American Horror Story season 13 ending explained: Who lives, who dies, who goes to hell?

Well, AHS fans, once again we've been to hell and back this season.

Ryan Murphy's beloved horror anthology series American Horror Story concluded its 13th season with a season finale that had a lot resting on it to resolve.

The 13th run focused mostly on Ben DeSoto (Joey Pollari) and his fear of the number 13 and how he comes to cross paths with multiple characters from across the series' history.

Does it all manage to come together in the end? And who lives, who dies, and who goes to hell?

*Spoiler warning for American Horror Story season 13*

Why does Mr Nas/Satan give up on his bet in American Horror Story season 13?

As the finale opens, Mr Phibes (legendary director John Walters) invites 13 young "ruffian" men over to the Apollyon penthouse for a mysterious party, only to serve them cookies laced with crystal meth and then sacrifice them one by one for Mr Nas/Satan (Fedor Steer) to enable his immortality as he approaches his 100th year of life on Earth and win his bet with God.

Mr Phibes is interrupted by the younger version of Mr Nas/Satan (Paul Anthony Kelly), who proceeds to save the life of one of the young men and tells them to escape.

The physical husk of old Mr Nas begins to struggle, prompting the younger version to use his powers to murder the body, confounding Mr Phibes, who is baffled as to why Satan would sabotage his own bet. Mr Nas comments that there is more to him than expected, before proceeding to decapitate Mr Phibes.

"Everything you ever desired, faithful servant, except in hell," he tells Phibes's decapitated head.

Are Cordelia Goode and Queenie really dead for good?

Coven supreme Cordelia Goode awakens in hell after her latest round of being murdered and is living in a perpetual veterinary service, euthanising adorable dogs, aided by her late coven member Nan (Jamie Brewer). However, she is interrupted by her maternal grandfather, Satan, who orders Cordelia to kneel to him, but she refuses to and would rather choose to stay in hell.

He then causes her to awaken on a Sunday in Central Park in New York City, and the pair sit on a bench.

Satan then reveals that he has changed his mind on ruling Earth and has ended "the game", deciding not to "manage billions of humans".

He says he has had a "Satanic midlife crisis" and he wants her to admit that he won the battle with the witches, but Cordelia won't give him the satisfaction.

Satan also gives the Apollyon to Cordelia and says he prefers to remain in the shadows and tempt them, before departing.

Cordelia is delighted to see Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), who reveals that Ben saved her from hell, but must break the news that they didn't defeat Satan and they must accept things as they are for now.

What do Cordelia Goode and Mallory do to defeat Satan?

Mallory (Billie Lourd) considers time travel to find a way to defeat Satan and also to keep Cordelia safe as the only Supreme in the timeline. Despite Cordelia's pleas, Mallory departs.

Meanwhile, Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) enjoys her sexual relationship with Satan's son and latest Antichrist, Ben DeSoto (Joey Pollari), who then reveals that their condom has broken.

However, Madison then goes through an accelerated pregnancy and then gives birth to a stillborn infant. However, Satan appears and revives the child who he deems has "star power" before departing.

The coven takes up residence in the Apollyon - for some reason - with the witches cleansing it off evil spirits.

In New York, Cordelia holds Madison and Ben's baby and her half-niece.

Cordelia's voiceover reveals that the coven is growing in New York and she prays that one day Mallory will return and find her sister-witches.

We then see Cordelia performing a spell to bring Mallory back to the timeline and succeeds. Mallory had been in the time of the Salem witch trials, and she saved witches from the pyre, but returns with a spell to defeat Satan for good- with magic from Sarah Good, a spell that inspired Oscar Wilde's novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray.

Mallory reveals, however, that for the spell to work, someone must make the ultimate sacrifice.

How does Ben DeSoto become the one to defeat Satan?

At night, Cordelia and Mallory perform a spell by the fireside and conjure Ben to their presence. The two witches reveal that Ben is the latest Antichrist and the only one who can help them. They list historical monsters who came before Be:

• Caligula
• Xerxes the Great
• Attila the Hun
• Torquemada
• King John
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Leopold II
• Joseph Stalin
• Francisco Franco
• Benito Mussolini
• Adolf Hitler
• Michael Langdon (as seen in Apocalypse)

The two witches note that Ben is the most powerful yet, as the 13th, and the way he can help destroy his father is by ending his own existence.

