American Horror Stories Season 4: Backrooms ending explained

The following contains spoilers for American Horror Stories season 4 episode 5, “Backrooms,” now streaming on HuluThe end to American Horror Stories“Backrooms” is the latest entry in the FX horror anthology series to explore the lines between life, death and guilt. Starring Michael Imperioli, Matthew Maher, David Pittu and Natalie Gold, “Backrooms” centers around an acclaimed Hollywood writer dealing with the fallout of his son, Roman, seemingly disappearing into thin air. While he and his ex-wife Riva struggle with the harsh realities of the situation and the likelihood that their son is gone for good, Daniel also finds himself increasingly drawn into a mysterious, metaphysical and often hellish space that comes to be known as the “Backrooms. “

Throughout the history of the American Horror Story-Tide Anthology, Daniel remains the focus of the episode. The character’s efforts to understand the “backroom” play into his attempts to keep Roman’s true fate a secret from the world and himself. It’s a terrible episode of American Horror Stories Season 4. A relatively straightforward episode, “Backrooms” nevertheless takes on a haunting quality due to its subject matter and thematic thread. It is a dark rumination about acceptance, guilt and consequences Which becomes more haunting in retrospect. Here is how “Backrooms” ends, and how it establishes a new layer to American Horror Storys universe.

Who Killed Roman in American Horror Stories: Backrooms

Why Daniel killed Roman, and how he tried to cover it up

The death of Roman is the central mystery of American Horror Stories‘ “Backroom” storyline, building to revelation that It was Daniel who murdered his son. For much of the episode, Daniel is shown to be reeling from the mysterious disappearance of his ten-year-old son. On top of that, he is repeatedly drawn into a mysterious space between life and death. The seemingly mundane “backrooms” are shown to be filled with haunting specters chasing after Daniel. His visits to this realm seem to take longer and longer in real life, leaving him missing for weeks while Roman’s body is discovered.

While Daniel can see Roman in the room, the boy’s eyes are stretched out and he is shown hiding behind a mask. It is eventually revealed that Daniel is the one who killed Roman, seemingly snapping at his son and strangling him to death. Daniel seems to have initially repressed this memory (as well as the memory of burying Roman’s body in the woods near the playground where Daniel killed him), but security camera footage from a nearby golf course confirms Daniel’s actions. This explains the apparent anger of the ghostly Roman with his fatherAnd set up the episode’s dark ending.

What the backrooms are explained in American Horror Stories

The “backrooms” are a form of purgatory in American Horror Stories

The “backrooms” are a metaphysical space between life and death American Horror Stories. These spaces can vary from banal ordinary shopping markets to deeply specific banquets, with Daniel finding his Academy Award amid a feast and a swarm of masked figures. After finding out about another person who experienced the backrooms, Daniel contacts Eli and learns that the latter is a program coder who accidentally killed a woman while driving. From Eli, Daniel (and the audience) learn how the backroom is a horrifying purgatory that contains reminders of past sins and A terrifying figure, identified as the “red woman”.

Ali explains that the “backroom” effectively serves as a space between the worlds of life and death, a safe passage between one and the other. Most people cannot see this realm, but those who, according to Eli, “break the social contract” by doing hateful acts to others can be drawn into this realm. Ali experienced this several times before finally admitting his guilt in the murder. This arrested him, but seemingly freed him from being trapped in the back rooms, Lending credence to Eli’s theory that this place is for those who otherwise escaped punishment on the mortal plane.

Where does Daniel fit into American Horror Stories: Backrooms?

Daniel was killed and sent to a silent hell

Daniel’s crimes come to light in the final moments of “Backrooms,” leading the police to attempt to arrest the writer—and ultimately shoot him dead when he fires a pistol at them. This allows Daniel to descend a hellish set of elevators back into a new, more dubious space. The implication is that Daniel ends up in a hellish afterlife, as the demonic looking red woman leads him to a waiting room where he can expect to spend an eternity reflecting on his actions in solitary silence. The mundane setting seems to register as a suitable hell for Daniel.

It’s an ideal punishment for Daniel, who may miss his son, but seems to confirm the Red Woman’s suggestion that he just wants to escape the haunted purgatory of the backroom above all else. Notably, the only reading material for the writer to pursue as he spends an eternity alone are a number of magazines about healthy father/son relationships, Emphasize how this is a specific punishment for a father who betrayed his son’s fundamental trust in him.. The episode ends with Daniel alone with his thoughts, waiting for his number to come up in an empty, hellish waiting room.

The Real Meaning of American Horror Stories: The Backroom End

Acknowledging and accepting guilt may be the key to escaping the “slump”

Guilt is at the heart of “backrooms,” with the backrooms paying attention to the mistakes of those trapped in them. As Daniel sees more of the site, it becomes less general and more specific. The empty halls and shopping market that Ali also saw give place to specific reflection of Daniel’s professional achievements and memories of his failures as a father and husband. Daniel’s attempts to bury himself in his work and avoid the truth of his actions leave him more and more lost among the backrooms, Until he can’t escape the reality of what he did.

Notably, Daniel initially seems to admit what he’s done and tearfully apologizes in Daniel’s room. However, unlike Eli (who accepted his guilt and confessed to his crimes), Daniel refuses to admit his actions. He claims that he did not kill Roman even when the police come with evidence. Both Eli and Daniel were imprisoned for their actions, however Ali seems to be in a certain amount of sad acceptance And found peace, unlike Daniel. This highlights the episode’s focus on guilt, as Daniel’s attempts to avoid it only get him doomed to a much worse fate in American Horror Stories.