American Horror Story: Apocalypse season 8 episode 2 review: The Morning After

This week’s episode is slower paced than last week’s and gives us more questions than answers about Michael Langdon and the apocalypse.

This episode starts off a little less dramatically than last week’s but with more biblical imagery. We see Emily in her room which is suddenly overrun by snakes. Ms. Meade uses the snakes to make a soup, and we are back to the dinner party where they, for some reason, all dress like they are in the 1800s or something. As the group goes to eat, the snakes are suddenly back to life.

The next scene shows Michael Langdon explaining to the group about The Sanctuary and how he will put them all through rounds of questioning to see if they are worthy to be saved. Mr. Gallant offers to go first, and we see Langdon interviewing him. Questions include what his sexual orientation is, and we learn that they need women to be used to create children.

We also learn how much Mr. Gallant hates his grandmother, Evie Gallant, played by Joan Collins. He tells a story about how his grandmother used to host gay brunches where men would show up trying to get a chance to date her grandson. Near the end of the conversation, Mr. Gallant hits on Langdon who then says they need to continue this conversation another time. We also learn in this conversation that Mr. Gallant has a bit of a leather fetish.

We cut to Emily and Timothy who are participating in their “one kiss a week.” Emily wants to run away and try and make it on their own.

We then see Mr. Gallatin on his bed when a latex man, another connection to Murder House, comes into the room, and he assumes it is Michael Langdon there to have sex with him. The two do have sex and Evie Gallant overhears and peaks at them through the door. Gross.

Evie goes to tell Ms. Meade what she saw, and we know that Outpost Three doesn’t allow “unauthorized fornication.”

Langdon confronts Ms. Venable about choosing to institute her own rules, and she challenges him right back. He tells her more about the condition of the world outside, telling a story about a mother begging him to murder her child and put the child out of its misery. Langdon then tells her to take her dress off and how part of the examination includes a physical portion. He says he wants to see the part of her that humiliates her the most. We see that she has a sort of hunchback. She asks if she passed the test, and he tells her no.

Ms. Meade and Ms. Venable speculate that Langdon and Mr. Gallant knew each other and are plotting against them, so they tie Mr. Gallant up and question him, complete with whipping, which Mr. Gallant seems to, um, enjoy.

Langdon comes to talk to Mr. Gallant, and he tells him that he was not the man in the latex suit. He calls him “pathetic” and says “he wouldn’t f*** him if he was the last man on earth.” Langdon also tells him his grandmother reported him.

Mr. Gallant goes to confront his grandmother but nothing major happens in this scene. We go to Emily and Timothy again who start making out. Ms. Meade finds them together after they’ve had sex, and we also see Mr. Gallant about to have sex with the latex man but instead, he stabs him. The latex man then disappears and we see Evie Gallant in his place as Langdon stands in the doorway. This scene was a bit confusing and hard to tell if she was the latex man or what exactly was happening.

Emily and Timothy are about to be killed by Venable and Meade when Timothy takes the gun from one of the bodyguards and shoots Ms. Meade.

No Coven witches yet in this period, and, overall, the pacing was a little slow. A lot of questions still need to be answered and hopefully things start ramping up and piecing together soon.