{"id":1236709801,"date":"2026-09-25T07:27:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/?p=1236709801"},"modified":"2026-09-25T07:27:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:27:53","slug":"american-horror-story-season-13-connects-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-features\/american-horror-story-season-13-connects-explained-1236709801\/","title":{"rendered":"‘American Horror Story’ Is Back With 13: Here’s How All the Seasons Connect (So Far)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the first three episodes of American Horror Story <\/em>season 13<\/strong>, “13,” 1:13 AM” and “Rauhnacht.”]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tAs Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) says, \u201cSurprise, bitch!\u201d American Horror Story<\/em> is officially back for its 13th season<\/a> \u2014 and so are many of the franchise\u2019s most memorable characters, with a plethora of superstitions to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThursday night debuted the first three episodes of the highly anticipated season 13, introducing new character Ben (Joey Pollari) as the audience\u2019s entry point to this twisted, crossover story. Ben fittingly has triskaidekaphobia, a fear of the number 13, though he can\u2019t seem to escape it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tDespite his debilitating triskaidekaphobia, his greater fear is that his relationship with his Taylor Swift-superfan girlfriend, Kira (Madelaine Petsch), will crumble if he doesn\u2019t attend her birthday trip on the 13th with 13 of her best friends. He ends up taking the flight, but the plane crashes, killing Kira and 12 of her friends. Ben survives, as does another passenger who was sitting in 13B. Ben was sitting in 13F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe crash is the first indication that the number 13 is more than just a superstition in the new season. As the first three episodes unfold, the number keeps appearing in increasingly sinister ways \u2014 ultimately helping connect the season\u2019s seemingly disparate characters and storylines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tBefore getting to what appears to be the main setting of the season \u2014 an apartment building called the Apollyon in New York City \u2014 the episode flashes to Miss Robichaux\u2019s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, where Supreme Cordelia (Sarah Paulson) and Madison of season three\u2019s Coven<\/em> are helping newbie Ophelia (Avantika) work on her telepathy. This is where Madison makes her iconic grand entrance: \u201cSurprise, bitch! This witch approves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tA storm is happening, however, hinting that we\u2019re in the same timeline as the plane crash. Cordelia senses something sinister approaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cSo much vengeful death,\u201d she says. \u201cSomething wicked this way comes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tWith so many stars returning for the 13th installment and reprising their roles, Ryan Murphy had clarified to The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a> ahead of its release that this season is not a sequel; instead, \u201cIt\u2019s a different story with characters that you love returning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cThey\u2019re fighting a very big villain,\u201d he said of the returning stars. \u201cThere has to be something big enough that even the ones who were villains before are now heroes \u2014 they\u2019re united against a force that we\u2019ve touched on in other seasons, but not in the way we are doing this season. There\u2019s a big villain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThat villain remains a mystery after the first three episodes, but the story increasingly points toward the mysterious Mr. Nas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\tFedor Steer as Mr. Nas.<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEric Liebowitz\/FX<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/figcaption>\n\n\t\t\t\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\tA month following the plane crash, Ben arrives at the Apollyon and meets the one-and-only Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange), who lives on the 13th floor and is apparently no longer tethered to the infamous Murder House from season one. She introduces Ben to Nas, played by Fedor Steer, who portrays the character in his older years. Paul Anthony Kelly plays Young Nas. Constance says Nas is 87, and Ben becomes his caregiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tPollari told THR<\/em> that Lange took him under her wing, as he\u2019s a newcomer this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cWe are close off screen as well, and the scenes that we have together really developed a bond,\u201d he said at the show’s New York premiere<\/a>. \u201cI learned a lot from her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tDuring the time of the plane crash, Nas is shown coughing up a strange black substance at the same time. Could Nas be the ultimate villain Murphy is referring to?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe connection only becomes more suspicious in the second episode. After Ben discovers a series of strange references to the number 13 throughout Nas\u2019 penthouse, including 13 figures in a depiction of The Last Supper<\/em>, the episode cuts to Los Angeles, where Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch), the serial killer clown from season four\u2019s Freak Show<\/em>, arrives at a clown school and proceeds to massacre 13 people at the school, including the teacher played by Tig Notaro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tBack at the Apollyon, Nas vomits the same black, viscous substance again. The episode therefore appears to establish a connection between Nas and the deaths, though exactly what that connection is remains unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tBen also continues to question why Constance is caring for Nas. She reveals that all of her children are \u201calive and thriving,\u201d which leads to one of the season\u2019s biggest surprises: the return of her daughter Adelaide (Jamie Brewer), who is back \u201cin this mortal coil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe reunion becomes even stranger when Constance prepares for a dark holiday celebration, with Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) from Cult<\/em> helping decorate a black Christmas tree topped with a pentagram. Constance\u2019s son, Tate Langdon (also Peters), is there as well, with Peters playing both characters<\/a> in the same scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\tJoey Pollari as Ben, Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon. <\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEric