Yahoo News AHS: Apocalypse – 7 huge Easter Eggs in episode 2
Warning: This article contains spoilers for episode 2 of American Horror Story: Apocalypse.
The world might have gone out in a blaze of glory during this season of American Horror Story, but the burns still flew thick and fast in the second episode of Apocalypse. Mr. Gallant (Evan Peters) had to endure some particularly heartbreaking moments of truth from both his Grandma (Joan Collins) and Michael Langdon (Cody Fern) this week, although the harshest insult was reserved for Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt (Leslie Grossman), who Wilhemina Venable (Sarah Paulson) described as a "vacuous abomination of inbreeding". Damn Venable.
However, among all of the snake soups and rubber gimp suits, it's easy to miss some of the most important details that link season 8 to the rest of American Horror Story lore, so that's where we come in.
Join us as we peel back the rubber to uncover every Easter Egg and hidden reference in the premiere of American Horror Story: Apocalypse.
1. From Stu Stew To Snake Soup
Although Grandma Evie had previously eaten snakes at the Royal Court of Kuala Lumpur, those live mambas that slithered out of everyone's soup bowls understandably freaked out the rest of our beloved survivors. While we couldn't help but be impressed by the smooth cut to the opening credits which also features snakes, the real question of course is how did these scaly creatures come back to life in the first place?
It's no coincidence that even more messed up stuff started happening once Michael 'Antichrist' Langdon arrived on the scene, so it seems likely that he's involved somehow in this resurrection too. Does this mean that he's a witch or at the very least possesses supernatural powers of his own? After all, resurrection is one of the trickiest spells to master and only a few characters could manage such a feat during season 3.
2. Michael 'Supreme' Langdon
Whether Langdon brought the snakes to life might be up for debate, but that's not the only hint of his true power.
While he's "cooperating" with Mr. Gallant, Langdon warns Evan's character that if he tries to lie or trick him, "I will know". Although this might sound rather innocuous on paper, the emphasis Langdon uses here certainly implies that he genuinely would be able to see through any lies thanks to some otherworldly powers.
It's also no coincidence that the chains which held Mr. Gallant up mysteriously fell loose the moment that Langdon left the room.
3. "Tell Me Who You Really Are"
Langdon's interview with Gallant is also reminiscent of those scenes back in season 7 where Kai Anderson interrogated potential members of his newfound cult, except the tables are turned on Evan Peters this time round. As he talks, the discussion turns to his sexuality and how he once experimented with a girl back in high school.
This isn't the first time that Peters has tackled a queer character on the show. Back in season 6, the AHS stalwart played a gay slave owner called Edward Philippe Mott and in season 7, he also played art icon Andy Warhol briefly in a flashback scene. Kai Anderson also experimented during a memorable sex scene with Detective Jack Samuels (Colton Haynes too), although this desire was born more out of a need to manipulate than anything genuine.
4. Two to Go
Back before American Horror Story: Cult aired last year, showrunner Ryan Murphy seemingly confirmed a popular fan theory that argued each season reflects one of the nine circles of hell depicted in the book "Dante's Inferno".
According to him, lust and violence are the only two left that haven't been explored, so which one does Apocalypse fit into?
While the nuclear strike and those "feral cannibals" outside certainly tap into strong elements of violence, specific allusions to the destructive power of lust have begun to form the backbone of this season so far. When Gallant starts masturbating about Langdon, the camera quickly cuts to the Antichrist casually sitting naked in a bloody pentagram and subsequent sexual encounters this week all featured the Rubber Man in one form or another.
It's also worth bearing in mind that Langdon himself was the product of rape way back in season 1, combining the themes of lust and violence much like Apocalypse itself crosses over with both Murder House and Coven.
5. Rubber Twins
The Rubber Man from Murder House bounced back this week to play a pivotal role in Outpost 3, observing the newcomers make out while also engaging in his own sexual encounter with Mr. Gallant. It's been a while since Season 1 first introduced this fetishized antagonist to American Horror Story, but longtime fans might recall that the character under the mask was none other than Tate Langdon, who was also played by Evan Peters…
That's right. Even though the Rubber Man didn't take his mask off this week, it looks like Peters engaged in the ultimate form of masturbation and had sex with himself on screen. Yes, it's possible that someone else might be wearing the suit now, but it has already been confirmed that Peters will play Tate this season and we wouldn't put it past American Horror Story to tackle such a kinky storyline.
6. Rock On Gold Dust Woman
Towards the end of episode 2, the song that plays on loop in Outpost 3 changed to something more recognisable for fans of Coven with the vocal stylings of none other than Stevie Nicks.
Sure, the legendary singer might not have appeared in the flesh just yet this season, but hearing her vocals on the Fleetwood Mac song "Gold Dust Woman" was clearly intended to tease her return. Hopefully, this will take place next week as you can't have a Murder House/Coven crossover without the Coven themselves and fans are becoming impatient.
7. Does Not Compute
We've had witches, zombies, cannibals, mutants, aliens, ghosts, demons and reality TV stars over the years in American Horror Story, but none of this could have prepared us for the advent of Westworld-style robots on the show.
At the end of this week's episode, Timothy Campbell (Kyle Allen) shot Ms. Mead (Kathy Bates) to save his own life, leaving us with an electric cliffhanger that changes everything we thought we knew about Outpost 3. The gaping hole left by the bullet oozed out some white liquid vaguely reminiscent of Ian Holm's android character in the movie Alien, suggesting that Mead too might be an artificial human.
One fan on Twitter suggested that perhaps Madame Delphine LaLaurie's detached head from Coven has been fitted onto a robot body. Sure, this might sound absurd at first, nothing is too bizarre for a show that made its character eat a stew made up of a guy named stew.
American Horror Story: Apocalypse debuts on Wednesday, September 12 on FX in the US, with the UK getting it on FOX from September 27. Catch up on series 1-6 on Netflix, with season 7 available to buy on Amazon Prime Video.
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