Review: The Walking Dead "Infected"

Non Spoiler Review:

Infected kicks off a tense episode as Patrick lumbers his way back into the populated cell block to wreak havoc. But equally urgent threats loom, including the gathering walkers outside the fence. Rick is forced to make some decisions about his new lifestyle, and Carol worries if her teaching methods might be put in jeopardy.

Another fantastic episode, Infected could very well have been titled Paradise Lost, as the calm and security of the prison is shattered for good. It maintained a level of unease and increasing despair that really made for an emotionally draining hour. We got movement on Rick's arc, as well as some curious behaviour from Carol, some nice bits with Michonne and Carl and Daryl, and some new faces (that hopefully aren't just more cannon fodder).

Two episodes in and the season is running on strong legs and feels rejuvenated. While the time jump (much like last year's) leaves the audience grappling a bit with some abrupt character shifts and behaviours, at least the series isn't dragging like the much-maligned second season.

Spoilers Now!

In the middle of the night someone tempts the walkers closer to the fence with a flashlight and feeds them a rat. Inside, Tyreese sits up with Karen and remains pensive about Zack's death and the number of people who move in and out of their lives now. Karen wants to take things slow and goes back to her own quarters, stopping by the showers to wash up. She hears something, but a search of the room yields nothing and she leaves, while Patrick slowly rises from the floor. Back in her cell she readies for bed, leaving the cell doors open. Patrick approaches the curtain over her door, only to be distracted by a cough one cell over where he kills another sleeping man.

As morning comes, Rick tends to Judith and wakes up Carl. Patrick has spent the night feasting on his victim before the sounds of activity draw him out. The other man then rises himself. Glen and Maggie have been on watch in the tower. He takes her picture with the camera he got at the mall supply run. She wakes up to the noise and takes her turn on watch while he goes for a perimeter check. 

Michonne is about to depart on her next search, and Rick and Carl see her off. She asks why Carl doesn't wear his hat anymore. It's not a farming hat, he says. They notice the cluster of walkers leaning against the fence and he asks his father if they can help clear them. Rick has cucumbers to tend to, he dismisses, and refuses to let Carl go. Carl asks for his gun back. Rick ignores that, but gunshots alert both of them, Michonne and Maggie. Glen and Sasha yell out walkers are on the loose inside.

Carl runs to the gate to let Michonne in, but the doors are open long enough to allow a few undead into the safe area and she has to fight them off. Carl grabs a rifle and saves her as Maggie gets her inside. Michonne twists her ankle in the process, and they all watch a herd approach the fence, alerted to the commotion.

Inside, the cell block is in chaos as people try to flee. Several have either turned or are bitten. Tyreese reaches Karen and gets her out. Carol tends to one of the wounded, Ryan, and sets about to amputate his arm, only to sees he's also been bitten in the back of the head. Glen, Daryl and Rick finally find Patrick and kill him, securing the area. Unfortunately they must then go through and ensure the casualties remain dead. 

Carol comforts Ryan. He has no one else and asks her to look after his kids. She tells him he's going to have to let them say good-bye, so brings in his two girls, Lizzie and Mika. He dies quickly, and Carol ushers them out, reminding them what they're supposed to do. Lizzie, the oldest, says they should be the ones to do it. While her little sister can't, Carol allows Lizzie to take the knife and helps her through it, reminding her what they showed her to do. But she falters and Carol takes over, puncturing him through his ear.

Rick discovers a locked cell with a walker inside bleeding from the eyes. He kills it and finds no wounds or bites. Dr. Caleb and Hershel notice he died choking on his own blood, something they saw on Patrick, as well as on the walker outside the fence. Caleb suggests it's an aggressive flu strain. They piece together the connection between the sick pig and similar dead game in the woods, and Hershel suggests they need to do something about the hogs. They've all been exposed. 

Rick goes outside but warns Carl away, and the others to stay back given the possibility of infection. Rick explains Patrick got sick from the flu, died and attacked the cell block. They've lost a lot of good people. He warns them not to get close with any who have been exposed for awhile.

The council meets to discuss the crisis, wondering if they can separate everyone who may have been infected. Hershel suggests they need a new cell block to quarantine people. Carol finds a coughing Karen, and they inform Tyreese she needs to be sequestered with the rest. Hershel warns everyone not panic while they get a handle on medications. 

