Note: This story contains spoilers from “American Horror Story: 13” Episodes 11-12.
Nothing is ever as it appears at first on “American Horror Story,” and no one is a better testament to that fact than Joey Pollari’s Ben DeSoto.
The character, one of few new faces on the milestone 13th installment of the FX anthology series, was introduced as an anxious hospice caretaker who had miraculously survived a tragic plane crash and suffered from an intense fear of the No. 13. Once he first met Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange) at the New York City penthouse home of his mysterious new patient, it was clear his true path was far more sinister.
By Episode 10, viewers learned that Ben was in fact the son of Satan (Paul Anthony Kelly), destined to become the Earth’s ruler should the devil fulfill a bet with God to make his human form survive to 100 years old. But despite finding his potential destiny alluring, Ben was not entirely on board to rule the world as an evil overlord.
“When I finally got the scripts, it was a great surprise … I don’t think I said I knew it, but I thought, ‘Oh, this makes complete sense,’ and how perfect that this sort of everyday anxious character can be invited to a much darker table,” Pollari told TheWrap of the truth behind his mysterious character.
And the twists kept on coming with Thursday’s new episodes, in which Ben showed up at Miss Robichaux’s not to battle the “Coven” witches set on defeating the devil — but to help them put his father’s plans on an indefinite pause. After semi-accepting his father’s proposal and his own satanic lineage, Ben developed incredible power, and he planned to use them to bring him down.
That involved reuniting the witches with a few of their friends stuck in hell, including Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) and the beloved Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy). And after sharing scenes with “AHS” legends like Lange, Sarah Paulson and Angela Bassett, Conroy had a special significance for the actor.
“I grew up watching ‘Six Feet Under.’ It was my favorite show. I sobbed at the finale as a teenager. So when I met Francis, I was coming with a lot of adoration, and we had a day together in which she was so clear-sighted and so incredibly generous,” Pollari said. “Watching her work is like watching a great dancer. She came to the table with an enormous amount of ideas, and I sat there as she did rehearsal and clung to the person next to me and said, ‘This is a great gift that we are receiving.’ ”
As if there wasn’t enough going on with “AHS 13,” this batch of episodes went full rom-com after Ben met witch Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), kicking off a sweet love story between the demonic warlock and the fan-favorite witch.
Episode 11 saw Madison and Ben kick off an epic love story, including magical dinners in Europe and promises of undying love. It was a proper conclusion to the storyline of the witch first introduced in “Coven.”
“It’s so perfect that Madison would fall in love with the son of Satan. A perfect answer for Ben’s anxiety to be with Madison, and a perfect answer for Madison to be with someone who’s seen both sides of her life and can connect with her in a way that she’s unaccustomed to,” Pollari said. “I had barely met Emma before we started doing those things, and when we got going, it was pretty much instantaneous, which is a real credit to Emma’s talent and the person that she is. I now call her a very close friend and I adore her.”
The episodes also brought big answers to the “American Horror Story” lore, revealing that Constance and “Coven” witch Fiona Goode (Lange) are actually twin sisters separated at birth — and the daughters of Satan conceived by him an an unwilling Sister Jude (Lange), the character from “Asylum.” They also revealed the key to stopping Satan with a complex spell that involved both Cordelia (Paulson) and Queenie going to the penthouse and hexing Mr. Nas out of his old age to become an eternal baby.
But those plans were quickly put to bed after Ben was knocked out by Satan and Cordelia and Queenie were killed by his supporters. With only one episode left of “AHS 13,” can there be a happy ending?
“The rug is being pulled. Hold on tight to whatever ground is beneath you. That’s my word of warning or advice about the finale,” Pollari teased.
“American Horror Story: 13” releases new episodes Thursdays on FX and streams the next day on Hulu.
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