The minute that “Vanishing Twin” opened with a flashback to England in 1555, I just knew that this episode was going to be iconic. From “Murder House” to “Coven” to “Hotel,” All AHS fans know that any good season of the show includes various flashbacks to connecting events.
I knew that I was correct the minute that AHS veterans and fan favorites, Billie Lourd and Leslie Grossman, appeared on screen as a haunting, demonic duo. I felt like I was back in the world of old AHS (the seasons of Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Jessica Lange). If you think I’m exaggerating, my notes from this scene just say “OMG QUEENNNN LESLIE AND BILLIE.”
Now that my shock has been discussed, let’s get into the meat of the episode.
Lourd and Grossman are dressed in black garb similar to the women on the beach from Episode 3. They take the baby of Queen Elizabeth in exchange for a guarantee that she’ll be one of the most prolific leaders of England. The catch is, that the baby is also a child of Satan (we see his black taloned nails and red hands — quite similar to the covers of “AHS: Apocalypse”).
After this eerie flashback, we cut back to Anna (Emma Roberts) in the present day. Convinced that she’s pregnant and didn’t actually experience a miscarriage, she returns to the doctor to have an ultrasound. Both the doctor and Anna’s husband, Dex (Matt Czuchry) are shocked that there’s a baby still detected. The doctor (Denis O’Hare) thinks that perhaps Anna was originally carrying twins, and one of them ended up overtaking the other, which is why it’s now detectable (hence the episode title “Vanishing Twin”). If that’s the case, then that’s also suspicious and a little demonic.
There’s a lot of suspicious activity in this episode coming from Dex and his mother, who claims she was forced into occult activities in her youth. I’m unsure of her significance at the moment, but like Naomi in Episode 3, I’m thrown off by her presence.
In this episode, we also meet crisis PR experts, Ashley (Billie Lourd) and Ashleigh (Leslie Grossman). They’ve returned! They’re immortal, obviously. Ashley and Ashleigh collectively clean up Anna’s reputation after her award show meltdown in Episode 2. To do so, they make a video that covers the idea of “my body, my choice” in various ways. This video secures Anna an Oscar nomination, putting her back on track for her goals of success, flourishing stardom and motherhood.
It almost seems too good to be true.
We aren’t told anything explicitly, but I think that Anna is intrinsically making the same deal that Queen Elizabeth did back in 1555 — why else would the flashback be necessary, and why would Ashley and Ashleigh be important otherwise?
“Vanishing Twin” was incredibly redeeming for me, and I’m on the edge of my seat (literally) as I think about tonight’s episode.
