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“American Horror Story: 13” reached the end of its high-profile battle between the witches and the devil, with a finale that still packed a few twists and turns.
The long-awaited season, which brought back beloved characters from throughout the history of the FX anthology including all of Jessica Lange’s roles from Seasons 1-4, continued as Satan (Paul Anthony Kelly) and his friends worked to complete a bet with God that would make the devil rule the world through his son Ben (Joey Pollari). It was up to the “Coven” of witches, led by Cordelia Goode (Sarah Paulson) and superintendent Mallory (Billie Lourd), to stop the rise. But the finale, titled “Devil of a Good Time”, made it clear that the only real obstacle all along was the devil himself.
Watch below for the biggest moments from the “AHS: 13” finale.
Change of Plans
When the second episode ended with Mr. Phibes (John Waters) and the Rubber Man killing Cordelia and the Queen, it seemed that all hope of stopping the rise of Satan was lost. The finale opened with a gathering of thugs at the devil’s lighthouse in New York City, where Phibes was gathered as the final sacrifices to seal Earth’s fate.
After giving cookies to the criminals with a spear to kill them, Mr. Phibes was surprised that Satan stopped him. He revealed that he saved one of the men from death – preventing the devil’s human form from fulfilling their promise with only one kill to go. Phibes was frustrated by the turn of events, but the devil assured his servant that he would get what he always wanted in hell before killing him.
The action then moved to hell, where Cordelia suffered through endless displacement at a kill shelter with assistant Nan (Jamie Brewer). Before she asked for another puppy’s life, however, Satan intervened and helped her. She said she would rather spend eternity in misery than bow to the dark lord. Accepting her position, Satan carried them both out of hell and back to New York for a seemingly friendly discussion at a park.
Satan told Cordelia that the idea of winning the bet meant giving up what he loved about his job – being the little voice in people’s minds tempting them to do wrong. After all, it’s no fun being evil if there’s no light to pollute.
“You can keep your precious Earth. I don’t want it anymore,” he said.
Light, dark and childish
Although he had given up his claim on Earth, Satan was pleased to tell Cordelia that he had largely won the game – crediting his latest resurrection to his own kindness. The Supreme refused to repent and promised to find a way to end his life, which he dismissed as a metaphorical murder.
Cordelia was revealed to be Satan’s granddaughter, so he said he would like to see her fight her own devilish nature from afar. He also offered the keys to his lighthouse at the Apollyon, where most of the horror of the season took place. “Call it your slice of the estate,” he said, before warning her to be alert as he could appear at any moment.
Cordelia then reunited with Queenie, who also saved Ben from hell (again). Cordelia shared the unwinnable resolution to the battle, and tried to calm her pupil’s nerves as at least the immediate danger was over. Back at the lighthouse though, Mallory tried time travel in an attempt to stop the devil once and for all – and disappeared before Cordelia could stop her.
Back in New Orleans, Ben and Madison (Emma Roberts) had some time together amid the chaos – before panicking after Ben realized the condom broke. Almost immediately, Madison began to feel great pain and her stomach began to expand: she was pregnant and about to give birth.
The child was rendered unconscious, and Satan appeared and brought her to life. He recommended his son and the witch to bring out the beautiful girl. “This kid has star power,” he said.
Last show (?)
Some time passed, and Cordelia revealed through a letter to Mallory that the Coven expanded into New York with the lighthouse as their home. Twins Fiona (Lange) and Constance (Lange) stayed in New Orleans honing their magic and helping to teach the next generation of witches, while the others helped to unite the powers of light and darkness into a new magical order – allowing new witches to appear all over the world.
“Every day I pray for you to come home,” Paulson wrote to the younger Supreme. Almost like clockwork, Cordelia cast a spell to summon Mallory and she arrived with good news.
She spent her time back in the Salem witch trials, stopping the murders and helping the witches get justice. She also learned of an ancient spell that could stop the devil forever – one that the nobleman Dorian Gray infamously used to transfer his soul into a portrait to keep himself from aging. But the spell required a great sacrifice from an unwilling source.
The witches then called Ben, still glowing from being a new father. They told him that the key to catching his father was that Ben would have to sacrifice himself. They revealed that there had been 12 other Antichrists before him – including some historical figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Hitler and Mussolini, whose bodies had been destroyed and stolen earlier in the season. But as the 13th Antichrist, Ben was the most powerful of them all and his death would seal the fate of his father.
Heartbroken, Ben tried to plead for things to be different but eventually accepted his fate – after Cordelia assured him that Madison would be proud of his decision. Just in time for Satan to reappear asking what his descendants were planning. Almost too easily, Cordelia and Mallory tied him to a couch in the lighthouse’s great hall—the one with the actual version of Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”
Ben stabbed himself with a dull dagger and instantly turned to dust, summoning enough power for the two Supremes to combine and trap the devil’s soul within the monstrous image. They replaced him with Judas in “The Last Supper,” making him remain the 13th guest at the table forever. Mallory then seemed to assume that the coven would have to monitor the picture for the rest of the time now, but Cordelia said that would not be necessary. Evil may just be lost forever.
It’s not that easy. The last moments at the lighthouse show the dust from Ben’s body rising and going into a nearby fireplace. Evil is never gone, after all! The season then ended in hell, where Mr. Phibes reveled in his own personal hell – directing a scene from a smut movie that never gets right.
“I could do this forever,” he says with a laugh as the credits begin to roll. I’ll see you next season, I guess!
“American Horror Story: 13” is now streaming on Hulu.
