American Horror Story season 10, episode 4 secretly hinted at how Red Tide will connect to Part 2, Death Valley. In a first for American Horror Story, show creator Ryan Murphy split season 10 into two different parts; one in the sand, one by the sea, where they’ll more than likely be connected in a sinister way. While many theorized that Red Tide would feature Jaws-related humanoid sharks, sirens, or mermaids, American Horror Story ending up throwing a curveball and reintroducing vampires that had already been explored in Hotel. While the plot and details behind Death Valley are still pretty under wraps, it’s confirmed that it will feature aliens as a project by the U.S. government/military.
Although several actors from Red Tide like Angelica Ross, Leslie Grossman, Lily Rabe, and Sarah Paulson will return in the cast of Death Valley, hardly any of their characters for the latter half of the season have been confirmed. Red Tide takes place in modern-day Provincetown, Massachusetts while Death Valley seems to be set at Area 51 or an arid government location, which leaves few options for how the two parts of AHS season 10 can be intimately linked. Thankfully, Red Tide episode 4 seems to have confirmed the connection through the backstory of The Chemist (Ross), the creator of the black pills.
When The Chemist explains her background to Mickey (Macaulay Culkin), she starts off by stating she used to work as a biochemical engineer for the military, where she was involved in conducting experiments to make more efficient soldiers. The experiment involved creating the black pills, which would be used in figuring out how to lock and unlock creative minds. Since the military and government conducting experiments on patients’ minds has already been teased for a plotline in Death Valley, The Chemist’s former job as a military-hired biochemical engineer is the most obvious connection so far.
The Chemist is seen actually creating AHS’s black pills in the episode, which features a mysterious blood ingredient, where several fans have theorized the blood as the perfect connection to Death Valley. If really is the link between season 10, many have surmised that the blood put in the pills is actually alien’s blood, coming from the subjects seen in the Death Valley teaser where the aliens want to make something “part human, part us.” This would explain why the pills can have such adverse effects on some users, such as turning them into the terrifying Pale People. She may also still be working for the military, possibly using Ptown's residents as their first human guinea pigs to experiment on with alien blood.
Since Angelica Ross is already confirmed to reappear in Death Valley in an undisclosed role, it’s likely she will still be portraying The Chemist in AHS season 10, part 2. Although, much of Death Valley seems to be taking place in the black-and-white filmed 1950s and ‘60s with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in office. Since that would make it impossible for The Chemist to appear in that timeline and still appear so young in modern-day Red Tide, some have theorized that she is actually an alien herself. Some of the aliens in Death Valley seem to perfectly mimic the appearance of humans, which would explain why she had a bad breakup with her military job and how she still looks so young. It’s still curious as to why she exactly chose Cape Cod for her black pill experiments, though a fulfilled connection between American Horror Story’s Red Tide and Death Valley will, hopefully, explain the decision.