American Horror Story: Coven - Recap: This Road Goes Two Ways

Episode 8 of Season 3 of American Horror Story: Coven, “The Sacred Taking,” further dug the lines drawn in the sand between each and every one of our favorite witches. As Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) began to question her allegiances more this week, Madison (Emma Roberts) and Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) stood united in an effort to bring her back to their side. Of course, by the close of the episode, the united front between the Coven was wearing thin. Cordelia (Sarah Paulson), in an effort to rid the world of her selfish mother for good, organized a calculated attack that was meant to burn two witches with one stake. Meaning, killing Fiona (Jessica Lange) would bring about the rise of the next Supreme. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 3 Episode 8 of American Horror Story: Coven, “The Sacred Taking”! Episode 8 began with Queenie casually strutting through the dankest of dark places in order to dig up a rapist for reaping. Seriously, Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett) had sent out her latest recruit to bring her a “dark heart” for some sort of ceremony that would allegedly infuse Queenie with more power. Come on, Queenie. There’s a reason this woman has been alive and perfectly preserved for centuries. Madison and Zoe managed to track down their former peer, only to find themselves disappointed with her adamant decision to stick with the voodoo crew. Madison’s first zinger of the night:

Fiona slit my throat. You don’t see me bitchin’ out.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

You win few. You lose more. This is the world of bitchcraft, after all. Back at Robichaux’s Academy, and increasingly callous Delia shrugged off Queenie’s deceit without much effort at all. With three girls left, Madison, Zoe, and Nan (Jamie Brewer) would have to do when it came to Delia’s plot to destroy Fiona. Everything was interrupted, though, when Misty Day (Lily Rabe) came a-knockin’ on the academy’s door in desperate need of protection. You see, the Stevie-lovin' swamp witch was awoken in the middle of the night by a freshly harvested Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy), whom was stirred awake herself by a witch hunter in the night. The two managed to escape, scrambling to the steps of Robichaux's Academy for the Coven’s help. Luckily, Delia was feeling welcoming, and her newfound gift of sight certainly comes in handy when meeting new people. A whole life story in the touch of a hand! Of course, she didn’t need to read Myrtle’s tale in the greenhouse. By the way, Myrtle’s hair is bought by the bucket-load from Korea! So convenient after being burned at the stake and resurrected by a swamp witch in her garden for a few weeks.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

Here’s the scoop on the assassination attempt. There’s an old school ritual known as “The Sacred Taking,” which is basically a spell evoked only in dire circumstances. The Supreme is called to sacrifice herself for the good of the Coven, immediately bringing forth the next young replacement. It’s a rarely activated procedure. It’s more so built for occasions such as the time the Coven fled Salem while their Supreme was simply too old to survive the trip. The intentions are meant to be selfless, yet this current instance was clearly intended to be a trap. As Madison pointed out in her signature tone, how would they convince Fiona Goode to off herself when she’d go as far as to slit a teenager’s throat for power? Trust Madison. She knows. This is where some of the more entertaining portions of AHS: Coven Episode 8 came into play.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

Fiona had, in the meantime, been spending her free hours in bed with the Axeman (Danny Huston). As her crippling cancer began to spread, riddling her with pain as she attempted to soak up her last days of life, the Axeman seemed to be her sole source of solace. Fiona is a creature of habit, though, and she’d rather not spend her final days of rotting traveling the Riviera or skipping around Morocco. She’s much too vain to let a man witness her decay. On the flipside, she’s going down swinging. In an episode that was mostly about contriving her suicide, the affirmation that she refused to kill herself certainly served to stack the odds against Delia's planned ritual actually occurring.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

That is, until Madison made her grand return to the world of Fiona Goode. Fiona, going through her bedtime routine in her bedroom bathroom, was drawn back outside by the sound of music. "Season Of The Witch." Classic. Beside her bed, Madison Montgomery sauntered around Fiona’s lavish quarters, proclaiming it as her own. Madison is the new Supreme, of course. How else could she have resurrected herself from the beyond the grave? If Madison had returned, it seemed Fiona’s days of evading her own execution had run out. She could down a handful of pills and fade off in peace, or face the consequences and burn to “hash browns” the next morning. Initially, Fiona was left undecided even after Madison’s quite compelling and aggressive argument. It was Myrtle Snow who next appeared to convince Fiona of her own imminent demise, but how would Myrtle twist the knife just right? By dragging the man into the equation, of course! Fiona, clinging to the hope that she could live out the rest of her days with the Axeman, refused to settle for anything other than running, yet visions of the man she loves leaving her to die a slow and painful death in a hospital bed eventually did push Fiona to the brink. She chose the pills, and in what she presumed to be her final moments, she “prepared the corpse.” Clad in a fur and headscarf to cover her thinning hair, Fiona mused about her younger days, days when she happily chased a drummer through Woodstock. Myrtle, for what it’s worth, seemed genuinely interested in bearing witness to Fiona’s final moments. Before long, she was settling herself above the covers of her bed. Myrtle, prior to leaving Fiona to die alone, swiped some jewels.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

In the house next door, Luke (Alexander Dreymon) and his mother, Joan (Patti Lupone), clashed once again over the nature of the Coven. Luke, who’d been saved by Nan and her friends during the Halloween zombie invasion, pleaded with his over-zealous mother to trust him and his memories of the night. In what was certainly the most disturbing scene this week for this recap writer, Luke would suffer the consequences of his defiance. After stripping down in his bathroom, Luke stepped into his bathtub enraged and hurt, as his mother prepared a colonic with cleaning supplies. It was devastating to witness such a seemingly kind and pure boy "cleansed" this way by his own mother.

