Episode three of this season, titled Forbidden Fruit included a whole lot of murder, the demise of one of my theories, and the reveal of who exactly is responsible for robot Kathy Bates.
With the usual reminder of spoilers lets break down what happened.
The episode opens with various people talking to Michael. More interviews it seems. I love how each blends into the next so seamlessly as Michael walks around the room. Michael tells Timothy there is no need to thank him for saving he and Emily from execution. Michael calls it a 'minor infraction' and that it shouldn't keep out a viable candidate. We're then shown Mr Gallant who is confused and says "but I killed my Nana" to which Michael replies that Evie died peacefully in her sleep. He tells who we think is Mr Gallant to trust him but we see it is actually Timothy he is talking to. He shares that he has a gift for seeing into the darkness of people which prompts Mallory to insist she doesn't have a darkness. Michael calls that nonsense. He knows Mallory would love to brutally kill Coco and that counts as darkness. She admits Coco drives her insane but that doesn't mean she wants her dead. Coco admits that she wanted to fire Mallory plenty of times but kept her around because it was easier than finding new help. Michael shares that he doesn't think she is capable of true darkness, she's much too shallow for that kind of negativity. It's revealed that this is said to Dinah who takes offence to this suggestion. It is also revealed that Dinah is a witch and she and Michael have met before. Excuse me?! This is huge news. He shares he was surprised to see her when he arrived. He is worried she might cause trouble. She says she is not powerful enough to stop whatever he has planned. She just wants to get to the sanctuary. He tells her that she will because she is exactly what he is looking for. It jumps to Andre who is describing his mother as 'evil'. His mother is Dinah! Second bombshell in less than a few minutes. Michael muses that Mallory is under the impression that he is looking for those who are pure of heart. Michael doesn't want that at all. He wants those who 'wouldn't just eat from the fruit of the forbidden tree but would cut the fucking tree down and burn it for firewood'. He wants a world without hypocrisy and thinks that Mallory is perfect for just such a world. Mallory asks to leave and Michael picks up on the fact that she is afraid. He pushes her and she admits she sometimes feels like there is something trying to claw its way out of her. Michael pushes her some more and Mallory ends up getting more anxious and attempts to storm out but Michael stops her. This is where we learn that Mallory has powers and is also a witch because she snaps!
She pushes Michael back WITH HER MIND and he reacts by getting angry and showing her his demon face (which is way less pretty than his usual face). Mallory can also control fire as she does a neat trick with the fire in the the fireplace. Michael astonished asks her who she is and she replies that she doesn't know and runs way. Guys, this is only the cold open. I need a drink.
Michael, obviously worried about all the witches that are all over the place, runs and does a ritual of some kind where he is begging his 'father' for help. I am guessing he means the devil and not Tate. He says he thought he destroyed them all but obviously one survived. He begs his father to open his eyes. The blood he's spread on the floor begins to bubble and a snake slithers out as Michael rubs blood all over himself. This season is definitely the 'lust' season if the rumours of each of the season representing a different deadly sin are true.
We next to get learn about Miriam's past. She is trying to work through the realization that she is a freaking robot but has memories of her past. She remembers a few of her more memorable Halloween's such as the first time she went trick or treating by herself (and dressed up as Rosie the robot from the Jetson's), the first time she went on a date with a boy (a horror movie with a boy who got handsy), and the first time she murdered someone as a government agent (a terrorist in Maryland). She doesn't understand why she has these memories if she didn't actually experience them. She also remembers a beautiful boy with blonde hair that she took care of. She knows she loved him but she cannot quite recall his face. He's a blur. She guesses that she lost him because every time she thinks of him she cries. She muses that these must all be responses that programmed into her. She never had a childhood, a family, or love. She's nothing more than a machine. Ms Venable tells her that she does have a family - her. Ms Venable tells her that her purpose is still to protect the outpost. She asks what memories she might have of the Cooperate or Michael. I am guessing Ms Venable thinks the Cooperative built Miriam. Miriam says she doesn't have any. Ms Venable says that she doesn't trust Michael to pick the right people to go to the sanctuary. She mentions that Michael has told her that she isn't one of the chosen few going. This makes Miriam incredulous. Ms Venable must go. She suggests killing everyone (including Michael) and using Micchael's laptop to find the sanctuary. Ms Venable thanks her for her loyalty to which Miriam states that she is programmed to be loyal. Miriam's storyline just makes me sad now.
