Skip to main content
Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
It’s not everyday that American Horror Story manages to top itself. But that’s exactly what happened this week thanks to a tarot card reading from hell and a crime so disturbing, it’s difficult to even contemplate.
Adding to the terror, American Horror Story: NYC has been the most realistic this series has ever been. Instead of witches, ghosts, and vampires, this installment is all about serial killers and incompetent cops. But just because this show has a newfound dedication to realism, that doesn’t mean there weren’t some over-the-top flourishes. Consider this your guide to all the AHS Easter eggs you may have missed.
That drag queen was likely a nod to Patti LuPone's 'AHS' history.
Another episode of American Horror Story: NYC, another drag queen attempting to become Kathy Pizzaz (LuPone). This time around the nameless singer is practicing Frank Sinatra’s “Witchcraft.” Unlike last week, LuPone has never publicly performed this song. It seems more likely that this selection was a nod to her past with American Horror Story. LuPone first appeared in Coven, this show’s installment all about witches. In that season, she played fundamentalist Christian and husband murderer Joan Ramsey.
'Asylum's Angel of Death has returned.
Thank the gods, Shacath is back. “Bad Fortune” sees Gino (Joe Mantello) trying to call out Kathy for her psychic side hustle. To placate him, Kathy offers to give him a reading, and the same three cards keep coming up: Judgement, The Devil, and Death. Creepy. Even creepier is what follows. A black figure with giant wings appears behind Gino, quietly threatening him.
That possible hallucination wasn’t random. That was Shacath, the Angel of Death who appears in Asylum. During that season, Shacath was played by Frances Conroy. This time around, her face was hidden, but who knows? We could get a Conroy sighting before this season is over.
Velvet Touch is a nod to a 1940s movie.
What’s a gritty 1980s New York City show without a shady fixer? This time around, our fixer is known by his nickname the Velvet Touch, and he has a great relationship with the mob. It’s a fitting nickname given this character’s love of flashy fabrics, but it’s also a nod to cinematic history.
Directed by Jack Gage and starring Rosalind Russell, The Velvet Touch was released in 1948. The film noir drama revolves around a Broadway leading lady who accidentally kills her producer and former lover. At the time, the movie’s plot was criticized for being too obvious, but it was praised for its theatricality.
At least one body has been found on Fire Island.
This combination of episodes is all about body disposal. It turns out Patrick (Russell Tovey) the lying cop has known Sam (Zachary Quinto) the sketchy art dealer all along. They met on Fire Island years ago, but their night of partying quickly took a turn for the tragic.
Nothing like what’s depicted in “The Body” has ever happened on the real Fire Island. But there has been at least one body that’s been uncovered on the vacation destination. In 1996, the partial remains of a woman were found. Labelled “Jane Doe No. 7”, other parts of her body were found 15 years later in 2011 and traced back to her body thanks to DNA testing.
'NYC' is giving serious 'Asylum' vibes in the most disturbing way possible.
Eleven seasons in, it’s really hard for American Horror Story to top itself. After all, this is the show that started with a lovable shoot shooter and murder via rubber suit. Horrific is basically its default. Yet “The Body” managed to do just that. In a flashback, Patrick and Sam take turns having sex with a bound (but initially consenting) third man in a leather mask. But mid-threesome, Sam realizes that the man Patrick is having sex with is no longer alive. Yep, Patrick had sex with a corpse. Even worse? We have no idea how long the man was dead.
What’s weird about this scene isn’t that it exists, even though it’s exactly the type of thing to give you nightmares. No, the odd part is that this is the second time that Zachary Quinto has been involved with necrophilia in the American Horror Story universe. In Asylum, Quinto played Dr. Oliver Thredson, aka Bloody Face. In one of the most horrific parts of this season, he reveals that he murdered and sexually defiled the corpse of Lana’s (Sarah Paulson) partner, Wendy (Clea DuVall). This is an alarming trend, Mr. Quinto.
