On tonight’s American Horror Story: Coven finale, a new Supreme ascends to power. Read our full recap to find out if your powers of divination were on point!
American Horror Story: Coven took viewers on a slightly more structured path than its predecessor Asylum. The Coven installment of the Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck creation introduced the decedents of Salem and their rivals, the voodoo tribe, in modern day New Orleans. The witches of the Coven saw their fair share of troubles with the spirit world, layman neighbors, voodoo hairdressers, and from within their own house.
But once the battle lines were drawn, crossed, and conquered, the only remaining piece of the puzzle began to work its way in as the Seven Wonders are set to begin. What better way to close the season than with a cold open featuring Stevie Nicks gliding through the house singing “Seven Wonders”? Zoe, Madison, Queenie, and Misty all practice their powers and prepare for the ceremonious weekend to arrive. Good luck, ladies.
The Last Supper: Tradition, ceremony, black. Though an unusual set of circumstances surround the search for a new successor to fill Fiona’s vacancy, the ladies of the Coven do their best to prepare for the trials ahead. A final meal separates one woman from a lifetime of service to the Coven.
The first trial passes with ease, as each lady is able to bring a lit candle across the table through telekinesis. The second task, concilium, or control of another’s mind, also flies by, but not without a flare for the dramatic. Misty and Queenie show off their ability to force the other to inflict pain upon themselves. Zoe and Madison take over Kyle’s mind, passing him back and forth until Madison uses Kyle to strangle Zoe. Point taken.
Ashes to ashes: Decendium, the toughest of solo acts, transports the ladies to their personal hells. Queenie proves to be the strongest in this task, returning to her fried chicken Netherland and making it back before the others. Madison returns to announce that her hell is being cast on a network musical production of The Sound of Music as Liesl. Zoe reaches for Kyle after experiencing their break up on a loop.
Unfortunately, Misty’s elementary biology frog dissection proves to be too difficult to escape. Despite Cordelia’s efforts to bring her out of it, Misty turns to dust as the hourglass runs out and dawn arrives. One down.
After the passing of Misty, the ladies regroup to continue on with the trials. Death is part of the process, and with one less competitor, Madison, Zoe, and Queenie perform transmutation. The task turns into a game of tag, finally showing the girls bonding with one another. Even Madison has a smirk sweep across her face. All is fun and games until someone teleports themselves onto a spire. Zoe bleeds out and Queenie is unable to revive her in the greenhouse. Another competitor down. Madison refuses to perform the task and instead opts to kill and revive a fly over another witch.
Royal blood: Cordelia and Myrtle share their concerns over Madison’s proven strengths. The future of the Coven is not bright with another tyrant force on the rise. But what if another, someone of Supreme descent, brings her vision to the helm? Myrtle admits that Fiona’s power and Cordelia’s constant suppression of her own power placed her out of consideration. Cordelia agrees to go against Madison and tackle the Seven Wonders.
Cordelia breezes through pyrokinesis, lifts a piano with grace, and even makes Queenie jazzercise with a giggle. Upon her return from a never-ending battle with Fiona in the afterlife, Cordelia transports across the room with mastery. For the first time since the show’s introduction of Fiona, a witch’s powers appear to flow with artistic beauty — the sign of a Supreme.
One final task, divination, separates the powerful from the rightful heir. Cordelia discovers a hidden broach from a past Supreme through a pile of pebbles. Madison tries her luck at guessing, but cannot accomplish the task. There is no doubt that Madison is a powerful witch, and a force to be reckoned with. She storms off to pack her bags and threatens provide a full report to TMZ.
A New Order: Madison does not make it far on her journey home. Kyle strangles her as she tries to flee the Coven after she did nothing to help Zoe. Spalding appears, much to Kyle’s surprise, and offers to help bury the body, introducing himself as “the help,” a nod to Kyle’s future in the house.
Cordelia’s final task, bringing Zoe back from the dead, initiates her ascension to Supremacy. The hallmark of heath, Cordelia’s eyes return and she radiates with power and confidence.
A month later, Cordelia makes a bold decision to take the Coven public. Applications are pouring in from across the country as girls who are different or exhibit any signs of latent powers apply to the academy. Witches are not out with an agenda, nor are they a cult. No longer will women with natural abilities be victims of hate crimes for powers that are beyond their control. It’s a very preachy end to the season’s subplot on minority issues.
Myrtle approaches Cordelia with the first of many difficult choices she will have to make. Myrtle fears that Cordelia may have a Watergate-type situation on her hands. Since she took the lives of two members of the council, it is only fitting that Myrtle be burnt at the stake for her crimes. Leading the witches in her billowing red dress, a proud Myrtle Snow willingly ignites as punishment for her deeds.
Protect, Develop, Celebrate: A line forms around the block for the academy, much like a scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Cordelia names Zoe and Queenie the two heads of the Witch’s Council before leaving to take care of one final relic from the past.
Downstairs a sickly figure in black heels lights her last cigarette. Fiona Goode takes audience with her daughter and reveals the truth of what happened the other night. The Axeman was fed a false memory and took himself to the house, knowing that the ladies would kill him for Fiona. Once thought to be out of the picture, the natural next step would be to find the next Supreme. However, plot twist, Fiona did not see Cordelia as an option. Though, deep inside, Fiona knew from the moment she gave birth that Cordelia would always be her weakness; the thief of her powers.
With the death of Fiona, the death of the girl Cordelia once was also arrives. For the first time in her life, Fiona, the divine, must experience human emotions without the shield of magic. Fear, love, regret, loneliness, all arrive too quickly and Fiona dies in Cordelia’s embrace. It is their first and last hug.
Fiona’s hell is a never ending cycle of days fulfilling her pact with the Axeman. Each day she wakes up in a cabin made of knotty pine walls, smelling catfish and the simple pleasures of life away from the fabulous world she once ruled. Papa Legba watches it all pan out from across the room, mocking her eternal beauty wasting away in someone else’s paradise.
Back in New Orleans, the school opens its doors to a new generation of witches. Under the leadership of Cordelia, with Queenie and Zoe at her side, the Coven that once fought everyday to survive can finally begin to thrive.
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