'American Horror Story: Coven' Recap: 'The Axeman Cometh'

Ah, my faith has been restored in the American Horror Story franchise. It took a while for us to get there, but I think it's safe to say the show has turned a sharp corner from where it was at the beginning of this season. I expect the second half of the season to maintain the level of excitement the show has brought us over the last couple of episodes. We shall see.

As I have said before, things aren't going to end well for Hank (Josh Hamilton). When Cordelia (Sarah Paulson) and Fiona (Jessica Lange) confronted him with Cordelia's visions of him cheating, I really thought it would be the last we'd see of him. I guess I should have assumed Hank was working for the Voodoo, but I didn't really recognize the tie-in until they brought Kaylee (Alexandra Breckenridge) back and established her as a witch. Hank doesn't just kill people for a living — his mission is to kill the witches. With the looming threat from Laveau (Angela Bassett) to continue the killing spree or suffer his own death, either way he'll lose. He'll have to decide whether to die from pursuing what he was hired to do, or by defending Cordelia whom Laveau recognizes he's grown fond of.

What we've learned from the season so far is that most of the characters come back from the dead. Madison (Emma Roberts) was no exception. Although she has come back pretty much intact (they all learned their lesson from Kyle, I guess), she has no memory of what happened to her. You can really start to see how all of these new powers from the central characters will tie-in to each other, as we suspect Cordelia will learn Fiona's involvement in Madison's murder the second she lays her hands on her (the episode preview for The Dead seems to confirm that). Madison also appears to be less bitchy. This is not an observation that really means anything to the show probably, but it's worth pointing out.

The outstanding question still remains, who will be the next reigning Supreme? Although we know Fiona mostly cares about herself, she understands she has some making up to do with Cordelia with whatever little time she has left. Every episode thus far, we have seen some level of deterioration from her, and it's evident that she's really only sticking around for the sake of Cordelia. Does Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) now take the lead for the next contender? It sure seems like the show is setting it up that way, but I wouldn't be surprised if they went in another direction. Zoe's powers are becoming stronger, and it's recognized even by Laveau. Fiona thought Madison was the next in line, but does she still count since she was already murdered?

I thought the Axe Man (Danny Houston) was going to be a one-episode story, but now that he has been freed by Zoe after using the Ouija board, it looks like there will be some intertwining between him and Fiona. Fiona can read people's minds now apparently, so I don't know why she wasn't able to immediately recognize that he's a serial killer.

Kyle came back. They gave him a bath, and then he was chained up. Good job, Kyle.

It was announced recently that American Horror Story was coming back for Season 4 next year and that in addition to negotiating the return of Lange, Basset and Bates, Connie Britton is rumored to be returning. With an expected great second half of Season 3 approaching, it sounds like Season 4 will also be worth the year-long wait.

Popculturology Score: B