With just one episode left in FX’s American Horror Story season six, the identity of the My Roanoke Nightmare player who survived the show’s second season was finally revealed. However, before we could find out who made it out of the house alive, the AHS writers spent a considerable amount of the ninth episode skewering social media-obsessed millennials. The inclusion of My Roanoke Nightmare fans was an unexpected twist that added yet another surreal layer to what’s been one of the show’s strongest and most entertaining seasons thus far.
Season six episode nine opens with three friends hiking through the woods in search of the Roanoke house after watching season one. Their goal: to take photos of the house during the blood moon. They’re discussing their love for season one and what drew them in when they spot the tree from episode three. They also spot a woman, bloody and limping, and chase after her. The injured woman is Sid’s assistant, Diana, who crashed her car after Pig Man attacked her from the back seat while she was driving. The My Roanoke Nightmare fans discover the car with Diana dead inside. They’re freaked out after realizing they chased a ghost.
Lee (Adina Porter) and Audrey (Sarah Paulson) find out that Dylan (Wes Bentley), the actor who played one of The Butcher’s sons in season one, had been waiting in the hotel but when he didn’t hear anything from the producers, he reported to the set as scheduled. He was hired to play the Pig Man this season and has no idea what’s going on. Unfortunately, he Ubered to the house so they can’t escape in his car. Dylan was told not to bring his phone to the house, so calling for help isn’t an option either.
Audrey tries to explain everyone is dead including the producer, Sidney, and after seeing the bodies Dylan finally understands the seriousness of the situation. He thinks they need to make a stretcher for Lee and leave now before it gets dark, but Lee thinks it’s too far to the road. Dylan served two tours of duty and believes he can handle carrying a stretcher to the road, however Lee and Audrey explain they need to go to the Polk farm first and look for Monet. Dylan agrees as he doesn’t want to leave a man behind and asks them to stay at the house for their own safety, but they convince him they know the way and the layout of the house.
My Roanoke Nightmare fans Todd (Jacob Artist), Milo (Jon Bass), and Sophie (Taissa Farmiga) are questioned at the police station and it turns out they run a fan site for the series. In a flashback, we see their reactions to having seen the ghost and watch Todd as he attempts to come to terms with the whole ghost thing. Sophie reminds him the video will go viral, so it will all be worth it in the end.
Todd, Milo, and Sophie try to convince the police they saw Diana’s ghost and that she was already dead when they got to the car. However, it turns out when the police got to the car Diana’s body was missing. The detective doing the interviews is pissed and thinks this is all a big prank because these three aren’t the only ones who’ve been in the woods wanting to check out the Roanoke house. Todd reminds the detective Diana is on the footage they shot, but he blows that off. The detective warns them to never go near the house again or they’ll be arrested for trespassing.
Lee, Audrey, and Dylan make it to the Polk farm, but it’s getting late and they want to be out of there before the moon rises. Dylan’s going to get the Polk’s truck while Lee and Audrey quickly check out the buildings for Monet. Lee tells Audrey she’ll grab the tapes, and Audrey says that if the truck starts and Lee’s not there, they’ll leave without her.
Lee, confident she can get the tapes and make it back to the truck, races into the barn where she was held. Audrey grabs a gun from the building where she was tied up and finds Monet (Angela Bassett) hiding there, and fortunately she’s in pretty good shape physically. They hear the truck start and are about to run out when one of the Polks arrives. Audrey tapes him while he threatens to slowly murder them and satisfied she won’t be charged with murder, she shoots him in the head. Audrey and Monet run outside to find the other surviving Polk has stabbed Dylan and is hightailing it out of there after spotting The Butcher’s people approaching with torches.
Audrey and Monet run all the way back to the house and Audrey asks the question we all want the answer to, “Why the hell did we come back here?” Monet doesn’t think they had any choice and at least the house offers some protection. Audrey points out Dylan was in the military and he was killed, so how are they supposed to survive?
