For Peters's Sake: Have We Seen The Last Of Evan Peters (Again) On 'American Horror Story?'

Well, Ryan Murphy definitely promised us a twist for the sixth episode of American Horror Story: Roanoke, but I don't think anyone was prepared for that whopper. While we're still in mourning over the loss of Evan Peters's Edward Philippe Mott from Episode 5, things looked promising when it was confirmed that Peters would be back in a different role. With a truly shocking week, did things fair any better this time round on the Roanoke ranch?

Warning: Bloody spoilers for Roanoke Episode 6!

Tears In Evan

Returning for another blink-and-you'll-miss-it performance in the sixth episode of Roanoke (now titled Return to Roanoke: 3 Days in Hell), Evan Peters was back as cheeky chappy Rory. He played the real life actor behind Edward Philippe Mott, and used his horrendous flirting technique to seduce Sarah Paulson's Audrey Tindall, who plays the actor behind Shelby – are you keeping up?

With Peters usually reduced to playing child-murdering teens, reanimated corpses, or asylum patients, it was a rare moment of Horror Story happiness to see him play a joyful character. We got to see his picturesque wedding to Audrey, and he had just been offered a casting in Hollywood – everything seemed to be going well for Rory. Now, the show did come with the warning that all but one will die in the second half of the season, and we know who we want to be that last man or woman standing. But, oh, if only it was that easy Evan!

Less than half an hour into knowing Rory and Peters seemingly meets another sticky demise in the final act. I know, you must all be screaming at your television screens – could this really be curtains for the Horror Story hunk?

R is for...

They did it, they actually tied up a lose end for once. While many had foreshadowed that the killer nurses would complete their giant game of human scrabble if anyone returned to the Roanoke house, we didn't expect it to happen quite like this. Whoever decided to set a reality documentary in the middle of a blood moon is a damn fool. Our unaware participants headed back to the Murde(r) House just in time to meet Kristen Rakes and Maya Rose's nurses again and it just so happens that the newly-introduced Rory matches the final letter to finish their bloody quest.

You have to hand it to Ryan Murphy, as twists go, that is a pretty good one. We had been guessing for weeks that the world's most vicious spelling bee would be finished, and some theorists even thought it would be Ryan Murphy (playing himself) who got the chop. I don't think anyone guessed that Evan Peters would be the first to shuffle off the mortal coil in Return to Roanoke.

It looks like the Twitterverse is back to sharpening its axes for Ryan Murphy:

#AHSRoanoke: don't worry Evan Peters is back #AHSRoanoke: lmao jk Me: pic.twitter.com/ZwU976XheA— Vanessa Tenore (@vnesstenore) October 20, 2016

Third time's a charm.

It could be the shock, but we have to pull together in times like this to come to terms with the fact that Evan Peters really is gone. As much as Murphy likes to reanimate his characters, this isn't Game of Thrones. You can take solace in the fact that the promo for next week actually has a glimpse of Rory, however don't get your hopes up – it looks to be footage from the surveillance cameras.

Despite his impressive acting credentials, somehow I just can't see Rory making it out of that knife attack alive. So, what does this mean? There are one of three options, none of which are particularly inviting:

• 1) No more Evan Peters
• 2) Evan Peters is a ghost again (second time this season)
• 3) He plays someone new (again)

The internet went into overdrive on why the 29-year-old actor had dyed his hair ginger. When we saw Peters's character in Episode 5 there was no sign of those luscious ginger locks, so we presumed he would appear again. Now that we have seen Rory in all his auburn glory, do we actually need him to come back? Bear with me on this one, but now that we have entered the second half of the season, they are going to have to start upping the body count. Watching Rory and Audrey flirt around for a few weeks, only to have him save her life in some selfless act of heroism, is such a cliché. If that part had gone to anyone other than Evan Peters, you would all be saying good riddance.

The other option is that we see more of Rory, haunting Audrey like a Casper the friendly ghost. From (what little) of Rory we saw, he wouldn't be one of the house's bad juju ghosts and could occupy the space of Edward Philippe Mott's ghost, leading everyone to safety. Personally, the idea of a "good ghost" kind of takes away from the horror of American Horror Story, so that theory also receives null points.

The final – and possibly worst option – is that we see Evan again as someone new (again). We already have doppelgängers, studio execs and production crew, so unless Evan Peters is going to cameo as a meta version of Evan Peters, I am out on that one too.

There is no official word yet on whether Peters will appear in the rest of the season, but it looks like despite all the death, next week's 3 Days In Hell continues as normal. They will probably explain Rory's absence with the rehashed storyline, as all good murder mysteries do, saying that he went to his casting in Hollywood.

Please don't feed me to The Butcher, but controversially I say leave him dead, dress yourself in black for the rest of the season, and mourn him properly. Sleep tight my sweet prince.