American Horror Story: Coven - Recap: It's My Dance

Episode 3 of American Horror Story: Coven, "The Replacements," put up some of the strongest visual images thus far. On a show that, on its surface, seems to laud the "special" and the supernatural, is the price paid through the physical balance of nature? Sometimes I find myself wondering what these writers were told to accomplish. It was as though they were asked above all else to imagine the wackiest sex scenes they could imagine, throw in a dash of bestiality and a twist of necromancy, and voilà… American Horror Story: Coven minus the Stevie Nicks. Stevie Nicks brought to you courtesy of Misty Day (Lily Rabe), who needs to finagle her way into the central plotline of the show sooner rather than later. I have a feeling bodies are about to start dropping and the only thing that might spice up an already stellar season of AHS is a zombie uprising to the tune of “Little Lies” by Fleetwood Mac. Here is the Recap and Review of American Horror Story: Coven, Season 3 Episode 3, “The Replacements”!

Episode 3 opened with a flashback sequence. Young Fiona, so vibrant and beautiful and dastardly. Anna-Leigh Leighton (Christine Ebersole) was The Supreme of the era, and what a fine Supreme she was. Of course, this meant that the blossoming Fiona would need to do away with her. Patience isn’t Fiona’s strong suit, we’ve come to learn. Time is her ultimate enemy. Patience is its poison. Why waste time learning the tricks of the trade when you can slash your mentor’s throat and suck out her ultimate power in a flash? Spalding (Denis O’Hare) watched on in eerie silence as Fiona crowned herself as the leader of the coven. Perhaps most importantly, we came to learn that the magic, at least within this circle, is connected. When a new Supreme is rising up, the old one begins to wither and die. In the present day, we’d witness Fiona (Jessica Lange) struggling to down various medications with the help of some scotch. What were we to deduce? Was one of the new girls sapping her life force?

Much of Episode 3 found our girls divided. First, let’s check in with Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) whose role as a supporting cast member most definitely delivered a show-stopping moment this week costarring a very unlikely love(?) interest. Queenie was mostly paired with Madame LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) in what has become my favorite coupling thus far. Could there have been a more genius idea than pairing the heinous face of southern racism with a sassy and confident African American girl of our time like Queenie? At least, what we knew about her heading into this relationship stamped her as impenetrable in her vibrancies. We’d learn more by the close of her arc this week, of course.

LaLaurie had been made the housemaid by Fiona, who’d had quite enough of her awful, and completely dated, racist ways. The most laugh-inducing scene this week had to be LaLaurie’s sob-laden viewing of a presidential speech by Barack Obama, our nation’s first black president. Eventually, her mere displeasure in acting as the school’s servant was trumped entirely by her utter disgust brought on by the mere thought of serving Queenie a plate of food at mealtime. Before Queenie could put her voodoo doll skills to excellent use, Fiona intervened with a much better punishment… LaLaurie would act as Queenie’s personal slave.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

Funny enough, I find this strangely endearing quality in LaLaurie that I can only attribute to the greatness of Kathy Bates. I hate myself for enjoying her character so much and not solely as a wretched villainess. I loved the conversation between Queenie and LaLaurie that evening when the two shared their thoughts on the former’s eating habits. Obviously, it’s awful to criticize any woman’s weight or body image, but the fact that LaLaurie compared Queenie to one of her daughter’s set forth the spark of change. Maybe there will, indeed, be a path of penance for her, yet how could American Horror Story: Coven ever pull off glorifying such an evil figure in American history? Even Kathy Bates can’t work that kind of witchcraft, right? In any case, we learned more about Queenie’s Achille’s heel in the lack of supporting and fulfilling love in her life. She eats for comfort, and while she might have claimed to be “saving herself” to put a cork in Madison (Emma Roberts) earlier, we’d soon learn otherwise.

The Minotaur reared his ugly head, quite literally, this week in an attempt to snuff out LaLaurie for good. Well, we know they don’t want her dead, but she could end up back in a box at any given moment given the right slip-up. Alone in the house, LaLaurie pleaded with Queenie to offer her protection, and after swiping a sample of LaLaurie’s blood, Queenie would oblige. Walking outside with the bloody rag, drawing The Minotaur forward, Queenie eventually lured the half-man into the yard’s shed. This is where things took a turn for the tragic. In her desperation, Queenie dismissed LaLaurie’s claims that the creature in front of her had violated her daughter, instead choosing to relate to his nature as a “beast.” Here’s the thing, though. This conversation would have made perfect sense during this man’s time, but this is no longer a full human being. At least, not from the way I perceive things. He’s seemed to have devolved into a creature that is way more animalistic, complete with hooves for feet and bull-like snarls and grunts. We don’t know anything about him yet, though. All we know is that time has made a man into the mythological creature that LaLaurie had sought to create. Queenie, in her naivety, attempted to appeal to the humanity in The Minotaur by pleasuring herself and coaxing him forward. In the end, The Minotaur merely aggressively wrapped his hand across her mouth, and we’ll have to wait until Episode 4 to learn of the repurcussions of Queenie’s come-ons.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

