American Horror Story: Apocalypse Episode 2 Recap In the previous episode of American Horror Story: Apocalypse, we witnessed the end of civilization as we know it, as all major cities in the world were hit by nuclear strikes. We met Mr. Gallant, Coco, and Mallory; a group of rich people who bought a spot in the outpost. We also met Timothy and Emily, two teenagers who were taken into the outpost because of their incredible genetic makeup. The show also introduced Ms. Venable, the leader of the outpost. What’s going to happen next? Let’s find out as we recap American Horror Story: Apocalypse episode 2. Snake Soup Emily was alone in her room, when the snake (from Coven) slithered around her walls. She immediately screamed, which alerted Ms. Mead and the other authorities of the outpost. Mead quickly killed the snake and had them cooked up for dinner that night. The snakes came back to life and everyone ran away from the table in horror. Later that night, Michael Langdon revealed his presence to all of the people in the outpost. Langdon told everyone of the Sanctuary and the situation that they were currently in. Mr. Gallant volunteered to be evaluated first. Evaluations Langdon and Mr. Gallant began their initial evaluation process. Mr. Gallant revealed that he hated his grandmother, Evie. He hated her because of her treatment of his homosexuality. Langdon seemed both intrigued and aroused by Gallant’s hatred. Timothy and Emily had begun some sort of romantic relationship, Emily attempted to convince Timothy to run away from the outpost and find the Sanctuary by themselves. Timothy refused to do so. Later that night, Gallant was visited by the spirit from earlier, wearing a leather suit, and the two engaged in sexual intercourse. Creation of Rules Evie went to Mead and told her about Gallant’s sexuality. Timothy and Emily snuck around the facility and found a laptop that was working and showed an email sent only a week ago. They both figured out that that shouldn’t be possible in a nuclear apocalypse. Langdon confronted Venable about creating her own rules, such as the ‘no sex’ rule, Venable denied creating that rule. She insisted that she was given that order by the Cooperative. Langdon ended the conversation by revealing that it was part of Venable’s evaluation, she had failed and would not be going to the Sanctuary. Ms. Mead arrived and took Venable away. Down Time While alone in the communal room, Gallant was visited by the spirit again. Mead walked in on Timothy and Emily having sex and she had them both taken prisoner. Gallant followed the spirit back to his room and attempted to de-mask the spirit, but it was to no avail. Gallant managed to overpower the spirit and stabbed it to death. It was revealed that it was actually his grandmother he was stabbing. Timothy and Emily were brought before Venable, they revealed that they had found Langdon’s laptop. Then Venable ordered them to be executed. What did you think about American Horror Story: Apocalypse episode 2? Let us know down in the comment section!<doc-sep>SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “The Morning After,” the second episode of “American Horror Story: Apocalypse.” The arrival of a grown-up Michael Langdon (Cody Fern) at the end of “American Horror Story: Apocalypse’s” premiere thrust the eighth installment of Ryan Murphy’s twisted anthology series into action. The audience who knows Michael from the “Murder House” first season knows he was a devil-baby, born to Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton) from the dearly departed Tate Langdon (Evan Peters). But the characters of “Apocalypse” don’t have such knowledge, so to them, his arrival appears to be one of a savior, choosing between the Outpost’s residents to see who might be worthy of taking to The Sanctuary. Apparently, these $100-million-a-spot Outpost bunkers are so easily overthrown that most of them have fallen by now, so Langdon is there to save the day for a few lucky citizens. Promising an “acutal” sanctuary, for now, his position appears to simply be interviewing the houseguests — although his line of questioning certainly stirs up conflict. Even the stoic leader Venable (Sarah Paulson) is not immune to Langdon, as he tries to get inside her mind and exposing her greatest weakness: some kind of deformity along her spine that is reminiscent of radiation mutations. Could it be that she was above ground after the initial blast, rather than safely tucked away in the Outpost? Her time with Langdon got cut short this week, so it’s a mystery to further unravel in a future episode. The bulk of Langdon’s work was instead focused