American Horror Story Recap: "Head" Marks The Point Where We Don't Even Know What's Going On Anymore
If you’re a longtime fan and/or hate-watcher of American Horror Story you know by now that this show is pretty much insane from start to finish. Things have been getting progressively more bonkers throughout this season, but last night’s episode, Head, can be pegged as the one where things really hit the fan. Let the spoilers commence.
The racial/sexual subtext has been in the background of every episode this season, but as Delphine, weeping, watched footage of the civil rights movement and a white man with a gun went on a killing spree through Marie Laveau’s salon, it all came to a head, if you will. The episode was both horrifying enough to justify the show’s title and racially charged enough to glide along the thin line between provocative and downright offensive.
Fiona’s attempt at a truce with Marie Laveau and her own school of witches was instantly turned down, as was her “gift” – Severed Head of Delphine LaLaurie, which can, at this point, be considered its own character. While Delphine’s decapitated body just sort of waited around in Marie’s basement (yet another emotionally scarring visual, courtesy of the twisted minds behind AHS), Marie ordered her newest voodoo witch in training, Queenie, to burn the head. Alongside the head plot, we got to see Hank finally become an actual character. There was a flashback to a witch-hunting trip with his nutjob father and even a glimpse into the operation of the operation of the witch hunters’ corporation (that’s right, they have that too) The Delphi Trust, based in Atlanta. Predictably, all the witch hunters we get to see are male, placing the topic of gender high on the hitlist for this episode.
Back to the witches, AKA the only reason to watch this show, it was revealed that the Witch Hunters were the ones behind Delia’s acid attack. Myrtle was struggling with the accusation and went to great lengths to convince the younger witch that she had nothing to do with her blindness – an easy task, given that Delia loves her Auntie Myrtle. So Myrtle had a celebratory dinner, killed a Council Member or two and gave Delia a brand new pair of eyes. Why not. After the whole head business, we’ll accept anything.
Fiona was happy for her daughter’s restored vision and the episode closed on Myrtle engaging in that time-honored witchy tradition of boiling human body parts. All in a day’s work, right?