After starving fans over yet another long holiday break, American Horror Story: Coven returns with an episode that superfans of Stevie Nicks will fawn over, and fans of AHS will be disappointed with. It wasn’t a terrible episode, because as the show has proven before, even weaker outings can be entertaining, but compared to the rest of the season, it was definitely a bit of a letdown.
In case the episode title doesn’t give it away, yes, Misty finally gets to meet the musical icon that she never shuts up about. It goes about as well as you could expect from a musical guest making an unnecessary appearance on a show; in fact, the only thing missing is an extended cheer from the crowd that leaves the guest staring blankly until they recite their lines in silence. The writers had enough foresight to keep Nicks in the background, only giving her a few lines and relegating her to a few songs, but her inclusion is hardly necessary. As the season finale rushes towards us, the last thing we need is more new elements added to the plot.
Of these new elements, I’ll grudgingly admit that the addition of Papa Legba (played perfectly by Lance Reddick) was entertaining. Although the God of the Crossroads seems like more of a plot device than anything, Reddick plays him with such twisted glee that it’s hard to hate his place in the season. His appearance also sheds some light on the voodoo side of things and Marie Laveau’s history, which reveals that she’s had to kill a few hundred babies (including her own) to stay immortal, partly explaining her surly attitude.
Even after discovering the price of Legba’s demands, Fiona still conjures him and offers up her soul in return for immortality, only to be shunned because she literally has no soul to offer. In the best scene of the episode, it solidifies Fiona’s transformation from leader of the coven to selfish Supreme. While she was clearly self-absorbed before, she still had the best interests of the coven at least somewhere in her mind. But now, there’s no sympathy left to be had after watching her gleefully plan to kill everybody in the coven so she can keep her position and life.
The competition for the position of Supreme has been heating up since Misty made an appearance, and the appearance of Nicks at Fiona’s behest only fuels Madison’s jealousy. Since her death did away with her heart murmur and gave her some brand new powers (which seem to be popping up for everyone), she’s once again convinced the role is hers alone. The feud between them is started with a brick to the head and a burial for Misty, although it’s pretty clear that she’ll find a way out in time for next week’s episode.
