American Horror Story, Season 3, Episode 11: “Go To Hell”
Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Written by Jessica Sharzer
Airs Wednesdays at 10:00 PM on FX
“Go to Hell,” the penultimate episode of Coven, ramps up the action, piles on the blood, closes off a few story-lines, and says goodbye to a few characters in a manner that suits their perverse obsessions. With the end of Fiona’s reign approaching, the girls manifest powerful new gifts, and Cordelia’s latest vision puts the Coven’s future in question. The only mystery left to be unraveled is the identity of the new Supreme, and while each young witch shows signs of being the next leader of the coven, we’ll have to wait seven more days to find out just who it is. Despite a few odd twists and turns here and there, “Go To Hell” benefits from having a clear destination for its characters. “Go To Hell” is all about generational shifts, and anyone over the age of 50 is shit out of luck. This is one of the most disciplined episodes of American Horror Story: Coven, doing an excellent job of setting up the season finale.
“Go to Hell” has its share of problems, but it’s also packed with an assortment of fun, and more often, disturbing, but always memorable moments. Just when you feel sympathy for Fiona, as she attempts to make peace with her daughter by giving Cordelia her most precious heirloom, we cut to Delia’s vision of everyone in the coven dead at the hands of her evil doing. The chilling sequence, with images similar to the gruesome poster released earlier this season, and swirling camera work reminiscent to the climax in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, might just be the season’s best muse-en-scene yet. It was heartbreaking to see Cordelia’s vision end with Fiona, yanking the necklace off her dead daughter’s body.
Cordelia’s second sight isn’t the only highlight of this episode; we are also treated to the successful demonstration of each of the Seven Wonders opening with a stunning, silent, black and white film reel introducing us to each gift: Telekinesis, Concilium, Transmutation, Divination, Vitalum Vitalis, Descensum, and Pyrokinesis.Madison has a chance to showoff her teleportation powers while trying to avoid Cordelia’s touch, and Zoe proves she can also bring the dead back to life. But of all the powers demonstrated over the hour, the pivotal scene features the first successful attempt at Descensum, sending Queenie’s soul out of her body and into the nether regions of the afterlife. In the universe of American Horror Story, Queenie’s manifestation of Hell is selling fried chicken in a Chubbie’s Chicken Shack for the rest of eternity, to a never ending line of rude customers who are all stuck in purgatory. Its a horrific scene, effective and nasty even it features no sudden frights, no gore, and not a even a single scream.
Three elder stateswomen (Fiona, Marie Laveau and Delphine LaLaurie) have all received some sort of comeuppance, with the biggest surprise of the three, of course, being Fiona’s death at the hands of the Axman. But if Coven has thought us one thing this season, it is that nobody stays dead for long. Besides, why would Fiona encourage Delia to rediscover her second sight only minutes before her power returns? Could it be part of Fiona’s master plan? Expect Fiona back next week, because why wouldn’t the star of the series make an appearance in the final installment. As for who could be the next Supreme? My money is still on Nan.
– Ricky D
Other thoughts:
So did everyone, including the writers forget that Spalding has an innocent baby held captive in the attic?
Don’t be surprised if Stevie Nicks makes an appearance next week, as Ryan Murphy did say she filmed two episodes and we’ve only seen her in one.
It seems nobody over 50 is safe except Myrtle, who’s the only one not at all stressed.
Queenie: “What the hell? You’re Papa Legba. You live in a chicken shack?”
Cordelia: “When the rest of the world sees a wall, we see a window.”
This might have been the bloodiest episode yet.
Misty: “Well that’s it then. Even I can’t bring somebody back once they’re gator shit.”
There is something to be said when watching two Oscar nominated actresses chop themselves apart all season.
In typical AHS fashion, “Go to Hell” sees the return of two characters who said their goodbyes at the end of last week’s episode. Clearly nobody can stay away, dead or alive, and not even a Florida vacation is enough to resist the cold, murderous treachery within the coven.
Without a doubt, Papa Legba (Lance Reddick) stands among the more interesting characters this season.