Episode 3 also saw some progression and digression in the Zoe (Taissa Farmiga)/ Kyle (Evan Peters) story arc of AHS. Zoe, still obsessing mentally over the death and rebirth of Kyle, paid his mother a visit at home under the guise of a casual friend. His mother seemed harmless enough on the surface, unsure of her spirituality yet grounded by her appreciation for Kyle’s secret stash of weed. Zoe, upon learning that Kyle’s mother nearly committed suicide due to her son’s untimely death, made one hasty decision that had “so wrong” written all over it from the get-go, and that’s even considering the fact that just last week we watched her stitch together the severed limbs of several dead dudes to make an enchanted FrankenBeau.

Zoe paid Misty Day another visit. The scene, drenched in Stevie Nicks (Thank God.), gave us a tiny bit more insight into Misty’s character, who’s driven by the need to quench her loneliness with some sort of family. In truth, her bayou-based remedies had healed Kyle’s wounds quite well, but Kyle still appeared, very obviously so, to need more help before re-entering human society. I like that Misty, in the midst of the voodoo vs. witchcraft war, is a witch that seems entirely grounded in nature. Her vibe is a mix of the two sides, and her quirks are only endearing, yet she's completely alone. She initially refused to let Kyle leave with Zoe, who was intent on reintroducing her almost-boyfriend to his mother in hopes that her face would jog his memory. Misty watched the two leave with tears in her eyes, two more potential companions who'd never bother to return or connect.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

In truth, Kyle’s reintroduction to his mother was probably the most heartbreaking arc of Episode 3 of American Horror Story: Coven. The boy doesn’t speak a word, but his mother’s distorted perception of what had actually walked back through her front door spoke volumes. The mere sight of his face was enough to reintroduce their toxic cycle of terrifying incestuous abuse. His mother noticed that his body appeared… off. I’m assuming that didn’t stop her from taking further advantage of her damaged child, who was clearly not in the right mental state period to be engaging in any kind of sexual activity. Still, I loved Evan Peters’ work this week. I loved the twitching that clued us in to his utter disgust and agony while he endured her abuse. What’s interesting to consider is that his mother eventual called Zoe to voice her fears of how he’d “changed,” yet it’s quite possible that the mentally present Kyle was more complacent and absent in this devastating parent-child relationship than this zombie Kyle, who’s instincts are all he has at the moment. Inevitably, Kyle would murder his mother in a fit of rage, bludgeoning her to death with a trophy just as Zoe headed over for dinner. By the way, Zoe, way to show up at what seemed to be midnight for dinner at your “boyfriend’s” house! Zoe would find nothing but a beaten-bloody corpse and an even bloodier, and quite scary looking, Kyle. The truth is, the fully human Kyle probably thought about doing that to his mother every single day of his life. Zoe had hoped the sight of his mother would trigger memories and action. She was right.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

Delia (Sarah Paulson) continued her fertility struggles during Episode 3. The poor woman endured that heavy, albeit it hot and heavy, sexual spell last week, a procedure that involved massive snakes, all for naught? I enjoyed the scene in which we witnessed both Fiona and Delia attending different doctor’s appointments, both learning that their bodies are, in some way, failing them. Isn’t it interesting to consider the fact that this is a show about supernatural witches and yet it seems like these women are all facing issues where their own human bodies are rejecting them? Fiona is deathly afraid of aging and she's, as it seems, about to die. Delia can’t have children. Queenie can’t feel physical pain, yet her emotional pain has caused her to turn to an unhealthy relationship with food and men. LaLaurie will never die when all she wants to do is find that peace. Nan (Jamie Brewer) can never know true quiet of the mind. Zoe can never, as far as we know, have loving sex with her soul mate. There is a total tradeoff going on here. The natural world taxes these women for their supernatural gifts. Maybe it has something to do with what Marie Laveau revealed last week to Fiona when she claimed Tituba leaked their ways to the witches, beginning the ultimate rivalry. The voodoo magic seems to be more so grounded in nature. Delia would eventually venture to Marie’s beauty shop to plead with the ultimate voodoo queen for her one last shot at fertility. Baiting her in with a vivid telling of the process of the $50k arduous ritual, Marie had Cordelia all but sold. That is, if she would actually consider conducting the “baby gravy” burning, hot pepper popping, poor goat dying, four-day-long slumber of a spell for a witch. Don’t worry; we got the entire fantasized visual effect that played in Delia’s mind thanks to the magic of television. Unfortunately for Delia, Fiona had gotten to Marie first, establishing what I’m expecting will be a Season 3 rivalry to the end.

