American Horror Story: Coven – Review

My heart is pounding. The goosebumps on my arms have risen drastically. Chills are already running down my spine and all I’ve heard is the opening music. I’m very skeptical to watch what’s in front of me, but too curious to turn away.

Ever since the first episode of the first season of American Horror Story I was sucked in. I had never seen anything like it. I never thought someone who came up with “Glee” could possibly make something so suspenseful and fairly terrifying. I take it back. Creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have accomplished scaring the heck out of people for three seasons now.

Last season, I was truly looking forward to American Horror Story: Asylum, but ended up being disappointed. I felt like the plot took five years to evolve and the content was weird. I mean, this series in general is odd, but I lost interest about half way through the season.

But, there’s an aspect that makes American Horror Story’s seasons so unique. The series seasons do not relate to the one before it, and many of the same actors and actresses play different roles for each one. For example, Jessica Lang is an actress that always has a prominent role in every season, but what she plays varies. The first season, American Horror Story, she played an over-obsessed widowed house wife. The second season, American Horror Story: Asylum, she played a crazy nun who ran the asylum. Now, in American Horror Story: Coven, she plays a superior witch who is trying to teach young witches of the 21st century how to use their powers.

This season, Murphy and Falchuk tell the real story of witches and witchcraft in America by going back to the where it all started: the Salem witch trials. More than 300 years have passed since those days, and now the women who escaped death then are facing it now. Many random attacks have been happening on witches throughout the United States, and there is only one place a young witch can learn how to deal with her hidden talents. There is a special school in New Orleans, Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, that teaches the young women how to protect themselves from the new age witch hunts.

There’s plenty of voodoo, witchcraft, frat parties, sexual tension, and drug usage in the first episode alone, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store. What I like about American Horror Story is how they mix in historical information for the foundation of the story, but also incorporate modern day events and culture so it feels more relatable to the viewer.

Needless to say, if you’re curious at all I would suggest watching it. And if you’re not a fan of this season, go back and watch the first (it’s my favorite thus far). Find out more information about the show here. And watch a preview of it below.

About Lauren Estlinbaum

Entertainment Director    —    Journalism major, Class of 2014
Lauren Estlinbaum grew up in Pearland, Texas, south of Houston (go Texans). She is a journalism major with a minor in apparel design. Lauren would like to work for either a fashion or lifestyle publication post-graduation. As she likes to say, she considers fashion magazines survival guides.