The 5 Best And 5 Worst American Horror Story Episodes

The eighth season of American Horror Story was advertised as the ultimate crossover, connecting Apocalypse, Coven, and even Murder House. Despite the inherent difficulties of using the same actors season after season (both Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters, for example, inexplicably played three separate characters in this season alone), Apocalypse mostly did a surprisingly great job of folding previous seasons into its story. In this episode, Coven's Madison and a new (male) witch, Chablis (Billy Porter), purchase the original Murder House and return to it, trying to discover the secrets within. There, they find Ben, Vivien, Tate, Violet, and finally Constance, marking Jessica Lange's return to the series after her apparent final appearance in Freak Show, who tells Madison and Chablis that Michael Langdon, the powerful male witch who has surfaced in their midst, is the Antichrist, confirming their suspicions.

Though crossovers can often feel clumsy or forced, this episode works outstandingly well, bringing back beloved actors and characters from the show's successful first season to great effect (and ending with a touching reunion between Tate and Violet), but perhaps the best move was bringing back Jessica Lange, who left after Freak Show. Her presence was deeply felt as the seasons progressed, and letting this veteran serve as the key to Apocalypse's central mystery felt like everything in the entire series had come full circle — not to mention that some of the flashbacks were genuinely terrifying.