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Post by Thai Ladyboy on Jan 22, 2014 3:51:53 GMT -6
Anybody watching this? It's down to the last 2 episodes and it's actually pretty darn good. The first season turned me off, it came off like it's trying to be weird and gross just for cheap shock value, and I skipped over season 2 out of spite for season one. But season 3 actually helped tide me over while waiting for Doctor Who and The Walking Dead to come back.
Coven is actually not very scary, much like The Walking Dead. The meat of the story comes from the characters themselves, all the interactions, the backstabbing, the insecurities, etc. It's basically Witches vs. Voodoo practitioners vs. Witch Hunters vs. Each other. There's also the ghost of The Axeman (who's kind of like New Orleans' version of Jack the Ripper). It also has Kathy Bates as one of the most evil woman to come out of Salem, who got turned immortal, buried, and then unearthed and still came off as likeable despite being unrepentant and extremely racist. And then there's Angela Basset and Jessica Lange playing the queen of the vouduns and the head of the witch coven, going toe to toe in terms of sass.
I've seen people complain that American Horror Story's writing is all over the place, but with Coven, it actually works. Lots of things going on at the same time, but you never lose track of things.
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Post by mh on Jan 22, 2014 13:10:47 GMT -6
it's one of the few shows right now that i look forward to seeing. i never really had any opinion about Jessica lange one or the other before this, but she is just fantastic. especially this season with 'coven'. i agree with you that they often went WAAAYYY too far during the first season. i had to use the old fast forward a few times. But overall i liked it, and stayed with it.
it's just as well you took a break during season 2. YEEK! it got much weirder & much grosser. i hung in there for a few episodes, and finally gave up -- i'm a little shocked at the recovery they made this season. the 'coven' cast have done a great job. and i enjoy the writing & dialogue, the interplay between the characters. angela basset is perfect. i love the ax-man! there's just something about an ax wielding ghost who can go into a bar sit down beside jessica lange and say, "can i buy u a drink, pretty lady?" wow, he was really doing his thing in the last episode. he's a one man army with that rail-splitter!
i found kathy bate's character fairly likable until she went back to her old hobby of mutilating & torturing black guys! i had to do some more fast-forwarding during that stuff. i think it's the first time I've had to do it during 'coven'. i'm glad someone is watching this besides me!
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Post by Thai Ladyboy on Jan 22, 2014 13:26:28 GMT -6
Yeah, I sort of looked away during Lalaurie's torture scene, and during Cordelia's attempt to regain her second sight. They could have chosen to cut away and they would have still made their point.
The Axe Man was very charismatic, and it probably has to do with the voice. But for my money, the head of the Delphi trust one-upped him during their ambush. I loved how he still had the presence of mind to make a cup of coffee and correct Fiona over his alma mater, even after all that has happened.
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Post by mh on Jan 23, 2014 18:39:40 GMT -6
the new episode, unbelievable!!
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Post by mh on Jan 23, 2014 18:46:40 GMT -6
The Axe Man was very charismatic, and it probably has to do with the voice. But for my money, the head of the Delphi trust one-upped him during their ambush. I loved how he still had the presence of mind to make a cup of coffee and correct Fiona over his alma mater, even after all that has happened. absolutely! the guy was a cool as a damn cucumber. after the axmen took out everybody, after a few moments he told fiona, "well played." the guy was pretty fearless. his son, trying to play badass, was a total puss
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Post by Thai Ladyboy on Jan 23, 2014 19:23:39 GMT -6
Just saw it. I love Queenie's reaction ("this is awesome!") during Misty's beatdown on Madison (the beatdown supports my theory that Lily Rabe is a freaking giant. She's towering above everyone else on the show, and she's not just tall - it really looks like every part of her body is proportionately larger than the average person, like an image enlarged through photoshop).
I'm intrigued with Cordelia's vision. I'm not sure if it's a future that she prevented (based on Fiona's conversation with the Axeman, she really was planning on getting rid of the witches and living for 30 years more, all the goodbye crap was just subterfuge, or maybe she was saying goodbye sincerely, but only because she's going to make everyone else disappear instead of leaving.)
and then again, I've read up on the synopsis of the past two seasons and they seem to have a habit of getting most of the major characters dead by the end of the season (with Jessica Lange's character surviving), so there may be a twist coming. Maybe Fiona's still alive and Cordelia's vision will come true (for all we know, her vision may be fake. If Fiona's goodbye was insincere, there's no point in giving away the heirloom - maybe it's charmed and it's the result of the visions. The "your power did not come from me." was a lie), or maybe she's coming back. I'm reading too much into things.
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Post by mh on Jan 23, 2014 20:57:01 GMT -6
Just saw it. I love Queenie's reaction ("this is awesome!") during Misty's beatdown on Madison (the beatdown supports my theory that Lily Rabe is a freaking giant. She's towering above everyone else on the show, and she's not just tall - it really looks like every part of her body is proportionately larger than the average person, like an image enlarged through photoshop). I'm intrigued with Cordelia's vision. I'm not sure if it's a future that she prevented (based on Fiona's conversation with the Axeman, she really was planning on getting rid of the witches and living for 30 years more, all the goodbye crap was just subterfuge, or maybe she was saying goodbye sincerely, but only because she's going to make everyone else disappear instead of leaving.) and then again, I've read up on the synopsis of the past two seasons and they seem to have a habit of getting most of the major characters dead by the end of the season (with Jessica Lange's character surviving), so there may be a twist coming. Maybe Fiona's still alive and Cordelia's vision will come true (for all we know, her vision may be fake. If Fiona's goodbye was insincere, there's no point in giving away the heirloom - maybe it's charmed and it's the result of the visions. The "your power did not come from me." was a lie), or maybe she's coming back. I'm reading too much into things.
