How American Horror Story Fans Would Rewrite Apocalypse
"American Horror Story" fans have embraced the FX show's tendency to pack a lot of narrative into a single season, though "Apocalypse" didn't stick the landing for some viewers. The 8th season, a crossover of Season 1 "Murder House" and Season 3 "Coven," combined three seasons worth of characters, storylines, and terrifying twists.
Despite the critical praise and award nominations backing "Apocalypse," some fans wish the season had been more focused. A thread on the show's subreddit posted by u/OedipusCapulet asked fans how they would rewrite any season of the horror anthology, and unsurprisingly, the divisive hybrid season was a recurring answer among fans.
"Asylum," "Freak Show," "Cult," "Roanoke," and "1984" were also constructively criticized in the thread, while "Murder House," "Coven," and "Hotel" went unscathed. "Apocalypse" took the most heat, receiving lengthy revisions from fans. However, "AHS" devotees were thoughtful in their responses and showed how much the series meant to them.
So, how would fans rewrite "Apocalypse" if they had the chance?
Angels in the Outpost
Witches, beware! Most fans who answered u/OedipusCapulet's question with "Apocalypse" suggested severing the heavy "Coven" ties. Instead, they wanted to see Mallory (Billie Lourd) as an Angel rather than the next Supreme. Redditor u/TheLokiDokiOG said they'd flesh out Mallory's character more and "make it clear that God sent her as a counter to the antichrist." Additionally, they suggested that the Angel of Death from "Asylum" appear as Michael Langdon (Cody Fern), the Anti-Christ, is defeated. Fans agreed that would've worked better, with u/telekineticeleven011 saying, "It doesn't even make sense for a witch to stop the Anti-Christ lol."
Other popular fan rewrite suggestions included spending more time with the apocalyptic theme and forgoing the time travel altogether. As u/AMT878 wrote, "I also would have preferred them to stay in the outpost a bit longer while the witches figured out how to navigate the apocalyptic landscape." Replying to another user, they agreed that the isolation of the Outpost could've been like "an ode to 'The Shining' with confinement and supernatural occurrences."
Connecting the Outpost 3 survivors to the Antichrist, u/Scream_Aircoaster suggested adding more episodes so those characters were more significant to the plot. They'd still include Zoe (Taissa Farmiga), Coco (Leslie Grossman), and Mallory, but "the witches would not be the focus on the season." The Redditor devised an idea to have Mallory's power be ever-present, allowing the season to span "different years and events leading up to the apocalypse ... weaving together more elusively the 'who, what, where, when and why.'"
If producer Ryan Murphy ever runs out of ideas for "American Horror Story," fans on the series' subreddit would be more than willing to help him out.