Dr. Ben Harmon is a character from the first season of American Horror Story. He is the husband of Vivien Harmon and father of Violet Harmon. He also had an affair with a former student of his named Hayden. He is a psychiatrist and currently treats patients out of his home office.
Prior to the start of the series, Benjamin "Ben" Harmon lived in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife Vivien Harmon and daughter Violet Harmon, working as a psychiatrist. After Vivien had a miscarriage, he as well as his wife fell into a grieving state that led to Ben cheating on his wife with his student at the time, Hayden McClaine, impregnating her. He went back to Boston later in the series to aid her in having an abortion. In an attempt to save their marriage, they packed up and moved to Los Angeles to start over.
Ben has said to Tate that his childhood was very difficult. He was headed towards a path of destruction and would have never thought to be able to study and become a doctor/psychiatrist.
Ben is calm and controlled for the most part. He is actively trying to repair his relationship with his wife, who he cheated on after she had a miscarriage. He is shown to be quick to anger, if his reactions toward Moira's advances and Larry Harvey's pestering are any indication.
Despite the fact that he constantly screws things up with his family (i.e cheating on Vivien multiple times), he is shown to truly care about keeping his family together. With family as his top priority, Ben is consumed with the conflict and is the cause of their move across the country in an attempt to keep them together, despite their differences. Ben is also very oblivious and naive as to what is going on around him and doesn't seem to become fully aware until "Afterbirth".
Pilot - Following a series of misfortunes, Ben relocates his family to Los Angeles, California in the hopes of starting over. He later meets Larry Harvey, a former owner of the house who warns him his families lives are in danger, and advises him to leave as soon as possible. Vivien has sex with a man concealed by a latex "gimp" suit beleiving it to be Ben and later announces she is pregnant.
Home Invasion - Ben heads over to Boston as his former student and mistress Hayden needs his support in having an abortion, although Ben hurridly rushes home after learning his home was intruded by R. Franklin Murder Reactors. He is suprised to learn a patient of his named Tate was present during the attack, and feeling he has crossed a line decides to end any further counseling sessions.
Murder House - Ben continues to black out and awaken with no memory of his actions, which include digging a hole in the front lawn. While running his blood work Ben discovers he has been poisned with an opiate that causes memory loss and later confronts the maid Moira about this. Ben is suprised to find a frantic Hayden on his doorstep. As he attempts to sooth her she is abruptly killed by Larry. Although Ben is distraugt Larry claims he did so out of his best interest, and the two decide getting rid of the body is the best option. Ben decides to burry her body and builds a gazeebo over it.
Halloween: Part 1 - Larry continues to harrass Ben, demanding payment for killing Hayden, although Ben rebuffs him. Vivien, later confronts Ben with his phone bill. Ben reiterates that his relationship with Hayden is over although, she does not beleive him and demands that he leave. The two arrive at the hospital and an ultrasound reveals the baby is more developed than it should be and the doctor collapses after seeing the baby on- screen. Ben and Vivien rush home from the hospital and find that Violet is missing. Ben then answers the door to find Hayden standing at his doorstep.
Halloween: Part 2 - Ben beleives Hayden's death was staged, and both she and Larry are trying to extort him. Ben is also forced to reveal he impregnated Hayden months after Vivien discovered their affair and is forced to leave the house.
Piggy Piggy - Ben needs to use the house for his therapy sessions and begins seeing a new patient named Derek, who is terrified by urban legends, most recently the story of "Piggy Man", who will slaughter anyone who repeats a specific mantra. Taking Ben's advice to face his fears, Derek repeats the mantra in his bathroom mirror, but is ironically shot and killed by an armed robber hiding in the shower.
Open House - Ben plans on selling the house to a sleazy developer who will tear it down into condoniums and learns Vivien is pregnant with twins
Rubber Man - Ben beleiving Vivien has become mentally unstable allows her to be taken away for a psychiatric evaluation.
Spooky Little Girl - Ben begins seeing a new patient, who unbeknownst to him is Elizebeth Short also known as The Black Dahlia. Ben also discovers one of Vivien's twins is not his.
Smoldering Children- Ben finally concludes that Vivien was raped by Rubber Man. Ben is later attacked by Rubber Man who knocks him out with chloroform, however, Ben manages to unmask him before going unconcious, discovering the man responsible for impregnating Vivien is Tate.
Birth- Ben learns Violet is dead and Vivien goes into labor, giving birth to a still-born and dying during the birth of the second child.
Afterbirth- Ben finds it hard to cope with the death of his family and contemplates suicide although, Violet and Vivien convince him to leave the house with the child. As he is preparing to leave Ben is murdered by Hayden, Dallas and Fiona and he and the other 'good' spirits in the house decide to prevent anyone else from moving in and suffering the same fate.
We found out in the episode Halloween 1 that Ben's childhood was difficult and that he was on the same route of destruction as Tate was.
