American Horror Story - 3.07 - The Dead - Review

'The Dead' starts off by showing Kyle having a flashback to when he was alive and hanging out with his frat brothers while they get tattoos. Kyle is adorable as he belts out 'Rosanna' by Toto. The boys keep trying to get Kyle to give in and get a tattoo but he insists that his mother would kill him. The boys continue to try to convince Kyle and he tells them he has plans for his life. He tells them that the levees broke during Katrina because they weren't built properly and that he wants to be an engineer so it doesn't happen again. He tells them that he doesn't want to show up to a meeting and roll up his sleeves to reveal an unprofessional tattoo. He tells his friends that he only has one life and he doesn't want to waste it. In present times, Kyle is still chained to the wall and slowly realizing that his limbs are the limbs of his deceased fraternity brothers, as he sees their tattoos. As he's screaming and sobbing, Zoe walks in and she's holding a gun behind her back. Zoe tells him he knows how it has to go and after a moment of talking he becomes enraged and snatches the gun from her. He turns the gun onto himself and Zoe lunges to get the gun away from him. During the struggle, a shot goes off through the glass ceiling of the greenhouse. Zoe finally gets the gun from Kyle and throws it across the room. He cries and Zoe tells him she doesn't want him to die as she clings to him tearfully.

Madison is struggling with the numbness she now feels after being resurrected. She reflects on how she reacted to pain in the past with drinking, drugs and sex. Now desperate to feel anything at all, she's seen raiding Fiona's room, taking any pills and elixirs and anything else she can get her hands on until she loses her deathly pallor. She still however can't feel anything. Her monologue is hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking. She holds her hand over a lit lighter until it burns a hole through her hand, yet not causing her to even flinch. Madison gorges on food and still feels nothing. She finally laments how the thinks she's going mad and has to do something.

Queenie is attempting to raid the kitchen, but can't find anything to eat. Delphine walks in on her and sees the empty plates and bowls on the table. In probably my favorite scene from this episode, the unlikely pair take a late night trip to a local fast food joint. Delphine is confused by the order speaker but quickly gets over it. Queenie orders for the both and when asked if they'd like to super size their order, Delphine excitedly poses the question, "Do we dare?" The two park once they've gotten their order and have a hilarious exchange talking about their weight and the other witches of the academy. Delphine tells Queenie that they'll never accept her because of her skin color.

Cordelia is startled awake by a late night phone call from Hank. He's been drinking and as he's surrounded by heavy duty weapons, he tells her he misses her and wants to come home. She tells him to go to bed and hangs up on him and after the click he whispers that he'll see her soon and takes a swig from his glass. Cordelia is up and calling out for Delphine for assistance. As she's about to take a header down the stairs, Madison calls out and grabs her, saving her from the fall. Cordelia realizes it's Madison, and instantly gets the vision of Fiona slicing the girls throat.

Fiona goes back home with the Axeman where he pours them a drink. The pair sits at a table and have a little chat. He tells Fiona that he can tell she likes danger and he likes that about her. The two continue to drink and smoke cigarettes and chat until Fiona has to excuse herself to go to the bathroom. While in the dingy bathroom, which is covered in cockroaches, Fiona pulls another clump of her hair from her head. As she's leaving the bathroom, we see that the Axeman has a corpse in the bathtub. They kiss briefly, but as Fiona notices more of her hair coming out, she breaks the kiss and tells him it was a mistake she came with him. He tells her that they aren't a one night thing and she tells him that's exactly what they are. She tells him that he doesn't want anything to do with her because she's a wretched human being and how she always has been. He then tries to tempt her with good old fashioned sex. He walks her backwards and pushes her up against the counter as he talks about how women should have paid attention to him and not the bass player. He finally then is able to bed Fiona, as lights burst around them.

Zoe has brought Kyle upstairs to her and Madison's room. She tells Kyle he needs to learn how to communicate. She has flashcards and goes through them, trying to teach him how to speak properly. He quietly says food but when Zoe asks him to repeat the next word, he grunts and smacks the cards out of her hands. He then manages to call himself stupid. She tells him he's not and that she's just trying to help him function like a person. He takes a big spoonful of whatever it is Zoe brought him to eat, but he puts the spoon in his mouth upside down which causes a glob to fall off. He becomes aggravated and throws the spoon down, breaking the plate and screaming. Madison then walks in and asks who Kyle is as she flops down on the bed. Zoe reminds her of Kyle and what happened to him. Madison then tells Zoe that Cordelia wants to speak with her. Zoe is shocked to find out that Cordelia knows that Madison is back, and Madison tells her that Cordelia knows more than she thinks. Madison tells Zoe to go and that she'll take care of Kyle. Madison crouches down next to Kyle and looks at his scars. After she tells him that they picked the best pieces when they put him back together, he smacks her hand away. Madison tells Kyle that she died too and that they've both come back so he knows exactly how she feels. They both start to cry together and Kyle inches closer to Madison until the two embrace each other.

