How American Horror Story: Roanoke Will Tie Into Season 4's Freak Show

After the first two episodes of American Horror Story: Roanoke, it's very clear that everything co-creator Ryan Murphy has said about calling back to past seasons has been in honesty, as both episodes felt like a remixed version of Murder House. And Murphy has no confirmed at least one way in which this latest season will connect back to Freak Show, and it will involve the backstory of a family most foul. Here's how he put it.

We explain how the Motts began, which is funny.

How can a sentence be so magical and damning all at the same time? Ryan Murphy is referring to the Mott family, first introduced in Freak Show. There's mother Gloria, as portrayed by Frances Conroy, and son Dandy, played by Finn Wittrock, and their relationship was...strange...to put it mildly. An aristocrat by heritage, Gloria raised Dandy so that he got everything he ever wanted, which led to his awkward man-child behavior and, eventually, his more murderous tendencies. This is a family whose origins are almost definitely soaked in grossness, and while I can't wait to see it, part of me is already cringing.

The only other thing we really know about a particular Mott family member is that Gloria's husband hung himself in their garden. But we also know that the family tree is one without very many branches, with the estate's wealth kept intact through a history of inbreeding. Is it possible that someone within the Mott ancestry was involved with the Lost Colony of Roanoke? Is Kathy Bates' pig-obsessed murderer involved there? One also has to wonder if this means Conroy and Wittrock will be reprising their roles as Gloria and Dandy, or if they'll be allowed to play their own relatives.

But for those that aren't overly excited about reconnecting with incestuous lineages, Ryan Murphy thankfully hinted to EW that more characters from the past are coming to Season 6.

Many, many, many that you have not seen in years that you have wanted to see.

He isn't specific, but this is one of those times where getting a basic piece of information is more exciting than something detailed. Now I get to pretend that someone at FX got my Papa Legba fan fiction story about him and Sister Mary Eunice on a road trip across the midwest.

Oddly enough, we still don't really know too much about what else to expect from American Horror Story: Roanoke. The first two episodes introduced multiple threats without making it clear how dangerous they actually are for our central characters Shelby (Sarah Paulson/Lily Rabe) and Matt (Cuba Gooding Jr./André Holland). If there is a pattern to be found here, perhaps the next two episodes will be themed around Asylum, putting the Motts back in our lives in Episode 7 or 8.

American Horror Story: Roanoke will continue to bewilder viewers every Wednesday night on FX at 10:00 p.m. ET. To see when everything else is heading to your TVs in the future, check out our fall premiere schedule. And don't forget to run Mommy a nice bath.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.