Think American Horror Story: Roanoke's episode 6 twist revealed everything about the show's reality? Creator Ryan Murphy teases that we still haven't gotten the entire truth — especially when it comes to Shelby, Matt, and Lee.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
After spending five episodes broadcasting the show-within-a-show My Roanoke Nightmare, episode 6 united the actors who appeared in the Roanoke reenactments with the real people they portrayed. The production placed all of the stars back in the haunted house in order to document their reactions to ghostly encounters, which, by the end of the first night, left poor Rory murdered at the hands of those sadistic nurses. But are we watching My Roanoke Nightmare, redone? Murphy suggests that's not the case with this major clue about Shelby, Matt, and Lee. In an interview with E! News, Murphy was asked whether Matt, Shelby, and Lee — the real ones, portrayed by André Holland, Lily Rabe, and Adina Porter — were reliable witnesses to their own Roanoke nightmare. The showrunner's answer reveals that yet another twist could be on the horizon. "You cannot trust them," Murphy told E! "I think all three of them are…what they said and what they explained in their version of events is not actually the truth." Strange, no? Prior to the episode 6 twist, I was convinced that Matt, Shelby, and Lee had not really experienced what they claimed happened in Roanoke. Plenty of American Horror Story fan theories supported the claim that the three were lying about their so-called nightmare, either for money or to protect themselves from getting in trouble for the crimes they really committed. However, the twist — and the real ghosts that appeared in Shelby and Matt's former home — suggested that the trio weren't the frauds some fans suspected them of being. Unless the production is pulling one over on all of us (always a possibility, considering this is twist-happy AHS we're talking about), there are some very real ghosts in the Roanoke house. So what could Shelby, Matt, and Lee be lying about? Maybe it's the ending of My Roanoke Nightmare. At the end of episode 5, we see Shelby and Matt escape The Butcher after her son gains a conscience. It seemed just a little too easy — and maybe that's because it was. A clue could come from the Polks' appearance in episode 5. They reveal to Shelby and Matt that they've been able to live with The Butcher by sacrificing others to her during the Blood Moon. Could the couple have taken a page out of Mama Polks' book and promised The Butcher the cast of My Roanoke Nightmare in order to spare themselves from certain death? It's a seriously sinister idea, but it would explain why Matt, Shelby, and Lee were so cool with returning to the house during the Blood Moon, despite knowing the danger they were putting themselves in. Their Roanoke nightmare may have happened, but this trio might be more than willing to put others through another one it if it means saving themselves.
After spending five episodes broadcasting the show-within-a-show My Roanoke Nightmare, episode 6 united the actors who appeared in the Roanoke reenactments with the real people they portrayed. The production placed all of the stars back in the haunted house in order to document their reactions to ghostly encounters, which, by the end of the first night, left poor Rory murdered at the hands of those sadistic nurses. But are we watching My Roanoke Nightmare, redone? Murphy suggests that's not the case with this major clue about Shelby, Matt, and Lee. In an interview with E! News, Murphy was asked whether Matt, Shelby, and Lee — the real ones, portrayed by André Holland, Lily Rabe, and Adina Porter — were reliable witnesses to their own Roanoke nightmare. The showrunner's answer reveals that yet another twist could be on the horizon. "You cannot trust them," Murphy told E! "I think all three of them are…what they said and what they explained in their version of events is not actually the truth." Strange, no? Prior to the episode 6 twist, I was convinced that Matt, Shelby, and Lee had not really experienced what they claimed happened in Roanoke. Plenty of American Horror Story fan theories supported the claim that the three were lying about their so-called nightmare, either for money or to protect themselves from getting in trouble for the crimes they really committed. However, the twist — and the real ghosts that appeared in Shelby and Matt's former home — suggested that the trio weren't the frauds some fans suspected them of being. Unless the production is pulling one over on all of us (always a possibility, considering this is twist-happy AHS we're talking about), there are some very real ghosts in the Roanoke house. So what could Shelby, Matt, and Lee be lying about? Maybe it's the ending of My Roanoke Nightmare. At the end of episode 5, we see Shelby and Matt escape The Butcher after her son gains a conscience. It seemed just a little too easy — and maybe that's because it was. A clue could come from the Polks' appearance in episode 5. They reveal to Shelby and Matt that they've been able to live with The Butcher by sacrificing others to her during the Blood Moon. Could the couple have taken a page out of Mama Polks' book and promised The Butcher the cast of My Roanoke Nightmare in order to spare themselves from certain death? It's a seriously sinister idea, but it would explain why Matt, Shelby, and Lee were so cool with returning to the house during the Blood Moon, despite knowing the danger they were putting themselves in. Their Roanoke nightmare may have happened, but this trio might be more than willing to put others through another one it if it means saving themselves.