4 burning questions 'AHS: 1984' has to answer before the season finale

American Horror Story: 1984 is fast approaching its season finale and, though it’s the shortest season of the series thus far, there is still a lot of ground to cover. Season 9, Episode 8 managed to send everyone back to Camp Redwood, just before Margaret Booth’s murderous musical festival kicks off. A journalist was introduced and quickly dispatched by the Night Stalker, who allied himself once again with Margaret (and Bruce, the hitchhiker-loving serial killer), and Mr. Jingles seemingly found some peace. Or so we think.

Not much else happened in the episode, though and with Season 9’s finale set to air next week, here are four questions AHS: 1984 needs to answer before the season is over.

4. What happened to some of the ghosts?

Camp Redwood’s version of Purgatory is the hip new place to be, but some of the people who died there — including Bertie the cook, the random porn director who was after Xavier, and the real Nurse Rita — are nowhere to be found. This leaves the rules of Purgatory a bit murky. Did the aforementioned people not end up in Purgatory because they have no unfinished business? Is this a Casper thing, where the ghosts cross over only when their journeys are complete? It’s all a bit confusing and AHS: 1984 has only one episode left to answer that question.

3. Is Finn Wittrock playing adult Bobby Richter in 2019?

This is less of a question and more of a prediction. Last week, a costume designer working on AHS: 1984 posted an Instagram story that accidentally spoiled that the story would jump ahead to 2019. In Season 9, Episode 7, the Night Stalker killed Mr. Jingles’ wife and left his infant son alive. Now, the promo for the Season 9 finale, Finn Wittrock, who last appeared in Season 6, is back. Coincidence? Probably not.

While it’s unclear who he’ll play, my money is on Bobby Richter, the adult son of the now deceased Mr. Jingles. In the season finale trailer, Wittrock is at Camp Redwood being terrorized by Montana, but the camp looks different than it did before. It’s possible that the finale will, at least partially, be set in 2019 and Bobby, who somehow found out about his dad and Camp Redwood, makes his way back there for answers. Perhaps seeing his son alive and well is the only way for Mr. Jingles to find true peace.

2. Who will be the final girl?

AHS: 1984 is nothing if not self-aware. The characters know their lives have turned into a full-blown horror movie. With Montana dead, Brooke and Donna are the only women left alive. I’m not counting Margaret as a potential final girl because she’s a murderer.

In a conversation at a roadside diner, the show got very meta as Donna and Brooke discussed being final girls. “A Black final girl? They kill girls who have my complexion off first,” Donna tells Brooke, removing herself completely from the competition. But, since we know this show usually has a spin on tired stereotypes and tropes, it’s possible Donna will be the season’s final girl. After all, she helped kickstart the season’s story, so it would make sense for her to be the one left standing at the end.

1. Who is Camp Redwood’s lake ghost?

American Horror Story: 1984 had its biggest ‘80s horror callback in Season 9, Episode 8, titled “Rest in Pieces”. After Mr. Jingles is stabbed by Xavier and two others, he is thrown into a boat to bleed out slowly and die, but a mysterious figure emerges from the water to drag Mr. Jingles down into the depths of Camp Redwood’s lake. The scene recalled Friday the 13th in a major way, playing out just like the film’s final dream sequence.

While it’s possible the mysterious figure could have been Mr. Jingles’ younger brother, Bobby, who drowned in that very lake, it’s likely not. After all, Bobby made an appearance afterward, his ghost having been reunited with his mother, Lavinia, and Mr. Jingles.

The Bobby we saw was the same age as when he died, whereas the figure in the water was much older. As we know, ghosts at Camp Redwood don’t age. With only one episode left to wrap things up, 1984’s mystery ghost has to be someone the audience already knows, right? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

American Horror Story: 1984 airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on FX.