Diksha Sundriyal
The mystery of Mr. Nas and his connection to Ben deepens with three more episodes of FX’s ‘American Horror Story: 13.’ The third episode ended with Ben being drugged up by Constance after he accidentally crashed her soiree. She leaves him in a room in Mr. Nas’ lavish apartments, instructing Tate that this one should be left alive. Meanwhile, everyone else goes to the Apollyon’s basement, which is revealed to be the portal to hell. The fourth episode begins in Club Hell, where Elsa Mars returns from ‘Freak Show.’ After singing “Is That All There Is?” she has to initiate the ceremony with thirteen women resurrected from the dead as a gift to Mr. Nas, who is confirmed to be Satan. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Mr. Nas Accepts the Sacrifices in Club Hell
While the ceremony commences in Club Hell, Ben walks around the apartment in a stupor until he finds Mr. Nas by the window, drinking blood from a chalice. While he is horrified, he cannot run away because he is levitated toward the old man, who suddenly turns into a young man (Paul Anthony Kelly) and feeds him the black liquid from the chalice, telling him not to resist. Meanwhile, Elsa introduces the line of women from history who were killed before they could reach their full potential. They are Hypodermic Sally, Eva Braun, Wallis Simpson, Ayn Rand, Brigitte Bardot, Catherine the Great, Mamie Eisenhower, Elena Ceaușescu, Jezebel, Tuberculous Karen, Margaret Thatcher, and a shocked and scared Elizabeth Short.
All of them are thrown into the pit of fire one by one, with Tate briefly taking over to talk about love, while Mr. Nas watches from the pulpit. A problem arises when they realize they only have 12 women, even though there should have been 13. As Elsa walks away, calling it the worst gig ever, Wilhemina jumps into the fire, sacrificing herself for Satan, and completing the ceremony. At the same time, Ben wakes up to find Constance and Phibes in front of him. She blames her potent eggnog for his hallucinations and advises him to rest. They spend the rest of the episode talking about the significance of the number 13, from Judas being the 13th guest to 12 being the perfect number, a claim disputed by its followers.
Phibes also notes that before the 13 sacrifices, they had tried sacrificing two or three people at a time, but it didn’t work. Then someone suggested Mr. Nas’ favorite number, 13, and sure enough, the sacrifices started working, significantly increasing his biomarkers, which have now reached 96 after Club Hell. Now, it’s just a flicker away from 100. One more sacrifice, and Satan will rise. Speaking of Satan, Phibes and Constance also share how they both came to make a deal with the devil. Phibes did it so he could have the chance to fulfill his dream of making a biker movie, somewhere along the lines of becoming the next Kenneth Anger. But while Satan came to an old, gnarly figure, he took a beautiful, younger form when he called upon Constance.
Ben Reunites With a Fellow Plane Crash Survivor
Satan asked for Constance’s help with the sacrifices and with coming back to take over the world. In return, she got Tate and Addy back so she could be a mother again and do it right this time. They also mention a detail about how Satan let his son drink from the chalice the night before! Interestingly, this is not the only connection to come up between Satan and Ben. In the fifth episode, Ben prepares to meet Ashley while the news of a grave-robber stealing the bodies of infamous historical figures plays on the TV. Ben and Ashley were among the few survivors of the plane crash that killed his girlfriend, Kira, and 12 of her other friends. The duo shares their experience of having survivor’s guilt and experiencing trouble sleeping.
Ashley advises Ben to talk about it with someone, and he reveals he is going to talk with a teletherapist soon. In describing her experience on the flight, Ashley reveals that she had been on Xanax at the time. According to her doctor, it was the pill that allowed her body to remain limp, so when she fell from the sky, the crash didn’t impact her the way it did the others. In a way, the pill saved her life, allowing her to walk away from certain death with a few skin grafts on her body. She also appreciates that Ben reached out to the victims’ families. She was comatose at the time, which is why she couldn’t attend Kira’s funeral either. From what she heard, there were barely ten people there, which showed how unloved Kira was.
Ashley doesn’t hold back in her disdain for her former friend, even going as far as to say that she’s relieved, if not glad, that Kira is dead. Her words shock Ben, who remembers Kira as a force. Yes, she had her flaws, but surely she wasn’t as bad as Ashley remembers her! Seeing that Ben is getting a bit unnerved with her hatred for Kira, Ashley chalks it up to the alcohol, deciding not to have it anymore. They sit down to watch a movie, but seeing ‘Ocean’s 13’ on the TV triggers Ben. When he says he has triskaidekaphobia, Ashley reveals she has too. This is why she was on Xanax when the plane crashed. It turns out that during the COVID pandemic, a wedding celebration that was attended in person by 14 people, with the rest joining via video call, went awry.
Ben Reveals His Tragic Backstory
Ashley and her family was attacked by Piggy Man, last seen in ‘Roanoke,’ who killed 13 of them, with her being the only survivor because she managed to run away. In return, Ben tells her his origin story. He doesn’t remember much about his childhood, though he knows he was born on Friday the 13th. His mother died in childbirth, and he was basically raised by a group of people belonging to the same church who worshipped him. One day, an injured woman walked into their yard during a party,y and her father died in a car crash while taking her to the hospital. With both his parents dead, he was sent into foster care. He was passed on through six sets of parents before he landed with Martha, who struly truly seemed to care about him.
But then, on his 13th birthday, she died of cancer. It wasn’t until he met Kira that he felt like he had a home. Ashley consoles him, and they end up sleeping together. The next morning, when Ben comes out of the shower, Kira notices he has “616” branded on his lower back, which is news to him! Taking a break from Ben and the Apollyon, the sixth episode takes us to Miss Robichaux’s Academy. It turns out Morwenna has developed strong resurgence magic. This is concerning for Cordelia because three girls showing once-in-a-generation powers in the course of one moon means they are being prepared for something drastic. The problem is that she doesn’t have the sight to see what’s coming for them.
The Witches Face the Cortez Devils
Cordelia wonders if her mother, Fiona, could help them with this. They decide to reach out to her using an ouija board. When the glass moves and confirms the spirit (whose thought?) is “here,” Cordelia tells everyone to leave her alone to talk to her mother. The problem is that when the door opens, it is not Fiona. Earlier in the episode, Jeffrey Dahmer is picked up by James Patrick March, who cannot help but marvel at the leaps technology has made. They are in a self-driving car, while Dahmer can just go on Tinder or Grindr to trap new victims now. There is also a chat group of other serial killers, who are informed about the plans for the night, i.e., witch hunting.
So, when the door opens, Cordelia finds herself face-to-face with March. He threatens her with a sickle, which she throws at his head. He doesn’t die, but pulls the sickle out of his head as the wound immediately heals and prepares to attack again. In between this, Ophelia arrives, and while Cordelia asks her to run and hide, March, who is stuck to the ceiling, calls in Dahmer, joined by the Zodiac and the Night Stalker. The latter catches Ophelia, but Cordelia attacks him.
This split second of distraction is enough for March to kill her by throwing the sickle, which lodges itself at the back of her head. With the Supreme gone, the other 12 witches are ripe for picking as March declares, “The Cortez Devils are dining out tonight!” Clearly, this is supposed to be the final sacrifice that gets Mr. Nas’ blood markers up to a full 100. However, it wouldn’t be so easy to kill the witches, especially when they can be brought back to life. Hopefully, this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Cordelia. And one must also remember that she never got to talk to her mother, which means Fiona will likely show up in the next episode.
Read More: Which Previous Seasons is AHS 13 Connected To? Which Seasons to Watch Before Watching AHS 13?
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