‘American Horror Story: Delicate’: What to Remember Before Part 2
After a hiatus due to the writers’ strike, American Horror Story: Delicate is returning to FX and Hulu on April 3. Since the series premiered in September, we figured audiences could use a refresh on Ryan Murphy’s latest horror story.
For those who may not remember or are just tuning in, the first part of the season follows Anna Victoria Scott, played by Emma Roberts, as an actor struggling with fertility issues. Kim Kardashian stars alongside her as Siobhan Corbyn, her ride-or-die publicist along with Matt Czuchry as her loving husband Dexter, also known as Dex. From Mary Tudor lore to dead raccoons in baby’s clothes, here’s a recap of everything you need to know going into the final four episodes of AHS: Delicate.
1. Anna is still gunning for the Oscar
At the height of her career, Anna works with Siobhan to garner awards buzz for her latest movie. Namely, their eyes are on one prize: the coveted Oscar. Multiple times, Siobhan has reminded Anna that she needs to be willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Classic Hollywood, nothing much to see here.
Last we left Anna, she had received the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress (though she did throw up on stage during the acceptance), but she lost out on the Golden Globe to her industry nemesis Babette, causing her to throw up again. However, this time she throws up mysterious bloody pieces of something – possibly tacks? Her big loss (and bloody throwup) was only the beginning of her bad night as she awoke the following morning to a waking nightmare: Babette was decapitated in a car crash.
2. Anna’s baby is not well
After going through multiple rounds of IVF where nothing seems to stick, Anna agreed to take mysterious vials of red liquid “vitamins” that Siobhan swears by. They worked as the actress finally got pregnant, but not without its caveats like losing her hair and seeing some seriously scary sightings – from an intruder in her house to an unidentified nurse. Anna has also been seeing strange dolls that resemble her likeness left in her vicinity whether on a beach or in her bathroom. Throw in her visions of mysterious figures in goat costumes, and it seems pretty clear that Anna is slowly losing her mind.
Anna’s grip on reality is clearly lost near the end of Part 1 when you see her not only eating a dead raccoon but dressing it up in baby clothes as well. Not to mention the fact her pregnancy was announced a miscarriage after an unsettling and intrusive visit to the gynecologist but after Anna claimed to feel movement in her belly was confirmed to be perfectly healthy days later. Between the mysteriously revived miscarriage and the dead raccoon, it’s clear Anna needs some serious help – something that no one in her life seems willing to offer.
3. Dex’s father was a Satanist
On the marriage side of things, Dex is slowly losing his patience for Anna’s seemingly insane antics. As she shares more about the strange things she’s seeing and experiencing, he starts to believe her less and less. It doesn’t help that one of the new artists Dex is working with looks eerily similar to his late wife, leaving Anna feeling crazy and jealous – a dangerous combination for an already rocky marriage.
Could Dex also be using Anna for his own gain? The question really becomes a reality when his mother reveals their grim satanic past, his father having abusively performed satanic rituals on his mother while she was pregnant. While Dex refuses to believe this important woman in his life (what’s new?), the receipts are there: Dex’s ties to evil may be even closer to him than we realized.
4. Mary Tudor gave birth to a monster
There’s a baby cult running amok, and to be clear: This is not a cult of babies but a cult of women who are impregnating themselves with Satan’s babies. At the head of the cult is the famously childless Mary Tudor who was revealed in Episode 4 to have agreed to give birth to a royal baby Satan in exchange for a fruitful reign.
Satan’s she-devils are present as well, the ones that Anna has been seeing around all season, to see the birth through. The baby has claws and is called a monster by her sister Elizabeth, which causes the Satanists to curse her to be barren. It’s a bit of a history lesson, but the point is clear: Satan’s babies have been bred since 1555. Who’s to say it can’t happen again?
5. Siobhan might be this season’s villain
Siobhan seems to have a few tricks up her sleeve, from sleeping with the director of Anna’s film to secretly representing Anna’s industry nemesis, Babette. But dang does she want Anna to win this Oscar. Siobhan has had her hand in nearly every aspect of Anna’s life thus far, from her “vitamins” to her safe home.
Not to mention, Siobhan made the cringiest but hugely successful advertisement so that Anna could reclaim her throw-up mishap on the Gotham Awards stage. However, the most alarming sign of all came at the end of Part 1: Shortly following the reveal that Babette had been decapitated, the cameras cut to Siobhan on the phone. At this point in the season, there’s no telling exactly who killed Babette, but Siobhan looks mighty implicated.
American Horror Story: Delicate Part 2, Premieres Wednesday, April 3, 10/9c, FX