on Gallant (Peters), who revealed deep-rooted tension and resentment in his relationship with his grandmother Evie (Joan Collins). It turns out Gallant was never quite the upstanding, “proper” gay man that his nana wanted him to be, and while he defied her openly when life was normal, now she is able to get the upper hand. After facing Langdon’s interrogation and finding a way to throw in some flirting, the Rubber Man aka the Gimp comes to Gallant’s room. Assuming it is Langdon himself, Gallant goes for it — and Nana Evie catches them in flagrante delicto and then rats her grandson out to Venable and Mead (Kathy Bates). Unauthorized fornication is punishable by death, so they chain Gallant up and try to find out what is really going on, suspecting that he and Langdon may have known each other before the end of the world and somehow coordinated efforts after. What is the resident demon spawn up to, they wonder? By the looks of the small flashes of Langdon sitting naked on a pentagram, the answer is definitely “no good,” but the exact plan and motivations are unknown. One thing Langdon is, however, is one step ahead of Gallant, seemingly sending the Gimp to again seduce Gallant. But it’s all a hallucination (or something) because when Gallant stabs the Gimp (thinking it’s Langdon and taking out his aggression that Langdon rebuffed him), he actually stabs Evie. RIP, Nana Evie. It wasn’t assumed Collins would be around that long, but it’s still a bummer. It made it even more upsetting after she pointed out all she had to offer if she lived — namely being able to teach others about art and culture. It also was somewhat baffling that she would be the first to go, considering Langdon seems to want to reward ruthlessness, and she was ruthless enough to turn her own grandson in. “I want to live and the only way to achieve that is to get rid of these 10 little indians who stand between me and that golden ticket out of here,” she said. But alas, perhaps she just wasn’t ruthless enough. What the others may have to do to amuse Langdon is sure to get worse from here. For any viewer who has intimate knowledge of the first season, in which Peters’ Tate was the one in the rubber man suit, the expectation may have been for the Gimp in “Apocalypse” to pull off his mask and reveal Tate underneath. After all, it has been confirmed that Peters is back in that role this season, in addition to Gallant. That idea certainly made the scenes in which Gallant has sex with the Gimp much more heavily-weighted, as if Peters was having sex with himself. Speaking of unauthorized fornication, Emily (Ash Santos) and Tim (Kyle Allen) learn from snooping on Langdon’s computer that Venable has been making up her own rules, so they go ahead and get down with their bad selves now that they know the Cooperative doesn’t care if they have sex. But Venable and Mead still care — and set the two young lovers up for execution by episode’s end. Something else is must be afoot, though, because the fact that Langdon has a working computer is deeply suspicious. It certainly seems like the computer was just waiting for them, with planted communication on it. The Gimp even spied on them from the ceiling as they read Langdon’s private emails. Both Venable and Mead looked confused when Venable was accused of going rogue. And then there is the matter of the gun that just happens to be within arm’s length for Tim when he and Emily are hauled into the execution chamber. He manages to grab it before any harm can come to him or his girlfriend, and he ends up shooting Mead in the abdomen. But in an effort not to get the audience thinking too hard about how much of these events is all a part of Langdon’s test, there is a twist revealed with Mead: when she examines her wound, it is sparking and oozing some kind of white pus. Is she a robot of some kind? These violent delights definitely have violent ends on “American Horror Story.” “American Horror Story: Apocalypse” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.