AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN “The Axeman Cometh” Recap
Although American Horror Story: Coven has chosen a contemporary setting, this season has done a great job juxtaposing the past and the present. In this episode, The Axeman Cometh, AHS takes us back to 1919 when the city of New Orleans was being terrorized by a serial killer who was ironically named after his choice of weapon.
In an act of defiance against the Axeman’s declaration that every house in the city play his preferred choice of music, Jazz, the witches residing at Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies at the time decided to fight back. When the Axeman came upon the boarding school, he was treated to a plan other than the one he had in mind. It’s hard to say where his body ended up, but his spirit has been stuck within those walls ever since.
When Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) decided she’d had enough with the squabbling between Fiona (Jessica Lange) and the the council, she takes up the task of discovering what really happened to Madison (Emma Roberts). Predictably, her new-found powers of whatever they are, lead her directly to something to aide in her cause – a spirit board. A
t this point she enlists the help of Nan (Jamie Brewer) and Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) with a very inspiring (read: peppy) speech on sisterhood, and a shot of absinthe. As you can imagine, Madison’s spirit wasn’t really feeling particularly chatty this evening, but the Axeman was happy to fill the empty seat, so to speak. Ultimately, he led them to Madison’s decomposing corpse – still stashed in the attic – but not without a steep fee, his release.
Technically speaking he coerced his way out of the house by terrorizing the recently blinded Cordelia (Sarah Paulson), leaving the girls no choice but to act. It’s not really his fault that they appear to be inept at their magical studies; then again, it’s not like anyone has really been up to the challenge of teaching them, either.
In an attempt to further save the day, Zoe heads out to the swamp to ask another witch for help – Misty Day (Lily Rabe). Misty helped Zoe out with her Kyle (Evan Peters) problem, and that went so well (not), that she decided to go for round two. It’s not that she had a lot of options in the resurrection department, so she probably deserves a pass this time. On the plus side, she doesn’t have to wonder where Kyle is, because now she has him chained up in the green house – a well-deserved time out.
As if this coven doesn’t have enough issues with men, we get to the bottom of why Cordelia’s so-called devoted husband chooses to off his extra curricular sleeping partners in the morning. You’ve got to hand it to Marie (Angela Bassett) for having the forethought to go after the coven, before they came after her. Unfortunately, Mr. Fox probably won’t be around long enough to sign the divorce papers if he tries to do what Marie wants and kill all the witches.
I wonder how Fiona would react if she knew that the man canoodling with her at the bar had recently tormented her ailing daughter. The Axeman may have regained his freedom for the moment, but I can’t imagine it will last long once Fiona discovers the facts of the situation. Or, Fiona’s reign over the coven once they discover her dirty secrets.
Let us know in the comment section below what you thought of this episode of American Horror Story: Coven!
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