Carol finds the girls at the fence, assuring them she'll protect them as she promised their father. But she bluntly tells Lizzie she's weak. She needs to act fast every time given it's life or death. If she wants to live she has to become strong. Mika thinks her older sister is stupid for crying. She's messed up, not weak, she tells Carol.

Rick joins Daryl at the new grave sites. Daryl is thankful for all the help Rick has been and says he earned his time off. Maggie comes to get them as a herd of zombies presses against the fence. A team goes to try to clear them off. Sasha calls the others over when she find the remains of the rats that have been used to lure the walkers. The fence begins to buckle and forces the others back. Rick considers what to do, then tells Daryl to get the truck.

Beth tends to Michonne's ankle, happy she came back safe. Michonne is angry at her own stupidity, but Beth reminds her they care about her. Judith's crying begins to annoy Michonne, and later Beth wants her to hold Judith. Michonne only reluctantly does so, and when they're left alone she breaks down and cries. Beth sees her and leaves them together.

Carl is inside making markers for the graves as Carol finds him. She asks if he told his dad about what he saw in the library. He didn't. Carol needs to keep teaching the kids to survive, but she hasn't told their parents. She doesn't want to risk them not understanding. Carl feels that's between her and them. Carol asks him not to tell his father, but Carl won't lie to him. 

Daryl and Rick drive out, hauling a trailer behind. They begin to attract the herd to them and Rick takes out a live pig, kills it, and throws it out. Leaving a trail behind them, they succeed in drawing the herd away while the others make repairs to the fence, but the task emotionally exhausts Rick.

The girls continue to stare at the walkers and Carol joins them again, more comforting to Lizzie this time. She cuts a flower and puts it in her hair, and Lizzie accepts the knife in her hand and keeps it. 

Rick dismantles the pig pen. He tells Carl to keep away and thinks both of them should stay away from Judith for awhile. Carl reveals Carol has been teaching the kids to use weapons and their parents don't know, and she doesn't want him to know. He thinks Rick should let her. Rick pours gas on the pen and thanks him for telling him. He won't stop her and he won't say anything. As it burns he gives Carl his gun back, and puts his own gun belt back on. He throws his blood-stained shirt into the fire and sees another herd gathering at a different section of the fence.

Tyreese goes to visit Karen in her isolated cell block bearing some flowers, only to find bloodstains everywhere, and a trail that leads down the hall. He follows it into the outside courtyard and comes upon two scorched bodies that have been dragged out and burned. One of them is Karen.

The Verdict:

Infected was certainly an exhausting episode—an intense and deadly attack, further discoveries and discussions of the flu crisis, and finally Rick's decision to symbolically and violently undo his rustic life. While the massacre at the prison (over a dozen apparently) carried plenty of impact, part of it did feel like a culling of a bunch of no-names from Woodbury. To balance that out we get Dr. Caleb to provide some quick influenza education, and a very quick look at zombie victim Ryan before he was offed. I do hope the series spends more time developing some these background characters so they're more than just faces in the crowd. Otherwise the gravity of their deaths will quickly fade. Case in point—Karen's not-so-surprising demise.

Rick's continuing dismissal of Carl's questions is troubling, and looks like old style Rick issue avoidance, though that might be on the mend given his return to his gun-wielding self. It was tragic to watch him give up his hope of a normal life for his son (and cutting the throats of his pigs was a heavy metaphor to hammer the message home).

This season appears to be less talky/more showy, highlighted by the lovely little scene with Michonne that easily conveyed that she lost a child rather than providing us a long, drawn out conversation about it. But the heavier dialogue scenes with Carol and the kids were some of the best. I'm glad Lizzie and Mika got fleshed out as real characters. I was getting the impression that Carol's behavior was shifting to the bizarre side of things. I can't say she's acting in a crazy manner yet, but she came off as overly harsh and paranoid. I realize several months have passed and so her take on things has evolved. And she did lose Sophia, so with kids running around for the first time her protective motherly instincts may be in full swing. Mika could be the problem to watch out for given how aloof she is to her father's death and Lizzie's feelings—and perhaps the sisters will play out one particular disturbing story from the graphic novels?

