An 'American Horror Stories' Episode 3 Easter Egg Hints at the Series' Past and Future

The new season of American Horror Stories on Hulu already has us reaching for the blankets to cover our eyes, and now that Episode 3 is here, we’re wondering what connections it might have to other American Horror Stories episodes. Although it may sound similar to American Horror Story, American Horror Stories (emphasis on the plural “stories”) is an anthology in which each episode is its own story as opposed to each season. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t relate to other AHS properties.

For example, the first episode in Season 2 of American Horror Stories is a direct tie into AHS: Coven and Apocalypse by introducing us to a young Spalding. So is it possible that Episode 3 of this new season, titled “Drive,” is somehow related to Episode 3 of the first season, titled “Drive In”? Some people think it could also be related to Episode 4, “The Naughty List.”

American Horror Stories and the original AHS love to make unexpected connections; however, there is no direct relationship between the new episode, “Drive,” to the similarly titled third episode of Season 1, “Drive In.” The Season 2 episode follows a young woman, Marci (Bella Thorne), as she drives home from a club followed by a red Jeep Wrangler.

The story is a nod to the old wives' tale of a Jeep following a car home to let them know that someone is in their backseat. While it’s possible that myth is based on a true event from 1964, it’s still considered an urban legend.

In “Drive,” Marci is forced to drive to save her life … or so we think. Regardless, while there’s no direct tie to “Drive In,” which was about a drive-in movie screening that turned its viewers into zombies, “Drive” does share some similarities with the episode. Without giving too much away, the twist at the end flips a common trope.

That’s not the only AHS episode “Drive” could share a connection with. “The Naughty List” shares a star with the new AHS episode. Nico Greetham — a breakout star as seen in both iterations of AHS, as well as in Love, Victor — appears in “Drive” as Paul, the owner of the red Jeep. However, Paul has seemingly no connection to his “The Naughty List” character, Zinn, a frat bad boy.

It may not be related to those specific episodes, but a fun Easter egg relates “Drive” to some other Manny Coto–written episodes of American Horror Stories. As Marci and Pier surf the web throughout “Drive,” they come across a couple of articles, one which is legible if we pause the episode. In the recommended articles, there’s one titled, “Do Aura Doorbell Cameras make you safer?” which is a callback to the previous AHS episode, “Aura.”

Then, the podcast section actually references two Season 1 episodes, with one podcast that seems to dive into the mysteries of America’s National Parks. That seems like a reference to “Feral,” the AHS episode that takes place in a national park with a hidden secret. And then there’s one called “The history of toy making: a dying craft,” which must be a reference to this season’s episode, “Dollhouse.”

There is another article called “Are you being secretly recorded at your workplace?” Could this be an Easter egg that nods to a future AHS Manny Coto–written episode? Both “Facelift” and “Lake” are written by him, so this could be a hint at what to expect.

American Horror Stories drops new episodes every Thursday on Hulu.