American Horror Story – Coven – Season 3

With American Horror Story now done, my trilogy of shows have come to an end for the year. Was this one the best so far? That is a tough call. Season 1 was pretty damn entertaining. Season 2 was pretty damn shocking. And Season 3 was pretty damn weird. So where does that leave us?

I think this Season of American Horror Story had some great elements to it, but it also had a few things that left me scratching my head. I thought it was great how the witch and voodoo factions were against each other, but then needed to come together to defend themselves against the corporation. Although, the resolution to the band of witch hunters by bankrupting them felt a little shallow. They did try to make up for this with a good old fashioned showdown at HQ with the Axe Man. But there quite a few story lines that felt rushed and perhaps just thrown in to fill the episode. I felt that way about Season 2. New story lines were introduced and then dropped immediately.

I was downright excited to see the season finale. My friends and I had many discussions on who we though the supreme would be. My money was on Swamp Witch (Misty Day) or Nan. I thought Nan was a great character for this season and it was a damn shame ended up on the wrong end of a hot bath. I really hoped she was going to make it to the end and there would be some epic battle between her and Madison. Just as her powers were building too.

Speaking of Madison, wow, what a bitch. Funny thing is though, she had all the power and skill to take over and lead the Coven but somehow allows herself to be strangled by Kyle. She can go to hell and back but she can’t get out of a choke hold?

Speaking of hell, I’m disappointed with the last episode and how everything seemed so rushed with the Seven Wonders. Zoe impaling herself didn’t make any sense to me. There are better ways of killing her off if that’s what they needed. Misty getting taken out so soon was disappointing as well. I figured she would have gotten further than she did. And there was this big thing about going to hell and back and it takes mere seconds for the others to make the journey. It would have been more intriguing to see what each version of their hell looked like. And really, arguing with Kyle is Zoe’s version of hell? Weak.

It feels a little cliché that Cordelia becomes the Supreme, but only after being encouraged by Myrtle. The daughter of a Supreme becoming the next one makes sense, but not the way they put it together. And after her triumph she does a TV infomercial felt like a bad ripoff of X-Men.

I really did like the show, but the last episode kind of bugged me. Like I said, it all felt really rushed as though it should have taken two episodes to get all that done. But still, a good season and there is no doubt I’m tuning in for Season 4, which is such a long way away.

One thing did come as a complete surprise to me – Madame Delphine LaLaurie. I didn’t realize this was a real person and thought it was a modern interpretation of Elizabth Bathory. I thought the abuse to the slaves was a change to the virgins Bathory bled and then executed. But oh no, LaLaurie is real and is her own special kind of crazy. She did indeed murder slaves, but managed to flee and then disappear. It’s rumored she died in Paris. Pretty damn weird.

So what say you? How did American Horror Story Coven compare to Asylum and the original? I thought this season was really good until we hit the last episode or two. So many side roads that could have been trimmed to make more room for a better finale. Anyone else feel the same way?

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures Halloween Special – Transylvania
• Killer Contact – Lucrezia Borgia – S01E03
• The Many Faces of Hannibal Lecter