American Horror Story Apocalypse: The five biggest questions we had after episode four

Warning: contains spoilers for episode four of 'American Horror Story: Apocalypse'

We’re deep in the crossover now. Witches to the left us, warlocks to the right. And we’re stuck in the middle with an Antichrist rocking silkier locks than Blake Lively on Met Gala night.

Creator Ryan Murphy has turned Apocalypse up to 11 on the American Horror Story scale, with this season pouring sweat, blood, and tears into delivering the kind of iconic lines fans all truly crave. From “I’m the f***ing Supreme” to “You’re a snack and I haven’t had a good d*cking in forever”, the internet meme factory has truly been blessed by the powers that be.

Add to that, Murphy achieved the rarest of feats and restrained himself long enough not spoil this week’s surprise cameo: Evan Peters’s James March, of the Hotel Cortez, in his new role as Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe)’s eternal cards partner, since the Countess is presumably too busy on the scout for another “jawline for days”.

It was a surprising side to the character too: more sympathetic than we’d been used to, with a genuine tinge of loss to his line “solitaire it is”, delivered after Queenie was whisked away by Michael Langdon (Cody Fern). What’s also clear is that, in his deceased state, Mr March was able to sense exactly who Langdon is. The fear in his eyes spoke volumes. Episode by episode, we’re discovering the true threat that Langdon represents.

With much of episode four taking place in a flashback to three years before the bomb fell, here are the five biggest questions we had about where the show will go next.

Is Langdon actually a warlock?

It seems unlikely. While his grandmother, Constance Langdon, is implied to have a bloodline connection to a previous Supreme (Mimi DeLongpre), there’s no other particular reason the Antichrist would be born as a warlock, particularly since his powers are so dark in nature. Considering the American Horror Story universe makes room for ghosts, vampires, and aliens; witch/warlock magic is hardly the only supernatural power a being could draw from.

However, Langdon certainly wants everyone at the Hawthorne School for Exceptional Young Men to believe he’s a warlock, as assumed from the way he deliberately switches between feigned innocence and malevolence throughout the episode. When Ariel (Jon Jon Briones) visits him in jail, after his arrest for murdering a supermarket butcher, Langdon pretends to have no control over his powers.

Yet, during their escape, when Ariel subdues a guard, Langdon waits until his back is turned to kill him. Langdon has no intention in really attending Hawthorne, nor will he have any investment in the idea he could be the Alpha – the prophesied warlock who will finally be as powerful as the Supreme. Langdon wanted to be at Hawthorne for a particular reason, but that reason still eludes us.

Who is the f***ing Supreme?

That said, Langdon probably is the Alpha, but not in the way the warlocks could ever have anticipated. To frame it this way: we’re dealing with a season that explores the causes of the Apocalypse, and its aftermath, and episode four has started to shift the blame onto the warlocks for their attempt to harness Langdon’s powers, so that they can end the dominion of the witches and sit at their “rightful place”.

There’s a clear allusion here to the idea that men’s desire for complete power and control over all things (including women) leads to their own destruction. The Apocalypse, after all, is here caused by a nuclear fallout; in today’s world, it’s the egos of two powerful men that have seen us come uncomfortably close to this becoming a reality.

Despite Cordelia (Sarah Paulson)’s protest, Langdon will still likely undergo the test of the Seven Wonders, as it would explain how Stevie Nicks’ announced guest appearance ties into the narrative. That will spell trouble, however, as he’s already demonstrated he has the necessary powers to pass, even if he’s using alternative means to achieve the results: telekinesis (manipulating objects), concilium (mind control), pyrokinesis (creation of fire), divination (obtaining knowledge by means other than the physical senses), transmutation (teleportation), vitalum vitalis (bringing back the dead), and descensum (ability to travel to hell).

Why did he bring Madison back (and not Misty)?

Langdon freed Queenie’s soul, which had been trapped in the Cortez after her murder, in a bid to taunt Cordelia since she was incapable of doing the same, but what of Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts)? Cordelia won’t be glad to see her since, to quote, Madison is a “stone cold b*tch”, but Madison being a “stone cold b*tch” is also extremely useful to an Antichrist like Langdon.

Post-Apocalypse Madison has taken sides with the coven, it would appear, but there’s a chance Langdon rescued her from the hell-Walmart in order to recruit her for his ungodly crusade. Misty, in that light, had a soul too pure to be of any use to him.

Episode four revealed that Mallory (Billie Lourd) was a student at Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies before, as Cordelia explains, a protective identity spell wiped her memory. Her ability to not only change a rose’s colour to blue, but to transform it into a swarm of butterflies, is presented as an indicator that she’s imbued with extraordinary power. Further to that, Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) mentions that she’s a direct descendant of the Salem witches.

Could this mean that Mallory is in line to become the next Supreme? Perhaps, although we’ve not seen any of those indicators yet, since the old Supreme’s powers are meant to fade when a new Supreme enters the picture, and Cordelia seems as powerful as ever.

Why is Myrtle here?

There’s no answer to this, as Apocalypse is yet to explain why Myrtle (Frances Conroy) is alive and making snide remarks both after the apocalypse and in the flashback scene to Miss Robichaux’s. Did Cordelia resurrect her? Why? It’s odd considering Myrtle made such a point of demanding she was burnt at the stake for her crimes.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse continues in the US on FX at 10/9c, every Wednesday. In the UK, the season continues on Thursdays at