Who is the mysterious figure drawing the walkers to the fence? Gosh, is it Carol?! I hope not. We've never seen the unhinged version of her comic book persona and the television series hasn't shown her anywhere close to that version. Bob or other various Woodbury refugees are too easy solutions, which leaves the show with a problem of falling short of expectations if the identity of the culprit is someone we've not met yet.

Note of the week: Everyone in the prison trusts one another so much no one bothers to close or lock their cells, or even the cell block door? Sloppy.

Review: American Horror Story: Coven "Boy Parts"

Non Spoiler Review:

Boy Parts finds Zoe's guilt placing the school in danger, while Madison has an idea to pay her back for her kindness. Fiona seeks to learn the newly uncovered LaLaurie's secret to immortality as her daughter embarks on a solution for her own infertility. 

Death and resurrection plays heavily this week in a variety of ways. Fiona continues to search for eternal youth and finds a variety of options open to her if she can just secure them. Madison and Zoe and Delia strive to create life in their own ways. All of these avenues are certain to come with their respective consequences, of course, and it looks like the season will deal with those in short order.

There's nothing really to complain about with Boy Parts, aside from a few twists that could be seen coming. But the series is not really about avoiding expectations, just turning them on their ear. It continues to be a fun watch.

Spoilers Now!

On the swamp two alligator hunters returning to shore find a woman wandering about their camp, declaring it's all wrong. She's none other than the very much alive Misty Day, who warns them not to kill God's creatures. As one man pulls his gun on her, one of the dead alligators comes back to life and bites him, while another drags off his friend.

Delia wakes up the girls for morning gathering. Zoe is still mourning Kyle and feels he wasn't like his frat brothers, despite what Madison says. Madison suggests he was living on borrowed time anyways given Zoe's black widow status.

Fiona has Delphine in her room, bound and gagged, warning her not to scream. She wants to know how she's still alive. But she's called down to the gathering and plans to continue their chat later.

A flashback to 2012 finds Queenie working in a fast food restaurant, where she uses her sympathetic magic to burn the hand of a troublesome customer in hot oil. She didn't get in trouble for it, but the story made the newspaper which led Delia to find her. She since learned she's an heir to Tituba, the first slave to be accused of witchcraft in Salem.

The gathering is interrupted by the police, who have information movie star Madison was at the frat party and was witnessed with the boys. They feel she might be involved in the bus crash. And Zoe was later spotted at the hospital. That boy died after she left. They followed up with her own history and learned another boy died in the same manner. Zoe breaks down under the accusations and confesses the men gang-raped Madison and she can do things with her mind because they're all witches. Delia steps in and explains she's suffered a mental break. Fiona interrupts and sends the girls away, declaring she's in charge. She hands the men a glass of water (which she spits in) and orders them to drink. One of the police fights the compulsion and while Delia urges her mother to stop, Fiona tells her to shut up and cranks up her power until he takes the glass and drinks. Under her command, she orders them to turn over all their information and never to speak of it again.

Fiona walks in on the girls and sends them flying against the walls. She berates both Madison and Zoe for not closing ranks when they were threatened. Zoe is soft, she adds. Even the weakest of their kind are better than the best of them. The only thing they have to be afraid of is her.

Delia is at the hospital with her husband Hank, hoping she's fertile to have a baby. Unfortunately that's not the case. Hank will support her if she wants to go on fertility drugs but doesn't get her desire for it. He's aware of her magic and wonders why she won't use it to help herself. Delia doesn't want to play God.

Fiona brings Delphine some food, though she suspects she must be immortal by now. Delphine tries to come to grips with the knowledge she's been buried for 180 years, realizing she was tricked by Marie Laveau. Once she took the potion she awoke only to find Laveau and the slaves waiting outside for her. Marie showed Delphine the remains of her family—all strung up in the courtyard. Marie then explained she gave her life everlasting in that potion, and had her put in a coffin and buried, damning her to live forever.

Zoe and Madison break into the morgue. Madison plans to pay Zoe back for what she did for her (killing the rapist). She has a spell of resurrection she took from the school. They find the bodies of the crash victims, including Kyle's dismembered parts. Zoe is mortified, but Madison sees potential in mixing and matching the best of the corpses and build her the perfect boyfriend.

