Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Stories episode 5, “Ba’al,” earned high ratings due to its rollercoaster twists and ending. “Ba’al”’s cast and characters include a few American Horror Story veterans like scream queen Billie Lourd and Chad James Buchanan, with most actors being new to Murphy’s scene. American Horror Stories’ disturbing episode 5 brings the AHS spin-off series back to the terrors of the occult, straying from the Black Mirror-type, teen-based stories from the first few episodes.
“Ba’al” follows Liv Whitley (Billie Lourd), a wife who desperately wants a baby after years of seeing specialists at a fertility clinic with her husband Matt Webb (Ronen Rubinstein). After the fertility clinic’s receptionist gives her a so-called fertility statue, Liv’s wishes come true, though not in the cheerful manner she hoped. Liv becomes haunted by the demon Ba’al, leading her down a path that takes several turns once her husband and his friends’ involvement is revealed.
So far, each episode of American Horror Stories has been left open-ended, with “Rubber Woman”’s ending suggesting the characters will return in the season finale, which Ryan Murphy confirmed will take again place at Murder House. Ba’al and the other American Horror Stories episodes aren’t expected to be picked up later in the series, especially since the episode 5 twists and implied sinister ending suggest Murphy won’t need to circle back to Liv in the future.
Who Is Ba’al?
The fertility demon, Ba’al is at the center of American Horror Stories episode 5. He appears multiple times as the demon haunts Liv at night and through her baby’s monitor, again as he murders Matt’s friends, and finally when he is involved in a consensual sexual relationship with Liv. In certain real-life cultures, Ba’al isn’t a demon at all, he’s a fertility god worshipped in ancient Middle Eastern communities who brings life, in a constant battle with Mot, who bring sterility and death. More in line with American Horror Stories’ episode, Ba’al is also a real mythologized demon in Christian philosophies said to be a false god, serving as one of Beelzebub’s demons.
How Ba’al Connects To Past AHS Plots
The first half of “Ba'al”, before Liv has the baby, connects to a storyline from American Horror Story season 3, Coven. In American Horror Stories, Liv begins by desiring a baby, having to see plenty of fertility specialists for years with her husband who doesn't share her same enthusiasm. Liv accidentally uses a demonic statue to assist in her successful pregnancy, which apparently brings dire consequences afterward. The storyline is similar to Cordelia Foxx in AHS: Coven, whose character arc begins with Cordelia and her reluctant husband Hank desperately attending fertility clinics to have a baby. Eventually, Cordelia uses her powers as a witch to perform a Satanist-like ritual to become pregnant, though, unlike Liv and Matt, are unsuccessful. The plots also connect in that both of the husbands don't actually want a baby and both Hank and Matt are having affairs with younger women.
Matt’s Fake Demon Twist Plan
In the most surprising, jaw-dropping plot twist of American Horror Stories’ first season so far, Liv’s husband Matt reveals there never was a Ba'al demon haunting her. The entire demon plot was a charade fabricated by the other American Horror Stories characters including himself, his film school friends, and, the icing on the cake, the fertility clinic receptionist who happens to be his girlfriend. Matt had convinced Bernadette to give Liv the fertility statue, which was carved by his friend Emma, as well as fill her apartment with demonic literature when Liv recruited her to research Ba’al. Rory then explains he was the one wearing the Ba’al costume that Liv would see on her baby’s monitor, with Stan using his sound mixer and technological skills to mess with the monitor itself.
Matt’s role in the American Horror Stories plan was the worst of all, he was gaslighting Liv for years, making her believe she was crazy and imagining the demon to the point that she was locked up in a psychiatric ward, which was at least much more modern than AHS: Asylum’s Briarcliff Manor. He told Liv he loved her at the beginning of their marriage, but never wanted kids and eventually stopped liking her, so he devised a plan to make his sperm count low, gaslight her into being crazy, and have her locked away so he could make off with all of her money. Thankfully, Liv gets out of the psychiatric ward and gets to have the last laugh of the episode when her own demonic twist leaves Matt in prison.
Liv’s Real Demon Twist Ending
Just when American Horror Stories already had its best twist of the season, Ryan Murphy throws in another wrench, with Liv getting her rightful revenge on Matt and his friends. While Matt, Stan, Rory, Emma, and Bernadette are toasting to the success of their fake demon plan landing Liv in a mental institution, the real Ba’al attacks. Each character at the American Horror Stories party, aside from Matt, is killed by Ba’al. With no evidence or belief of a demon committing the murders, Matt is placed in prison for killing four people. Liv visits him in jail where he confesses his motivation for gaslighting her, imploring her to help him because he didn’t commit the murders. She emphatically denies him, even gaslighting him right back by saying he’s lying to try to get out of jail.
Content with Matt being locked up, Liv returns home where the final twist is revealed: She actually conjured the real demon in the psych ward, sending him to kill the other American Horror Stories characters. Not only was she working with Ba’al, but she also invited him to have a sexual relationship. He speaks to her in a language only she can understand, to which she answers that she’ll do what he asks if she gives him another baby, then the episode fades to black with Liv and Ba’al on her bed.
What Ba’al’s Ending Really Means
American Horror Stories episode 5's ending for Matt reveals that he’ll likely remain in prison for the rest of his life. He tells Liv there’s no way he’ll win a trial with a public defender and needs a lawyer to help get him an insanity plea. Liv says he doesn’t need a lawyer for people to realize his demon story is crazy, suggesting he might end up in a psychiatric ward for the rest of his life, which is slightly similar to how in AHS: Asylum, Kit Walker's alien story got him falsely locked up for murder. With Liv teaming up with Ba’al, her side of the dialogue makes it seem like she has to provide him with more victims after summoning him to help her. She says she’ll do what he says, only after she gives him another baby. While her child Aaron is still technically Matt’s, she wants another baby, which would become an antichrist child ala Rosemary’s Baby with American Horror Stories’ Ba’al as the father.