American Horror Story: Apocalypse - Apocalypse Then

Time travel is my jam, so I enjoyed the little bit we get to see in “Apocalypse Then”, how slight alterations can perhaps prevent apocalypse in one way while Satan’s work is never totally done. LaVey, Crowe, and Mead aren’t just willing to totally give up if they know another “son” is potentially available…spawned ironically from Timothy and Emily in 2020…oh, Murphy and Falchuk aren’t let the world off that easy.

Fun to see Mallory spared as Cordelia knows her sacrifice means that Michael can’t successfully prevail. Her running him over and over with the SUV while Constance eventually lets go of the head cradle telling her “grandson” to go to hell is a fitting end to Michael. The spell, called “tempus infinitum”, allowing Mallory to convince Queenie not to take residence at a certain hotel in LA, visiting the Coven and hugging Cordelia, coping with Myrtle’s remaining dead and gone because her presence isn’t needed to undermine Michael’s apocalypse, and leaving Madison in her own personal hell a little while longer because she kind of should suffer some is some satisfying comfort food before Timothy and Emily’s child gives new hope to a fresh kind of Satanic reign.

Mead exploding (cool spellcast!) with the “Daisy, Daisy” (clever, guys!) from her dying, decapitated head amused me to no end—yes, I’m that easy—and Michael being gunned down by Madison before a resurrection leads to her own head explosion (he had to get his own bit of ultra-violence before Mallory runned him over…and over…and over) is just too cool. So, yeah, I dug this conclusion. It is an olive branch, especially how Marie Laveau returns from hell with Dinah her replacement thanks to some negotiating with Legba, after Michael got to execute a lot of warlocks and witches previously. Granted, Coco and Laveau weren’t necessarily up to the challenge of halting Michael’s strengthened powers, but Cordelia did outsmart him.

I thoroughly enjoyed how the identity spell is explained and factors into how horrible Coco was in the first episode to Mallory, modeled after Madison—Madison redeemed by telling Cordelia about Dinah and shooting Michael, sacrificing herself so that Mallory could be pulled to safety by Cordelia and Myrtle. And Coco apologizing ahead of time about how she feels terrible about how she will treat Mallory, and the brief revisit to just how that is the case right before the apocalypse is a poignant moment. All the plans in place, building to the time travel and making sure Michael is stopped before he can truly get started really reveals just how intricate, devised, and carefully plotted the entire season was. The framework, the nuts and bolts, is knitted impressively.

Billie Lourd gets to be the heroine and looks quite fetch in her shoulder-length shirt, smoky eye shadow, stringy locks, and overall goth presentation…I like a lot! She fits right in with the Coven, looking the part. It is quite different from the assistant to Coco, harried and busy, at the onset, mistreated and verbally abused. I said goth, but I think it is more punk rock. Still, she looks fantastic. Good for Lourd to arise in Murphy’s stock company of actors/actresses, with each series/season. ****/****