The girls sow together the various limbs and perform the ritual, part of which is their declaration of allegiance to the lord of the underworld. After an intense spell casting, the patched up Kyle seems lifeless. Zoe supposes they just aren't powerful enough. Madison heads out to the car while Zoe remains to tell him he's sorry. Someone drives up so Madison leaves her. Zoe kisses Kyle, but she runs off when she hears the door open. The coroner arrives and finds the assembled body, as well as Zoe. Behind him Kyle sits up and proceeds to beat him to death. Zoe calms him down. In the woods, wandering Misty gets a picture of the morgue in her head.

Fiona is getting her hair cut at a black salon when Marie Laveau walks in and tells everyone to go home, as she'll finish this one herself. Both women toy with one another before revealing their true identities. Laveau reminds Fiona everything they got they got from them, and their kind have been at odds for centuries. Tituba learned her secrets from a line of shamans, giving it to the white girls of Salem. Fiona doubts that, but wants what Marie has—what has kept her young. And she has something in exchange. She leaves her with the promise she'll be back.

At the school Nan is overwhelmed by Delphine's voice in her head so goes up to her room and sets her free, telling her to get out. Delphine runs into Queenie, calling her a slave, and knocks her out.

Delia attempts to make a potion to help her conceive while Hank waits impatiently. She creates an elaborate ritual with an egg and proceeds to have sex with him in the magic circle. The egg breaks and a snake emerges.

Zoe flees with Kyle, but he remains unresponsive. Misty pops up in the back seat claiming she drew her out there. She takes them back to the cabin in the swamp and Misty starts using he knowledge to heal Kyle, just as Mother Nature healed her from being burned alive, she explains. Zoe remains on edge, but recognizes her, informing her that everyone thinks her dead. Misty heard the call of Zoe's magic and is pleased she's not alone. She seems to believe Stevie Nicks is a white witch and listens to her music. Zoe has to get back to the school, but Misty wants to keep Kyle with her so she can heal him, and the promise that Zoe will return.

Back at home Marie tells someone he won't believe who is back. They have some business to attend to, and she unchains Bastian, the minotaur. Meanwhile, Fiona finds Delphine sitting on a bench in front of her former home. Fiona suggests she deserved every minute she spent under the dirt if even a few of the rumours about her are true. Delphine doesn't care who thinks she was a monster, but hopes Fiona is a witch so she'll know how to kill her. Fiona won't kill her today, but warns her to behave or it's back in the box. They go home together.

The Verdict:

Boy Parts was another fun, full episode. Kyle's Frankenstein revival wasn't too much of a surprise, and similar to the infantata from season one, but it will likely play out very different. With Misty Day's return, as well, I'm sure the two of them will make quite the pair. Misty seems to be a very important character and a wild card at this point. Given Fiona's quest for immortality, her resurrection powers could prove valuable.

Fiona's exchange with Marie was one of the episode's highlights and I'm anxious to see Kathy Bates enter the fray with the two of them. Marie possesses what Fiona wants—a secret to immortality and youth. And she's also preserved her minotaur lover. I'm under the impression that the bull's head is now his head? If so, did Delphine have some hand in that, because we've not yet seen any indication that Madame LaLaurie possesses any sort of witchcraft.

I wonder how the rivalry will unfold—will each woman go to war with the other? Or will Fiona and Marie team up for their mutual benefit? It looks like Queenie, given her ties to Tituba, could prove a recruit for Marie in the future.

I get the impression Zoe and Madison's cavalier deal with the Devil is going to come back to haunt them soon. And the same can be said for Delia's magical dalliance with Hank. Interesting how at ease her husband is with her true nature.

Like the first episode, I do enjoy how Murphy is playing with the use of magic...nothing too fantastical, but telekinesis, mind control and that sort of thing. The rituals shown this week had enough bizarre mystery to them that they didn't come across as cheesy at all. The history of witchcraft we get here is also novel—the conflict between its African origins and the later evolution of the Salem witches. That raises the question if we'll be seeing some male witches or the like, and how they fit into Murphy's new cosmology.

