Viewers were a bit let down by the death of Michael in American Horror Story: Apocalypse. Many didn't consider his demise all that meaningful, considering how much build up he received beforehand. Despite that initial reaction, the moment was apparently part of a huge callback to the first season of the series, Murder House.
If you look a little closer, as Reddit user SwimminAlicia did, you will notice something. They point out that Michael's death in Apocalypse parallels Adelaide's in Murder House.
In Apocalypse, Mallory hits Michael with her car, putting him on death's door and setting off an intense final encounter between Michael and Constance.
In Murder House, Constance's daughter Adelaide is killed in a hit-and-run accident on Halloween. Adelaide and Michael do not just share their cause of death in common. Their bodies also end up in very similar positions after each accident. Here's a reminder of how Adelaide looked after her hit-and-run:
How Constance reacted to each American Horror Story death, however, was entirely different. After Michael was hit, he begged for Constance to take him into the Murder House. That way he could live on as a ghost. While she seemed to consider it, Constance ultimately denied his pleas to be taken there. Thus, allowing him to die. Before she leaves his side, she tells him where he can go -- to Hell.
When Adelaide was struck, Constance had a very different reaction. She attempted to bring her daughter onto the property of the Murder House, so that she would be a ghost there. Constance's efforts failed, though, and a dying Adelaide was saved from having her spirit trapped in the home.
Like Constance, Adelaide and Michael had entirely different takes on wanting to be taken to the Murder House. As mentioned above, it was quickly clear that Michael wanted to be brought there before he died. Meanwhile, Adelaide's feelings about her mother's attempts to bind her to the Murder House came out after the fact.
When Constance used medium Billie Dean to contact her late daughter, viewers learned how Adelaide felt about her mother's attempt. In the episode, Adelaide shared that she was happy her mother had failed to drag her to the Murder House in time, and shared that she did not wish to be trapped there.
It's unlikely that these parallel deaths were a coincidence. Aside from how each character died, and the position they were left in after their accidents, the characters both played important parts in Constance's life. Also, American Horror Story, with all it's connected seasons and characters, rarely does anything haphazardly, and the parallel scenes are quite blatant, so it is hard to imagine the similarities are accidental.
Not only do you have the two deaths mirroring each other, you also have Constance's reactions to both of them. While she attempted something out of emotional desperation for Adelaide, she made a calculated choice regarding Michael. But, in the end, she lost both of them.
American Horror Story will return for more seasons on FX. While you anticipate the next installment of the series, tons of new shows await. New episodes of other shows will be airing this fall and throughout the midseason, so be sure to keep your viewing schedule up to date.
