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"Forbidden Fruit" is the third episode of Apocalypse. It premiered on September 26, 2018.[1]

Synopsis[]

As Ms. Mead grapples with her identity, Michael reveals more of his. Coco's ex rears his ugly head. Venable crafts a plan to give the residents of Outpost 3 one magical night.[2]

Plot[]

Langdon continues his rounds of interviews, in which Timothy thanks him for intervening for Emily's and his lives'. Gallant wonders if he's worthy of saving after killing Evie, but Michael spins a narrative about her dying in her sleep. Mallory says she has no dark places within her and that Coco sometimes makes her do things she would rather not, but that Coco needs her, and she wishes her no malice; Coco, however, thinks Mallory is far beneath her own station. Michael mentions that he was surprised to find Dinah in the shelter, but she says she's not powerful enough to cause him any problems insinuating they knew each other before the apocalypse, while her son Andre confesses to resenting her and her pride. Michael responds that the souls he's looking for are honest and straightforward, not the pure of heart.

During Langdon's questioning, Mallory says that she sometimes feels as if there's someone inside clawing for release. She starts to panic and flees, and Michael grabs her by the arm but with preternatural force, she pushes him away. He lunges at her, a demonic face exposed, and she retorts with a fire igniting behind him. They examine each other closely and wonder who and what each other is, Langdon with wonder and Mallory with terror.

Langdon performs a ritual, cutting himself and calling for his father to rise. He says he thought he destroyed "them all", but that one survived, an assumed allusion to Mallory. He begs his father for wisdom and from the bloody pentacle at his feet rise snakes and he is filled with insight.

In a flashback, Ms. Mead talks to Ms. Venable about her treasured memories of Halloween. In 1962 she trick-or-treats the street as Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons. She sees Rosemary's Baby for her first date on Halloween 1968, where her date groped her breast, and she smacked him in response. As a Mossad agent, she made her first kill on Halloween night 1988 by choking a terrorist to death. She remembers them all and felt them all, but she wonders at a lost memory of a boy she used to take care of, and if she has a family, or if she is only a machine with programmed responses. Michael was not in Mead's memories of the Cooperative, and Venable thinks he is not fit to judge who will go on to the Sanctuary. Venable admits Michael told her she would not be selected to move on with him, prompting Mead to come up with a plan- they will kill everyone and the take Michael's computer on to the Sanctuary. Venable is happy with this turn of events, and praises Mead's loyalty.

In the wastelands, a survivor loots a corpse for cigarettes while his companion spit roasts a human leg over a fire. Brock comes upon the pair, searching for Coco but the two claim no knowledge of the Outpost's location as a third camper approaches Brock from behind. Brock pre-empts the attack with a shotgun from his back, with which he disables the campers and then watches as a horse-drawn carriage passes him by.

In the Outpost, the perimeter alarm sounds. Mead and the Fist approach the carriage when no one emerges and find it vacant, but Brock lurks clinging to the undercarriage. They bring inside a trunk and open it to find apples that are in perfect condition, despite the radiation outside. Venable and Mead wonder if the apples could act as a Trojan Horse and bear poison that they could use to enact their plan. Fist leaves to execute the horses and outside Brock stabs her from behind and enters the Outpost.

Inside, as Mallory ponders her unknown nature, Venable calls an emergency meeting to say that she's been too strict and that they'll be celebrating a Halloween feast in the tradition of a Victorian masquerade ball. Gallant prepares an indignant Coco, who thinks that the ball is a ruse for an announcement of who will go with Michael to the Sanctuary. Mallory reveals that she kindled the fire with her mind earlier with Michael, but she's unable to reproduce the effect on Coco's direction, causing Coco to taunt her.

Mead says that everyone will have a chance to bob for apples when Andre complains they haven't seen fresh fruit in over a year. Venable intrudes on Coco's flashy introduction to orate about savoring this night as if it were they're last. She plays Bread's "Baby, I'm-A Want You" on the radio and the wards begin to dance. A masked man dressed as a plague doctor dances with Coco, who assumes it is Michael about to announce them for the Sanctuary. He says nothing as she babbles and tries to ingratiate herself to him, even offering him sex. They retire to her room under the pretense of intercourse, but he pulls off the mask revealing he is Brock. She gasps at his journey-worn face and lies that she is so happy he is back but Brock, resentful of Coco, stabs her in the forehead and leaves.

The purples and grays take turns bobbing for apples, which Venable and Mead have poisoned with venom from Michael's snakes. Michael himself is not present, but they plan to shoot him after the others have been poisoned. They quickly feel the effects of the poison and start spasming and vomiting up pieces of apple and blood. After a cursory inspection of the corpses, the pair seeks out Michael who tries to send them away, but they say they're making the selections now. He says that Venable's cruelty has made her pass the test, but Venable urges Mead to shoot him regardless. Mead is unable to and turns the gun on Venable instead, not conscious of why she's executed her companion. Michael asks her if she enjoyed carrying out the plan as much as he enjoyed planning it; he commissioned and programmed her, modeled after someone from his childhood that was very dear to him. He says it's time for her to know all the plan and he wants the only woman who ever knew and loved him by his side.

The song on the radio changes to The Rolling Stones' "She's a Rainbow" and three women effortlessly enter the gates and the Outpost: Cordelia, Myrtle, and Madison. The trio revives their fallen sisters, showing that Mallory, Dinah, and Coco are witches that live once more. Mallory, now able to see without her glasses, removes them, and Madison comes to her saying, "Surprise bitch, I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me!".

Quotes[]

  • Madison (to Mallory): "Surprise bitch, I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me!"
  • Mead (to Venable): "You're mean and self-involved enough to survive anything, and I'm a goddamned robot!"
  • Michael Langdon: "Ave Satanas!"

Notes[]

  • Cheyenne Jackson is credited but does not appear.
  • FX Networks: Episode recap and reaction.
  • It is implied that Madison had been acquainted with Mallory previously. 
  • Apparently, witches are immune to toxicity in the air out of the Outpost, as Cordelia, Myrtle and Madison arrive without protective equipment. If this is due to some kind of protective spell or a different physiology in witches is unclear yet.
  • It becomes clear in a conversation between Michael and Dinah that they had met before the "World War III", and she is aware of his plans in some degree.
  • In real life, it's not fatal to take snake venom. However, those snakes are summoned by Satan, which explains why the snake venom is harmful.

Raised Questions[]

Cultural References[]

Gallery[]

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References[]

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