American Horror Story: Coven began with a cold open centered on Delia’s (Sarah Paulson) witch-hunting husband in his youth, when he was in training to follow in the family’s footsteps into the profession. Out in the woods in Chattahoochee, Ga., the elder hunter teaches his son how to take witches down with a special silver bullet to the head.
Knowing full well now that Hank (Josh Hamilton) is a witch hunter, Delia heads to Marie Laveau’s (Angela Basset) 9th Ward salon to suggest that they join forces. What Delia doesn’t know is that Laveau is the one who sent the witch hunter to her doorstep. For that reason, Laveau turns down Delia’s offer. She’s also not fond of Delia returning Madame LaLaurie’s (Kathy Bates) animated head to her, and asks Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) to burn it as the headless 19th century NOLA socialite swats away at a fly in her cage.
Hank, meanwhile, is in Atlanta at a witch hunter gathering led by his father. It becomes clear that Hank is the low man on the totem pole in the Delphi Trust, outranked by his brother and a number of others. They operate from office space reminiscent of corporate America, and make jabs at the FCC. According to them, Hank is something of a failure who’s not pulling his weight.
At Miss Robichaux’s, Myrtle (Frances Conroy) tells Delia to use her “sight” to see that she wasn’t the one who tossed acid on her eyes. In reality, it was the Delphi Trust, but Delia doesn’t even need the second sight to believe her beloved aunt didn’t do it to her. Satisfied that Delia believes her, Myrtle invites her fellow council members over for dinner. They apologize for having her burned at the stake, take a sip of wine, and turn to stone. With them frozen, Myrtle uses a melon baller to extract a pair of eyes for Delia.
When Fiona (Jessica Lange) realizes that her daughter has a new set of working eyes she’s thrilled, although somewhat bothered that Myrtle didn’t scoop her out a pair of matching ones. Myrtle eventually carves up the solid remains of the two councilmembers and drops them in a boiling pot. It’s surprising that the witching leader would choose to kill off two of their own in light of there being a witch hunter on the loose. Is she concocting a spell with their boiled remains?
Younger witches Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) and Madison (Emma Roberts) are stopping by the hospital to check on Nan (Jamie Brewer), who’s been holed up with the boy across the street that she has a crush on. He was shot by Hank, as was his mother Joan (Patti Lupone), but she was resurrected by Misty (Lily Rabe). Joan is not terribly fond of Nan, but she’s warming to her and her ability to read thoughts – such as the song she used to sing to her son.
Over in the 9th Ward, Queenie has opted to ignore Laveau’s order to burn LaLaurie’s head. Instead, she’s determined to give her an education in the horrors of slavery and the birth of civil rights. Queenie sits her bodiless head in front of a TV for a marathon of Roots, Mandingo and The Color Purple.
At Robichaux’s Misty was getting a lesson from Delia in bringing dead plants to life when Hank stops by. Her witch hunter husband tries to tell his wife that he’s sorry for everything he’s done and pleads with her to take him back; she’s determined to have a divorce and tells him that all of his belongings are in a box upstairs. When he's leaving with the box, Fiona’s new guard dog barks menacingly at him. The dog then leads Fiona to Zoe’s room where Kyle (Evan Peters) is hanging out. Kyle first begins to pet the pup, and then he kills her. Fiona decides that now Kyle can be the coven’s watchdog.
Back at the hospital, Nan appears to have fully won Joan over, helping her connect with Luke. Nan takes the opportunity to relay what Luke’s been talking to God about as he rests in a coma. Apparently God isn’t a fan of the enema Joan forced on her son, nor does he condone her killing her husband with a swarm of bees, forcing him into anaphylactic shock. When Luke wakes up from the coma after Nan is forced out by Joan, he chastises his mother for killing his dad. Her response? Kill him with his hospital pillow.
Queenie is still trying to exorcise LaLaurie of her racist demons, playing “Oh, Freedom” while showing her footage of the fight for Civil Rights. Downstairs, Hank barrels into the salon with a high-powered gun, firing at Laveau and all her voodoo comrades. Queenie gets hit with a bullet, but before Hank could finish of Laveau, she fires a gun into her own mouth, killing both Hank and possibly herself.
American Horror Story: Coven returns from its break Wednesday, Jan. 8.
– Chelsea Regan
Get Uinterview's FREE iPhone App For Daily News Updates here.
Get the FREE Uinterview iPad app here and watch our videos anywhere.
For More 'Coven' Recaps:
‘American Horror Story: Coven’ Recap: Zoe & Misty Resurrect Madison; The Axeman Returns
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are expected to battle it out in court next year…
Filmed through two different timelines, George reflected on the thriller series’ unusual narrative and what…
Shunted slightly to the side of Kardashian's sultry pose, a shocking amount of internet users…
Asked if his sight was permanently altered, Leno, from behind an eyepatch, assured, “It’ll be…
Walmart was given 24 hours to remove the merchandise from their website and floor.
Jelly Roll joked about giving Harry a neck tattoo, but Harry responded, “I was thinking…