by Evan Deane
American
Horror Story is a critically acclaimed anthology series on FX network.
Premiering each year in October since its debut back in 2011, the show is
recognized for its widely-known cast of characters, engrossing plots, dark
themes, and exploration of the supernatural and everyday fears.
The show has
received 136 award nominations, winning 39 of them in total. Award titles
include “Top Ten TV Program”, “Outstanding Directing”, and “Best Actress in
Miniseries/Movie” to name a few.
Up until a few
weeks ago, the general consensus surrounding the four seasons of American
Horror Story was that they are all stand-alone installments, each season
featuring some returning cast members, but playing different characters in a
story unique to each season. However, according to co-creator Ryan Murphy, this
is not the case at all.
The shows latest
installment, subtitled Freak Show,
has done something completely unprecedented. For the first time in the show’s
4-years on the air, a character from a previous season has returned. This would
be none other than Pepper, played by Naomi Grossman, from the shows second
season, Asylum.
Initially
Grossman’s return was thought to be a fan-service of sorts but it turns out to
be much more than that. It was recently announced that actress Lily Rabe with
also be returning to reprise her Asylum
role as Sister Mary Eunice. Being that the events of Freak Show take place just before those of Asylum, fans will surely
get to see much more of Pepper’s and Eunice’s back stories. When asked about
Rabe’s return Murphy had the following to offer.
“There’s definitely a rhyme or a reason and a
connectedness to all of these seasons, but in the same way, they’re standalones,
which is the fun of it. But it is a
puzzle. And Lily coming back and dealing
with Pepper is sort of the first unveiling of that connectedness. She’s so great in that role, Lily. I understood she wanted to go off and do her
own show. But I was thrilled she was
able to come back and give us a couple days and show how Sister Mary Eunice and
Pepper are connected,“ said Murphy.
But it is not
only these two seasons that have intertwining storylines. Murphy dropped a bit
of a bombshell when he revealed that all four seasons of American Horror Story:
Murder House, Asylum, Coven, and Freak Show are in fact connected. In a
recent interview with Murphy, he addressed how exactly each season was related.
“The interesting thing about doing a show like this is every
season is incredibly its own story and its own beginning, middle and end. It is
its own journey, but we have always from the very beginning in the intertwining
mythologies and how things connect. This
is the first year where we begin to tell you that season two is connected to
season four which is connected to season one.
People have started to write articles about that. A lot of their hypotheses have been
completely right on. That’s the fun of
the show. Hopefully by the end of the
run, be it 10 years or 15 years, people will be able to stand back and be able
to say, ‘Oh that was connected to x.’” Murphy explained.
Murphy says that they are just getting started. Clues are
littered within each and every season, hinting at their connections. Now it’s
time to begin explaining how all of the different worlds, characters, and
stories are meticulously pieced together.
Sources:
“List of Awards and Nominations Received by American Horror
Story.” Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Nov. 2014.
Web. 21. Nov. 2014.
“Ryan Murphy Says All Seasons of American Horror Story Are
Connected.” Collider.
N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.
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