<doc-sep>Rather than critiquing the state of the world (like in "Cult"), "American Horror Story" finds more fun in nuking it all to hell. [Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for the premiere of “American Horror Story: Apocalypse,” aka “AHS” Season 8.] Sometimes you’ve got to kick back in your nuclear fallout shelter, eat some human flesh, and savor every second of the world’s complete and utter implosion — you know, like your Nana would. The Season 8 premiere of “American Horror Story” ditched the pretense of importance that weighed down an overly complicated “Cult” and delved into the wicked fun Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s series can find at its peak. There’s still plenty of opportunities for commentary coming, but the haunting setups are punctuated with showy flourishes of humor, making the start of “AHS: Apocalypse” feel just like Ms. Venable wants: a welcome beginning instead of a harrowing end. The nuclear fallout began with a haircut. It’s fitting, given the camp value of “AHS” at its finest, and most of the opening sequence highlighted the best Ryan Murphy’s anthology series can offer: a haunting vision of an inescapable demise, dotted with choice bits of dark humor. The “billionaire” Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt (a well-utilized Leslie Grossman) is sent scurrying from Beverly Hills to Santa Monica (perish the thought), after an alert flashes on everyone’s phones: “Ballistic Missile Threat inbound for Los Angeles.” With four tickets to a shelter booked in advance by her father (who can’t make it to safety), Coco commits to taking her assistant, Mallory (Billie Lourd) and her hairdresser, Mr. Gallant (Evan Peters). Luckily for literally everyone, what seems like the worst decision ever turns out to be a sneaky brilliant choice by the writers (Murphy and Falchuk), and instead of Coco’s husband, Brock (Billy Eichner), making the trip, Gallant’s Nana Evie (Joan Collins) gets to tag along for the ride. Now, losing Eichner still stings — he’s a perfect fit for this angry, campy world — but the pain is eased by a) his final line: “Coco, do not leave me in fucking Santa Monica!” and b) Collins’ incredible turn. Kurt Iswarienko/FX Throughout the episode, Nana knows exactly when to pop in with an outrageously inappropriate zinger: When she’s told missles are coming to kill us all, she quips “So’s global warming” — a line that’s doubly fun when picturing her as a stuck-up right-winger who doesn’t actually believe in global warming. Later, when the plane overlooking a nuked Los Angeles is found to be without a pilot, she complains about a lack of “fresh cut fruit” from the missing “stewardess.” Even Coco’s best line (and there are many to choose from) is centered on justifying why Nana deserves to be an elite member of the fallout shelter, even though she doesn’t do anything to help: “She’s been to the Oscars and was best friends with Natalie Wood so get some fucking perspective!” The only character who currently holds a candle to Nana’s glorious slights — and Collins’ hilarious readings — is, of course, Sarah Paulson. As Ms. Venable, Paulson is running the fallout shelter. She’s in charge of designating who’s a Purple (“the elite”) and who’s a Gray (“our worker ants”). Along with her trusty lieutenant, Ms. Miriam Mead (Kathy Bates), Ms. Venable is running her own little torture chamber. She admits to delighting in killing occupants for “the stupid ‘can’t believe this is happening to me’ look they get,” and insists The Cooperative — who’s in charge of not just this shelter, but three other outposts — isn’t paying attention. Of course, she’s wrong. After killing a guest and forcing the remaining folks there to eat his flesh — “The stu is Stew!” teeters on the edge of going too far, even for “AHS,” but it’s spectacularly dumb enough to love — an actual member of The Cooperative shows up and announces he’s going to decide who among them he’ll take to his impenetrable, well-stocked fortress. Michael Langdon (played by “American Crime Story’s” Cody Fern) takes Ms. Venable down a peg, setting up an arc where she’s on equal playing field as those she’s been torturing. Let the games begin. Kurt Iswarienko/FX “American Horror Story: Apocalypse” exists very much in the franchise’s comfort zone. There’s a candlelit house of horrors with two ladies running the show. The occupants are mix of backstabbing narcissists and naive kiddos (shout-out to “The Path’s” Kyle Allen, as Timothy, who deserved a big break after that performance). There are rules to this brand new world begging to be broken — no going outside, and no sex — while the core cast is about to be flooded with even more guests. (Don’t forget: For an hour spent on setting up its original premise, “Apocalypse” is still a crossover of “Murder House” and “Coven.”) But even if the formula is familiar, “AHS” is having one helluva time playing with it. Actors like Grossman and Williams are hamming it up with style, the fast-paced storytelling makes the most of its time jumps, and the sets are simply gorgeous — the shelter looks like it was designed by Richard Serra, for Pete’s sake. “AHS” has started well in the past before spiraling off the rails, but “Apocalypse” delivers simple pleasures and is promising more to come. With cameos and extended stays from past characters, there’s reason to believe “Apocalypse” can sustain its delicious flavor through 11 episodes. And just like Nana said, “I’m going to finish every drop.” Grade: B “American Horror Story: Apocalypse” airs new episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.<doc-sep>
