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American Horror Story Apocalypse: The five biggest questions we had after episode six

American Horror Story: Apocalypse continues in full fan-service swing with its mega-crossover episode “Return to the Murder House”, which sees Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) and Behold Chablis (Billy Porter) rock up to season one’s infamous haunted house to coax out the spirits and get them to spill the tea on Michael Langdon (Cody Fern)’s true Antichrist nature.

That demanded appearances from: Tate Langdon (Evan Peters), Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton), Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott), Violet Harmon (Taissa Farmiga) Moira O’Hara (Frances Conroy), and Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange). Add to that, a couple of other old friends decided to drop by.

However, as indulgent as this instalment of Apocalypse is, it also proves to be one of the best the show has seen in a long time, and a showcase of this season’s biggest strengths: a rich, story-driven approach that has helped to deepen the existing American Horror Story universe in a way we’ve never seen before.

There was also plenty of added visual flair thanks to first-time director (and essentially the thespian backbone of this entire series), Sarah Paulson, and a consistent level of instantly quotable lines thanks to the pair-up between Madison and Behold – “And I had to put khakis on, so it’s been a hard day for all of us” is one for the history books. Here are the five biggest questions we had about where the show will go next.

Does the Murder House have a mind of its own?

Although season one dropped a few subtle hints that Tate Langdon (Evan Peters) may not have been entirely in control of his actions, “Return to Murder House” had Madison seemingly confirm it: Tate was possessed by the house’s evil, which pushed him to commit all his hideous, violent deeds.

Although, on the one hand, this seems like a convenient shift in the character which finally rewards the section of the show’s fandom that hasn’t stopped obsessing about Tate and Violet’s twisted romance, it does also add an intriguing new layer of mythology to the American Horror Story universe. As one of the satanists mentions, the Murder House was built “over the portal to hell”, which suggests this portal essentially allows Satan to play puppet master with all who reside within.

This, of course, explains the house’s grisly history, from Charles Montgomery Frankenstein-ing his baby and killing the Black Dahlia (who made a surprise cameo this episode) to Nora Montgomery killing her husband, all the way to Constance killing both her husband and Moira.

Intriguingly, Cordelia also described the Hotel Cortez as a “hellmouth” earlier in the season: could that explain how John Lowe went from cop to serial killer so quickly? Or how Elizabeth, The Countess, could go from innocent, heartbroken flapper to murder enthusiast? We’d assumed it was the influence of Mr March, but what if something more sinister was at work?


Have we discovered how Langdon could destroy the witches?

Considering the witches have become fairly competent at resurrecting each other from the dead, if Cordelia’s actions post-apocalypse are anything to go by, it seems as if Langdon has met his match with the coven. However, this week’s revelation that Langdon is not only very adept at killing, but can literally incinerate people’s souls and make them “cease to exist”, appears to be a major set-up for the future of the season. And that, very suddenly, puts a lot of our favourite characters in serious danger.

Who is Constance’s fourth child?

Another one of episode six’s small surprises is the final reveal of who Constance’s fourth child is, a person who had only been briefly mentioned, but whose identity we’ve never been privy to. In reality, season one was going to feature an appearance from Constance’s fourth child, who would have had albinism, but the character was dropped from the final cut. Now, in Apocalypse, the character has been changed to a young girl named Rose, who appears either to have been born without eyes, or had them later gouged out.

Has Madison become a goody two-shoes?

She may be a long way from becoming a saint, but it’s been heartwarming to see Madison not only soften her crueler edges, but actually open up as a person, after spending years of life using her “stone cold b****” attitude as a guard against vulnerability. Truly, dying twice and getting stuck in your own personal hell must do wonders to a person’s attitude.

Not only is helping Violet an entirely selfless act, but her telling Behold, someone she barely knows, about her traumatic experience being harassed into doing her first nude scene suggests a real effort to finally confront the abuse in her past.

It’s also clear Madison feels more humbled about her position in the Coven, as glimpsed by her throwaway mention that the only reason she’s been sent to the Murder House is that she’s “expendable”. However, that’s unlikely to be the real motivation behind Cordelia (Sarah Paulson)’s decision, since we soon learn how critical a task bringing back the truth about Langdon’s nature really is.

Hopefully, Cordelia will be able to make it clear to Madison in the next episode that her and her powers are valued. It’s about time Madison finds a place she feels welcome.

How mad on a scale of 1 to 666 is the Church of Satan about this episode?

They are quite mad. Specifically about the part where their founder, Anton LaVey is depicted as creepy murder who faked his death to welcome in the coming of the Antichrist. As their official Twitter account wrote: “For those asking yes we are aware of being reference in #AHSApocalypse. Anoton LaVey didn’t believe in Christ or an Anti-Christ and sacrifice plays no role in Satanism. Lazy writers appropriated his name and image for their Devil worship drivel is unimpressive and boring.”

American Horror Story: Apocalypse continues in the US on FX at 10/9c, every Wednesday. In the UK, the season continues on Thursdays at 10pm on FOX