AHS: Hotel episode 3, “Mommy,” took a trip down the forgotten halls of Mr. March’s “Murder Palace,” to reveal the reason why no one can seem to leave.

The most intriguing aspect of the AHS: Hotel installment is the amount of history there is to unpack. The Hotel Cortez is the Murder House, it is Briarcliff Manor, it is Miss Robichaux’s School for Girls, it is the Big Tent. The central location to which all the characters are drawn and none can seem to escape.

The isolation of the main cast from the outside world typically spins an interesting web of past and present stories connecting narratives in unpredictable ways. Sometimes, more often than not, the stories become too insane to sustain an enjoyable arc. But if the proper dues are paid to the history of the buildings, the personal journeys of the leading ensemble members, the opportunity for a cohesive tale is achievable.

AHS: Hotel is en route to do what Murder House did five seasons ago. Leading up to the Halloween episodes, the AHS narratives spend a good deal of time unpacking narrative before presenting the two-part Halloween specials, which are more bottle-episodes than important squares in the narrative quilt. They break the season away from telling and begin to show an interesting part of the mythology housed in the locale. For example, last season’s visit by Edward Mordrake provided the platform for the series to tell contained ghost stories about each character without introducing a reoccurring character into the mix.

This week’s AHS: Hotel episode 3, “Mommy,” acts as the lead-in to the first of the two Halloween specials, “Devil’s Night,” and, “Room Service.”

The introduction of Angela Bassett’s ’70s movie-star Ramona stole the focus of the episode. The Countess has kept a catalogue of lovers over her 106 year history, including a hot and heavy romance with Ramona in the ’70s. Just like Donovan and Tristan, The Countess inflicted the ancient blood virus on Ramona. The only difference in this relationship is that it was The Countess who fell madly in love, not the person she turned. When she discovered that Ramona fell out of love and moved on to another man, a rapper, The Countess brutally killed him right in front of Ramona.

Refusing to return to bed with a murderer, Ramona left. Staying away for quite some time, the Hotel Cortez has a knack for luring back people with unfinished business behind its walls. Upon her return, Ramona captures and tries to persuade Donovan to join her cause. Although Donovan is a lover scorned, his addiction to The Countess and winning her back makes him a less than ideal candidate for a revenge partner.

Besides his crusade to win back his ticket to blood town, Donovan has another issue pulling at his heart. Iris, thrilled that Donovan is finally free, tries to win back her son after years of tortured living under the Countess’ watch. But Donovan refuses her outpouring of affection, instead offering the suggestion that she kill herself and put an end to the torture of their broken relationship.

Little did he know that his words would eventually push Iris far enough over the edge to watch her fall. A heart-to-heart with Liz Taylor, a hail-Mary narrative ploy that bobbled in the end-zone, sent Donovan to reconsider his actions, but Iris was already dead in the clutches of her most-hated resident, Sally. In a momentary freakout, Donovan tries to save his mother by cursing her with the same virus that courses through his veins. Now they have all eternity to sort out their issues.

Addiction is a major theme running throughout the season that extends far beyond Sally and Gabriel sticking a needle in their arm. The Countess is addicted to wealth and domination, Donovan to The Countess, Iris to her son, Mr. March to his Murder Palace, and as we saw last night, Chloe to her dead son Holden. Chloe cannot see a way out of the grief that she carries since the disappearance of her son a few years ago. Her husband is the spitting image of the boy and she ultimately decides that living apart from him is her only solace. That is until Holden creepily appears in the hallway and simply says, “Hi, Mommy.”

John Lowe, currently addicted to his case work and finding the Ten Commandment Killer, is equally afflicted by the pain of losing their son. The longer he stays in the Hotel Cortez, the further his mind slips away from reality. A call back to the field, where journalists are murdered in the style of “Thou shall not bear false witness,” reignites the intensity of his manic mood. A divorce on top of that sends him completely off the rails.

It does not help that Gabriel springs back to life inside the mattress and murders an unsuspecting Claudia, who now joins the undead haunting the halls. John’s attempted arrest of Sally pulls back the veil on one of the hotel’s oddest mysteries — why is everyone sticking around? In a similar vein to Murder House, the residents of the Hotel Cortez have some unfinished business to take care of before they can ever be free.

Watch AHS: Hotel episode 4, “Devil’s Night,” Wednesday, October 28 at 10:00 p.m. ET on FX.