This week began with a cold open that didn’t quite work for me, which is odd because usually the show starts off on a great note. We find Queenie under a bridge in a decidedly seedy part of New Orleans, not where we left her, in Marie Laveau’s hair salon. After a showdown with a nasty hobo, Zoe and Madison appear to try and persuade Queenie to rejoin the Coven. The episode spends a lot of time on the Coven rallying around Cordelia’s strength and guidance in her effort to off her mother, Fiona. To make up for the absence of Queenie, the writers devise a way to have Misty Day come strolling into the school for protection. With her comes Myrtle, an old friend of Cordelia and someone who definitely has a beef with Fiona. I was happy to see the character back in the fold, but it further proves that the show has issue making major status quo changes and definitely lowers the stakes. Why should I worry about the safety of any of the characters if no one on this show ever stays dead? Instead of taking a violent approach, the Coven decides to try to convince Fiona to take herself out of the picture. They prey on Fiona’s ailing health and use scare tactics and intimidation to nudge Fiona towards suicide, the most entertaining of which is Madison’s efforts. Madison dresses in the same red dress Fiona killed her in and appears in the Supreme’s room claiming to be alive because she is the next Supreme and was never able to be killed in the first place. She dances around the room, throwing barbs and insults Fiona’s way, finally using that mean girl cattiness to great effect. The best part of the scene is Jessica Lange’s awe-stricken, horrified face. It’s not due to Fiona being visited by someone she believed was dead, it’s because Fiona is facing her mortality and a reflection of her youth, with her beauty beginning to fade for good. The fear of becoming withered, old, and obsolete is common among a lot of people, but I think it is definitely a bit more prevalent for women. This scene was another great example of Murphy playing with the themes of womanhood this season. Overall, the episode is a bit of a drag. Fiona is demonized and targeted only to be accepted back into the Coven by the end, rendering the reindeer games pointless, and all the other points of action were just unexciting compared to episodes past. Hopefully, next week this war that Zoe is selling starts materializing a bit more. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