Audrey thinks Lee is probably dead but Monet isn’t so sure. Audrey makes her case for a dead Lee by pointing out Lee would never have left the tape behind if she was alive since it’s the only way to prove their innocence. Audrey has it and will use it to show they did what they had to to survive. Monet grabs the camera and plays the tape which shows them cutting pieces off Lee as well as Lee’s confession that she killed her husband. As they listen to the tape, we see Lee crawling through the woods with a pig close by. Someone flashes by the camera, the pig disappears, and then Lee’s given the pig’s heart to eat – and she doesn’t resist.
The three My Roanoke Nightmare fans are back out in the woods at night, and the blood moon is high in the sky above them. They’re excited their video of the ghost has gone viral after being up just an hour, and they’re trending on Twitter. They head back to the house, walking by the spot where Mason was burned alive in season one. They spot Lee in the woods and when Todd tells her he’s a huge fan, she kills him. Milo and Sophie run off, screaming. They stop and fall to the ground, unable to process the fact Lee just murdered Todd. Looking up, they see wooden stick figures hanging in the trees over their heads. They take off running again and come upon the production trailer with dead bodies still outside. When they see a man emerge from the trees, bloody, they lock themselves in the trailer. They think the guy is Ambrose, an actor from season one, and then they notice all the monitors. They see Shelby’s dead and then spot Audrey in the bedroom. Now totally confused, they don’t know if this is part of the show or reality. They remember Todd is dead so it must be real.
Meanwhile, inside the house Monet needs a drink while outside Lee is slowly approaching the front door, coming for Audrey and Monet.
Milo and Sophie call the police but the cops don’t believe them. They watch as Lee enters the house, and Sophie thinks they can make it back there and stop her. Milo is against going to the house, but Sophie says they have to save Monet and Audrey. They carefully step outside, looking for Ambrose. They don’t spot him but they do see the blood moon is still overhead.
Monet and Audrey are drinking and trying to figure out what to do. Audrey’s still sure Lee is dead and then they hear a noise downstairs. They quietly move toward the bedroom door and spot Lee in the hallway, staring up at the moon. They don’t realize she’s changed, even when she tells them their “vile presence” defiles the sacred ground. Monet threatens her with telling the cops she’s a murderer and Lee, who’s not Lee anymore, pushes Monet over the railing. Monet lands on the ground floor impaled on a piece of wood but not yet dead. Lee turns her attention to Audrey, but Audrey fights back. Audrey manages to briefly escape and runs down the stairs with Lee hot on her heels. Audrey stumbles, grabs a piece of wood, stabs Lee, and runs out the front door.
Sophie and Milo make their way toward the house, with Sophie videoing their journey and talking about what they’ve seen. She says people are dead everywhere, the police won’t listen, and they’re on the way to help Audrey and Monet. Milo thinks they’re lost and wants to turn around but then they spot the house.
Lee races from the house and starts to climb down the stairs into the cellar. Lee catches up with her before she begins to descend, stabs her in the neck, and kicks her backward down the stairs.
Milo and Sophie see Lee outside and then they spot The Butcher and her followers approaching the house. The Butcher slices Dylan’s stomach open and pulls out his intestines. Milo and Sophie are about to make a run for it, but Lee is standing right in front of them.
The next footage is presented after this warning:
“What you are about to see was recovered from the iCloud account registered to Todd Allan Connors. It is presented in its raw form. The images are graphic, violent and deeply disturbing. Sensitive viewers should refrain from watching.”
Milo and Sophie are captured and brought before The Butcher. Lee tells them to present themselves for slaughter. They beg for their lives and are thrown to the ground. Milo and Sophie are then placed on spikes and burned alive.
Police cars race to the house the next day and the officers find Milo and Sophie still on the spikes, still smoldering and unrecognizable. Inside the house they discover Monet on the stake at the base of the stairs. They call in multiple casualties and request the coroner. Then they find Lee still alive but unable to stand. She begs for them to get her out of this hellhole. They help her to the police car and then spot Audrey crawling out of the cellar. She asks if they’re real and then Lee leaves the car and says, “Audrey? Thank god.” Audrey stares at her and yells, “You! You f**king murderer!” She grabs the cop’s gun who was helping her walk and before she can shoot Lee, she’s gunned down by officers. Audrey is dead and Lee’s back in the car. The police believe Audrey was the killer, radioing the shooting in as “suspect down.”
