Is Ben dead? ‘American Horror Story’ Season 13 finale explained as Satan finally meets his match
The highly anticipated season finale of ‘American Horror Story: 13’ wrapped up FX’s Avengers-style crossover, with a bang. The season revolved around the eerie Apollyon apartments in Manhattan and saw some of the most iconic lineages from the show come together for a cosmic battle between the witches of Coven and the Devil, who was pretending to be a human named Mr. Nas.
Most of the action of the finale titled ‘Devil of a Good Time’ is centered around Ben DeSoto (Joey Pollari). Unfortunately, he turned out to be Satan’s biological son, and his fateful decision to sacrifice himself was the only way to stop his father from being in charge of Heaven, Hell, and the Earth. But why was his sacrifice necessary? Well, the whole season has focused on the bet between God and Satan. The plot was that if Satan managed to stay on Earth for a hundred years, without anyone discovering his secret, he’d assume control of all three realms. But, naturally, Satan cheated. He was pulling off mass ritual sacrifices of 13 souls at a time, before physically aging himself up to 96 years old. That means he was four years – and one last big sacrifice – away from winning.
Satan, however, wasn’t thrilled to rule over the Earth himself because he preferred ruling Hell. So, he needed a human to do the dirty work, and that was supposed to be Ben. The fact that Ben was Satan’s kid provided him with some dark powers. He had free rein to walk through the Apollyon, and even counter his father’s mental manipulations.
Initially, Cordelia Goode (Sarah Paulson) and Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett) had a plan. They brewed up a potion that would drain Mr. Nas’s life force and turn him into a infant so he could never reach his 100-year milestone, before sealing his soul in Hell. However, everything just fell apart. The sinister Dr. Phibes (John Waters) and the Rubber Man swooped in to brutally murder Queenie and Cordelia. The other witches were then left completely exposed.
With traditional magic broken and the modern Supreme lineage devastated, their magic was pretty much ineffective now, and they couldn’t kill or bind the Devil with spells. Luckily, Ben pieced it together. He shared the same spiritual and genetic composition as his father, so he was the only one who could get past Satan’s defenses. So, Ben finally connected the dots: his father had been playing him all his life - from the way he had been scared of the number 13 his whole life, to the plane crash that set in motion this entire season. He was sick of his so-called “birthright.” With some spiritual guidance from his love, Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), he opted to make his powers work for him.
When Satan arrived to confront Cordelia and Mallory, the two witches fought him and cast the Salem spell, but it required Ben to give his life to work. Facing his dad, Ben finally embraced the number 13, accepting that it had always been his destiny. His sacrifice triggered the spell to go into effect and trap Satan within the Last Supper painting. The Devil was now stuck as the 13th guest at the table who was unable to continue his plans of taking over Heaven, Hell, and Earth. Ben’s ashes were then sent into Hell, which was the end of his time on Earth.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the remaining witches. Queenie was resurrected from Hell, and Madison and Ben had a baby girl. Satan briefly visited them before his downfall and commented that the child had “star power,” which could mean he still had his influence. Meanwhile, Fiona decided to stay in New Orleans with Constance, while Cordelia and the rest of the witches moved to Mr. Nas's old house in New York. There’s also Dr. Phibes, who had an incredible ending. He was trapped directing a B movie named ‘Motor Psychos From Hell’ forever, but he seemed pretty happy with the arrangement. Even Hell couldn’t take away his love for filmmaking.
