Now that we're in the thick of the summer TV season, it's the proper time to start compiling AHS theories, with the star-studded American Horror Story: Double Feature set to premiere on August 25, following the first season of the all-new anthology spinoff American Horror Stories. Thankfully, co-creator Ryan Murphy has already given the fandom somewhat ample fuel to set the rumor mills ablaze, and it looks like Season 10 could hopefully shed blinding light on some long unanswered questions regarding American Horror Story: Asylum.
For an idea of what that American Horror Story: Double Feature fuel could be, look no further than Ryan Murphy's Twitter feed and the post below.
While my fascination and curiosity are both stoked by that mysterious black pill, it's probably more important to point out that the pill is surrounded by a vampire creature and an alien who are destined for makeout central, as disturbing a thought as that can be. While AHS hasn't yet told a full-on vampire tale yet, fans definitely remember the alien sub-plot threaded into Evan Peters and Britne Oldford's shared storyline as Kit and Alma Walker in American Horror Story: Asylum. So let's go over some of the questions that I am extremely hopeful the FX series will tackle in the new season.
Will The Aliens Return For Julia And Thomas?
Fans will remember that two children were alive and well at the end of American Horror Story: Asylum in the form of Kit and Chloe's son Thomas, as well as Kit and Alma's daughter Julia. At the tail end of the series, it was revealed by Sarah Paulson's Lana Winters that Julia grew up to be a respected neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins, and that Thomas went on to become a Harvard Law professor. The implication there was that both children received "gifts," so to speak, from the aliens that gave them certain abilities others did not have, largely on the mental side.
But considering the Asylum extraterrestrials were the kind that made it a priority to check back in with former...victims?...and that Grace seemed pretty set on the idea that the aliens would return for Julia and Thomas, much to Alma's chagrin and horror, it's legitimately worth asking whether or not American Horror Story: Double Feature will find a way to factor Julia and Thomas' stories into one or both of its pair of tales. It's not as if the entire season has to be about those two characters, as they can show up in the background or via supplemental information.
Will We Learn What The Aliens From American Horror Story: Asylum Actually Wanted?
Now we arrive at the overall topic of questioning that viewers were likely disappointed to find out American Horror Story: Asylum wouldn't be answering: what were the extraterrestrials actually doing? Clearly their purpose wasn't to deliver mass destruction, or else there would have been at least a single example of mass destruction across the season's 13 episodes. Instead, they did appear to be more benevolent to humanity, having saved both Grace and Alma from harsh fates, although again, it's unclear to what ends their help extended.
To be fair, Ryan Murphy and executive producer Tim Minear gave the outside-the-narrative explanation that the aliens were meant to represent something godlike within Briarcliff Manor to oppose James Cromwell's Dr. Arden and all of the more evil influences within American Horror Story: Asylum. But I'm looking for American Horror Story: Double Feature to offer up an official in-story justification for why the extraterrestrials did what they did in Season 2, and what it means for the rest of the AHS franchise at large. If everything is connected in some way, Kit, Alma, Chloe and Pepper can't be the only people in the whole world that were affected, right?
What Happened To Evan Peters' Kit?
Technically, the finale episode "Madness Ends" did give viewers an official ending to Kit Walker's story. As we learned from Lana and her visits, Kit was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at some point in the years after Jessica Lange's Sister Jude died of a brain tumor. But nobody actually saw him die, because he went missing, with the show heavily implying that the aliens returned and swooped him back up before he passed away. Why, though?
Were fans meant to believe that the aliens would make some magic happen that would cure Kit's cancer and allow him to continue living out a happy and healthy life? Or, alternately, was there something more menacing happening when Kit was re-abducted? Perhaps he outlived his usefulness to his extraterrestrial brethren, and they killed him off themselves, though that's not the most convincing outcome. Personally, I like to think they fixed up his health and then dropped him onto a beach with lots of non-abductees to mingle with. But he probably just became the next Bloody Face or some other less jubilant outcome.
While alien-based exposition may not happen right away in the season premiere, here's hoping answers are imminent when American Horror Story: Double Feature makes its debut on FX on Wednesday, August 25. There's lots of other top-notch 2021 Summer TV to come, though, so don't sleep on all the good shows!
