Go to Hell (American Horror Story)

"Go to Hell" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the third season of the anthology television series American Horror Story, which premiered on January 22, 2014, on the cable network FX. The episode was written by Jessica Sharzer and directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon.^[1]

With Fiona (Jessica Lange)'s deteriorating health, the girls show new powers as Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) searches for Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett). Angela Bassett, Gabourey Sidibe and Danny Huston guest star as Marie Laveau, Queenie, and the Axeman, respectively. This episode is rated TV-MA (LV).

Plot

Fiona (Jessica Lange) shows Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) a silent movie about the Seven Wonders (seven acts of magic a witch must demonstrate to be labeled the Supreme), which leads her to schedule Queenie's test of the Seven Wonders. Queenie tells her that she is on to her, as she considers Fiona's action as another desperate attempt to kill the Supreme. Furious, Fiona denies any kind of evil plan, as she wants to enjoy her last weeks of life peacefully.

Queenie needs an explanation for Laveau's (Angela Bassett) absence in the house, so she performs Descensum successfully and finds herself in Chubbie's Chicken Shack, selling chicken to customers. She does not realize what's happening, until Papa Legba (Lance Reddick) explains to her that she has the power to go to hell and back. Queenie's worst time of her life was while working at Chubbie's, and that is why it is her version of hell. After successfully managing to come back from hell, she convinces Papa Legba to take away Laveau and (as a result) LaLaurie's immortality.

Meanwhile, Madame LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) is working as a tour guide in her own house, lying about her history after attacking the previous guide. Queenie arrives and offers to help her, but she refuses so Queenie kills her. In her hell, she is thrown in a cage next to her daughter. Papa Legba orders the deceased Laveau to torture Borquita for eternity while LaLaurie watches.

At the Academy, Fiona poses for her portrait to be painted. Later, Cordelia (Sarah Paulson) walks in her room and finds her looking through old jewelry. Fiona puts her mother's necklace around Cordelia's neck. When Fiona touches her, Cordelia experiences a futuristic vision about the Coven, in which everyone (including herself) has been killed by Fiona as she maintains her position as Supreme. Cordelia visits the Axeman (Danny Huston) and explains to him that Fiona is selfish and does not love anybody but herself, using Fiona's passport as sole proof.

Later, Cordelia and Queenie find the entombed Misty Day (Lily Rabe). Queenie uses her powers of resurgence to bring Misty back to life. At the Academy, Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) and Kyle (Evan Peters) come back from Florida with Zoe claiming she is the next Supreme, because of the power of resurgence she discovers during her vacation with Kyle. Misty, Cordelia, and Queenie enter, and Misty violently attacks Madison (Emma Roberts). The Axeman, covered in blood, comes downstairs with his axe, screaming that the witches of the house need to pay for what they did. All of them use their powers to throw the Axeman's body backwards. Myrtle (Frances Conroy) points to the blood, and Cordelia makes the claim that it is her mother's.

Cordelia uses her sight to see the Axeman waiting for Fiona to arrive at the motel room. After she arrives, she attempts to be warm, but the Axeman is now suspicious of her, informing her of Cordelia's visit, and discovers Fiona's boarding pass, confirming his own suspicions. He confronts Fiona, who praises him as a lover, but rebuffs him as she claims she does not know anything about love. After informing him of her plan to kill her successor and retain her youth and reign, Fiona pours herself a drink, only to be killed by the Axeman.

Back at the Academy, the witches decide he needs to be executed for his crimes against the Coven. Kyle volunteers, but the girls do not allow it and use their abilities to recreate his initial death at the hands of the Academy decades before. The Coven hangs Fiona's portrait and question the future as Cordelia informs the girls they will all be undertaking the tests of the Seven Wonders the coming Sunday at dawn.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes reports a 58% approval rating, based on 12 reviews. The critical consensus reads, ""Go to Hell" presents a microcosm of Coven's flaws with a crowded episode whose messy narrative crowds out an effective surprise for a leading character."^[2] Matt Fowler from IGN gave the episode a rating of 7.9, adding that, ""Go to Hell" was a more focused episode, with a lot of driving action. It sounded off a few sour notes here and there, but in the end parts of it felt like a season finale."^[3] Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club rated the episode a D+, stating, ""Go to Hell" kills off Coven's older generation in its entirety, turning things over to the next generation, and I could not give two shits about it." He added, "By far the worst thing any TV show can be is boring, and that goes doubly for a Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk show. But in "Go to Hell", even the outrageous stuff feels rote."^[4]

The episode received a 1.8 18–49 ratings share and was watched by 3.36 million viewers in its original American broadcast, a decrease from the previous episode.^[5]

References

External links

• "Go to Hell" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Go to Hell" at TV Guide.com