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AHS: Apocalypse – 7 huge Easter eggs in episode 6

Photo credit: Prashant Gupta/FX
Photo credit: Prashant Gupta/FX

From Digital Spy

Note: This article contains spoilers for episode 6 of American Horror Story: Apocalypse.

We're now over halfway through season eight of American Horror Story and we've spent almost as much time in the past as we have in the Apocalypse itself, but honestly, who cares when the flashbacks have been this good?

Fans have looked forward to this episode even more than Satanists enjoy a good Antichrist birth, so there was a lot of pressure on the biggest crossover yet to succeed. Fortunately, 'Return To Murder House' delivered everything we could have wanted more.

Sarah Paulson proved herself to be the one true Supreme from behind the camera too in her directorial debut and the return of Jessica Lange had fans squealing worldwide louder than Roanoke's Piggy Man in a slaughterhouse.

Related: 7 American Horror Story plot holes that make no sense

However, amongst all of the tear-jerking and happy endings, 'Return To Murder House' also revealed more about Michael Langdon than ever before, providing "the worst possible version of Heidi Klum and Seal" with the information they might need to take him down once and for all.

Join us as we open the doors of the OG Murder House one last time and unpack every Easter egg and hidden reference that we could find in episode six of American Horror Story: Apocalypse.

1. "I was put on this earth to raise the monsters"

Madison Montgomery and Behold Chablis, aka the characters who most deserve their own AHS spin-off, lie to the real estate agent at the beginning and claim that they "can't wait to start making babies" in the Murder House. Truthfully though, the place is already pretty crowded with 36 souls, many of whom are children too.

While Michael escaped years before, a bouncing red ball near the beginning of the episode signals the arrival of Beau from season one and it's not long before two of Constance Langdon's other children appear too.

Fortunately for her and unfortunately for us, Addy died outside of the house, so she's spared a life of eternal torment trapped inside these walls. Instead, this episode provides us with our first glimpse of Langdon's unnamed fourth child, a "little beauty queen" who has no eyes. That might be a blessing in disguise though if it means that she doesn't have to see how different Evan Peters looks nowadays in the role of Tate Langdon, his first character from way back in season one.

2. "A child born of human and spirit will usher in the end of times"

Way back in season one, Billie Dean Howard rightly predicted that the Antichrist would bring about the End of Days, so it's strange that the 'psychic to the stars' doesn't mention this again now that witches have arrived to ask about Michael.

What Sarah Paulson's first AHS character does do though is remark on how she's "known a few Montgomerys in her time", confirming the ancestral connection between Madison and the Montgomerys that originally built the Murder House back in season one.

While it's a shame that this heritage wasn't explored in more detail, what we really hoped for was some sly mention of how Howard looks remarkably similar to Cordelia Goode, albeit with a slightly different hairstyle.

3. "Now what am I going to do with you?"

Season one of American Horror Story ended with confirmation that Michael Langdon is a teeny-tiny monster after he murdered his babysitter in cold blood, but up until now, we had no idea what happened directly after this moment.

'Return To Murder House' revisits that scene in more detail, revealing that Constance convinced the authorities that the babysitter had killed herself: "At least I didn't have to bury that one". As time went on though, Michael proved himself to be so much more than just "a garden variety serial killer" and even killed a priest while playing video games. We assume he cheated somehow.

In the end though, not even the despicable Constance could handle Michael and the supernatural forces at work, opting to kill herself before her grandson had the chance to finish her off for good. Because of this, it's clear that earlier mentions of a woman who raised Michael actually refer to Miriam Mead rather than Lange's iconic matriarch.

4. "Come on everybody, I say now let's play a game"

Jessica Lange is now 69 years old, yet it's the Grand Dame of American Horror Story who stars in the show's best musical moments. From Asylum's 'Name Game' to her Freak Show numbers in season four, Lange consistently gives it her all, often with a drink in hand.

'Return To Murder House' continues this glorious tradition when Lange swirls around her living room as her pills begin to take effect in a scene more than just a bit reminiscent of Fiona Goode's binges from season three.

5. "I just want to be like you, Dad"

"I've got to look out the window and cry/masturbate. It's my daily thing." With these beautiful words, Dylan McDermott reminded us why we all fell in love with Ben Harmon way back in season one and for those who thought that would be the end of it, this week's episode went one step further and actually paid homage to that now iconic scene from the very first episode of Murder House once again.

Other memorable and no less kinky callbacks also appeared in the form of the Rubber Man suit, which Michael plays around with here, much to the chagrin of his supposed father, Tate: "Stay away from my shit!"

To try and be more like his Dad, the Antichrist then murders a lesbian couple while wearing the latex, much like when Tate horrifically killed a gay couple in the early days of Murder House.

6. "Play with me!"

In recent years, American Horror Story has made a habit of using real people as characters on the show, but it still came as a surprise when Anton LaVey arrived as one of the Satanists destined to help Michael fulfill his birthright.

In real life, the self proclaimed Black Pope died of a pulmonary œdema back in 1997, but here, his character claims that he had to fake his death so that he could carry on leading the Church of Satan. Through this scene, we also learn how Miriam Mead met Michael, but did you notice who the third member of this unholy trio was?

Naomi Grossman made her American Horror Story debut as Pepper in Asylum and she became the very first character to cross over between seasons after she returned for Freak Show, confirming that every instalment is connected somehow. It's only fitting then that Grossman would return for the ultimate crossover episode, this time playing a new character called Satanist Cardinal.

7. "Time and time again, history has shown the hubris of men knows no bounds."

At the beginning of this landmark episode, the ghosts trapped in the Murder House are literally putting each other through hell. Vivien refuses to talk to her husband, Ben, and their daughter Violet struggles to reconcile her love for Tate with the awful crimes that he committed throughout season one. By the end though, each couple opens up a dialogue and end up enjoying their own happy ending together.

Given how prominent gender politics have been so far both in this season of American Horror Story and the world at large, there's something reassuring about this portrayal of men and women overcoming their differences and working together to find happiness.

Now that Behold and Madison are both in agreement on the true nature of Michael's power, perhaps the peace found among the ghosts can foreshadow how the witches and warlocks need to put aside their differences too if they're to save the world.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse is on Wednesdays on FX in the US, with the UK getting it on FOX and NOW TV two weeks later. Catch up on series 1-6 on Netflix, with season 7 available to buy on Amazon Prime Video.


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