We also get an answer to what happened to Brock, Coco's boyfriend that she left in Santa Monica. We see him approach a group of guys who are roasting a dead person (so cannibals, great). He tells them he is looking for his girlfriend and that he heard of an outpost around here. A carriage like the one Michael came in approaches so Brock hitches a ride underneath. I don't even know how he survived.
The carriage has a crate filled with apples. The forbidden fruit title for the episode makes a lot of sense now. Ms Venable and Miriam verify that there is no radiation on the crate or apples. They muse about where they can from. Ms Venable speculates the sanctuary and that Michael had them shipped to show off what the chosen ones will enjoy once they make it there. Ms Venable can barely contain herself and takes a bite. Ms Venable sends her other assistant to 'take care of the horses' that brought the shipment and immediately starts to plot with Miriam on how to best use the apples in their plan to kill everyone. They're going to put poison from the snakes into the apples. They are going to throw a party to celebrate Halloween so that everyone eats the apples at the same time.
Ms Venable calls an emergency meeting. She apologizes for 'punitive measures that may have gone too far' and offers up the Halloween party as a way to make amends. She encourages them to make costumes and reminds them that attendance is mandatory.
Mr Gallant and Coco reminisce about previous Halloweens as Mr Gallant does an elaborate hair updo for her. They muse that perhaps the party is where Michael is going to announce who gets to go to the sanctuary. Mr Gallant cautions that he thinks those who have been chose already know. This panics Coco but Mallory agrees with Mr Gallant. She tries to tell them about the fire and pushing Michael back with her mind. She thinks the radiation changed her and that she has powers now. Coco and Mr Gallant just laugh at her though. They demand she prove it and challenge her to do it again. Mallory tries and nothing happens prompting Coco to be even meaner to her. I wish Mallory would have just burned her.
The party centerpiece is a bobbing for apples game which is how Ms Venable and Miriam are going to carry out their plan to kill everyone. Ms Venable reminds us that Halloween is when the veil between the living and the dead is the weakest (a shout out to Hotel) and she urges everyone to savour this night as if it is their last. She encourages them to dance and be merry.
Brock, who is now inside the outpost grounds, wastes no time in killing a guard and stealing his key. He makes his way to the party (after stealing a costume) and immediately goes to Coco. She incorrectly assumes it is Michael under the mask. She offers him sexual favours to get into the sanctuary. She leads him to the bedroom and Brock reveals himself. He is still pissed about being left in Santa Monica. Coco asks what happened to him and the list is not a nice one: cancer, radioactive fallout, cannibal attacks just to name a few. Coco realizes that Brock is still angry though and she's right. He's angry enough to stab her in the head quipping 'Happy Halloween, Bitch' as he does. Goodbye, Coco.
Meanwhile, people have started to play the bobbing for apples game. Ms Venable encourages them to wait until everyone has an apple before the eat them. Miriam rushes in and tells Ms Venable that they have to put the breaks on the plans because they cannot find Michael and Coco. Ms Venable isn't worried. They'll bring the festivities to Michael after everyone else is dead since he declined their invitation. The next few scenes are a contrast of everyone happily playing and laughing while bobbing for apples and scenes showing the apples being prepared with the snake poison. Once everyone has one Ms Venable encourages them to eat and almost immediately after taking a few bites the poison starts to impact everyone. It's gross and horrific. It looks painful as everyone gasps as they try to breathe and vomits everywhere while shaking. Ms Venable and Miriam just smile and look on proudly. We pretty much just lost a majority of our cast. Good thing a few of them will be playing other characters ( looking at you, Evan Peters). Also, there goes my theory that Mr Gallant would cut Michael's hair. Sigh.