Review: The Walking Dead "30 Days Without An Accident"

Non Spoiler Review:

The Walking Dead returns for a strong season premiere with 30 Days Without an Accident. Many months have passed after the battle with the Governor and Andrea's death, and the prison is now a secure and seemingly thriving community growing some of its own food. Relationships have sprung up with the new additions from Woodbury and others found along the way. Rick has given up his leadership role in favor of a new ruling council, and is content to be a farmer, hoping his son will be more of a child now that they're experiencing somewhat normal lives. Daryl leads a major supply run to a military refuge at a mall while Rick has an encounter in the woods.

30 Days Without an Accident appeared optimistic and hopeful on the surface, with all the progress the group has made and a real sense of community, but there was an overlying menace and darkness permeating the episode—which is a continuing theme for the series. New faces appear to be harboring some secrets, Carl remains a very adult child, the spectre of the Governor is in the background, and Rick struggles to keep their lives as normal as possible while faced with how the apocalypse has stolen their humanity. The episode ends with a very ominous moment that portends a new danger for the survivors.

Season four looks to be on the right track (now with its new showrunner Scott Gimple). There was a large (obviously expensive) set piece that gives viewers a healthy dose of zombies, in case they were going through withdrawal over the summer, and nice character moments without getting overly bogged down with explaining what's happened in the previous months. It strikes a great tone of hope with a healthy dose of foreboding.

Spoilers Now!

Time has passed. The prison has been transformed into a community with fields and livestock. Well-organized teams patrol the wall killing walkers that threaten to gather as a herd. The security perimeter has been strengthened with a variety of zombie traps. Rick walks out in the morning to tend to the garden. While digging he finds his gun. He stares at the walkers along the wall (one in particular with bleeding eyes), then tosses the gun away to resume his work. Carl joins him for chores and they find one of the pigs is sick.

Carol flirts with Daryl as she makes breakfast for the group. Carol informs Daryl the roamers are herding up again and they need to keep ahead of it. He's busy preparing for a major supply run. Patrick, one of the younger members of the community, walks up to thank Daryl for all his work, and it appears Daryl has become one of the more idolized survivors of the original group.

Maggie and Glen wake up and he asks her not to go along on the run, so she concedes and lets him go instead. Meanwhile, Tyreese tells new girlfriend Karen he's going on the trip. He doesn't like the killing on the fence given it's face to face, but only joined the crew in order to get to know her better. Beth also has a boyfriend, Zack, and he is also going along, though she insists on not saying good-bye to him. New arrival Bob wants to tag along but meets resistance from Sasha, unsure if he can perform on a team yet. She acquiesces as he was a medic in the army. Michonne returns on horseback and is greeted by Rick and Carl. She brings some comics for Carl and they hope she'll stay a little while—she's been searching for the Governor for months to no avail.

Hershel compliments Rick for bringing them so far, and his new role as a farmer has them growing a good portion of their food supply. But the others on the council wanted him to talk to him, as Rick's lack of carrying a gun has them concerned. Rick is happy with just his knife, but concedes to the request when he goes out to check the snares. Outside the wall he finds a deer half eaten, then spies a walker feeding on another wounded animal. To his shock she turns and begs him for help.

Her name is Clara and she needs him to help her take the animal to her husband. Rick cautiously approaches and gives her some food. She wants to come back with him as they've been doing very badly on their own. He wants to meet her husband first and ask him some questions. He asks to search her for weapons, but she's unarmed save for a knife and he warns her not to try anything.

Clara explains they were on their way to Mexico when the airports were shut down. Now it's just Eddie and her. She doesn't know what she would do without him. He asks what she's had to do and she confesses eating what they could find and leaving people behind, hiding from those who needed their help. 

Carl hangs out with Patrick, and finds some other kids naming the walkers. Carl has no patience for that and explains they're neither people nor pets and not to name them. Patrick is off to storytime, which Carl thinks is just for little kids.

Daryl's crew arrives at a mall that was chained up by the army during the outbreak to serve as a hospital. They move in to check out the army camp first. Michonne and Daryl hang out with Zack, who keeps trying to guess what Daryl did before the apocalypse. Daryl enjoys teasing him and insists he was a homicide cop. Sasha leads her team in for a sweep of the mall. Meanwhile the roof is full of zombies where a military helicopter had crashed. 

