American Horror Story returned for its sixth season on Sept. 14, Wednesday night and did an impressive job of keeping us guessing while getting us hooked at the same time.
Now that viewers know that this season is subtitled "My Roanoke Nightmare," it's safe to say that after just one episode we are all in for one hell of a nightmare—in the best way possible. This season already has a more spooky vibe compared to the more sexualized previous season, but this could have to do with the fact that we still don't know what to expect.
And while showrunners and writers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are sure to have lots of monsters pig people lurking around each corner, there was something else hiding in this premiere episode.
While only a few cast members were confirmed before this season debuted, fans did know that Sarah Paulson would be returning. What we didn't know was that Murphy also cast Cuba Gooding Jr. to join AHS season 6.
This probably came to the delight of many viewers since this is not the first time the two have worked together. Gooding Jr. recently played O.J. Simpson in another series created by Murphy that aired on FX this year, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
It's also not the first time the two actors worked together. It means that Paulson (who played Marcia Clark) and Gooding Jr. went from playing roles that were rivals to now being lovers in Murphy's latest project.
So we got the actor from Oj Simpson and the actress who accused Oj Simpson. Excellent choice.#AHS6 pic.twitter.com/dVzC0N07S2
— Jennifer (@JenniferObuah3) September 15, 2016
Murphy must have seen the irony in this, and took this first episode to sneak in a little Easter egg for us.
Warning! The following features details from the first episode. Read at your own risk!
Toward the end of the episode, the reenactment version of Shelby (Paulson) and sister-in-law Lee (Angela Bassett) are having a tiff when Matt (Gooding Jr.) gets a smartphone alert from his at-home security camera that there is a potential intruder.
As a flash mob with torches begins to creep around the house, Matt begins to freak out in his hotel room 100 miles away. This is when Murphy did the most clever thing and went all Inception on Gooding Jr. and the viewer.
For a split second, the camera shows Matt facing his hotel TV, which is playing the infamous O.J. Simpson car chase.
While this is brilliant in its own right, there is good chance this is meant to actually be the scene from The People v. O.J. Simpson since it's pretty clear (with iPhones and security cameras) that this story is set in the present day.
That means we are watching Gooding Jr. in a role where he is watching himself in another role. Mind blown.
Chances are many people might have missed this Easter egg since tensions began to rise at this time in the episode, but we give Murphy a big round of applause for almost getting away with this one.
