Contains spoilers 

Miss Venable made quite an impression when we first met her this season. Played by the incredible 'American Horror Story' veteran Sarah Paulson, Miss Venable, the manager at Outpost 3 really made a lasting impression. Her role was shortlived and her character arc was intense - she went from being a face of the fabled co-operative to being a vulnerable pile of insecurities when met with the anti-christ. We were at first introduced to an extremely evil woman who was power hungry and manipulative and by the time she was shot by her robot aide Mead, she had grown on to become an ambitious woman who wasn't afraid of questioning the status quo.

Even though she's dead (for now, at least) there is one question that is still bothersome about the character - what was her purpose? We know that Cordelia's coven had placed some of their witches into the Outpost and they lived undetected until Mallory's episode with Michael in 'Forbidden Fruit'. Is it possible that unknown to the rest of the world or whatever was left of it, Venable was actually the guardian to the witches? In fact, some connections suggest that she may actually be a witch herself who possibly gave up her life to keep the witches safe. 

 

 

If you go back a couple of episodes that don't contain flashbacks, you will remember that Michael Langdon, the antichrist himself went to visit Outpost 3. He claimed that the other two Outposts had been broken in and were torn to the ground. Apart from the big question about where his horses went, it left fans wondering why was it that he had to come himself to this safe house? It is possible he came in to meet Mead because of the significance she holds for him. It is also quite possible that the other two safe houses were actually destroyed by him and he had come in to see how many people he could take to join his plans - but what if he had to come in person because he had to destroy Venable? 

It doesn't look like she's a match for his powers at first, but if you connect the dots, it is possible that she was. The whole thing was nothing but a ploy to trap him. She literally looks like Cordelia, first things first. Secondly, she's got scoliosis which we get no explanation about. She also conveniently kills everyone at the Outpost, perhaps knowing that Michael wouldn't be able to resurrect them and the coven could. The way Langdon behaves with Venable is also different - there is no sexual tone in their conversations in the beginning almost as if he knows that she can see through his evil. With everyone else, he's seductive. He even appears to have gone to bed with Mr. Gallant who was convinced that the man in the rubber suit was Michael. 

Venable had made her own rules in the Outpost and perhaps the only reason why they were even alive to begin with was because she was so insanely particular about her rules.  

 

 

It is totally possible that she was just a strong-willed mortal who was influenced by the witches who lived in the Outpost. Bubbles can hear what people are thinking and Nana Evie is a splitting image of her. It wouldn't be too wild to think that Evie was actually just Bubbles in disguise. It could be possible that she was using her powers to manipulate Venable. Either way, Venable had been nuisance enough for him that he had to come down to see what on Earth was going on. 

It was Venable's rules that allowed them just one jello cube for food - providing them with enough nutrition to survive. According to the Nine Realms of Hell theory, gluttony is one of the sins that the 'AHS' universe revolves around. What if she was trying to keep them from sinning? The Stu soup episode was also never clarified, so we don't really know if she supported cannibalism. If this theory is true, then Venable was just trying to keep these guys in check in case they had ideas to eat each other. 

If all of this doesn't convince you then think about the time Venable was in Langdon's office talking about how men think they are entitled because of the "thing hanging in between their legs". Teleport to episode 4, 'Could It Be... Satan?' when Cordelia has the meeting with the warlocks at Hawthrone. Isn't the scenario eerily similar? 

There's a lot of flashbacks this season and a lot of new characters and surprise crossovers hence, it wouldn't be wise to assume that we know it all. 

'American Horror Story' airs every Wednesday at 10 pm on FX.