The eighth season of the Emmy award winning, anthology television series, American Horror Story, fires off with something all too realistically scary within the first fifteen minutes of the first episode of this season: Nuclear Warfare. Season 8, Apocalypse, is a crossover between the very popular seasons Murder House and Coven, which are seasons one and three.
The seasons are finally starting to connect. The awaited eighth season of American Horror Story is bringing back some of the fans favorite actors such as Jessica Lange, who was present for seasons one through four. She has had four Emmy nominations and won two for her work on American Horror Story. Other returning actors include Emma Roberts, Taissa Farmiga, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, and Stevie Nicks, who all starred on screen together in season three. Regulars, Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson will be returning for their eighth season in the anthology series. This season, actors will be doubling and tripling up their characters, all from Murder House, Coven, and the new member to the series, Apocalypse.
Apocalypse is set in an underground safe house, Outpost Three, after the events of multiple nuclear blasts wipe out our world, leaving it to become an endless and toxic, nuclear winter. Venable, played by Sarah Paulson, is the keeper of Outpost Three. She makes sure nobody breaks the rules, such as having sex or venturing outside. Those who break any of the rules are immediately executed with absolutely no remorse. The only way to make it into any of the outposts is to pay your way in with a sizeable price or be selected by the mysterious Co-operative.
The Antichrist, Michael Langdon, makes an appearance in American Horror Story in the form of the child of Tate Langdon, a ghost living in the Murder House, and Vivien Harmon, the mother of Tate’s girlfriend. Both who are said to be returning characters this season. This season the Antichrist returns, this time all grown up and played by Cody Fern. Medium Billie Dean Howard, played by Sarah Paulson, from season 1 predicts the apocalypse. She states, “A child born of human and spirit and will usher in the end of times.” And this is most certainly turns out to be true.
About a quarter ways into the season, we get to see not only almost the entire coven, but also a stop at the Hotel Cortez and scenes with James Patrick March (portrayed by Evan Peters) from season five. This episode goes back three years before the nuclear blasts and fills in some of the missing parts of the story. Including: some of Michael Langdon’s background story, saving one of the witches from the “Hellmouth” that is the Hotel Cortez, and bringing back another witch from her very own personalized version of hell. Originally the Supreme of the coven went to save her fellow witches but her powers, even though she is the strongest witch of all, were unsuccessful in freeing the two. Only the antichrist had the power to do so, and he did, just to prove his superiority. The tension between the two begins to keep increasing as the story unfolds.
American Horror Story season eight has so far not been disappointing in any way, and will surely continue to impress. With so many crossovers finally connecting some of the seasons, the series is slowly coming together and so many great actors are returning to the show, just as creator Ryan Murphy said would eventually happen. The return of the Murder House will premiere on October 17th, and hopefully bring back many favorite characters and tie the seasons together even more. Keep watching to find out more, episodes air on Wednesdays at 10pm PT.
by Jill Miller
photo by NME.com
The Claw 