Ben’s Sacrifice Traps Satan in American Horror Story Finale

Ben sacrifices himself in the season 13 finale of American Horror Story, allowing the witches to trap Satan inside The Last Supper painting and end the immediate threat to the world. Actor Paul Anthony Kelly, who played Satan as young Mr. Nas, said he does not know whether the character will return in a future season. In the finale, Ben, played by Joey Pollari, agrees to die after Cordelia and Mallory tell him his sacrifice is needed to power a spell against his father. He stabs himself in the heart with a sword and turns to dust. Cordelia and Mallory then use the magic released by his death to confine Satan’s soul inside the painting. The witches had learned of a spell that could move a soul into a painting. Ben was the 13th Antichrist, and the witches believed his death would provide the power needed to bind Satan. The finale places the devil at the table in the painting, taking the place of Judas. The Coven is left responsible for watching over it. The ending also leaves a sign that evil may persist: Ben’s dust rises and moves into a nearby fireplace. That image complicates the witches’ hope that Satan has been defeated for good, though the finale does not establish what...