Ben is devastated at the thought of giving up his happy family life with Madison and their daughter. Still, Mallory notes that such a monumental sacrifice would destroy Satan's power and reject his ideals. Cordelia notes that she knows the cost she will need to tell Madison, but reveals she will understand and be proud of Ben.

Cordelia warns Ben they must move fast to conjure enough power to defeat Satan, and despite his turmoil, Ben agrees. However, they are interrupted by Satan.

Cordelia and Mallory, as two Supremes in a single timeline, unite against Satan and reject his philosophy that good cannot exist without evil. They refer to folklore magic to use his own desires against him - Satan longs to be admired. Ben then summons a dagger to himself and sacrifices himself for the spell and takes his own life, revealing he is no longer afraid of the Number 13 as it is his destiny, enabling Cordelia and Mallory to banish Satan into Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper.

Ben, meanwhile, is reduced to ashes. A melancholy Cordelia and Mallory take melancholy comfort in their victory alongside Ben.

After, Ben's ashes float into the flames of the fire. Satan is defeated, but Ben is gone.

What is the final scene of American Horror Story season 13?

Finally, the season ends in hell as Mr Phibes perennially directs scenes on a film set for eternity, but he is happy.

The scene and end credits have the song "Tonight You Belong To Me" by Patience and Prudence play, originally used in the anthology series back in the first run, Murder House.

What happens to Constance Langdon and Fiona Goode at the end of American Horror Story season 13?

The most controversial and rather baffling twist of the season was the reveal that three of Jessica Lange's first four AHS characters were all related despite the inconsistencies in timelines.

We previously learned that Satan sexually assaulted Sister Jude Martin from the Asylum season during her time languishing in Briarcliff, and she gave birth to twin daughters: Constance and Fiona.

The series previously produced multiple details that mean this doesn't align with what we already know about the characters and their contexts.

However, Constance has fully abandoned her role serving Satan and was reunited with Fiona.

In the finale, while the witches move to the Apollyon in New York, Constance and Fiona stay at Miss Robichaux's Academy in New Orleans, with Fiona helping Constance access her magical abilities, beginning with pyrokinesis, to Constance's delight.

The purpose of all these family revelations and Fiona's resurrection? Your guess is as Goode as ours!

What's our verdict on American Horror Story season 13?

Well, it's hard to see a world where this season, which appears to simply be focused on fan-service moments and nostalgic callbacks, would do little else than irritate longtime fans.

Throwing previous lore out of the window, deploying a scattergun plot, and bringing back various actors and characters to do very little at all feels like a wasted opportunity.

Anthology mainstay Evan Peters vanished halfway through the season despite playing multiple characters, while Angela Bassett's big return as Marie Laveau amounted to very little and despite being a main cast member, Kathy Bates only appeared in a single segment as Delphine LaLaurie (not that this character was much missed).

Additionally, fans were excited to see several returning characters, but many were simply cameos, making one wonder if the returns were needed at all.

However, another issue is the inconsistencies in characterisation this run has with previous instalments. Many fans have noted that Madison doesn't feel like the character of Coven and Apocalypse, while Myrtle Snow's (Frances Conroy) newfound bond with arch-enemy Fiona felt baffling.

13 remained very much a sequel to Apocalypse, but the latter felt more coherent, with narrative stakes and consistent characterisation with what came before. Here many tangents were produced that did not feel capitalised on at all.

Yet, despite this, the show kept its sense of humour, displayed strong chemistry between many of its leads, and enjoyed some of the best cinematography of its run.

Finally, it cannot be overstated how fun it was to have Jessica Lange back in the show, particularly in early episodes, as she relished the menace and majesty of playing Constance Langdon again, in particular.

We'll see you for American Horror Story season 14!

American Horror Story season 13 airs on FX and streams internationally on Disney+.

Previous seasons are available to stream now on Disney+ in the UK – sign up to Disney Plus from £4.99 a month.

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