Ms. Mead May Be Hiding A Secret On 'AHS: Apocalypse'

On American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Outpost 3's chief henchperson Ms. Miriam Mead was shot at the end of "The Morning After." But her wound didn't look like a normal bullet wound. A strange milky substance poured out of her side instead of blood, and there was crackling and sparking like machinery about to explode. You could even see a hint of metal and flashing light within her body, leading to the question: Is Ms. Mead a robot on AHS: Apocalypse?

It feels like the only possible explanation, and yet it's difficult to believe. Robots are one bridge the show has never crossed before, but for a season that has already featured the world ending, radiation warping the populace, witches lurking in the distance, and the Antichrist settling in at the very worst underground bed and breakfast, it feels like a lot. Then again, that's American Horror Story's tagline: It's a lot.

The episode ended before anyone could draw a solid conclusion about Ms. Mead. She had been ordering the execution of survivors Timothy and Emily when Timothy broke away, grabbed a gun off another guard, and shot her. Mead ducked out of sight before anyone could see her injury, her terror ramping up as "The Morning After" cut off. There hasn't been official confirmation that she's a robot, but the odds are looking pretty good.

That doesn't mean alternate theories don't exist, however. Reddit user kimkardashianstears wrote that they initially assumed Mead had radiation poisoning and was possibly "rotting from the inside out;" the white substance could have been an excess of pus (I'm sorry). Other users put forth more alternate possibilities, with Pornflakes6969 suggesting that Mead was an alien. Some fans seem to believe aliens might make a return on this season of AHS, with one popular theory revolving around the idea that Emily and Timothy are the descendants of Kit Walker's alien-conceived children from Asylum.

But the robotic evidence really does speak for itself. There were wires sticking out of Mead's side, so she's at least minimally part-robot. As Redditor AmericanDragStory theorized, "I would say that Meade is a contaminated human being held alive by technology." If Mead is some kind of human/robot hybrid, then it could explain why she seems so human: she has an involved backstory about her time in the military, she's mentioned her father, and she's developed a seemingly real friendship with Ms. Venable. Unless the Westworld technology jumped from HBO to FX and her detailed past is all programming.

There has also been some debate among fans about whether Mead knows she is a robot or not. Her first instinct after being shot was to hide herself so that no one else would see her injury and learn her secret, but she seemed just as shocked by the reveal as the audience. Her panic could have been because even she didn't know there were wires running through her body. But it could also have been terror because she had no idea how to repair herself after suffering that much damage.

It seems like Mead may have been technologically altered in some way, but on AHS you should be prepared for every possibility. She could be any and all of the above: an alien robot leaking radiation who spent time in the military and likes to wear purple.