'American Horror Story' Season 8 Spoilers: What the X-Men Easter Egg Means

American Horror Story often uses Easter eggs and crossovers to connect various characters from across its many seasons, but the series doesn’t usually try to connect to other universes outside of the AHS world. However, that may have changed with the most recent episode of American Horror Story Season 8, “The Morning After” thanks to one scene focused on Evan Peters’ latest character.

In the second episode of American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Michael Langdon — who may or may not be the Antichrist — began his interrogations of the survivors in the bunker facility they’re staying in order to decide who’s eligible for the trip to another outpost.

Langdon begins to mess with their heads, and all of a sudden Evan Peters’ character, Mr. Gallant, is having sex with an unidentified man in a rubber suit — possibly the same guy featured in season one of American Horror Story. As an added bonus, that character was also played by Peters. So one of Peters’ characters might have had sex with another one of his characters. (Believe it or not, this isn’t even the weirdest thing to happen on AHS.)

But enough with the recap. As interesting as the episode was, it’s a possible Easter egg from American Horror Story Season 8 Episode 2 that has fans buzzing.

Does American Horror Story Season 8 feature an X-Men: Days of Future Past Easter egg?

In the second episode of American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” played over several shots featuring Peters’ character. Considering that the survivors have been stuck in the containment facility for months, this might just seem like an appropriate choice for a melancholy song about time, but fans think it’s more than that.

On a live episode discussion thread on Reddit, one fan pointed out that X-Men: Apocalypse aired on FX right before the second episode of AHS: Apocalypse. Several other fans then jumped in to point out that what may seem like a scheduling coincidence might actually be intentional.

“Wasn’t that the one where Evan Peters played Quick Silver (or whatever his name was). He could run really fast and listened to ‘Time in a Bottle’ on his headphones - which also happened to be one of the songs playing in the living room this episode. Easter egg, or coincidence?” Redditor chaipas noted. (That scene actually happened in Days of Future Past, but Peters was in X-Men: Apocalypse as Quicksilver as well.)

Does this American Horror Story Season 8 Easter egg mean anything?

Even if there is a clear connection between Even Peters’ roles in AHS and X-Men, it’s unclear what that might mean for the new season. Of course, fans of the horror series already have some theories of their own.

On another Reddit thread, yeoboseyea posted about thecrossover:

“I want to know more!” they wrote. “What would this be considered? A call back to x-men? Is this an inside joke from the writers, the production, or from Evan himself?”

Elsewhere on Reddit, BasicSpidertron wrote, “Time in a Bottle starts playing while Evan Peters is still in frame. In a story centered around an apocalyptic future. I see what you’re doing here, AHS.”

Most people seemed to think it was just a fun Easter egg, but others were not so sure.

“I think this song choice is either foreshadowing that vial that Michael mentioned that will kill them or a time warp later on,” Redditor pixelatedpickles suggested. “It may just be a nod to the scene in X-Men but I think it’s more relative to something that’s going to happen this season.”

Will time be important in American Horror Story Season 8?

Others argued that time, in general, could be a big theme in this season of AHS. In a post-episode discussion thread, another fan, samanthuhh, wondered if this Easter egg could tie into a bigger plot for Apocalypse:

“People have suggested that since the promos heavily featured hour glasses getting turned upside down that the witches or some other force might turn back time?”

A Reddit user on the same thread made a similar point:

“I love that they used Time In a Bottle. I wonder if that’s just a coincidence that one of Evan Peter’s most famous scenes features that song?” nelsonmurdocks said.

“Or is it foreshadowing to the witches preventing this future?” Redditor BloodyFace responded.

The Easter egg that connects the last episode of American Horror Story Season 8 to X-Men: Days of Future Past may have just been a funny coincidence or an intentional shout-out. But there’s a chance that, as the season goes on, we’ll learn that it indeed meant something more.

American Horror Story airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on FX.