the previous episode.
Club stated, "These last two episodes haven't so radically changed my opinion of American Horror Story as to blind me to its weird storytelling lurches and haphazard character development, but they have increased my belief in what this show is capable of.
Where once I saw a goofy lark that could occasionally turn out a fun, twist-laden episode, I now see a show that has ambitions beyond simply trying to make people laugh and/or shriek in equal manner.