Photo Credit: Kurt Iswarienko/FX Pictured: Cody Fern as Michael Langdon.
Tonight was the season 8 premiere of American Horror Story: Apocalypse, which is a crossover for season 1 (Murder House) and season 3 (Coven). Many familiar faces have returned and we have the full recap of what goes down on episode 1, which we continue to update as the episode airs live. Beware of episode spoilers as the show airs.
The show opens with Evan Peters as Mr. Gallant (a hairstylist), cutting hair for a billionaire socialite named Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt. Billie Lourd appears as the socialite’s assistant, Mallory, when a ballistic missile warning comes in. Coco’s beau, Brock, played by Billy Eichner watches the news in disbelief and Coco begs him to get to the airport.
Mr. Gallant ventures home to his wealthy grandmother, Evie Gallant, and tries to get her to leave with him.
People start committing suicide to avoid the bomb blast as Coco and Mallory race to the airport. Mr. Gallant and his grandmother arrive to board the plane too. Coco is forced to leave Brock as people head to the plane and try to board as well. The streets are chaos and Brock screams as he watches the plane fly out of California.
When Mallory looks in the cockpit, she sees that no one is flying the plane. The plane suddenly feels the shock of the missile that has hit. They all look out the window in horror.
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The show picks up 40 minutes before the bomb goes off. A mother and son named Timothy share a sweet moment as he finds out he was accepted to UCLA. After the missile warning sounds, two people show up in black suits and ties, saying that Timothy has been selected to be one of the few to survive. His parents try to persuade them to take both of their sons, but they refuse and make off with just Timothy. Timothy ends up in some kind of fenced in cell, along with a girl named Emily. After the bomb goes off, Timothy begins to sob.
Two weeks later, Timothy and Emily are being taken to zones where there are other survivors just like them. They are given protective wear and are dropped off. The two enter a large gated area and find a person donning a black, protective suit and a mask, guiding the way for them. As they walk, they see two people executed, shot in the head, by others in similar gear.
The person leading them into a safe area is Kathy Bates, who is playing Miriam Mead. After getting cleansed and removing their suits, Timothy and Emily are introduced to Ms. Wilhemina Venable, played by Sarah Paulson. She lets them know that they have been chosen to be part of The Outpost. Ms. Venable also talks about The Grays, who are the workers at The Outpost. She says that Timothy and Emily are never allowed to leave the building because of the radiation. There is no “unauthorized copulation” and she implies that the unauthorized Grays who were executed outside were executed for that reason. Ms. Venable also states that she is only to be addressed as Ms. Venable.
After Timothy takes a shower, he sees the numbers 666 written in the moisture on the bathroom mirror.
Mr. Gallant, Coco and Evie, gather in the library, along with others. Mallory is clearly now a Gray and serves them. Timothy and Emily arrive to find a famous actress named Dinah Stevens is there as well. At dinner, Coco freaks out, upset that there’s not more to eat, aside fro the nutrients they are given. Ms. Venable slaps her across the face as the others look on, including Miriam. Ms. Venable warns that they only have budgeted enough food for up to 18 months. They also said that their grounds have been penetrated.
Pictured: Sarah Paulson as Ms. Wilhemina Venable and Cordelia Foxx.
Ms. Venable reveals that the other posts have been overrun and they are the last outpost to exist as a civil society. Soon, the room is warned that radioactivity has been detected, so Miriam investigates the risk of contamination. Mr. Gallant is removed from the table, as is another man named Stu. They are taken to the decontamination room where they are scrubbed down, lying naked in pain. They are scanned once again to see if they have any contamination left on their bodies. Mr. Gallant is clean, while Stu is still dirty. Stu is immediately shot in the head.
Miriam visits Ms. Venable in her room to hang out. Ms. Venable tells Miriam that they are “the only ones that matter” at the outpost. They go one to drink and play cards together. Ms. Venable jokes how she enjoys seeing the upset faces of the others at the outpost, who can’t believe what’s happening to them. Miriam asks Ms. Venable what “The Cooperative” would think about them making up their own rules and terrorizing the guests. Ms. Venable insists “it’s only us”, with no cares in the world.
Ms. Venable presents everyone with a special hot meal and Coco gushes over the food. Ms. Venable insists to the group that they are all in this together. Miriam insists the dish is chicken, but the guests start to discover that they are eating Stu. Ms. Venable insists that they aren’t eating a person. Evie, unlike the others, says she doesn’t care what’s in the soup because it’s delicious.
Everyone goes to the library and a man named Andre sobs at the thought of eating Stu. Emily tells everyone to be quiet, as the music has stopped. The same song had been playing for two weeks and a new one with the lyrics “The Morning After” begins to play. They take this as a sign that they will be rescued. Eighteen months later, the same song continues to play and the mood in the room is dismal and tired.
Timothy and Emily began to develop romantic feelings for one another.
Ms. Venable announces that there will no longer be breakfasts because their meal supply is dwindling. Chaos begins to break out at the table. Suddenly, an alarm starts blaring that the perimeter has been breached. A horse-drawn carriage arrives and the driver reveals himself to be Michael Langdon, the offspring of Tate and Vivian from season 1 “Murder House”. On the finale of season 1, Michael, as a toddler, murdered his babysitter.
Ms. Venable asks Michael why he’s come and he lets her know that there is another facility that is stocked with supplies. He lets her know that he is there to evaluate everyone and judge them. Either he will take all of them with him or they will all end up dead.
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