Spoiler alert! The following contains details from the season premiere of "American Horror Story: Apocalypse." "American Horror Story" went to the end to find a new beginning. After a few disappointing installations in Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's pulpy horror anthology series, "Apocalypse" debuted on FX Wednesday night with, well, a bombastic start that sets up a crossover between the series' first and third seasons, "Murder House" and "Coven," respectively, and also rejiggers a franchise that had begun to collapse under its own absurdity. Combining two previous stories and rushing to the end of the world is a smart way to tap back into the series' roots and bring back some of its best characters. It also allows the writers to pull on some loose strings from those early seasons, like a certain murderous toddler murdering his nanny in the show's very first season. But beyond that, the first hour of "Apocalypse" makes it seem like "AHS" is back to creative form, too. There were whispers of something interesting in the first few episodes of "Cult" last year before the season devolved into predictable "AHS" drivel, but the opening scene of "Apocalypse" is a fantastic start. The sequence is a propulsive, riveting peek at what might happen if the world, and particularly, a very American, very Southern California slice of that world, were confronted with its immediate demise, in all its human and cartoonish foibles. The episode opens on a pleasant Beverly Hills afternoon for Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt (Leslie Grossman), a billionaire socialite, who is getting her hair done by Mr. Gallant (Evan Peters) with her assistant Mallory (Billie Lourd) by her side. Everything's fun and games and jokes about L.A. traffic until the bombs of a nuclear holocaust start falling, and Coco's parents call to tell her she's got four tickets to a bunker that will keep her safe. Gallant grabs his Nana (the delectable Joan Collins) and the foursome takes off in a private jet with no pilot, but not before Coco leaves behind her husband Brock (Billy Eichner). It certainly has the cynicism "AHS" thrives on (or in many cases, collapses under) but the sequence also left in some moments of pure emotion — from a teen boy being ripped away from his family to a newscaster saying goodbye to his children, which gives some heft to the campier elements that come right after. The panicked, gripping sequence sharply pivots into something far more claustrophobic. The safe haven for Coco and friends turns out to be a converted boys school run by "The Cooperative," and the leader of the house is Wilhelmina Venable (Sarah Paulson) with some help from Ms. Miriam Mead (Kathy Bates). The Cooperative also chooses to save Timothy Campbell (Kyle Allen) and Emily (Ashley Santos), two young adults chosen, apparently, for their prodigious DNA. It feels like a completely different show from the one in which the episode began, with hairstyles out of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," scenery out of an Edgar Allen Poe story and Paulson's over-the-top performance straight out of a hacky Shakespearean theater (in a good way). Life at the Outpost, as they call the shelter, is, shall we say, not great. Although the rich and the selected are "purples," the elite class that wears colonial-era formalwear and is waited on by the "grays," the house is a minefield of psychological horrors; the food consists solely of vitamin-infused gelatin cubes; the radio plays the same song over and over again; and Wilhelmina and Miriam are ready at any moment to torture and kill a guest who doesn't follow the rules. It's a sort of "Hell is other people" scenario, with a little more emphasis on the literal "Hell" part. Secretly, Wilhelmina and Miriam dress up in purple and admit that they deliberately torture the guests, and their sadism reaches its peak when they serve what appears to be a stew made of, well, a man named Stu. They traumatize the guests and make clear that this isn't the sanctuary they believed it to be. The episode zips 18 months in the future when food is even scarcer and all of the guests are on the verge of a psychological breakdown (except for Emily and Timothy, who have fallen for each other) when a visitor turns up at the gate.