Inside Bob stops by the liquor shelves and takes a bottle of wine, only to reconsider after much thought and put it back, which collapses the shelf in a ruckus that alerts the zombies on the roof. Daryl rushes to his aid to lift the shelf off him but he's stuck. The weight of the herd on the roof breaks the ceiling and walkers begin to tumble through the tiles. 

The group is overwhelmed and Bob has to fight off a crawling walker himself. The weight of the helicopter begins to break the roof. Daryl and Zack get Bob free but Zack is bit, and they're forced to leave him as the mall collapses and the walkers overrun him.

Clara wonders if they get to come back from the bad things they've done. They arrive at her camp and she goes to a canvas, happy that Eddie is still there. Something moves underneath. Then she rushes Rick with her knife but he overpowers her. She tells him he's starving and needs something alive. She kept him even though she knows it was wrong. She asks Rick to let her be like him, then stabs herself in the stomach, leaving Rick to struggle with what to do. Rick comforts her as she asks what three questions he was going to ask. Rick answers—how many walkers have you killed? How many people has she killed? And why? You don't get to come back from it, Clara says, and dies. Rick leaves them.

Carl spies on Carol's story time in the library. As she finishes reading, she brings out a box of knives to teach the children how to safely use them, but Patrick asks to be dismissed as he's not feeling well. She tells him he may have to fight through it to be strong in case he's ever left alone. But she let's him go when he feels like throwing up. Carol notices Carl watching and asks him not to tell his father. He leaves.

Tyreese returns to Karen's quarters and tells her he doesn't like going out there either. Daryl goes to see Beth about Zack. She takes it stoically, and goes to a sign that says 30 Days Without an Accident and takes down the number. She tells Daryl she doesn't cry anymore, but she's glad she got to know him. She asks if he's okay. Daryl is tired of losing people too, and she gives him a hug. As Glen returns, Maggie informs him that she's not pregnant, which comes as an immense relief. But she feels they could make it work and live there lives safely there, despite what happened to Lori. She doesn't want to be afraid of being alive. In her own room, Michonne continues to scan a map looking for hiding places for the Governor.

Rick returns to the prison and sees the same walker on the wall from the morning. The pig has died. Hershel counsels him that he tried to help Clara but some are too far gone. Rick came back. Carl came back. You do get to come back, he insists.

Bob goes to sleep and hears coughing as Patrick gets up and heads to the showers to try to cool off. He collapses on the floor in blood, then opens his eyes as a walker. 

The Verdict:

While we don't get an exact time jump, many months have passed, which is another wise move on the show's part (not the least of which is to keep Carl aging appropriately). It looks like Carol and Daryl continue their playful flirting without taking the next step, but he has evolved so much since last season that he's very much a part of the community and one of the rock stars of the original group.

Andrea's absence is quite evident and I can sympathize with Michonne's drive to hunt down the Governor to avenge her death. She looks like she's at ease with the new group, too. But I question how logical it is to think she can find the Governor given he could be anywhere at this point.

As for new faces, Bob survived while Patrick and Zack got dispatched quickly. He looks like he'll be a wild card in episodes to come. Tyreese's new girlfriend needs some screen time before I can get a sense of her. I'm happy that both he and Sasha are getting fleshed out. It's refreshing to see some children in the community and someone for Carl to interact with (and hopefully play out some other storylines in the graphic novels).

The it's raining zombies scene in the mall brought some action to the premiere, but it also showed how fine-tuned this group has become in surviving. There were no stupid decisions (weak liquor store shelves excluded). In that respect the series has moved forward and avoided pitfalls where idiotic characters bring disaster (at least so far. That could change). Meanwhile, Rick's story with Clara played out pretty much as anticipated. But the point was to show there are people too far gone to be saved. It was a tragic one, but a good contrast with Rick's own bout with insanity, showing at least he pulled himself back from the brink.

The big reveal of Patrick's death leaves plenty of questions—was he sick to begin with? Or is this a mutation of the zombie virus? The pig's death, and that bloody looking walker eying Rick imply something is spreading (even Daryl's interesting finger-licking handshake to Patrick stood out). Perhaps it's just the swine flu and Patrick was sick already. It's refreshing to see the writers explore the other hazards of this apocalyptic world—when a disease other than the zombie plague can prove just as devastating, especially in a closed community like the prison.

