American Horror Story: Apocalypse - Could it be...Satan?

As the blog enters its 10^th years—so hard to believe—I have been sort of taking a break. I have been periodically watching Apocalypse of the American Horror Story brand. I thoroughly enjoyed the fourth episode, Could it be…Satan? This takes us back three years and gives us details of Langdon’s back story. He had Ms Mead made in the image of someone raising him, who worshipped Satan, Miriam Mead. She poisoned three husbands, admittedly, and has indoctrinated Langdon, impressionable and seeking a mentor, into her fold. He causes knives to move by will/thought into a meat butcher at a grocery just for insulting Miriam for her Satan worship, after a nasty exchange between them over the lack of a goat head for service purposes. Then Langdon is held in an interrogation room, kicked repeatedly on the ground by a homicide detective, uses telepathic (or some demonic possession or warlock) power to levitate said detective into the ceiling, snapping arms and legs, dropping him to the floor, causing his head to explode. On recording, this event is later viewed by an underground boys school for warlocks, with its head and board of fellow warlocks interested in testing Langdon’s skills at a potential Supreme (the absolute best in terms of magic and spellcast). Cordelia (Paulson, who returned in the previous episode, last seen in the AHS Coven season), Myrtle Snow, and Zoe (Farmiga, not seen in present day, potentially indicating a rather unfortunate fate) arrive at invite by Ariel Augustus (Jon Jon Briones), wanting them to truly test Langdon to determine his potential for Supreme. Langdon, to prove to Cordelia, insulted at Ariel’s pursuit of this through a Seven Wonders test she lost a witch to, that he’s legit completes two trips to an underworld hell occupied by the likes of Queenie (Precious), trapped in Hotel Curtiz, playing cards with its owner, James Patrick Marsh (a callback to Hotel) and Madison (seeing her with Cordelia and Myrtle in present day at Outpost 3 shows she has persevered since Langdon found her), trapped behind the counter of returns at a department store as customers debate who she is after she claimed to be a famous television star with potential film projects when they aren’t berating her.

I love the Madison part of the episode, especially, but the whole Hotel Curtiz visits and how Cordelia couldn’t free Queenie despite numerous attempts to go through the entrance/exit doors was definitely a fun wink at AHS fans. Zoe revealing to Cordelia that Mallory, at their coven in New Orleans during a teaching session, can not only alter the color of a rose but cause its pedals to peel apart and fly into the air as butterflies, is especially a cool scene. It is a special effects dynamo. I really am grooving to all the special effects in this episode, such as the tests conducted to determine Langdon’s abilities as a warlock (although John Henry Moore, portrayed by Cheyenne Jackson, thinks he is demon possessed), such as the detective being obliterated, the disappearances/reappearances in a room as BD Wong’s Baldwin Pennypacker tries to injure him with a brick and knife in a room, the discovery of a book behind a mirror wall that he reaches his hand through without even looking behind it, and the conjuring of snow and alteration of a room that brings such cold his board of warlocks are almost frozen to death. Seeing Langdon’s power, the possible explanation behind it, and Mallory’s own exampled with the rose (and how Cordelia reveals to her and Coco that an “identity spell” was used to “protect them”), explains their previous “interview”, and why it resulted in the two unveiling powers that startle each of them. This could very well point to a supernatural showdown of epic proportions…building up the fireworks, yes I am. Don’t want to fail to mention Billy Porter as Behold Chablis (great name), as one of the board of warlocks, taking a student for task for being late to a teaching session. He’s quite a fun addition to Wong, as they witness Langdon’s work and remain awestruck. I think the addition of the Coven characters and the board of warlocks lifted this season for me personally. I just hadn’t been particularly “spellbound” by the early part of the season, but seeing Roberts and the Paulson I truly like (I couldn’t have been more pleased to see Ms Venable bite the dust), along with some fun casting choices in the warlocks (Fern emerging as a great villain has been a major bright spot), the season turned around with this episode, for sure. 4/5