Whether or not American Horror Story hurt Season 6 ratings with the decision to keep Roanoke entirely under wraps, fans are at least curious to see how the current run changes things up in the coming episodes. Ryan Murphy himself now teases some major Coven and Freak Show connections ahead, while promising a more opaque approach to Season 7.

Murphy took questions and previewed the second half of Season 6 in a conference call (via TVLine), primarily focused on the new premise to follow the conclusion of last week’s “My Roanoke Nightmare” format. In addition to the returns of Taissa Farmiga and Finn Wittrock in upcoming episodes, here’s what Murphy had to say of the big shake-up:

Something happens where half the cast is revealed to be doing something completely different than you’ve seen in the first five [episodes]. You realize what you’ve been watching with some of the characters is not [who] they are. [The actors] had to do a mad scramble to find new voices and accents. It is a big turn. It’s the biggest plot twist we’ve ever done with the show. And there’s a startling announcement in Act 3 that resets the season up until Episode 10.

Looking ahead, Murphy also revealed that Lady Gaga’s witchy character is in fact the “Original Supreme” of Coven lore, and may in fact return in a later season. Most mercifully of all, however, Murphy promises Season 7 won’t follow the mystery promotion of Season 6: “We’re not doing a secrecy thing, but [next season] does have a big hook behind it,” one that might feature a few Freak Show characters.

No word if Season 7 marks the “secret season” we’ve been hearing about, but American Horror Story: Roanoke will continue this Wednesday with “Chapter 6.”

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