Alice Rush reviews the seventh episode of American Horror Story: Coven…
This week’s episode of Coven sets out with the best intentions to attempt to move the story onwards towards a darker and more daring conclusion as the series moves towards its week break. There is a deep sense of betrayal running through ‘The Dead’ as Delia turns against Fiona, Madison has a dalliance with Kyle and Queenie makes the inevitable but arguably unjustified turn towards Marie Laveau and the voodoo witches.
Starting with a flashback we are given more of a background on Kyle’s life before his ultimately death. It’s a relief to see Evan Peters having more air time as well as actual worded dialogue instead of his usual monster grunts. Cutting back to present day his relationship with Zoe is starting to blossom as he becomes more self-aware with her acting as his guide. This is then ruined by the newly revived Madison who, feeling at a loose end and cut off from any meaning in life, sleeps with Kyle, starting the theme of betrayal that seems to colour the episode.
This leads me into one of my main gripes with the episode, and indeed the whole series, that being that the character motives are always so ambiguous that it makes for questionable viewing. Instead of giving us enough time to get acquainted with the characters and discover more about their personality we are constantly thrust into situations whereby their brash and sometimes shocking choices don’t seem to carry enough credence. Zoe seems so infatuated with Kyle and yet she only knew him for a few hours, Kyle, after not being able to coordinate himself and apparently still scarred by the sexual abuse from his mother, sleeps with Madison. Madison’s actions are slightly believable but the whole situation seems so melodramatic that it renders any chance at an emotional connection null and void.
Also within the Academy walls Queenie and LaLaurie continue their odd friendship with Queenie taking the immortal countess for a taste of fast food and LaLaurie admitting that she is grateful for the chance of redemption Fiona has given her. It’s a touching to see these characters separated by years of racial hatred and segregation managing to get along. However this is then shattered as Marie Laveau manages to convince Queenie to betray the Salem witches and join forces with her, bringing LaLaurie as a bargaining chip. Whilst this seemed to be a long time coming, it was still shocking to see Queenie betray her fellow witches, though this will hopefully provide some intense conflicting and fighting over the rest of the season.
Fiona this week continues her dalliance with the Axe Man who is revealed to have always loved her as he watched her grow up when he was spiritually imprisoned within the Academy. Most of the gritty dialogue and beautiful cinematography that we have come to expect from American Horror Story was present within the scenes between the two, and it was definitely the most enjoyable part of the episode for me. Fiona seems to be the only character that has had time invested in her personal growth, and Jessica Lange as always beautifully portrays the withering Supreme desperately trying to claw back a sense of youth and power.
Delia and Zoe don’t seem quite as sweet on Fiona however, as Delia discovers that it was Fiona who killed Madison and warns Zoe that if she is the next suspected Supreme she will be in danger. What follows is yet another ridiculous character turn as they plot to kill Fiona, with Zoe enchanting Spaulding’s tongue to get the truth from him before then stabbing him in the chest. Whilst I am all for character change when faced with extenuating circumstances there is something utterly unbelievable about both Delia’s willingness to completely turn against her mother and Zoe’s sudden kick of being completely okay with killing people. I understand the changes within character and the conflict between the warring female witches they are trying to create, but a lot of it falls flat as enough time hasn’t been given over to getting to know each character.
Whilst the series is definitely heating up and some serious clashes between the strong female characters are on their way it feels like we’ve had to put up with an awful lot of build-up compared to action. I guess by this point I should probably accept that this series of American Horror Story is taking it lightly with the horror and instead focusing more on female power relationships, which is a joy to watch but only when the characters have been given enough screen time for the audience to acclimatise to them, and unfortunately a lot of the characters just haven’t.
Alice Rush
Originally published November 22, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
