(Warning: Please do not read if you have not seen the latest episode of “American Horror Story”)
The latest episode of “My Roanoke Nightmare” continued to pile on the backstory about The Butcher and her colony. We saw her slaughter the previous tenants of Matt and Shelby’s house, not to mention butcher everyone in her own colony so they would become her willing servants in the afterlife. We also saw the origins of Lady Gaga‘s sacrificing seductress, discovered what happened to Lee’s daughter, and watched the eccentric Cricket get disemboweled.
But through all the backstory, there was one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it line that continues the trend of references “AHS” is making to its past seasons in chronological order. Early in the episode, Professor Elias Cunningham reveals to Matt and Shelby that their house was built in 1792 by a man named Edward Mott. That surname should be familiar to anyone who watched “American Horror Story: Freak Show.” Indeed, Edward Mott is the ancestor of Dandy Mott, the handsome psychopath who killed members of Elsa Mars’ freak show. We also learn that The Butcher can only kill trespassers during a specific moon cycle in October. This is similar to Edward Mordrake in “Freak Show” and his ability to take a life only on the week of Halloween.
So now we can expect some sort of reference to last year’s season, “Hotel,” in next week’s episode. But what kind of reference can we expect? Well, thanks to one Redditor, we now know how to pinpoint it. According to this theory, each episode of “Roanoke” makes a reference to the sixth episode of the past season, continuing this season’s focus on the number six.
In episode 1, we first laid eyes on the Piggy Killer that attacked Matt and Shelby this week. A similar pig-themed killer appeared in episode six of “Murder House.” In addition to the nurses that reference “Asylum,” episode two introduces Priscilla, the girl from the colony who threatens to kill the house’s current inhabitants. In “Asylum,” Briarcliff’s youngest patient, the murderous Jenny Reynolds, was introduced in that season’s sixth episode.
Episode six of “Coven” features a seance sequence, as does the third episode of “Roanoke.” Now, in episode four, we have the Mott family, whose violent history is mentioned by the family matriarch, Gloria Mott, in episode six of “Freak Show.”
So if references are being made to sixth episodes, what element of “AHS: Hotel”‘s sixth episode will play a role in next week’s episode? Well, that episode is called “Room 33” and focused mostly around Lady Gaga‘s character, the Countess. It’s possible that a similar focus on Gaga will serve as next week’s callback, but there are some other notable moments from “Room 33” that “Roanoke” could reference to. That episode also features a televangelist killed by the Ten Commandments Killer by having coins stuffed into his body, several secret trysts by the residents of the Hotel Cortez, and the Countess’ deformed child, Bartholomew.
Regardless of how the reference is made, next week’s episode of “AHS” promises to crank up the scares as The Butcher and the other malevolent Roanoke spirits escalate their campaign of terror against Matt and Shelby. But again, we’re seeing Matt and Shelby being interviewed after the fact, so there’s no reason to be concerned for their safety. Is there?