30 Days Without an Accident struck a perfect balance. There was enough quiet time developing characters without being overly heavy or boring, and enough zombie kills to satisfy pretty much everyone.

Note to Michonne, Daryl and Sasha—Really, you couldn't have put poor Zack out of his misery in the moments you were watching him getting eaten by zombies, rather than just run off and leave him to suffer?

Review: American Horror Story: Coven "Bitchcraft"

Non Spoiler Review:

American Horror Story: Coven kicks off a witch-focused season with a jam-packed episode full of all kinds of the awesome we've come to expect from Ryan Murphy. Coming off the success of a surprisingly satisfying Asylum last year, and continuing the anthology format, this one promises to be the best one yet.

Salem's true witches fled to New Orleans to escape persecution, and in the present are recruited to a special school to protect and hone their talents. The supreme (Jessica Lange) makes a surprise return to visit her headmaster daughter Delia (Sarah Paulson), but has her own agenda. Meanwhile, newly discovered witch Zoe must deal with her new found abilities and finds her world turned upside-down as she joins the school.

While I initially balked at the notion of single-season storylines, I'm finding it quite interesting to see these actors play new characters each year—Lange, Paulson, Rabe and Evans are back, as well as Tarma Farmiga from season one. Plus, the ever-charming Jamie Brewer returns, as well. There's some new faces, including the formidable talents of Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett. With its customary frenetic pace and frequent flashbacks, I'm looking forward to another wild ride with a batch of scene-stealing actors.

Spoilers Now!

New Orleans, 1834. Madam LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) introduces her daughters to some gentlemen callers at a dinner party. Later in her room, she paints her face in blood to tighten her skin, but the butler warns her something happened during the dinner party—her daughter was caught with the house man, Bastian. LaLaurie declares they'll say he took her by force, and has the slave taken to her private torture room in the attic where several others are suffering. She puts a bull's head on him, given she loved Greek mythology. The minotaur was always her favorite.

In the present, Zoe leads her boyfriend home to have sex with him in her empty house. He abruptly gets a nosebleed and has a fatal seizure. The official word is an aneurysm, but her mother confesses that she should have told her daughter the truth—her great-grandmother had the same genetic affliction—she's a witch. It doesn't show up in every generation. The real witches of Salem escaped and went to New Orleans, where they started a school. Her mother has her taken away sends her off there with escort Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy). 

At Miss Robichaux's Academy, Zoe enters alone and is confronted by hooded figures who throw her on a table and make like they're about to sacrifice her. Laughing, they confess they're just messing with her. They're Madison Montgomery (famous actress), Nan and Queenie. Headmistress Cordelia Fox arrives and takes her in hand to explain the school was established in 1790. Marion Warton took it over in 1868, the reigning supreme of the time, establishing a safe haven for young witches. Their numbers have dwindled, she confesses. Many of the families who carried the bloodline chose not to have children. As for the supreme, she is the witch who bears countless gifts, unlike the rest who usually just have some ability. Cordelia plans to teach her how to control her gifts, and as a cautionary tale explains a recent news story of a girl, Misty Day, who displayed the power of resurgence and could resurrect the dead. She was taken and burned as a necromancer by her religious community. Their lives are always at risk, she warns.

A woman, Fiona Goode, visits a laboratory where a dying test monkey is given a serum and is healed. She wants it. Scientist David assures her they will be ready for human trials in two years, but she wants it now and reminds him his research is funded by her late husband's money. She needs an infusion of youth, but he reiterates that he can't give it to her.

Back at home Fiona proceeds to do lines of coke and have a breakdown while noticing the news report about the missing Misty Day. David arrives. He had conceded and has been injecting her with the serum for five days. She wants more as it doesn't appear to be working. He stands his ground and won't risk his career any further, offering his resignation. The doors close and the lights go out and Fiona proceeds to chase him through the house, throwing him across the room with a gesture. She kisses him and draws out his life energy until he dies a husk.

