‘American Horror Story: Delicate’ Part 1 Ending Explained: Is Kim Kardashian The Season’s Villain?

The best part about American Horror Story: Delicate is that you can miss the first 10 minutes, or even a full episode, and not fall behind. The five episodes, comprising the first part of the season, have been a slow build, but things are still happening, twists are still being revealed, and mysterious fertility goats still keep appearing. Now that the midseason finale has aired, it’s time to unpack what happened.

Delicate premiered September 20, 2023, on FX and is currently streaming on Hulu. The season follows Emma Roberts as Anna Victoria Alcott, an actor struggling with fertility issues, with Kim Kardashian as her publicist Siobhan Corbyn, and Matt Czuchry as her husband Dexter Harding.

Anna and Matt are working on having their first child, while at the same time, Anna is at the height of her career and garnering awards buzz for her latest movie.

Throughout the experience, the actor has been going to a private hospital with several creepy, unreliable employees, and has also been stalked by home intruders and an elderly woman dressed in all black named Ms. Preecher (Julie White).

The midseason finale – called “Preecher” – dives into Ms. Preecher’s background and offers some pressing answers about Anna’s predicament, as well as insinuates that Dexter is in danger. With a short runtime of 37 minutes, this episode is bloated with commercials but still dials up the drama.

So, what happens in the final episode? Is Anna’s baby safe? Does Siobhan have a dark secret? What’s exactly going on between Dex and his mother? Continue reading for everything you need to know.

Obviously, there are spoilers beyond this point.

American Horror Story: Delicate Ending Explained

Buckle up — not everybody survives the Delicate Part 1 finale! The episode starts with a flashback to Manhattan in 1987 where a younger Preecher is giving birth. She expresses pain while in labor, but is dismissed by the hospital staff. The mysterious figures in goat costumes that have been haunting Anna appear in Preecher’s hospital room.

Following this, a series of different perspectives in the present are shown. First, Dex argues with his mother over her lawsuit against his father for abuse, as he doesn’t want to get involved. Then, Anna visits Siobhan, where she runs into her competition Babette Eno (Taylor Richardson), and finds out they’re being represented by the same agent. That’s awkward! When Anna confronts Siobhan about it, the PR agent gets upset and warns her to back off. In the midst of the heated moment, before Anna leaves, Siobhan gives her a new box of the red vials — seemingly filled with vitamins — that she gave her in the first episode.

Anna, not the brightest bulb in the box, takes the vials with no complaints. It seems maybe she should stop taking drugs from her publicist, especially when she’s been suffering major pregnancy complications… But what do I know?

Moving on, Preech meets with Dex’s mother and reveals that she had given up her baby, conceived during a one-night-stand, to a random woman in exchange for success. “I know these women are planning something,” Preech says. “She said she’d give me the world if I gave her this one thing.” And success, she did find, as Preech shares that she sold the patent to her handbag to Marc Jacobs and became rich.

But then, Preech drops a major bomb! She reveals that Dex is in danger for “defecting” the group’s “most valuable player,” which his mother identifies as “Adeline,” Dex’s dead wife.

Meanwhile, Anna is visiting her doctor about the pain she’s been suffering in her abdominal area and groin. At first, her doctor dismisses her pain but eventually suggests a pelvic floor treatment. He then tells her, “I need to know you’ll do whatever you can to ensure a healthy pregnancy,” and forbids her from traveling. Thus, Anna is rendered unable to attend the Golden Globes ceremony, where she is nominated for Best Actress.

Later, Anna suffers horrific symptoms while in the shower after a physical therapy session. Her hair comes out in a bloody fistful and she envisions a goat in her shower. Upon exiting, she sees a doll that resembles her current state.

In light of all the bad news, Anna and Dex decide to have their friend Sonia (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) over for dinner, which goes as normal as possible when one’s slightly losing their mind and control over their own life. At the end of the meal, Anna points out Sonia’s likeness to Dex’s ex Adeline, but Sonia is uninterested in the topic.

On Golden Globe day, Anna decides to see physician Cora (Tavi Gevinson) for a pelvic floor treatment, and she is sexually assaulted by the health professional. That night, she tells Dex what happened and he plays it off, which causes an argument between the two.

Anna goes to watch the award ceremony alone, cradling two of the blonde dolls that keep being left in her vicinity. Babette beats her for the Golden Globe Award, which was a surprise after Anna won the Gotham award. During this, Anna throws up a bloody nail… or raccoon tooth… or something unhealthy?

After Anna’s loss, she accepts a call from Siobhan and expresses her desperation for an Oscar Award. She tells the PR agent that she wants it as much as a baby. Anna is seemingly drugged and wakes up in her bed the next day. Dex shoves a phone in her face, which shows her a news article revealing that Babette was decapitated in a car crash. Oh, that’s fucked up. The first half ends with an ominous shot of Siobhan calling on the phone. Is Kim Kardashian the season’s big villain? Or as her director friend says: who are you???

So, in summary: Adeline had ties to the baby cult, Siobhan probably killed Babette, and Anna’s baby is most definitely not okay. Oh, and at some point, Siobhan had dinner with the director she slept with to get Anna the role in her breakout movie? A lot happened, and though we can’t justify how it all adds to the plot, it will make for an enjoyable rewatch while waiting for the second half of Delicate to air in 2024.

American Horror Story: Delicate is streaming on Hulu.