Cody Fern Doesn't View American Horror Story's Michael Langdon As Evil
Cody Fern is one of the newer "American Horror Story" regulars to appear on the anthology horror series and its spin-off, "American Horror Stories." Fern's first appearance in the flagship series was in season 8 "AHS: Apocalypse" as Michael Langdon, the son of Tate and Vivien. "Apocalypse" took on the monumental task of bringing back the beloved witches of season 3's "Coven" to battle the antichrist and stop the end of the world.
Fern also faced many challenges in his introduction to "AHS" because Michael Langdon was arguably the most important character in the story. Not only was he new to the show, therefore more of an outsider than the recurring cast, but he also had to portray Michael at multiple intervals in his life. From a young and innocent child who didn't understand why killing was wrong, to an unhoused child with no direction, to eventually discovering he's the antichrist but having no idea what to do with that. A lot of character development goes into making Michael an enjoyable, well-rounded, intimidating, and ultimately sympathetic character.
Despite season 8 being such a huge debut for Fern, he knocked it out of the park with his dynamic portrayal of Michael. By the time he faces off against the witches, he truly feels like he's a foreboding force that can't be stopped. Fern has a lot to say about his feelings for Michael.
Fern says Michael Langdon has purpose
During an interview with Variety, Cody Fern said, "I don't see Michael Langdon as an evil character. I don't even see him as a bad character. I see him as somebody with a lot of purpose." This prompted the interviewer to ask why Fern didn't see Michael as evil despite being the antichrist.
"I think there are different categories of evil: There is cruelty and there is destruction," Fern began. "One thing with Langdon that you come to recognize, and a choice that I really wanted to center Langdon on, is that Langdon doesn't think about destruction, he thinks about creation. Where everybody else thinks he thinks about burning the world down, he knows that he's burning the world down because, from that, something new will bloom."
Fern goes on to explain that Michael sees how much hatred, rage, and war plague the world. He's experienced it himself over the course of his life. The only people who have ever shown him kindness are the Satan worshippers who recognize him as the antichrist. The rest of humanity, those who are supposed to be "better," just prove repeatedly that they're horrible. Michael wants to wipe the Earth and start over because there has to be a better way.
"The world so far, under God's image, is clearly not working out. And if this is God's image — this is how Langdon sees it — then he just pushes that and takes people further down that path." Fern admits that Michael rarely gets his hands dirty, he just brings out the worst in the people around him, almost proving his point that the world is corrupted and he needs to cleanse it. "He acts as a conduit for other people's evil, I suppose."