They go down to inspect their handy work. Ms Venable muses that the whole thing was messier than she would have hoped. They decide to go finish the job and kill Michael. They find him in his room and inform him that they will be making the decisions from now on. Michael laughs and advises her that she passed the test. She's perfect for the sanctuary. Ms Venable responses by telling Miriam to follow through with the plan which is to shoot Michael. I don't even think that would work but sure. Michael, once again, shows another of the powers that Supreme holds and uses mind control to have Miriam turn the gun on Ms Venable and shoot. It's a good thing Sarah Paulson is playing two other roles this season. So many people have died and we're only 3 episodes in!
Miriam is upset. She expresses that she was always loyal to Ms Venable. Michael assures her that she was just following orders like she is programmed to do. His commands specifically. The poisoned apples plan was his idea. Miriam is surprised that Michael wanted everyone dead.
Michael believes that all people if given the right circumstances are capable of evil. This also makes it clear that Michel doesn't consider Tate his father. Tate got his hands dirty. Michael is a lot like Tate actually, but he's talking about the devil here. Miriam, who seems to be in shock, expresses that she doesn't understand and says she is 'just a robot'. This upsets Michael. He tells her to never say that. He cares about her. He specifically had the Cooperative model her after a woman in his childhood who was dear to him. I am guessing this is his grandmother, Constance (Jessica Lange). That makes the most sense. Miriam realizes that he is the beautiful boy she has hazy memories of which thrills Michael. He tells her the that he had to keep the more important part of her hidden to protect her and plan. It's now time for her to know everything because he cannot imagine the new world he wants to build without her by his side. She was the only person who ever understood or loved him. They embrace and it is actually kind of sweet. I guess even Antichrists need a mother figure.
We follow the camera through the outpost and outside to see the arrival of three figures. As they come into focus we see it is the some of the Coven witches, specifically Cordelia, Madison, and Myrtle. They are not in protective gear but seem fine and look amazing.
They enter the outpost and Cordelia tells Madison and Myrtle to go find their 'sisters'. They bring Dinah, Mallory, and Coco back. Cordelia uses her powers to bring them back to life! So, I guess Coco is also a witch? Michael is going to be extremely pissed that he really hasn't killed all of the witches. Seems like he killed pretty much none of them. As the three women wake with gasping breaths Madison kneels down in front of Mallory and says her classic line:
Odd thing to say to someone you just met so this tells me that Mallory and Madison know each other and that it perhaps was not the best interaction. I mean, Madison is calling her a bitch.
Now that the witches have entered the picture I am shifting my theory. I think Michael is not a witch. He wanted to kill them. I think they are the only ones that are a threat to him so he tried to take them out. In the Roanoke season we see the first Supreme (Scáthach) perform some magic that made Thomasin White and the other members of the colony ghost like figures that haunted the grounds. Very similar ghosts to those at Murder House. What if one of those 'ghosts' slept with a human and got her pregnant which is what, as we learned in Murder House, creates an Antichrist. My theory is that the witches were then given powers that could rival the Antichrist as a means to pay penance for Scáthach's role in creating them in the first place. The Antichrist has these powers naturally and therefore the witches needed them to fight back. The Supreme is the witch that is capable of doing all seven of these powers so it is almost like she specifically has the penance of destroying them. This would, of course, mean that multiple Antichrists have existed which I think works for the world this is set in.
I honestly think the witches are here to undo the apocalypse and stop Michael. It is going to be a shame if that pretty face gets messed up BUT the Coven witches are so bad ass. I am also excited to see the Harmons and everyone at Murder House again.
See you next week where we'll hopefully get some more crossover characters happening and learn exactly how Madison and Mallory know each other.
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