Fearful Pranks Ensue
"Fearful Pranks Ensue" is the fourth episode of the third season of the anthology television series American Horror Story, which premiered on October 30, 2013, on the cable network FX. This episode is rated TV-MA (LSV).
| "Fearful Pranks Ensue" | |
|---|---|
| American Horror Story episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Michael Uppendahl |
| Written by | Jennifer Salt |
| Featured music |
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| Production code | 3ATS04 |
| Original air date | October 30, 2013 |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| |
In this episode, the coven is visited by the Council of Witchcraft after they are notified of Madison (Emma Roberts)'s disappearance. Angela Bassett and Gabourey Sidibe guest star as Marie Laveau and Queenie, respectively. This episode was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie.
Plot
1961
As a 15-year-old black boy rides his bike home from his first day at an integrated high school, three white men chase him down a narrow alleyway and lynch him. Back in Marie Laveau's hair salon, his mother is an optimist with hope for a better life, to which Marie feels the opposite. After Marie and the boy's mother discover his dead body, she decides that retaliation is the key. That night, she performs a complex voodoo ritual that calls forth the dead bodies in a local cemetery. As Marie controls them with her mind, the zombies locate the men and brutally eviscerate them alive.
1971
Marie meets with Anna-Leigh and a truce is proclaimed between the Salem witches and the voodoo practitioners, ending a 10-year war between them.
Following the death of Anna-Leigh, a young Fiona is questioned by the Witches' Council about her disappearance. Fiona makes up a story, hinting at it being the voodoo practitioners fault. They tell Fiona that she is to become the next Supreme, the youngest in the history of the Coven. In the week leading up to her test, all are celebrating for Fiona except her rival: a young Myrtle Snow. She knows that Fiona killed Anna-Leigh, even though nobody suspects her. She decides to perform a spell on the butler Spalding, by enchanting his tongue and forcing him to tell the truth with his knowledge of the murder. Unbeknownst to Myrtle, Spalding overheard her plan to make him implicate Fiona, and he calls her to the bathroom in private. It is revealed that he cut out his own tongue to protect Fiona.
2013
When Spalding hears screaming he descends to the foyer, where he discovers Fiona and Madison arguing before Fiona slits Madison's throat, killing her. She orders him to get rid of the body, and he rolls her up in the rug. Fiona hears noises coming from the greenhouse and discovers a half dead Queenie just as the Minotaur appears. Fiona hauls Queenie up to her room and wakes Cordelia. The two of them frantically try to save Queenie as she dies, but she is quickly resurrected by Fiona. Fiona leaves the room. After Queenie awakes, Delphine LaLaurie thanks her for saving her life. As Marie Laveau works, a package arrives at the salon and she discovers the Minotaur's severed head (still alive) in the box. Furious, Marie prepares for the same voodoo ceremony she did in 1961. At Kyle's home, Zoe goes to get him some food and doctors his meal with rat poison. She goes back, only to discover that Kyle has escaped the house. Hank is away at a hotel awaiting his mistress, Kaylee. After rough sex, he shoots her in the head without hesitation.
The Council of the Witchcraft arrives at the Academy to discuss the disappearance of Madison. They explain that they were summoned by the clairvoyant Nan. The Council interrogates Fiona, who denies her part in Madison's death while sneering and smiling. After, Myrtle loses her temper and acknowledges that she knows, but can't prove, Fiona killed Anna-Leigh and Madison. A deflated Myrtle demands to know what happened to Madison, and reminds Fiona that punishment for killing another witch is death by fire. Cordelia steps in to defend her mother and reveals that Madison had a heart murmur. After the Council leaves, Fiona and Cordelia head to the bar. Cordelia takes a bathroom break, but a hooded figure appears and throws acid in her face, severely injuring her. Back at the Academy, Madame LaLaurie's resurrected daughters appear at the door. The dead surround the house and prepare for an attack as LaLaurie, Zoe, Queenie, Luke, and Nan cower inside.
Reception
"Fearful Pranks Ensue" received a 2.0 18–49 ratings share and was watched by 3.71 million viewers, winning its time slot.[1]
Rotten Tomatoes reports an 86% approval rating, based on 14 reviews. The critical consensus reads, ""Fearful Pranks Ensue" maintains the momentum of previous episodes while further developing emerging narrative threads – and taking full advantage of an outstanding cast."[2] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+ rating, saying, "There is nothing I could say. I could literally write the greatest review in the history of television criticism, and it wouldn't matter. The Golden Corral of terror that is American Horror Story is open for business, and all who attempt to find meaning in it shall be shot."[3] Matt Fowler from IGN gave the episode an 8.2/10 rating, calling it a great episode, saying, "I'm still glad to see that, given the cliffhanger, Halloween night will continue. And that it looks like the best of the ghoulish evening is yet to come."[4]
References
- Bibel, Sara (October 31, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'American Horror Story' Wins Night, 'South Park', 'Key & Peele', 'Ghost Hunters', 'Preachers of LA' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
- "Fearful Pranks Ensue – American Horror Story: Coven, Episode 4". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- VanDerWerff, Emily (October 31, 2013). "Fearful Pranks Ensue". The A.V. Club.
- Fowler, Matt (October 31, 2013). "American Horror Story: Coven – "Fearful Pranks Ensue" Review". IGN. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
