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Every Way AHS: Freak Show and Asylum Are Connected and What This All Means

Is Elsa really Sister Jude?

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Sadie Gennis

American Horror Story: Freak Showhas its curtain call on Wednesday (10/9c, FX). But rather than worrying over who will live to perform another day, the biggest question going into the season finale is whether more connections to Asylum will be revealed.

Ryan Murphy has said that every season of AHS is connected -- something Freak Show makes abundantly clear (because we all know Murphy can't resist beating a dead horse). But here are the biggest connections so far:

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Nazi amputation: Long before Briarcliff was terrorized by Dr. Arden and Shelley lost her legs, the Nazi doctor was living happily in Germany and going by his birth name Hans Gruper. Thanks to a Freak Show flashback, we now know that the sadistic doctor had been practicing amputation for years and was even the one to take Elsa Mars' legs back to their home country.

Elsa Mars and Sister Jude: Before Sister Jude became a nun to repent for a hit-and-run accident, she was a nightclub singer. Does that sound like any other glamorous blonde we know? Elsa and Sister Jude even have the same favorite movie, The Sign of the Cross! All signs point to Sister Jude being deeply connected to Elsa, if not the same person. But why Elsa would end up working with the Nazi doctor who cut off her legs, we can't quite figure out.

Every outrageously glamorous outfit Jessica Lange has worn on Freak Show

Pepper: Pepper was first introduced in Asylum as one of the Briarcliff inmates, and with her return to Freak Show, she became the first Horror Story character to appear in more than one season. Then in Freak Show's 10th episode, we saw exactly how Pepper went from one of Elsa's monsters to one of Sister Jude's inmates: Pepper's sister Rita and her husband murdered their newborn son and framed Pepper for it in 1962.

Pre-possessed Sister Mary Eunice: When Rita goes to have Pepper committed to Briarcliff, she encounters none other than Sister Mary Eunice. The nun, who has yet to be possessed by the devil, condemns Pepper to solitary until Mary Eunice sees "real remorse" in her. Mary Eunice then assigns Pepper library duty, allowing Pepper to discover a Life magazine cover featuring Elsa Mars. Trippy stuff!

Bloody Face and Dandy: Throughout Freak Show, Dandy has been making regular appointments with an unseen therapist. Only a few years after these appointments, Dr. Oliver Thredson goes on a murder spree as Bloody Face, killing random people in home invasions. Is it possible that Bloody Face is Dandy's therapist? It would make sense that the reason the therapist never tries to get Dandy committed is that he wants to learn from Dandy in order to become a serial killer himself. And let's not forget, at the same time of Bloody Face's murder spree, a slew of nurses were killed in home invasions in Murder House. Could that have been his work as well?

Other connections: In addition to the many parallels between Asylum and Freak Show, there are connections between all the seasons of Horror Story. Both Coven and Murder House include members of a Montgomery family (Coven's Madison Montgomery and Murder House's original couple Charles and Nora Montgomery). The Goodman family also recurs: Murder House features Harry Goodman, whom Constance hired to advise her on a murder, and Asylum has Sam Goodman, who was hired to investigate Dr. Arden. Could they be grandfather and grandson?

Then there's the question of location. Murder House residents the Harmons are from Massachusetts, where Asylum is set and where the witches in Coven trace their lineage. Murder House's Vivien Harmon also has family in Florida, where Elsa's Freak Show performed.

But what does all this mean? It's possible American Horror Story not only follows certain characters and their relatives across different seasons, but also follows specific souls as they are reincarnated into new identities. That could explain why Evan Peters and Taissa Farmiga always end up as soul mates while, Peters repeatedly shuns Emma Roberts. Or why Sarah Paulson and Jessica Lange often have a contentious mother-daughter-esque relationship.

What do you think the connections mean?

American Horror Story: Freak Show's season finale airs Wednesday at 10/9c on FX.