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When American Horror Story: Coven ended last week, the Academy was about to be assaulted by a zombie army, resurrected by Marie Laveau. In “Burn, Witch. Burn!” the episode picks up where last week left off. Was the Academy left standing? Find out in our American Horror Story: Coven review for “Burn, Witch. Burn!”
I caught up American Horror Story this morning during my coffee. While I regretted having food anywhere near me, I did miss Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett over the last week. So I guess it was worth it. Let’s jump right into the episode.
Delphine LaLurie
Just when I think I’ve gotten a handle on how evil this woman is, we see that she actually tortured her own flesh and blood. How do you put your own daughters in the chamber of torture and leave them there to rot? This is why I’m okay with all three coming back (Via Laveau) to get her as zombies. I’d like to point out that I’m a nurse (yup, in real life people trust me with their sick babies, crazy right?) but the scene with the eye balls and intestines made me slightly ill. I What I absolutely love is her slight redemption with Queenie. She worries about and tends to Queenie like a surrogate mother. The sadistic racist has a heart? Looks like it, and I am here for the conflict between her past and present. Also, Kathy Bates brings the crazy to a new level that I love. I may never be able to look her in the eyes – should I ever get the chance – but I can’t turn away from her performance.
Delia is blind
Who exactly threw that sulfuric acid into Delia’s face? Not only is she permanently disfigured but also she’s blind. The symbolism of Delia being physically unable to see anything and then learning the truth about the psychopath she married is pretty heavy-handed, but still tells a good story. Same for Fiona wandering around the hospital trying to find any drug that will ease her pain of being helpless. She is Supreme, and yet her daughter is lying in a hospital bed wounded. She’s powerless to do anything about it, and as a woman who craves perfect beauty and power, she can’t wrap her anger/guilt/sadness around the situation. Look at her words when she brings that baby girl back to life for the new mother. She can’t do a thing to help her daughter, but she uses this as an outlet for all these feelings. Fiona loves her daughter, she knows she’s screwed up, and hates the situation. In the end, though, is it enough love to win out over her need to be in charge?
In badass news, Fiona’s take down of the husband with “now I may not have been the mother she needed me to be, but I can smell the bullshit in your pockets, even if she can’t….You have fifteen minutes with her and then I’ll be back and you will disappear. You will go on your own or my way, I don’t care which, although I’d prefer the latter.” I DARE him to take her on, especially right now. She’s livid that her daughter is hurt, she’s trying to hold onto the seat of power in the coven, and she’s always hated the husband. All three add up to this man being sliced and diced real soon.
Zoe is the new supreme?
The idea of the zombie storyline seemed better in my head then the actual execution. Like I said above, love Delphine’s daughter coming back from the dead to seek revenge on her. What I didn’t like so much was the ridiculousness of the zombies. Something about them made me roll my eyes, versus scare or even intriguing me. (I do think The Walking Dead has made me a zombie snob, so there’s that.) The only thing that made me pay attention for a minute was Marie Laveau literally fall out of the trance onto to the floor when she came upon a crazy strong power. We see it’s Zoe and realize she has the power to be the next supreme. I’m not sure how crazy I am about all this mainly because it’s slightly predictable but I’ll refrain from any snap judgments for now. Zoe still has her “gifted” vajayjay and that undead Kyle running around New Orleans so she’s got some issues to deal with as well.
Fiona gets Myrtle Snow burned at the stake
This decades-long rivalry is temporarily won by Fiona when she gets the council to vote to burn Myrtle at the stake. Fiona uses circumstantial evidence in combination with straight up lies to “prove” that Myrtle is the one threw the acid in Delia’s face and killed Madison. What I loved about the council scene is the rage under the surface for both Fiona and Myrtle. For Fiona, she’s found a way to let all her feelings concerning Delia over the years loose while Myrtle rages that Fiona is never punished for her actions. In Fiona’s defense, if Myrtle hadn’t been so shady while trying to get dirt on her over the years, she never would have set her up like this. Even I didn’t believe that one. Fiona wanted to win and Myrtle was too close to the truth. Cue Fiona throwing her cigarette at Myrtle to start the fire and bring the badassness. Problem solved for Fiona…except it isn’t because Misty Day has to put her nose in Fiona’s business and bring Myrtle back to life.
The students get played like a chess match
Watching Fiona play Queenie and Zoe reminds me why she’s stayed in charge as long as she has. Just when she has no more cards to play, she changes the game. Look at how she gets Queenie to frame Myrtle with the idea of Queenie becoming Supreme or praises Zoe for her good work in taking on the zombies. She knows what buttons to push and how far to go to get what she needs from either of them.
Overall, the episode was ok. Not the strongest one, but not the weakest one so far. I’m looking forward to the three acting forces sharing the screen very soon.
Shoutouts
– Madison’s arm.
– Jessica Lange’s little black dress.
– The art department for the fake eyes and intestines, because it really did make my stomach turn.
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