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American Horror Story: Coven



(may contain spoilers)

Having recently finished re-watching American Horror Story: Coven I found it much more interesting than I did the first time. Instead of seeing the scary things or the unbearably hard-to-watch cruel acts committed by Madame Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) or even the character development (Sarah Paulson's Cordelia sure grows throughout the season) I found myself focusing on the mother/daughter dynamics between Fiona Goode (played to perfection by Jessica Lange) and her daughter Cordelia.

Their love/hate relationship may be eerily familiar to many women watching the show. Early on, we learn things have never been especially good between them. "Don't make me drop a house on you," Fiona says to her daughter as she walks out the door. She says it lightly (or so it seems) but the truth is she has (and will continue to) often been an unkind mother, dramatic at best and unbelievably manipulative at worst.

Anyone who ever had a mother who is a force to be reckoned with when mad may see some of her mother in Fiona, minus the witchcraft, of course. Cordelia is no angel, either, though, saying: "Do us all a favor, Mother, and die before Thanksgiving." This is after her mother has just told her her cancer is fatal.

At one point, during one of their many sparrings (the chemistry between Lange and Paulson is just amazing) Fiona says what so many of us have heard in real life. That she may not be the mother Cordelia wanted, but she's the one she got and she did the best she could.

As spoiled and self-centered and decadent as Fiona is, this moment rings true and I think it's these painfully true moments that earned her an Emmy this past August. (Not to mention, who else but Lange could do an eerie coke-fueled dance to Iron Butterfly's ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" and make you feel as if you're invading a real person's privacy?)

Ironically, one of the rare times the two women find peace with each other is the morning after Cordelia has tried to trick her mother into killing herself. Fiona, perfectly serious, tells her daughter she's never been more proud of her for what she's willing to do for the coven. Cordelia, in return, says she would have tried to kill her mother sooner if she'd known she'd win her approval. Considering the dark humor of this show, it's all very fitting. 

You don't have to be witches (as Fiona and Cordelia are) or even find the scene funny to get their relationship. Daughters are often forever seeking their mother's approval (longing for them to be proud of them) and mothers, even ones like Fiona, hoping they did the best they were capable of...for me, it's this and not the supernatural elements of the show that make the third season so compelling.