‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse’: Michael Langdon Should Only Be 9-Years-Old, How Does That Work?

Season 8 of American Horror Story has seen the introduction of a grown-up Michael Langdon (Cody Fern). Conceived in AHS Murder House, it has been some time since viewers got to see this character. So, to have him as a grown man seems reasonable. However, according to the timeline, Michael Langdon should only be 9-years-old in American Horror Story: Apocalypse. So, have AHS‘s writers slipped up or is there a legitimate way to explain away this continuity issue?

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses the following seasons of American Horror Story: Murder House, Coven, Hotel, and Apocalypse. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed all of these seasons and wish to avoid spoilers.

As Pop Sugar points out in their American Horror Story timeline for Michael Langdon, he was born in March or April of 2012. Then in October of 2021, Michael arrives at Outpost 3. In AHS Apocalypse, Michael Langdon is a grown man, although his exact age has not yet been revealed. However, according to the timeline, when he arrives at Outpost 3, he should be only nine-years-old.

In addition, Michael is seen making a trip to the Hotel Cortez in Episode 4 of AHS Apocalypse. During this time, he rescues Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), a character that occurs in AHS Coven. It has been previously established that AHS Coven occurred in the year 2013. This would mean that Langdon should have been 1-year-old when he visited the Hotel Cortez. Of course, it is likely that the present-day storyline in AHS Hotel takes place in the year 2015, so this means that Queenie had likely been trapped there two years at least before Langdon shows up. Even still, this only places him as a 3- to 4-years-old by this point in time.

He's waiting. #AHSApocalypse pic.twitter.com/7KPeNZ51Pl

— AmericanHorrorStory (@AHSFX) October 4, 2018

So, how does this work? Have the writers for American Horror Story made a mistake? Or is there some other way to explain Michael’s age discrepancy?

According to an interview that Cody Fern did with Decider, there is a potential way to explain away Michael Langdon’s age in American Horror Story: Apocalypse.

Basically, while Langdon has been seen in AHS Apocalypse as an adult and, in flashbacks, as a younger boy, what it boils down to is the fact that Michael Langdon can be considered as a “human form of Satan.” This indicates that along with the magic present in Season 8, Michael Langdon can, essentially, do, or appear, as he likes and get away with it.

Pop Sugar also points out that, because Michael Langdon is quite literally the spawn of Satan, it is possible that he grows and matures at an accelerated pace.

Whether this is enough to explain away the timeline discrepancy in relation to his age in regard to fans of the series is another thing, though.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse will return on FX with Episode 5 — titled “Boy Wonder” — on October 11.