As the events of the night came to transpire at Miss Robichaux’s, Nan found herself on the outs with her Coven. Why had they so certainly dismissed her as the next Supreme?

You have no style, and your pits smell like fish sticks.

I’m so happy Madison Montgomery is alive and well. Thank you, American Horror Story: Coven for not taking away her humor or, well, her tongue. Tongues are a hot commodity on AHS: Coven!

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

Nan, saddened by the betrayal of her friends, scurried straight to Luke’s doorstep, jiggling the lock open with a bit of telekinesis. Hmm… maybe Nan does have some potential after all. Nan found Luke bound and gagged in an upstairs closet, but freeing him and heading for the hills only brought forth his terrifying mother. Joan is horrible in a very different sort of way. Before the couple could announce their departure from New Orleans, Joan was shockingly shot dead by a gunman outside the window. As the laser targeted Nan, Luke dove in front of her in an act of protection. Devastated and sobbing, Nan begged for her powers of resurrection to kick in, desperate to be the next Supreme.

Did we really think a Coven of teenage girls could get rid of Spalding (Denis O’Hare) that easily? Spalding is a roach. All Spalding's murder at the hands of Zoe served to do was render the caretaker limitless in his abilities to see and speak of everything. Knowledge is power when most of your friends could care less if you live or die. Fiona, of course, was his very life force, and he remains loyal to her even in the spirit realm. Revealing the truth behind Delia’s plan to manipulate a suicide, Spalding offered Fiona a serum to make her sick in order to remove the pills from her system before she could overdose. Fiona, now back on her feet and grateful for another night alive, walked into the parlor where the girl’s sat waiting for the big reveal, but vengeance could wait. After hearing from Spalding that most of the girls pegged Misty Day as the Coven’s next Supreme, Fiona was ready to set her crosshair on our favorite swamp witch. The power of resurgence is, after all the most difficult ability to master. Misty, having heard of the terrors brought forth by the current Supreme, flew the coop the moment she heard Fiona’s voice and headed next door. Of course, she simply might have sensed the fresh death or heard Nan’s cries. It wouldn’t have been the first time Misty was drawn to death like that. Then again, did Nan resurrect Luke?

Fiona was drawn to Luke’s home by the commotion caused due to the investigating officers. Nan left with her crush as the boy was taken away in critical condition following a shot to the back of the head. Misty, beckoned forward by Fiona who’d easily nipped the police situation in the bud, was asked to perform her magic on the corpse of Joan. With ease, Misty resurrected the Jesus fanatic before passing out. I guess all that resurrecting warranted a nap! Anyway, I’m just interested in hearing what Joan thought of the other side. Did she witness the same cold bleak death that Madison and Kyle (Evan Peters) had been subjected to?

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

Speaking of Kyle, Zoe spent a good portion of Episode 8 training her undead boyfriend to speak again. I was happy to see a more docile and kind Kyle enjoying a computer game intended for small children rather than the thumping oafish Kyle we’ve become a little too used to. We’re nearing the end of Season 3 of AHS. It’s time for Evan Peters to speak, I think. By the close of the episode, thankfully, he did.

 This… road… goes… two… ways.

What does that mean, Kyle?

I… love… you.

And all it took was a pair of bejeweled headphones and an animated talking bird or two to do the trick! Of course, from the hallway, Madison listened in before breaking down in tears. Remember, this is the only person in the world who can make Madison feel again, so whether you love her or hate her, you have to sympathize with her a bit here.

To close the recap of Episode 8 of American Horror Story: Coven, we did pay one last visit to Marie’s lair. There, Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) remained caged and starving. Queenie, feeling sympathy for her former frienemy, snuck Delphine her favorite cheeseburger before Marie could interject to remind LaLaurie of her place in the world of voodoo. Unaware of some of the consequences of the spell, Delphine attempted to take advantage of her condition, even noting that she wouldn’t mind going back in the box at this point. The time spent in Marie’s clutches has all but completely wiped away all that she’s learned since returning to the hustle and bustle of 2013 New Orleans.

The next morning at Miss Robichaux’s, Fiona seemed to shrug off the entire planned attack on her life. In fact, she admitted to feeling a bit proud of Delia for her efforts in leading the Coven with an iron fist. Cordelia admitted to being glad that she failed. After finding a blessed bullet on Luke’s front lawn, Delia became privy to the fact that a witch hunter was in their midst. The gunfire was intended, in fact, for their Coven. After a knock at the door, Fiona answered to find nothing but a cardboard box. Inside, she opened it to find Delphine LaLaurie’s severed head, blinking and begging for help.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

What did you think of American Horror Story: Coven, Season 3 Episode 8, “The Sacred Taking”? Are you losing sympathy for Queenie or Marie? What about Madison? Will Luke pull through? Did Misty (or Nan) resurrect him before the paramedics arrived? Will Kyle and Zoe ever truly work? Are Fiona’s intentions actually pure? Who is the next Supreme?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of American Horror Story: Coven, Season 3 Episode 8, “The Sacred Taking”!