Cordelia and Zoe learn the truth about who killed Madison and conspire to take action.
**CONTENT WARNING: Violence, child death, torture, disturbing images**
Synopsis
Kyle remembers going to a tattoo parlor with his buddies, but he doesn’t get a tattoo. Now he panics because he sees various tattoos his friends got on his arm and ankle, since he now has a combination of their body parts. Zoe again considers killing him but decides not to. Madison bonds with Kyle over their shared experiences being dead, and Zoe walks in on them having sex. Later Madison convinces Zoe that they can all three be together, since she and Kyle have already died and can’t be affected by Zoe’s powers.
Queenie feels like she doesn’t fit in with the coven and visits Laveau, who offers her a place there if she turns over Madame LaLaurie. Queenie is hesitant because she’s started to befriend Madame LaLaurie, but she convinces LaLaurie to reveal her worst mistake under the guise of it being something friends do. LaLaurie reveals that her husband had an affair with a slave girl and got her pregnant, so LaLaurie murdered the baby and used his blood for her youth poultice. The mother subsequently threw herself out a window. LaLaurie claims she’s trying to be a better person now, but the story makes up Queenie’s mind. She tricks LaLaurie into going to the salon with her and hands her over to Laveau, gladly participating in torturing LaLaurie. Laveau uses LaLaurie’s blood for a poultice of her own.
Fiona spends the night with the axeman, but in the morning he reveals that he has been a ghost at the school and has watched her since she was a kid and fallen in love with her. She’s freaked by this and leaves.
Hank calls Cordelia, pleading to come home, but she hangs up on him. It’s for the best, as he sits surrounded by heavy weaponry. Madison’s memories are still hazy, but when Cordelia touches her, she sees that Fiona killed her. Cordelia warns Zoe to watch her back because she might be next on Fiona’s death list. Cordelia asks for Zoe’s help on planning to murder Fiona. Zoe finds Spalding’s tongue, enchanted to stay fresh after all these decades, and magically reattaches it to his mouth. It’s still enchanted to tell the truth, so she forces him to confirm that Fiona murdered Madison, then Zoe stabs and kills him.
The Students
Again, torture without remorse. I mean, I guess I can understand Queenie’s willingness to torture an immortal woman who has done heinous crimes, but she has just grown so eager to harm people lately. Also Zoe already knew that Fiona had murdered Madison, so why did she need to mess with Spalding? Proof that Cordelia was telling the truth, maybe? I suppose she had already been a killer prior to this episode, once on purpose, and Spalding was pretty creepy, but she can’t just solve all of her problems by murdering everyone.
Madison had an interesting monologue about how numb she feels, starting emotionally even before she died but now she can’t even feel physical pain. I feel like I’m supposed to feel sorry for her, but I still don’t much care for her.
The Staff
Cordelia admits that nothing has actually changed within the walls of the school, but she is finally seeing it for how it really is. The plot to end Fiona is one that I can actually get behind, because Fiona never hesitates to cut down anyone who gets in her way. She really should be stopped. The problem is that Zoe, Queenie, and Madison have also started down this route themselves. Where does it end?
Apparently Fiona has two men who have been obsessed with her since she was young. I guess they are drawn to her powerful nature, but she’s an awful person and neither seem to acknowledge that.
Others
Madame LaLaurie has a hugely messed up past, but over these last few episodes she has shown a willingness to admit her faults and try to be better. I don’t know if that absolves her from the awful acts she committed, but surely people deserve a chance to become better. If she was still a horrendous person like I originally expected when she was dug up, then sure, punish her, but she’s already endured 180 years or torment for her crimes, and now she’s genuinely trying to do well.
For the second season in a row, Evan Peters finds himself in a polygamous relationship. The showrunners must really love the guy.
Conclusion
I don’t care for most of the characters this season, and they’ve all been going down questionable paths. I don’t even know who to route for at this point. Cordelia, I guess?
Score: 5/10