Thursday, November 7, 2013

American Horror Story: Coven 3.05 Review: Protecting the Coven


For all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of American Horror Story: Coven, titled ‘Burn, Witch. Burn!’, now is your last chance to do without the threat of spoilers. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.
For an episode I was looking forward to, I was sadly disappointed with a lot of what this episode gave us. Don’t get me wrong, it was certainly a step above every episode from last season, but all of the filming techniques were just too damned distracting. Last week I thought, yay, this series is finally moving this season into mostly regular cinematography, and then this week I get blurred lens work, terrible lighting and focus, as well a lot of terrible angle work. The cinematography was back to being aggravatingly distracting. I mean, was I supposed to be able to pay attention to anything going on on screen? The blurriness was in the way of so much of it, that what was the point to adding it in? They weren’t dreaming, everything that was happening on screen was happening, and they weren’t drunk, so I just don’t get it.
 While the cinematography was horrendous, the writing direction of this season hasn’t been terrible. I like the way that they’re going with Zoe’s character more now than when she was first introduced in the season premiere. When she pulled out the chainsaw I thought, ‘Bitch with a chainsaw, nice.’ Even if her voice was a little squeaky and high-pitched every time she would yell at someone to run. It’s also nice to see Nan and this boy-next-door character finding a connection, although I’ve liked Nan all season. Fiona hit the nail on the head when she said Nan was smarter than all of them. Queenie has had some pretty interesting lines, but what she did two episodes ago was disgusting, and the idiocy she seems to have is a little unbelievable. I did greatly enjoy Fiona this week, especially in that scene where she brings the stillborn baby back to life, as well as how she was trying to be more protective of her daughter now that she’s lost her sight. The one thing I wasn’t too fond of was Misty bringing Myrtle back to life; I feel like they’re going to be working in cahoots soon, when I’d really hoped Misty and Zoe’s friendship would get more screen time.
That was definitely an interesting choice of music for the scene leading Myrtle to the witch-burning pole. The way that was filmed was mostly intriguing, with the two men in suits and everyone walking out to it. The song was strangely fitting for this point in the episode. I am now more confused with the whole daughters situation with Madame Lalaurie. I just don’t think this writing in this episode fit the scene quite well with the season’s premiere, but maybe I’m not able to match things up.
Overall, this episode wasn’t quite as exciting as I expected. I think I get disappointed every time I hold high expectations for this series, but only love it when my expectations are low. The trouble is, every time my expectations are surpassed, they’re higher for the next episode, so it’s almost like a rollercoaster, every other week I like the episode, the other weeks I don’t. We’ll see how this comes to pass in future weeks. I do hope we see Kyle again more, and that my belief that Zoe is the next Supreme (given the evidence of this episode leading it to be the most likely) comes to light. It would be a disappointment if she weren’t, being that there is more evidence of it being true of her, than any of the others.
My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:
“I like a witch who knows how to fight.” – Fiona informs Zoe, after she fought for the coven.
“I doubt it. You are, after all, the maid.” – Fiona tells Madame Lalaurie, who thinks that their similar motherly circumstances could bring them closer together.


Okay, now I just have to wait for The Vampire Diaries, Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Crazy Ones to air, before I can review any of them. Check back in a few hours for those reviews.

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