'American Horror Story: Coven' Recap: 'Fearful Pranks Ensue'

Sigh of relief. In a season that has been nothing short of average so far, this week's episode of American Horror Story: Coven featured more of Angela Bassett's character, Marie Laveau, something I've been looking forward to since the start of Coven. After three years of Jessica Lange being a staple on the show, it would have been difficult to imagine the show without her. It's evident this season, though, that American Horror Story has gained enough credibility to attract talent to surround Lange. Bassett is a prime example. She hasn't had an extreme amount of dialogue so far this season, but Bassett carries a strong sense of intimidation that makes the show more watchable.

I'd be willing to bet that Cordelia's father would call more often if he had a tongue. It's not overtly obvious yet that Spalding (Denis O'Hare) is Cordelia's father, but you gotta believe someone has a huge debt to repay when they cut their own tongue off for you. Did anyone else think Spalding bears a striking resemblance to Chris Elliott's character Hanson from Scary Movie? Since Spalding can't speak, I maintain the belief that in his head he kept asking everyone in trouble to grab his strong hand.

Kyle (Evan Peters) was up to two words this episode. I'm keeping count.

How about Hank (Josh Hamilton) and his tryst with Kaylee, played by AHS vet Alexandra Breckenridge? Cheating on Cordelia was one thing, but he's a serial killer? I don't see this ending well with him. The man knows he's married to a witch, right? I suppose we'll have to see where this side story goes, but I'm hoping this doesn't serve as an unnecessary distraction from the central storyline and set of characters. At this point, I'm not too involved in what ends up happening with Hank.

With the writers knowing there wasn't anything else for the Minotaur to do, he met his Godfather-style death. This only made the war between the Voodoo and the Witches far worse as Laveau decides to break the truce that's been in place for over 40 years.

I have to say, the progression of this episode lead to an exciting finish. It was good having that feeling again. I've mentioned before that it's a short season, but there's still a lot of Coven episodes left. We've seen the tension between the two groups build since the beginning of the season, and now in the present day, we will very quickly see the battle that ensues. 

Popculturology Score: B