EveryAmerican Horror Storyfan is aware that, although each season is a new and unique storyline, they all tie together. There is a grander storyline that encapsulates the storylines and characters in each of the seasons, even if they are all very different.
Even now, 11 seasons into the series, it isn’t completely clear just what that greater storyline is. There is still a lot of ambiguity about what the point of all of these different stories being sewed together is, and our only real hints at figuring it out are hidden within the seasons.
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Sometimes these hints comein the form of recurring characters, when familiar characters from past seasons show up in a different season, and create a clear connection between the two worlds. Sometimes the hints are a familiar location that we’ve seen before in a different season. Lastly, sometimes the hints are even more subtle, coming in the forms of objects, dialogue, or names. No matter what form they come in, these hints can sometimes be easy to overlook, but they are important to appreciating the greater story ofAmerican Horror Story.
From its beginning,AHSstood out as a unique serieswith its anthology structure, but it took that a step further by weaving all the seasons together. While in the first few seasons, those connections were much harder to identify, they’ve gotten easier to spot as the show goes on. That said, as clever and layered asAmerican Horror Storyhas proven to be, it can still be difficult to miss things, which requires rewatching or researching.
Season eleven,NYC, having just concluded, has viewers eager for more information. It mostly followed the story of a mysterious plague and a masked killer, called big daddy. However,in classicAHSfashion, it incorporates several true-life stories, folklore, movie references, and pop culture references to draw inspiration from. In this season, that included a nod toA Christmas Caroland plenty of 80s references. Though the impactful season left fans with some questions, it also seems to have offered up some clues.
In particular, this season featured several easter eggs that highlighted the connections between seasons. Every season somehow reflects the shows connecting themes about the darkness among humanity and in the case ofNYC, this is seen through the government’s mistreatment of the LGBTQ+ community and the multiple effects it has.Beyond just reflecting the themein a memorable storyline, the season nods to other seasons and the greater storyline in more than one form.
For one, we get a nod toAHS Asylumthrough the mention of the government experimenting on gay patients, which was certainly a point inAsylum. We also see a connection toAsylumandDouble Feature’salien storyline through Hannah’s dream about giving birth to a baby with tentacles. Also likeDouble Feature, but focused on its vampire storyline, is the emphasis on blood inNYC.
Looking at these points, it’s clear to see thatNYCveers the storyline backtoward the government’s role in the evil among humanity.Asylum, Cult,andApocalypseall touch on how the government doesn’t always work for the benefit of the people.
InNYCthese points in the story often reflect conspiracy theories about the government at the time, but they actually fit quite appropriately, considering that they’re kind of like the horror stories of a nation. This focus on the government coming up so many times can’t be an accident. Along with its frequency,Apocalypse, which seems to be the storyline that’sset the farthest in the future, suggests that the government plays a role in the downfall of humanity.
We also see the appearance of a familiar face in the tarot card reading that Gino gets, as well as a few quick images in other scenes. This familiar character is the angel of death fromAsylum. InAsylum, we learned that the angel of death would be conscious of those who were dying but would only kiss them, and thus take them to the other side, if they were ready. In this season, she is clearly used toforeshadow the fate of those with the virus, though not all of them must face her immediately. The constant use of her character explores humanity’s relationship with death and how that plays into how people behave in life.
Of course, there are other little connecting details that simply serve as familiar surprises within the season. There are also several questions that the season opened but didn’t answer that will probably be fulfilled in later seasons, already revealing what this season’s relevance could be in the future. Based on whatAHSNYCfocused on as its own storyline, along with the elements ofother seasons it combined, it’s evident that the greater story will likely involve death and a corrupt government in some way. The only way to know for sure though, is to keep watching and hunting for clues as the series goes on.
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