AMERICAN HORROR STORY: APOCALYPSE (S8E9) “Fire and Reign”: Destiny Is Not As Easy As It Seems

While “Fire and Reign” was an appropriate title for the second to last episode of the season, everything I had expected to happen in “Sojourn” finally came to pass – leaving this critic to wonder if there may have been some confusion on titles. While the episode did not return all of the season’s luster, which had been sucked dry during the last episode, it was an intriguing and captivating take on revenge, time travel and the ultimate forms of magic.

Crafting the Apocalypse

Interestingly, as we have been following the anti-Christ’s journey this season to the ultimate destruction of the world, it is not the son of the devil that brings the end, but his frustrated, delusional and power hungry followers. Frustrated with the state of the world and Michael’s (Cody Fern) lack of direction, Jeff (Peter Evans) and Mutt (Billy Eichner) decide they can “guide” Michael to what they believe is his destiny.

Using the robot they had crafted for Langdon, Jeff and Mutt manipulate Miriam Mead (Kathy Bates) and Michael’s conversations, steering Michael to the idea of not only bringing the world to total annihilation but to seek the advice of the two Silicon geniuses on how to do it. Lucky for Michael, it had been revealed moments earlier that they were a part of an elite organization called The Cooperative – finally they have entered the picture Pre-apocalypse!

Presenting Michael with a list of names, the wealthiest and most elite in the world, Jeff and Mutt explain that these individuals make up The Cooperative. They control and influence everything important in the world. Yet, the Cooperative is not their true name – they are the Illuminati (yup, the Illuminati has entered the AHS anthology) – and lucky for Michael, they have each sold their soul to the devil. With the confidence and knowledge he owns the most powerful organization in the world, Langdon begins the crafting of the Apocalypse and the fallout shelters that will bring us full circle to Outpost 3.

The direction Michael Langdon’s destiny has taken has become rather interesting. As mentioned earlier, it is not his ideas and leadership that spawns the idea of the apocalypse, it is the men behind the machine. It’s interesting that the men loyal and supportive of Michael are seemingly more evil than him. It seems as though Ryan Murphy may be drawing a comparison to Trump and the results of the 2016 election – an election and digression that he has touched on before. Are voters and the cabinet that support Trump more evil than he? Voters used their power to put him in position, just as Jeff and Mutt, and eventually the Initiative, do.

It could also be said that, like the Silicon geniuses controlling and guiding from behind a computer, Trump, a modern day antichrist, may be a puppet whose position gives him power that others need in order to manipulate for their own destruction. Could our two devious computer geniuses be the representation of Putin, pulling the strings from behind the computer? Or could Murphy be insinuating that an even deeper evil lies deep within our country, pulling the true strings from behind a curtain?

Revenge is a Dish Best served Cold

Before he can focus his sights on clearing the slate of mankind, and with Miriam Mead back at his side, Langdon is blinded and obsessed with seeking revenge on those who murdered his Ms. Mead and conspirators. While I had expected revenge to be dished out in “Sojourn”, it was “Fire and Reign” that brought a tragic end to the Coven.

Under the safety of a protection spell, Cordelia (Sarah Paulson) keeps her girls close, promising nothing can happen to them if they stay in the house. While counseling Mallory (Billie Lourd), who has found her first hurdle in the limit of her powers, massacre rains down within the home. Dinah (Adina Porter), the Voodoo Queen, brings down the veil protecting the home, allowing Langdon and Ms. Mead to enter. The massacre is swift, yet brutal, leaving very few survivors – only the ones we find back at Outpost 3.

With the future of the Coven at stake, Cordelia, Mallory, Madison (Emma Roberts), Coco (Leslie Grossman), and Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy) escape to Misty’s (Lily Rabe) old abode in the swamp. While the scene was intense and saddening, there was little worry that Cordelia wouldn’t be able to bring her girls back – though an inkling something was off as none of the girls lying dead on the floor had previously reappeared in the world following the atomic bomb. Broken-hearted and full of guilt, Cordelia attempts to astroproject in an attempt to bring her girls back to life, yet while their bodies lay, their souls do not. Lost due to the incredible powers Michael possesses, which had been shown in “Murder House”, Cordelia’s girls are gone. But with magic, hope is never lost.

While the introduction of the Illuminati answered an enormous amount of questions leading up to Outpost 3, the bomb, and Ms. Venable, the ambush on the School for Gifted Girls answered few and created more. There had been no an answer as to why Zoe and Queenie had not been seen in the aftermath – yet now we know they were dead, their souls vanquished. Yet, so many questions new and old still lingered.

How is Cordelia alive after the bomb, as well as Madison and Myrtle, especially as she is dying while the new Supreme rises? What was the mission Cordelia had sent Coco on in “Traitor“? Dinah was the one who enabled Michael to wipe out almost the entire Coven, yet she is brought back to life in Outpost 3 by the witches – even referred to as one of “our sisters” – why would Cordelia bring her back where she betrayed her? And how does the remaining five witches become separate, Coco and Mallory’s memories wiped of who they are  – just barely making it to safety within the sanctuary? With regards to the witches, many questions remain – ones I am not sure there is time enough to answer in the final episode.

The end of a dynasty – but which one?

As with any story involving magic, there is always hope. As Cordelia finds she is unable to save her Coven, she turns to Mallory, whose powers have transcended beyond any witch before her, who may have the power to do what no other witch can – she might be able to turn back the hands of time. Once believed to be a legend, Myrtle guides Mallory through the spell – informing her that if she attempts this and fails, she will die. With the future Supreme on the line, the end of the Coven is nye.

As a test, Mallory is asked to travel back in time to 1918, on a night that would change Russia and the world forever – the night of the Russian Revolution and the slaughter of the Romanov family. Revealing to Mallory young Anastasia was a witch who attempted to use magic to shield her family, by going back and aiding Anastasia in her plight and returning, Mallory would exhibit proof her powers exceed the greatest of expectations.

This was the most interesting aspect of “Fire and Reign” – and the most random. Stories of that fateful night have lasted for several decades, proving that legends live longer than proof. It is said that when the Bolsheviks began to gun down the Romanov family, the bullets bounced off the dresses of the women – they were protected by an unseen force. Diamonds sewn into their dresses prevented the bullets from doing irreparable harm, though it was short-lived as the men descended upon them, bayonetting them to death. It was interesting to see this depicted within “Fire and Reign” as it gave a mystical and supernatural explanation to it all – both before and after Mallory travels back in time in an attempt to keep Anastasia alive.

Looking even deeper in to the execution of the Tsar and his family and the fall of the dynasty, one of the most popular legends to have come out of the massacre was that Anastasia had somehow survived. For decades, there has been a fascination with the possibility that Anastasia had lived, with a woman named Anne Anderson having once have claimed to be the lost royal princess. AHS would have lended a supernatural, coven truth to this legend had Mallory succeeded in either preventing the families’ execution, or reviving Anastasia after death.

Conclusion

As season 8 draws to a close, I have my suspicions we may get a satisfying conclusion, yet there are still so many questions that need answering – with a return to present aftermath feeling a bit overdue. It does seem that my initial pondering may be true, that Mallory may somehow have the power to heal the world, as she did with the deer and Coco, yet it seems too easy, almost too predictable now.

If one thing is for certain, there seems to be an inevitable showdown between Michael Langdon and the Coven next week – and only one will win the new world.

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