Madison (Emma Roberts) and Nan teamed up during Episode 3 to launch a full-on attack on new-neighbor Luke (Alexander Dreymon). Luke is “Abercrombie bag” kind of handsome, yet his overbearing bible thumper of a mother, Joan (Patti LuPone), could end up causing quite a ruckus at Ms. Robichauxh’s. It’s interesting to see a religious character pop up next door to a house full of witches. In a war of voodoo vs. witchcraft, where does Jesus factor in? Nan, who’s apparently quite the charmer when it comes to the fellas, accompanied a scantily clad Madison to make Luke’s acquaintance. The two had boinking on the brain, but poor Luke, who doesn’t even have the internet, seemed too pure, if that’s possible, to fall for Madison’s gin-soaked starlet charms. Nan, on the other hand, seemed to make some progress with an expertly baked lemon cake. Mind reading powers come in handy when you’re courting the innocent new eight-pack-clad neighbor! Unfortunately, Nan’s game was shot down by an imposing Ms. Ramsey, whose judgment angered Madison so much so that a knife was mentally tossed and curtains spontaneously bursted into flames. Madison, it seemed, had begun to evolve.

Something to make note of is the fact that a true Supreme exhibits seven wonders of magic before taking over the thrown. Madison, at this point, was the first of the students to exhibit anything beyond her natural talent of telekinesis. Most importantly, this would spike the interest of Fiona later on, as Ramsey paid her a visit, Bible in hand, to alert her of Madison’s promiscuous attempts at corrupting her boy. Joan was nothing more than a talking head to Fiona, whose scotch-fueled comeback quips were enough to drive the woman from their property for a good while. Madison, meanwhile, had become absolutely everything.

The two would indulge in tea the next day, and Fiona would begin to explain to Madison a bit of her history, even divulging a bit of background surrounding her flawed relationship with Delia. Madison, on the other hand, is desperate for a mother figure. You could feel the slight bit of hope from Emma Roberts as Madison genuinely enjoyed the company of someone who seemed, on the outside, to be an adult version of herself. When a parent fails, sometimes the child imagines a shadow of a parental figure in their mind, like an ideal. Fiona, to these young witches, is power draped in Chanel. Only we get to see the decrepit nature that truly rules her deteriorating world. The two would subsequently hit up a bar to shoot some pool, and as the liquor flowed, so did Fiona’s seething jealousy, an envy grounded in both a lust for youthful beauty and eternal power.

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

FX "American Horror Story: Coven"

The two would eventually stumble back home, absolutely sloshed, before Fiona would inevitably close Episode 3 with an epic speech regarding past regrets and present panics. Jessica Lange, and I mean this as a total compliment, is never better than when she’s playing “drunken vulnerability” incredibly well. Remember Sister Jude’s inebriated speech during the storm on American Horror Story: Asylum? In the end, Madison would learn the truth about her promise as a witch. The moments that closed the episode will, indeed, remain a puzzle for now. Fiona confessed the truth, the tale of how she’d murdered her mentor in cold blood in that very room, before pulling out the very blade she cut The Supreme’s throat with. Fiona, recognizing that she has been a terrible Supreme, a sentiment perhaps grounded in the fact that she’s been a terrible mother, pleaded with Madison to kill her in the same vein. When Madison failed to do so, the fallen Hollywood starlet was the witch to end up dead on the ground. Spalding watched on from the doorway. Fiona, a smirk growing across her face, ordered him to bury Madison’s substance-soaked body deep, as to prevent landscaping issues. So what are we to believe? Did she want to die? Did she want Madison to avenge her mentor and punish her? Or did she expect to kill Madison, nipping the potential for a new queen in the bud? Was it a little of both? Is Spalding's reaction telling? Time will speak the truth!

What did you think of American Horror Story: Coven, Season 3 Episode 3, “The Replacements”? What were Fiona’s intentions? Will Delia eventually get pregnant? Will Zoe learn the truth behind Kyle’s crime of vengeance? How will Misty find her people? Is Madison gone for good? What will become of Queenie? Could her seemingly selfless actions to protect LaLaurie spark a change in the terrible woman? What is the story with this Minotaur?

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