Liebowitz\/FX<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/figcaption>\n\n\t\t\t\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe gathering then grows into a supernatural AHS<\/em> reunion in the third episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tWinter Anderson (Billie Lourd) from Cult<\/em> arrives with a masked friend who is revealed to be Elizabeth Short, aka the Black Dahlia (Mena Suvari), from Murder House<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tLourd \u2014 who first joined the Murphy-verse in 2015 for Scream Queens,<\/em> which she hopes is revived<\/a> \u2014 appeared in season seven\u2019s Cult<\/em> alongside Peters\u2019 Kai. Of reuniting with the star, she told THR,<\/em> \u201cEvan is my brother from another mother. I love that man so much. We have so much fun together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tFor the dark holiday scene, Lourd said she watched Peters put on his Rubber Man suit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cI did feel bad for him, having to be in that latex suit though. I watched him get lubed up and into it one day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tDuring the reunion, Constance tells Elizabeth that she will become one of \u201c13 lucky leading ladies,\u201d adding yet another ominous reference to the number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tOf season 13 bringing everyone together, Suvari told THR,<\/em> \u201cIt\u2019s really for all of the fans that have been so loving about this show along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tBut the gathering has a larger purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe holiday is Rauhnacht, a period when the veil between Hell and Earth is at its thinnest. After Constance\u2019s party, Winter, Kai, Tate and Adelaide take Elizabeth to a speakeasy called Club Hell. When they reach the basement of the Apollyon, Wilhemina Venable (Sarah Paulson) from season eight\u2019s Apocalypse<\/em> meets them, marking Paulson’s second character entrance, and welcomes them to what she calls a portal to Hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe episode ends before revealing exactly what Constance and the others have planned for Elizabeth, though the references to sacrifices and the group\u2019s plans for the 13 \u201cleading ladies\u201d suggest that she is being prepared for some kind of ritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThat leaves the first three episodes with a much larger mystery than simply why so many familiar faces have returned. The season appears to be building toward a supernatural conflict that connects the worlds \u2014 and timelines \u2014 of several previous American Horror Story<\/em> installments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\tEvan Peters as Kai Anderson.<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEric Liebowitz\/FX<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/figcaption>\n\n\t\t\t\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\tAs audiences wait for more episodes to drop weekly, Leslie Grossman, another regular in Murphy shows who is set to reprise Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt from Apocalypse,<\/em> explained how the seasons connect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cIt is one big universe, but there\u2019s many different timelines, and we have taken great care to make sure that all of the timelines intersect in a way that makes sense and is very satisfying for the fanbase,\u201d she told THR.<\/em> \u201cSo remember, all one universe, different timelines and they\u2019re going to intersect in ways that are surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tShe added, \u201cI have to tell you, I read scripts and I was like, \u2018No way! I had no idea that was going to happen.\u2019 There are many Easter eggs and a lot of good payoff if you\u2019ve been a fan of the show, but you can also have not watched it before, and I think you\u2019re going to still enjoy this season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tAfter three episodes, big questions remain: Who exactly is Nas? Why does he seem connected to the deaths surrounding the number 13? Why has Constance brought these particular characters back together? And what exactly is waiting beneath the Apollyon? Oh, and is Ben really alive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t*** <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tNew episodes of <\/em>AHS: 13 premiere Thursdays on FX. Read <\/em>all of <\/em>THR’s coverage here<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Co-creator Ryan Murphy and castmembers spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the returning characters and how they fit into the season, which launched its lucky 13th year with a three-episode premiere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1223679,"featured_media":1236709908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"override_post_title":"","override_post_excerpt":"","authors":[],"contributors":[],"styled_by":[],"_image_credit":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","pmc_selected_wwd_video_media":"","pmc_top_video_source":"","pmc_top_video_duration":"","wwd_top_video_source":"","wwd_top_video_duration":"","pmc_selected_featured_media":"","pmc_selected_video_media":"","pmc_selected_variety_video_media":"","variety_top_video_source":"","variety_top_video_duration":"","pmc_featured_media_has_alt_text":true,"_pmc_featured_animated_media_id":0,"_pmc_featured_video_override_data":"","_pmc_featured_video_override_url":"","_pmc_featured_video_response_data":"","pmc-gallery-linked-gallery":{},"pmc_list_item_description":"","primary_category":"","primary_vertical":"","_mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"","_pmc_opengraph_title":"","_pmc_opengraph_description":"","categories":65854,"subcategories":65856,"thr-review-summary-credits":"","thr-full-credit":"","thr-review-mpaa-rating":"","thr-review-running-time":"","_synopsis":"","_air_date":"00-00-00","pmc-imdb-id":"","pmc-review-type":"","pmc-review-rating":"","pmc-review-rating-out-of":"","pmc-review-snippet":"","pmc-review-title":"","pmc-review-canonical-link":"","pmc-theatrical-release-date":0,"pmc-director":"","pmc-review-image_attachment_id":0,"thr_post_headlines":"Co-creator Ryan Murphy and castmembers spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the returning characters and how they fit into the season, which launched its lucky 13th year with a three-episode premiere.","_variety-sub-heading":"","mt_seo_title":"American Horror Story Season 13 Explained: How It All Connects","mt_seo_description":"After AHS: 13's three season premiere, Ryan Murphy and the cast explain how returning characters start to connect to previous 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