American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Episode 3 Recap: "Forbidden Fruit"

This season of American Horror Story is probably really hard to follow if you’re not a superfan of the franchise. If you haven’t been engrossed in the fan theories and don’t know the backstory from previous seasons, you’re likely not going to be nearly as excited as other viewers during pivotal moments. Episode 3 of AHS: Apocalypse, “Forbidden Fruit,” separated the diehards from the rookies. Let me fill you in.

Langdon (Cody Fern) is still taking his duty to select worthy survivors of Outpost 3 very seriously. His interrogation techniques apparently take into account his unique ability to see other people’s innermost demons. Langdon and his perfect red eyeshadow seem to take a liking to the individuals who harbor the most hate in their hearts. And most of the post-apocalyptic survivors of outpost 3 fit the bill, honestly. Dinah (Adina Porter) and her son Andre (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman) are harboring a lot resentment for each other. Mr. Gallant (Evan Peters) already killed his Nana. Emily (Ash Santos) and Timothy (Kyle Allen) have already proven that they are more than willing to repopulate the earth. Coco (Leslie Grossman) is just a horrible person. And there is something more lurking below the surface with Mallory (Billie Lourde), the meek assistant of the heiress CoCo. She has some kind of inexplicable power over both fire and Langdon that shows up in full force when she feels cornered by him. Even when he yells really loud with a terrifying demon face, she is unfazed and instead causes a huge fire burst with just her mind. “Who are you?” Langdon wants to know. And so do I.

But Langdon has his own means of gathering information. He withdraws into a candlelit room and begins cutting himself in a ritual to help him connect with his “father,” who is likely Satan. This makes sense if you support the theory that Langdon is actually the antichrist, born from the copulation of an evil spirit and a human woman in season 1 of AHS: Murder House. Anyway, he laments to his unseen guardian that he thought he killed all of “them” but he’s found one in Outpost 3. He begs for his eyes to be opened, and I guess they are when they suddenly turn pitch black. I still don't know who "them" is, but I do know that this season is pretty horrifying.

Later, Ms. Meade (Kathy Bates) tells her boss Wilhelmina Venable (Sarah Paulson) a really sad story about how traumatic Halloween has been for her over the years. She had a lackluster trick or treating experience in 1962. A few years later a handsy date ruined her screening of Rosemary's Baby. And on Halloween 1988 she killed her abusive boyfriend. But in the present, Ms. Meade is struggling to place many of her memories. However, she does recall a young boy; the only person she’s ever loved, though she can't remember his face. None of it makes much sense but the important takeaways from her story are: 1. We have confirmation that she is indeed a robot, programmed to be extremely loyal. And 2. Venable is convinced that the only way to ensure that the both of them survive and make it to the Sanctuary is to kill everyone else at Outpost 3.

Outside of the underground compound, there is life. Some badly scarred survivors are just chilling on the beach and eating human flesh to sustain themselves. One of those survivors is Brock (Billy Eichner). He’s desperately trying to find the Outpost to seek vengeance on Coco for abandoning him. He’ll stop at nothing, including murder, to get to her. When an unattended horse and carriage, carrying nothing but a chest full of candy red apples moves past him, he gets his chance. Hiding underneath the carriage, Brock kills one of the guards and sneaks right into Outpost 3.

Brock sets off alarms but Ms. Meade and Venable don’t have time to hunt down the intruder because they're too busy concocting their plan to commit mass murder. They use the venom of those mysterious snakes to poison those shiny apples that were delivered. To convince everyone that absolutely nothing fishy is going on, they announce that they are throwing a good old fashioned Halloween party, complete with bobbing for apples as one of the evenings activities. Nope. Not suspicious at all from the folks who fed everyone human flesh a couple of weeks ago.

Nevertheless, the survivors at Outpost 3 get excited anyway and disperse to get ready for the night’s events. Mallory is still trying to process her intense relationship with fire and confides in Mr. Gallant and Coco as they get the latter ready for the party. Neither of them believe that she has any kind of power, but Coco is particularly nasty about it. "Maybe I have a special power where I can make you disappear," she sneers. The heiress is mean, dimwitted, and condescending, which basically ensures that she is going to die soon. Mean girls never survive in the horror movies. Coco is killed by a masked Brock just a few moments into the party. Stabbed right in the forehead. How’s that for karma?

As for the rest of the guests, they're having a jolly ol' time bobbing for apples and they wait for until everyone has had a go at the game before chowing down. At this point I am expecting some sort of intervention. Brock has to come out, guns blazing, having found out about the plans and trying to stop innocent people from being killed. Right? No. The guests get violently ill, foaming at the mouth and vomiting until they all die. Every resident of Outpost 3 is now dead except Venable, Ms. Meade (who isn't even human), and Langdon who refused to participate in the activities. The two women set their sights on him next, wanting to finish the job with no witnesses left behind.

But you can't just walk in and shoot Langdon. He is literally the spawn of Satan and not exactly of this world. Venable gives the command to Ms. Meade, but instead of killing Langdon, her robotic minion shoots her instead. Why? Because Langdon is actually the one in control of Ms. Meade. He had her built in the likeness of someone very close to him and he is the beautiful boy that she struggled to remember. With Venable dying on the floor next to them, the two embrace each other, happy to be reunited.

However, Langdon and Ms. Meade aren't actually the last two standing in Outpost 3. The of the witches from Coven are back! Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), red-headed Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy), and the Supreme herself, Cordelia Goode (Paulson) waltz right into Outpost 3 on a mission: to find their "sisters" and bring them back to life. That's right, there are witches in Outpost 3 and they are: Coco, Mallory, and Dinah. Witches must be the "them" Langdon thought he had gotten rid of and his motive makes sense. The witches want to save the world and he wants to see it rot.

How I would have died in this episode: The apples, duh. I would have been the first one to bite into one of those poisonous fruits after eating vitamin jello shots for over a year. Death would have been a small price to pay for some flavor. And since I never received my letter from Hogwarts, it's safe to say there would have been no revival for me.