Thursday, October 17, 2013

Recap/Review: American Horror Story: Coven - Boy Parts

Yeah, I've decided that after the fun I had last week with recapping the first episode of American Horror Story: Coven, that I would continue it for the rest of the season. So, here's the recap/review for the second episode, folks.

Written by Tim Minear
Directed by Michael Rymer


Let's Build A Boyfriend: It's amazing that in this episode, Madison went from not giving a shit that Kyle ended up being one of the splattered dead frat boys from last week to actually wanting to resurrect him this week. It's more amazing considering the fact that Zoe's loose tongue nearly got the both of them sent to jail until Fiona used her own scare tactics in order to protect them. Of course, Madison's attempts of raising Kyle meant taking the best parts of the other boys and sewing them together while chanting some cryptic words and breathing smoke in with Zoe. Of course, Madison didn't really bother to stick around to see the fruition of her special project but seeing as that managed to lead to a better subplot, I'm actually gonna give Madison a pass on this one. Bitchy behaviour aside of course.


Let's Make A Connection: First of all - Stevie Nicks is a witch! Thanks for the confirmation, Misty, who unsurprisingly enough (considering her speciality) actually survived being burned on the stake and began this episode by humming along to Miss Nicks's music and punishing some poachers by bringing an alligator back to life that they killed. Of course, the most significant thing that Misty did in this episode was reach out to Zoe and help with Kyle's resurrection. I feared that Misty could've been a one episode character so I'm delighted that she was very much present and a joy to watch, especially with her scenes with Zoe. Misty does seem to desperately want a connection and I hope that a) she gets one and b) doesn't turn evil in later episodes. Aside from Cordelia, I think she might be my favourite character this season.


Let's Establish Some Ground Rules: I love Kathy Bates. She is by far one of my favourite actresses going and seeing her play a character as vile as Delphine LaLaurie is certainly a strange experience alright. Delphine's only been out of her coffin for less than a day but she's already getting smacked around  by Fiona (whose obsession with staying young is actually one of the weaker plots so far), annoying the hell out of Nan for thinking too loudly and callously referring to Queenie (who is a descendant of Tituba and whose power was revealed in 2012 Detroit) as a slave before knocking her out. This episode did try to inject some sympathy by informing us on how Marie Laveau killed her husband and daughters before cursing her with immortality but aside from a really great final scene between LaLaurie and Fiona (who at least had the decency to be disgusted by LaLaurie's reputation), I'm not feeling a great deal of sympathy for Delphine at all.


Let's Make New Enemies: Fiona hasn't exactly been the most pleasant of witches on this show. Like Madison, she really does have a nasty streak about her and when she realised that Marie Laveau was the one responsibility for LaLaurie's current predicament, she went about her mission the wrong way. Showing up at Marie's salon, Fiona did nothing to appeal to the woman's better nature. Instead she insulted her, goaded her about witchcraft vs. voodoo and even made the mistake of implying that Delphine was in her company. Marie seemed to respond in kind by freeing her Minotaur lover and undoubtedly sending him after Fiona. As rivalries go, this one certainly has a lot of potential. I could watch both Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett trade sharp barbs all day and it will be fun to see who comes out on top with both Fiona and Laveau gunning for each other now.


Let's Make A Baby: Every season of American Horror Story has had a baby plot and usually established within the first half of the season. We've seen both Vivian and Lana pregnant through rape but for Cordelia and her husband Hank (Josh Hamilton), it's a case of the normal methods failing them and dark magic being used as the next step. While there's potential for a Rosemary's Baby style plot here, I was kind of hoping this season would avoid another pregnancy plot but I guess not. I'll keep an open mind but to be honest, I'd rather see Cordelia's relationships with both her mother, husband and wards explored a lot more though than another pregnancy storyline. Still, Cordelia does remain one of the strongest characters on the show and Hank seems okay so far as a character. Maybe this plot will be a lot better than I'm expecting it to be.

Next week, I'll delve into the third episode where it looks like we've got some new neighbours for the Academy to clash with, especially when Fiona goes head to head with one of them.

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