i noticed that too!!! SHE IS A BIG CHICK! not just tall, but broad shouldered. i never saw it before, until she was pounding on madison
damn, they got all stabby on the axman!!! they friggin 'swiss cheesed' him! i'll miss the guy. but he's a ghost, so who knows
yeah and as you said, during the first season, by the end EVERYONE was a ghost, except jessica lange. i didn't understand at first, because i didn't realize the show would re-boot after season 1. i was thinking, why the heck is everyone dying!?
it'll kill me if fiona doesn't come back!! it would be a huge letdown not to see her on the final. if anyone can return after getting chopped a dozen times with an ax, it's her
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Post by mh on Feb 8, 2014 13:24:02 GMT -6
american horror: coven finale. and opinions? I wanna hear someone else's before I give mine I already miss the damn thing
i will say I didn't like the stevie nicks opening
screenrant.com/amercian-horror-story-season-finale-review/
i'm hearing the next one will be set in the 50's. 20's, 30's, 40's great, but i'm so sick of the 50's
I read that jessica lange is working on a german accent with a dialogue coach. escaped nazis in argentina?
who knows, could still be good, we'll see
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Post by Thai Ladyboy on Feb 8, 2014 16:28:34 GMT -6
I could have done without the Stevie Nicks opening. It seemed out of place. Heck Stevie Nicks herself seemed out of place in the series.
As for the finale, I loved it. It's way more upbeat than the finales for season 1 and 2 (I've already marathoned the crap out of Season 2, btw.)
One thing that I could have done without was them showing Fiona's personal hell. It sort of takes the charm out of her final goodbye with Cordelia. It's like, "oooh they finally reconciled. Good for them! I'm glad Fiona was finally able to give Cordelia a mother's approval..." and then BAM Fiona's suffering for all eternity and she thought it was Cordelia's doing.
I loved the bit with Cordelia controlling Queenie and making her dance.
Also, another theme repeated: Sister Mary Eunice was cremated in season 2, Misty Day turned into ash this time around.
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Post by mh on Feb 8, 2014 17:16:26 GMT -6
(I've already marathoned the crap out of Season 2, btw.) One thing that I could have done without was them showing Fiona's personal hell. It sort of takes the charm out of her final goodbye with Cordelia. It's like, "oooh they finally reconciled. Good for them! I'm glad Fiona was finally able to give Cordelia a mother's approval..." and then BAM Fiona's suffering for all eternity and she thought it was Cordelia's doing.
i think we agree on many of the same points. having stevie nicks on was a gimmick to lure in the 40-something's. which probably worked. she was fine in the previous episode, but this one was too much. Fiona's personal hell with the axman, that was just stupid. i know she'd alluded too earlier how she had no intention of living that sort of life with him, so i get where they were going with it. but why does the axman deserve a personal heaven? maybe it's a 'hell axman', an illusion, and not really him. anyway, they could've been more clever. queenie's simple 'fried chicken hell' was better, funnier, and scarier! hell for fiona should have been her not being named supreme as a girl & just forced to be average day after day
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Post by mh on Feb 23, 2014 20:26:24 GMT -6
neilencio, since you marathoned season 2, what is your take on it ?
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Post by Thai Ladyboy on Feb 23, 2014 22:14:40 GMT -6
It's certainly a lot harder to stomach than Coven. The aura Briarcliff gives off is nauseating, and I can almost imagine the smell of the place. Lots of dark places too, everything is always dark except towards the end. But over time, I kind of got the hang of it. I've seen people online criticize it for being too disjointed and having way too many things going on at once, but that seems to be AHS' modus operandi (they're tackling topics that were prevalent during the time period in Asylum: nazis, serial killers, demonic possesions, alien abductions, government-funded mental health institutions, racial discrimination, and gender roles.)
It's actually amazing that they managed to incorporate everything into the narrative without being too out of place. Even the aliens sort of fit in, even if we don't get an explanation as to why it's happening - it just gets filed away as "those are what's happening during the time period." I still like Coven's story better, but objectively I think Asylum was more solidly-written.
As for the story, one of the things I noticed is that many of the villains in the show are well-meaning. It's just that their perception of what's just and their actions are both distorted by other things-belief, guilt, ambition, or whatevs. Sister Jude, Monsignor Qui Gon Jinn's brother, and Mary Eunice were all nice peeps, but they're doing bad stuff because they're either overcompensating for past sins, trying to become pope, or because there's some nasty demon shit pulling the strings.
Dr. Arden, the nasty nazi that he is, is sort of working under the belief that he's doing something good for humanity, scientific progress or some shit. He wasn't doing all of those things because he's evil and wants to see people get hurt, he's just writing them off as collateral damage. He's a big picture guy in the most dangerous way possible. You kinda feel sorry for him towards the end when the aliens bitchslapped his ego all over the place. Even Lana showed her true colors towards the end, coming off as one of those sociopathic overachievers who would step over everyone for their own career's benefit.
Dr. Thredson and his son, I couldn't care less. The thing about orphans turning into psychopaths is true, but overplayed. The Skylar dude is good, though. He comes off really charming and dependable at first. I kinda wish I didn't read spoilers because the reveal would have had more punch to it.
Kit is my favorite character in the series. He just comes off as a really nice guy that the world just decided to shit on. The wrap-up was nice, how he managed to bury the hatchet with Sister Judith.
I've also read that the showrunners were purposely inserting themes and references to the next season, but I haven't catched any except for two. One is the bar scene during Sister Jude's flashback - it looks very similar to the Coven scene when Fiona first met the Axeman. And Mary Eunice's death, which I mentioned above. She got cremated in Asylum, while Misty Day died by turning into ashes in Coven.
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