American Horror Story: Forbidden Fruit

"Forbidden Fruit" is the third episode of season eight of the anthology series American Horror Story and the eighty-seventh episode of the series overall. It was directed by Loni Peristere with a teleplay written by Manny Coto. It first aired on the FX Network on Wednesday, September 26th, 2018 at 10:00 pm.

Appearances




















Allusions

 * The title of this episode is a reference to a story from the Book of Genesis from the Holy Bible. In the story, God warned Adam and Eve not to partake of the apples from a tree, for this was "forbidden fruit". Eve got her druthers up however, and sampled the apple, and its all been downhill for humanity ever since. Hungry bitch.


 * The three women that appear at the end of the episode are Cordelia Goode, Myrtle Snow, and Madison Montgomery. All three of them are witches from Louisiana, who were main characters in the season three storyline, "Coven". Both Myrtle and Madison died during that storyline. As of this episode, no explanation is provided as to how they are alive again, though Cordelia does demonstrate the ability to resurrect the recently departed.


 * In flashback, the human Miriam Mead goes to see the film Rosemary's Baby. Rosemary's Baby is an American feature film of the occult and supernatural thriller genres. It is based on the novel of the same name written by author Ira Levin and published by Random House in hardcover edition in March, 1967. The film was written and directed by Roman Polanski and produced by William Castle Productions.


 * Michael Langdon intones the phrase "Ave Satanas". This is Latin for Hail Satan, who in this case, is Michael's actual father. This is confirmed in "Return to Murder House", where the phrase is used yet again.


 * The Halloween costume that Miriam Mead wears in the 1962 flashback is Rosie, who is a robot featured on the animated series The Jetsons by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Ironically, the character would be re-imagined as a robot many years later.

Body Count
The following body count is listed in alphabetical order, not chronological order, though most people who die in this episode are killed at the exact same moment.


 * 1) Andre Stevens - Consumed a poisoned piece of apple.
 * 2) Assassin - Strangled by Miriam Mead with cord in 1988 flashback.
 * 3) Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt - Stabbed in the head by Brock.
 * 4) Dinah Stevens - Consumed a poisoned piece of apple.
 * 5) Emily - Consumed a poisoned piece of apple.
 * 6) Fist, The - Stabbed in the neck by Brock.
 * 7) Horn, The - Killed by Brock.
 * 8) Mallory - Consumed a poisoned piece of apple.
 * 9) Mister Gallant - Consumed a poisoned piece of apple.
 * 10) One-Eye - Killed by Brock.
 * 11) Timothy Campbell - Consumed a poisoned piece of apple.
 * 12) Wilhelmina Venable - Shot in the chest by Miriam Mead.

Timelines

 * The main storyline takes place in the month of October in the year 2021. The month was previously established on Michael Langdon's computer in "The Morning After".


 * The first flashback scene with 9-year-old Miriam Mead takes place in October, 1962.


 * The second flashback with 15-year-old Miriam Mead takes place in the Summer of 1968. It might take place in June of that year, which is when Rosemary's Baby was released.


 * The third Miriam Mead flashback, wherein she is an agent of Mossad, takes place in 1988.

Quotes

 * Madison Montgomery: Surprise bitch, I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me!