‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse’: Is Kathy Bates’ Character A Robot Now?

Episode 2 of FX’s American Horror Story: Apocalypse ended with quite a revelation, but what did it all mean?

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Episode 2 — titled “The Morning After” — of FX’s American Horror Story: Apocalypse. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed this episode and wish to avoid spoilers.

In the final moments of Episode 2 of FX’s American Horror Story: Apocalypse, we saw Timothy Cambell (Kyle Allen) shoot Ms. Miriam Mead (Kathy Bates) after it was discovered he had had sex with Emily (Ash Santos). In the first episode of Apocalypse, it was established that one of the rules of Ms. Wilhemina Venable’s (Sarah Paulson) fallout shelter was that none of the survivors would engage in fornication. However, in the most recent episode, it was revealed that this was a rule established by Wilhemina herself, and not by the series’ mysterious, authoritative organization, dubbed The Cooperative. Having decided that they would take the risk now that a member of The Cooperative had arrived, Timoty and Emily decided to give in to their primal urges.

However, Ms. Miriram Mead discovered the pair and decided to have them killed immediately.

Timothy responded by opting to eliminate anyone who posed a threat to either himself or Emily. What he didn’t see, though, was Ms. Miriam disappear around the corner to check on her wound, after he had severely injured her.

Nothing is as it seems. #AHSApocalypse pic.twitter.com/UnYVRK8QWW

— AmericanHorrorStory (@AHSFX) September 20, 2018

Needless to say, the audience was shocked when Miriam pulled her hand away from the wound to reveal a strange, custard-like substance, and what appeared to be tubes and machinery inside the woman’s stomach.

So, what does that even mean?

Has FX decided to cash in on HBO’s fame with its sci-fi hit, Westworld? Is Mr. Miriam Mead really a robot or, as one fan put it, the last functioning soft serve ice cream machine left in the post-apocalyptic world?

As TV Guide points out, fans really are confused with this surprising development in Apocalypse‘s second episode. While American Horror Story often has quite convoluted narratives, the story is usually rooted in the paranormal, and not so much in science fiction. Introducing a robot would certainly turn the show on its head in this regard.

Mashable also points out that there had previously been some information given about Kathy Bates’ character in the lead up to the AHS: Apocalypse premiere, none of which suggested that she was anything but human.

“Bates’ character was originally introduced with a very human backstory including details about her father’s military history and a whole lot of sexual tension with Sarah Paulson,” Mashable explains. “Now, presumably, that was all programmed by whoever or whatever controls Bates.”

In addition, Mashable points out that it was not just the audience that was shocked to discover that Kathy Bates’ character was not entirely human. Ms. Miriam seemed as equally surprised when she looked down at the wound. Does that mean that she didn’t know she was a robot?

Unfortunately, FX is not revealing much with regard to this revelation, so viewers will just have to tune into next week’s episode to find out more.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse will return on FX with its third episode — titled “Forbidden Fruit” — on September 26.