The Mega Fanservice from Ryan Murphy in American Horror Story: Apocalypse

Disclaimer: this article is full of spoilers regarding AHS: Apocalypse!

My high school friend introduced me to one of Ryan Murphy’s weird horror anthologies, American Horror Story. As a big fan of horror and weirdness, it wasn’t hard for me to fall in love with the show. My first season was Hotel (you know because Lady Gaga is the main cast). Everything was fine until I reached Apocalypse. I had no reason to hate that season, everything seems good on paper. The crossover, the music, the fan service of Angela Bassett, and the returned of Jessica Lange. But after I grow older and experience many shows and movies, I realize that American Horror Story: Apocalypse is dumb.

First of all, AHS is known for its unique story and a bit of crossover between each season. Mr. Murphy never dropped such a huge crossover before, and I think that was the failure. The presence of the Coven’s witches made Apocalypse into a direct sequel of Coven and erase all the independent story that was set for the season. Not only is this season being put as the sequel of Coven, but Murphy mentioned too many seasons in Apocalypse! From the Witches of Miss Robichaux’s Academy to Hotel Cortez, and back to Murder House. The crossover is irrelevant and only serves as a fan service, but the main issue is that all the actors played more than one role. I mean, that’s the running theme of AHS, but Sarah Paulson in this season literally played three roles, three! Not even to mention Evan Peters and Frances Conroy.

All the roles that Sarah Pualson played in Apocalypse –  American Horror Story: Apocalypse (2018)

What is the point of introducing so many new characters on the pilot, then killing them off in the next episode? The unjustification killing of the Apocaplyse’s original character is a stupid way to give an epic crossover to the witches of Coven. The next episode is an immediate jump to the Coven era. Yes, the fans got Jessica Lange back, but at what cost? Lange’s presence was no more than meaningless fan service, just the same as Angela Bassett. Although the episode of Return to Murder House is a surprising farewell from Jessica Lange, and a bit of nostalgia for the debut season of this show, we spend too much time on that house, after all this is Apocalypse. 

What made Apocalypse worse is the fact that this show is constantly dwelling in the past. There are seven episodes set in the past, while the rest three are set in the present time. There are too many expositions rather than actions. What makes each AHS season unique are their story and the direction of the moral compass. In Asylum, the tone is sadder compared to the rest of the seasons. Murphy brought up the topic of alien, mental issues, and queerness. While in Freak Show, the tone is brighter, as the horror was not based on jumpscare or scary ghosts, but the horror is humanity itself. Murphy once again wrote a good story by making the focus of horror on Elsa Mars as she is hungry for power and dream, so she would do anything to accomplish those things. But Apocalypse? A mere tool from Murphy to make Sarah Paulson be a witch again.

The ending of Apocalypse is like the smell of durian. The smell is so bad, but some people enjoy it. I’m talking about the fight between the witches and Marie Laveau against Michael Langdon. All the buildup of how strong the new era of witches in the hand of Cordelia Goode is…gone. Why in the world did Madison let herself be killed by Michael, and the “new Supreme” literally died by a knife stab. Cordelia as the Supreme of the witches didn’t perform any strong magic in the entire fight, let alone the rest of the witches. They were nerfed to the point this show didn’t make sense anymore. All of this, just for Mallory, could shine as the new Supreme.

Jessica Lange in Return to Murder House – American Horror Story: Apocalypse (2018)

The ending where Mallory went back to the past to kill Michael is a mega red flag that they have no idea how to redo the catastrophe they wrote. Everything that we witnessed means zero consequence and has no impact on the universe of American Horror Story, yikes. Although this season’s flaws outdone everything good about Apocalypse, it still needs to be praised for bringing its many old characters back. Murphy promised that the witches’ story is not over in Coven, and for some fans, it was a delight to see Myrtle Snow, Dr. Ben Harmon, and Tate Langdon again.

While it’s true that Apocalypse is a rollercoaster of flaws, I still found it fun. As Murphy said, the story of the witches is not over yet, so I hope someday in the future, he could write a better crossover than Apocalypse. And until that time, let’s enjoy the newest season of AHS (P.S. Sarah Paulson and the gang are back!)

Editor: Nadia Salsabila & Clara Nathania