American Horror Story: Coven

Incest. Rape. Murder. Witches. Voodoo. Resurrection. Zombies. Slavery. Blood. Goats. Snakes. Limbs. A severed tongue. Yes, Ryan Murphy is back doing what he does best – laying on the dark and twisted in the new season of his hit anthology, American Horror Story, this year appropriately titled Coven. Every season is a standalone one, each with its very own beginning, middle and an end, which stops the show from growing stale, as fresh new ideas come alive every year. As can be sussed out from the title, we focus on a group of modern day witches who face extinction. Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga) discovers her unique witchy ‘gift’ of literally being able to use sex as a deadly weapon, when the first boy she does the deed with dies of a mysterious brain haemorrhage. For her own protection and education, she is sent away to a special boarding school run by Cordelia Foxx (Sarah Paulson), who is focused on teaching her students Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), Nan (Jamie Brewer) and Zoe whilst also keeping them safe from dangers of the outside world. The unexpected return of Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange) signals trouble for everyone involved. As the reigning Supreme of the generation, she is the most powerful witch in town, although age seems to be taking its toll on the once-omnipotent glamour-cat, and her obsession with keeping her youthful looks and powers intact is her main objective. Cordelia isn’t thrilled to have her unstable mother around the house, and her tendency to seek out trouble and violence wherever she goes. Also not pleased with this new arrival is Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett), an immensely skilled voodoo queen who’s been alive since the 1800s, it seems. New addition Kathy Bates also has a prominent role, based on the real-life Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie, whose infamous treatment of her domestic staff is portrayed on the screen here, as she gains pleasure in torturing her group of black servants. It was promised Bates would play a woman five times worse than her Misery character of Annie Wilkes, and Bates’ LaLaurie does not disappoint. How she fits into the overall modern day timeline is through some spooky voodoo trick which promises to have a lot of fun in store for us. American Horror Story is a show where restraint has no place in any of its episodes. The crazier it gets, the more deliciously fun it is for the audience. The uneasy truce between the witches’ coven and the voodoo practitioner builds to a boiling point early on, and gloves will certainly be coming off as these two powerful forces go head to head, reigniting a bloody war that should light our screens ablaze with fire, blood, guts and gore. There is internal conflict within the coven, as Fiona’s reckless use of her powers alerts the Council, headed by Fiona’s long-time nemesis, Myrtle Snow (American Horror Story regular Frances Conroy with crazy red hair). This rivalry is also setting up to become a juicy plot strand, and with two actresses of exceptional acting abilities, their showdown should be one to look forward to. Murphy’s genius move of recycling various members of his cast is one of the most attractive features of his anthology series. Lange, as usual, is a commanding force of nature who makes the show what it is, Paulson is equally as strong, Denis O’Hare is immensely creepy as a loyal cross-dressing, doll-collecting, tea-party-loving house servant, and making a particularly welcome return is Lily Rabe as a slow-moving, slow-talking but powerful witch who can resurrect anything. She, too, is not all right in the head, which will most definitely lead to unpredictable developments. Zoe’s relationship with Kyle (Evan Peters) brings back the similar forbidden love subplot from Murder House that was missing in Asylum. Early episodes have been so busy with setting the tone with different witches that Zoe and Kyle haven’t yet had a whole lot of time to spend together. The same goes for the new neighbours of the witchy academy, the good-looking Luke (Alexander Dreymon), his bible-thumping mother Joan (Patti LuPone), as well as Cordelia’s shady looking husband Hank (Josh Hamilton). But so far seven episodes have aired, and with six more to go, everything is looking so far so spooky. American Horror Story does have the tendency to start off incredibly strong and die down slightly towards the end (as is reflected by its television ratings), but what it promises to deliver in terms of shock value and campy fun is done so week after week. It’s highly addictive, and for those who can stomach the constant flashes of unthinkable violence, Coven is quite a ride, and promises to be a whole lot more horrifying in future episodes.