The frighteners

I just watched the series finale of American Horror Story: Coven.

I won’t include any spoilers here — for those of you who are even farther behind than I — but I will say that Coven was my least favorite of the three AHS mini-series to date.

Here’s why:

1. It wasn’t scary enough.  Murder House and Asylum were hide-your-eyes-put-the-kids-to-bed television events.  MH was especially chilling with its basement of horrors, leather-bound mystery man and shadows darting in front of the camera without explanation.  The only thing scary about Coven were the teaser promos; the series itself was more spectacle than horror.
2. There weren’t enough men. It’s wonderful to see all these powerful female roles, especially for actresses of a certain age. But does that conversely mean that there’s room for so few men in the story line?  MH and Asylum had strong characters of both sexes; Coven suffered from its narrow definition of witch.
3. The finale (no spoilers) seemed a bit…familiar. I’m pretty sure that same actress was in a very similar situation at the end of Asylum.  Would be great to mix things up (including the players) in Seasons 4 and 5.

TV critics have been quick to call Coven the best season of American Horror Story based on the higher ratings alone.  But we know how long it can take audiences to find a series.  So if you are new to AHS this season, take a swing by Netflix and watch Seasons 1 and 2.

They’re so good, it’s scary.