American Horror Story starts with two redheaded twins meeting a grisly end, and later introduces a redhead maid who brings trouble to a family living in a very creepy house. She’s played by two separate actresses and inhabits two different ages: Frances Conroy does her as an oddball matron, and Alexandra Breckenridge as a sexed-out seductress. “That’s a plot point,” Ryan Murphy has revealed. The redheads have something to do with Ben's childhood. “It’s something that happened to Dylan’s character as a child that involves redheads,” Murphy said. “It’s a beautiful childhood thing for him that will be explained.” [1] It never was explained. In a recent interview however, Tim Minear said that Ben's abused childhood was something they were unable to go over.
I remember in the Pilot episode that one of the first scenes in the house was Vivian frightened armed with a knife she then attacks Ben who is in one of the bedrooms, and Ben comes out saying that he is sorry (something like that, I only watched it once) ... I thought that they would go back to that scene at some point in the series. Does anyone know when that happened really, any explanation?
i think that even if ben's not satisfied with the idea, he might talk to him from time to time, 'cause they're both limited to one house and they have all the eternity, right? so it's impossible for them not to interact. i have this weird feeling that since the harmons and tate are already dead and they can't do worse than killing each other (which is already done), they'll somehow learn how to cooperate. i'm not saying they'll become friends, i think tate would have to atone first (which would take a loooooong time, IF it is possible at all), but they'll eventually be able to talk to him and interact like chad and patrick are (not counting the fight scene between pat and tate, 'cause the first obviously was provoked and he has every right to be mad at tate, duh!). and if i were dead and imprisoned for an ETERNITY in a haunted house with someone who had hurt me and/or my family, i wouldn't really give a sh***t about it after some time (provided that he/she wouldn't do anything harmful any more). it's just too tiring and debilitating to hold a grudge against someone who you HAVE to live with. i wouldn't forgive, but wouldn't act like an offended kid either. honestly, i'm starting to believe that hayden would be more of a problem to the harmons now :P
So did the "red head" thing from his childhood ever get explained? Murphy apparently said it would, but as far as I can remember that never happened. I thought maybein Afterbirth theyd get to it. ...unless the streaming version on amazon left something out.
Ben was never to tightly wrapped to begin with he's a mess for lack of a better term he even said that he was the most suprised about his own profession. In the first episode it just looks like there is a brittle mask of sanity just barely holding him together I mean he cries after he masturbates and with each passing episode that mask keeps cracking which can clearly be seen in the Halloween episodes and now with the most recent developments I believe that now he may be about ready to kill some folks like Constance or more likely himself.
Does anyone else think that Ben might be dead? In one epsidoe Hayden says to him "Can I at least have a hug?". She kills constance's boyfriend after asking the same question.
I think if he was dead he wouldn't have been able to leave the house to go pick up Vivien from the hospital. His ghost would just return to the house. Pretty good observation though
I think a psychotic breakdown may have already occured with him. I find the comment of the other contributor here interesting. Perhaps some of this is from the view of his mind during or after a breakdown.
The reason I said he might take up the mantle as Rubber Man is because in the spoiler pics the Rubber Man looks to be more heavy set than he was than when Tate was doing his rapes and murders which leads me to believe that someone else is in that suit and with what is going on Ben looks like the perfect suspect.
I respect the fact that he cares for his family's will being, but he's a complete tool because of the fact that he cheated on Vivien multiple times and keeps lying about it.
Some of the quick shots in the "Birth" episode appeared to show Ben in a room that appeared to be in a hospital or psychiatric ward. Is it possible that all of this has/is a delusional disorder experienced by Ben as a patient somewhere?
I have to wonder what's going on with the characters in this show, especially Ben. I would be beside myself if the super hot maid in a garter and a merry widow suddenly turned into a middle aged lady, but Ben doesn't seem affected by it at all.
He is just so boring and nobody really cares about him, that's probably why in every other episode, basically, he is naked showing his ass so people pay attention to him.
Ben is actually awesome, but he isn't backed by legions of teenage-young adult fangirls like Tate and Violet are. Most fans of the adult characters probably don't even visit online wikis honestly lol.
I dunno, he's pretty cool considering how much of a douche he is, or how in denial he is. Tomorrow I'll work on it while watching the past episodes over again on my XBox(gotta love streaming :) ), because you're right as his page does need it. That said, I have ONE QUESTION: Am I right to say that he was sleep walking in earlier episodes?
Yeah, Ben is really turning out to be almost like the "hero"....or as close to one as you can get in a show this. He really does love his wife and daughter. He is going to be so sad when he finds out that Violet is dead.
Ben did better against Tate than Patrick and Chad. Hopefully, he can get revenge for the rape of his wife. Tate's already dead, so maybe he can let Violet know and she'll dump him. (Probably not though)
I feel like he is a major jerk most of the time :/ Seriously, everything he does pisses me off. Minus the fact that he really seems to care about his family and the fact that he has a nice butt(;
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