(This post contains SPOILERS for American Horror Story: Apocalypse Episode 6, “Return to Murder House.” Read on if you dare.)

“I’m Constance Langdon and this is my f–ing house!” The queen of American Horror Story made her triumphant return last night on Apocalypse. After signing off at the end of Season 4, Jessica Lange finally came back to reprise her Murder House mother, along with pretty much every other character from Season 1.

In “Return to Murder House,” the Harmon family was back, Sarah Paulson’s Billie Dean Howard dropped by, Evan Peters’ Tate Langdon showed up in a not-so-great wig, Frances Conroy’s Moira finally got her freedom, and so many lingering questions were answered. Here are the biggest reveals, Easter eggs, and theories from the crossover episode.

1. Yep, Michael’s True Father Is the Devil

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We’ve known all along that Michael Langdon is the Antichrist, but it’s never been officially confirmed. At the end of Season 1, Billie Dean Howard only prophesied that baby Michael, being born of human and spirit, will “usher in the end of times.” On the latest episode, Apocalypse explained Michael’s whole story. Before he murdered his nanny, he killed animals, murdered a priest, and almost strangled his grandma. Constance killed herself and Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott) filled in as a father figure. That didn’t work out, so Michael embraced his inner demons (literally) and went full evil.

After Michael summoned some spooky crows and other textbook demonic stuff, a trio of Satanists (including the “Black Pope,” which I’ll get to in a minute) showed up at the Murder House. They preformed a gruesome ritual and a beast was born. Tate (Evan Peters) confirmed that while he may have been the one to get Vivien (Connie Britton) pregnant, he was definitely not Michael’s pops. That would be the devil himself. Vivien quotes Revelations 13:1 from the Bible, a passage about the rise of the Beast that some interpret as the birth of the Antichrist.


2. So That’s Why Michael Is a Grown Man

The biggest inconsistency of the season that I’ve been ranting about since Cody Fern’s casting was announced is the fact that Michael Langdon should be 8 years old in Apocalypse. (In real life Fern is 30.) But given that AHS bends the rules of logic, they finally offered up an explanation. Constance said one day she went in Michael’s room and discovered he was no longer a toddler, but a fully grown man. “It was almost as if he was in a hurry to get somewhere, age-wise,” she says. The Devil can do whatever he wants, especially when he’s on a deadline to end the world.


3. Pepper Returned! (Kinda)

Okay, Pepper herself didn’t return, but Naomi Grossman did. The actress who played the beloved microcephalic woman from Asylum finally returned to the show for the first time since Freak Show. You may not have recognized her without her Pepper makeup. Grossman was one of the Church of Satan followers who showed up at the Murder House to perform the Black Mass ritual.


4. The Real Black Pope & Church of Satan

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Carlo Rota played Anton LaVey, aka the “Black Pope” in the episode, who was the real-life founder of the Church of Satan. Unlike the show’s depiction (which the Church ain’t happy about), they don’t worship the Devil, but are more of an organization of atheists who believe in Satan as a symbol of “pride, liberty, and individualism,” according to their website. In real life, LaVey died in 1997 from pulmonary edema, but in Apocalypse the show pretends Rota’s Satanist faked his death to prepare for Michael’s ritual.


5. The Black Mass Ritual and a Callback To Season 1

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In real life, Black Masses were initially parodies of the traditional Catholic mass back in the Middle Ages. Across history, literature has often associated them with witchcraft, but initially they were much more conducted by dissenters of the church. But of course, AHS plays into the stereotypes of freaky Satanic blood rituals by having its trio of devil worshippers kidnap a young girl, rip out her heart and feed it to their dark lord Michael. Why is he eating a human organ though? Honestly, no clue, but it’s a nice little callback to Season 1.

You’ll remember when Vivien was pregnant with Michael in Murder House, Constance encouraged her to eat a raw brain to keep the baby healthy. That was a reference to the raw meat cravings in Rosemary’s Baby. I guess the Devil just loves fresh bloody organs.


6. The Murder House Is a Portal To Hell

We’ve always known the Murder House was connected to some real evil stuff. The haunted mansion obviously has a disturbing history of violence and murder, but Apocalypse revealed the home was built atop a portal to Hell. So it’s no wonder that Satan chose the house to birth the Antichrist who would bring about the end of days.

As the end of “Return to Murder House” revealed, Michael is pretty much the reason the Murder House is a thing of nightmares. Madison told a depressed Violet (Taissa Farmiga) that Tate wasn’t truly bad at heart, but just used as a vessel by Michael to carry out evil things. That means every awful thing that’s happened to everyone inside the house was simply because of the Devil. The whole explanation is a little too fan fiction-y for me, and sort of cheapens the mystery of the first season. With regards to Tate, it’s also a lazy way to excuse a school shooting and rape to redeem a complicated fan-favorite character.


7. Constance’s Fourth Child

Back in Season 1, Constance spoke about being the mother of four children: Tate, Beau, Adelaide (where the heck is Jamie Brewer this season!?), and a fourth kid never mentioned again. The first season finale was supposed to include one more reference to that mystery child, but it was cut from the episode. Finally, Apocalypse introduced her, though with little backstory. Rose Langdon is a little girl without any eyes, and based on the style of her dress, I’d guess she was Constance’s first kid.


8. Is Madison Related To Nora and Charles?

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It’s long been a fan theory that Madison Montgomery is a distant relative of Nora and Charles Montgomery, the parents of the Infantata of Season 1. There’s no way Murphy would coincidentally give Madison the same last night, right? In the latest episode, Billie made a quick reference to a possible connection, noting that she’s known many Montgomerys before. If Madison was related, this was AHS‘s opportunity to reveal it, so perhaps it means nothing. Then again, the show could be holding off for a reveal later on.


9. Papa Legba Is Coming Back

I’ve been waiting for this guy to return. The preview for next week’s Episode 7 reveals Lance Reddick’s gatekeeper of the spirit realm is returning, probably to help the coven defeat Michael. But that leads to one big question: where is Marie Laveau? At the end of Coven, she died (despite being immortal) and her soul became owned by Papa Legba. You’d assume she’d be back this season, but Angela Bassett recently said she had no idea why Marie hasn’t returned. Either she’s trying to fool us or really isn’t coming back.


10. What’s the Deal with Dinah?

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Dinah’s story has been suspicious for a few weeks now. After Cordelia brought her back, we knew she was a witch, but her early conversation with Michael in Episode 3 suggested they’d formed a secret alliance. In next week’s preview she’s seen carrying out a Voodoo ritual with Cordelia (probably to summon Papa Lebga), but could she have ties to Marie?

One fan theory on Reddit suggests Dinah could be the daughter Marie lost years ago. In Coven, Marie briefly said she was forced to trade her infant daughter to Legba for immortality. It’s kinda unclear what year that happened and if the timeline would match up, but it could be a way to explain Dinah’s connection to Voodooism.


Gallery – Every Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson AHS Character, Ranked

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