WARNING: The following contains spoilers for American Horror Story: Double Feature Episode 10, "The Future Perfect," which aired Wednesday on FX.
Of all the historic figures making an appearance in this week’s American Horror Story, Richard Nixon most embodies the aliens’ disdain for humanity. AHS portrays him as paranoid, small-minded and actively alcoholic, which frankly matches many of the historic descriptions of the man. But putting him in contact with technologically advanced aliens becomes a nightmare, as they get a good look at the worst human instincts in a position of leadership.
Season 10, Episode 10, “The Future Perfect,” details Nixon's comeuppance in 1974, as the Watergate scandal destroys his presidency and he sees everything he worked for turned to ashes. In typical fashion for AHS this season, it crafts an alternative version of Watergate -- one that makes Nixon appear at once more innocent and far more foolish. And as is typical for American Horror Story as a whole, it’s insane. But it’s also mixed with enough historical truth to make it plausible. What’s real and what’s make-believe? The lines are drawn quite clearly.
History is clear about the Watergate Scandal, though it contained enough mystery and unanswered questions to let American Horror Story play with it a little bit. In June of 1972, a group of burglars led by G. Gordon Liddy were arrested breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC. They were planting phone bugs and making copies of top-secret documents. They had close ties to Nixon, but the president denied any involvement, and was re-elected in a landslide in November of 1972.
The scandal refused to go away, despite active White House efforts to cover it up. Investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post famously covered Watergate, aided by a whistleblower code-named “Deep Throat” – unknown at the time – who turned out to be FBI Deputy Director William Mark Felt. Members of the President’s inner circle were subsequently ensnared in crimes related to the cover-up, until Nixon was forced to reveal audio tapes directly implicating him in the break-in. Faced with certain impeachment and removal in the House of Representatives, Nixon resigned in August of 1974. A month later, he was pardoned for any crimes by his successor, Gerald Ford.
In “Death Valley,” Nixon is far less concerned about the Democrats than he is about the aliens, who first order him to continue Vietnam then abandon him to face the consequences. The aliens’ liaison Valiant Thor makes it clear that Nixon has no choice in the matter. Rather than take it lying down, Nixon orders Liddy to break into the Watergate building, but not to spy on the Democrats. Instead, he wants dirt on the aliens themselves, who are housed there and whom Nixon intends to expose. The burglars are caught, and thanks to Mamie Eisenhower as Deep Throat, Woodward and Bernstein are given the information to bring down the president.
In some ways, the series of events lets Nixon off the hook for his crimes. It paints him as a hapless victim on Vietnam, and duped not only by Mrs. Eisenhower, but Henry Kissinger -- here revealed to be an alien lizard person. Nixon's efforts to fight back against the aliens are crude and foolish, but at least come in the name of humanity instead of evading consequences of a political agenda. Unlike others who defied the aliens, such as JFK, Nixon is allowed to live, though his final fate in American Horror Story is unknown.
Nixon does, however, receive one final moment of fictional karma. The night before his resignation, he decides to face impeachment, then reveal the existence of the aliens during his testimony at the trial. The aliens persuade him otherwise by abducting him and strapping him naked to a table before threatening him with what the dialogue describes as “a simple medical procedure.” He resigns meekly without further trouble after that.
It’s a spectacular variation on American Horror Story's standard technique of giving its various characters exactly what they deserve. This Nixon is revealed for more of a fool than a criminal, and yet somehow, his fate cuts much more deeply.
To see America's alien takeover and Nixon's ultimate humiliation, all 10 episodes of American Horror Story: Double Feature are on Hulu now.
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