At dinner, the girls ask why Zoe got sent to the school, so she explains the accident. Nan, a clairvoyant, tells her she will find love in an unexpected place. Madison reveals her own story—she caused the death of the director of a play by dropping a light on him. That prompts some bitchiness between her and Queenie, who is a human voodoo doll and can inflict pain on others. Nan breaks up the heated argument and Queenie storms off.

Fiona shows up to see her daughter—Cordelia. Delia wants her mother to go away, resenting her for leaving her at the school. Fiona reveals she is going to stay and help her, believing Misty Day's death is the beginning of a storm and her girls are unprepared for it. Her teaching philosophy has been a failure as there are no shadows to cower behind in the modern world. Cordelia threatens to call the council and asks when her mother will finally die and stop ruining her life. Fiona dismisses her concerns and maintains she's staying, and thinks they should make the best of it.

At a frat party, Kyle (Evan Peters) lays eyes on Zoe and seems smitten, while his friend puts something in Madison's drink and proceeds to gang rape her with the other frat boys. Zoe gets worried for her and goes searching. Kyle goes upstairs and finds his frat brothers, pushing them off Madison. As they run off, Zoe comes in and comforts her promising they won't get away with it.

Kyle chases the others back to the bus but is knocked out as it drives off. Zoe runs after. Madison follows and casually flips the bus over at the end of the block. She walks away as it bursts into flames.

The girls watch the newscast of the previous night's events. Seven of the nine boys died, with the remaining two in critical condition. Zoe insists they have to tell someone and that Kyle tried to help. Fiona walks in and berates Madison for being sloppy. Madison tells her to go to hell, so Fiona throws her against the wall. She's read all their files and they won't become great women of their clan without her tutelage. So she's taking them on a field trip.

They go on the haunted home tour of Madame LaLaurie. Fiona glamors the tour leader while Nan senses something in the house. The girls learn Delphine forced her daughter to get blood from the slaves so she could use it to stay young. The secret ingredient was human pancreas. They're shown the attic where she kept her chamber of horrors...and the place she met her own demise.

Flashback to old New Orleans, where Marie Laveau visits Delphine, saying she's in need of her services. She has the cure for her husband's affliction, his compulsion for young ladies, she explains. A love potion to ensure fidelity. Delphine can't resist the prospect and takes it, then writhes in pain. The slave she mutilated was Laveau's lover, and she came to exact her revenge. Marie then goes up to the attic to find Bastian bound and wearing the bull's head. Delphine's body was never found, the tour guide adds.

Fiona finds Nan alone in the garden asking what she hears. The lady of the house, she explains, and looks at the bricks of the courtyard.

Zoe goes to the hospital and finds Kyle isn't among the survivors, but the rapist himself survived. She has sex with him in his bed until he dies like her boyfriend of a massive aneurysm. Then she lays flowers at Kyle's memorial.

Cordelia berates her mother for taking the girls on a field trip and why is Zoe suddenly missing? Fiona isn't concerned and goes out—back to LaLaurie's home where she enchants some workers to dig up the courtyard. They find a chained up coffin, and inside...Delphine is bound and gagged, and still alive. Fiona frees her and tells her to come along. She'll buy her a drink.

The Verdict:
Bitchcraft kicked things off quite nicely, providing a lot of compelling back story to the witches and introducing interesting characters, with some twists and surprises along the way.

The setting of New Orleans, and an era of slavery and persecution of women sets up some great themes to explore this year and I imagine Murphy won't disappoint. And there is certain to be plenty of disturbing elements. I'd thought the initial promos showing the minotaur were a metaphor, but we get a full blown one served up in the first episode.

I think I'm going to like the direction Murphy is taking the magic—nothing too crazy or flashy (ie lightning bolts from fingers), but focused more on mental abilities, voodoo and ritual. The more grounded approach is certainly appreciated.

It's great to see Jamie Brewer back in the cast, as well as the brief reunion of Evan Peters and Tarma Farmiga. The other girls at the school are a nice mix of personalities with interesting backgrounds. I highly doubt the likes of Misty Day and Kyle are out of the picture at all, and there's a host of talented characters to mine as the season progresses—including Francis Conroy's brief appearance. Now that Kathy Bates has been brought into the present, can Angela Bassett be far behind? I'm definitely anticipating watching those two actors play off Jessica Lange.