Queenie has taken it upon herself to pay Marie a visit at Cornrow City. Marie already knows Queenie's name and tells her she's shocked it's taken her this long to come and see her. Marie is cooking gumbo and Queenie tells her that she's never tried it and Marie isn't surprised and quips that they probably feed her fried chicken and watermelon. Queenie insists that the witches at the academy don't like her, but she doesn't think it's because of her skin color. Marie tells the girl that they care plenty and how their power is built on the sweat of the voodoo women's backs. She feeds Queenie a small taste of the gumbo and tells her that the witches at the academy have evil in their midst, referring to Delphine. Queenie tells Marie that Fiona made Delphine her slave and Marie thinks the position is still too good for the sadist. Marie tells Queenie to ask Delphine what she's done and announces that she can come stay with her but the price of admission is one Delphine LaLaurie. Queenie tells Marie that she never said she wanted to live with her. Marie advises Queenie that if she comes to live there and combines her magic with theirs, not even the Supreme can touch her.

Cordelia is telling Zoe how everything at the academy is exactly the same, but now she can see it. She tells Zoe that since she got the Axeman taken care of, she's one powerful witch and that puts a target on her back. Cordelia continues on, telling Zoe that their biggest enemy is locked and loaded and looking at her. Zoe first thinks Cordelia is referring to Marie, but is quickly told that it's Fiona. Zoe is doubtful and remarks how Fiona is on their side but Cordelia stops her and tells her that Fiona is only on her own side. Cordelia elaborates by telling her that if Fiona even thinks for a second that Zoe is the next Supreme, she'll slit Zoe's throat, just like she did to Madison. Zoe starts to say that no one knows who killed Madison, but Cordelia cuts her off and tells her she knows and she knows it was Fiona. Cordelia tells Zoe that if Fiona thinks she's next, she'll literally be next and then tells her that they're going to kill her mother, once and for all. Zoe goes back to her room, only to burst in on Kyle plowing Madison against the wall. Pretty impressive that he can remember how to screw a girl, seeing as he still can't put a sentence together.

Fiona is putting her clothes back on after their romp in the dingy home. The Axeman walks up behind her and she quietly lets him know that she's aware of the body in his tub and how it will soon give off the stench of death. He can tell that she's no angel and remarks how she always had someone to tidy up after her. She tells him she's called the police and he tells her the knows she wouldn't do that because she hates the cops. She begins to gather her things to get out of there and he sits down. He then confesses that he's been watching over her since she was eight years old. We see a brief flashback of young Fiona being bullied by the headmistress at the time and we see her brought down by the Axeman. Fiona says she knew she hadn't caused the accident and asks him why and who and what he is. He tells her that he at first thought of her as the daughter he'd never had, but then after time as she grew and blossomed, his feelings became complicated and fell in love. Then like the creep he is, he tells her he only wants to give her pleasure because she's been through so much. The two kiss, but not for long, as Fiona pulls herself away and slaps the Axeman across the face. Fiona requests he zip her dress up and he complies. She gathers her belongings and starts to leave. He begins to start after her but she advises him to keep his distance and to go haunt someone else before barging out.

Spalding comes to abruptly and quickly finds he's been tied to the bed he's laying in. Zoe is sitting across from him and asks him how he's feeling. Spalding replies that he's fine but then looks quizzical as to why he's able to speak and how his tongue has been restored. He wiggles his tongue around in his mouth before asking Zoe who's tongue is now in his mouth and she tells him that it's his very own tongue. She tells him how she found it just the other day hidden away in the same spot she'd found the ouija board. She stand before him, arms crossed, and tells him how it wasn't dried up and still moist when she found it because someone had enchanted it. Zoe shows the initials on the box that held the tongue and goes on about how she knows who it was and why it was done. He goes quiet briefly but after Zoe yells for him to answer her, he finally admits she's right about it all. She tells him that Myrtle wasn't witch enough to restore it, but that she's not Myrtle and we see how Zoe managed to reanimate Spalding's tongue. He finally chuckles and asks what it is that Zoe wants from him to which she replies that she wants the one thing she can't refuse him, the truth. Finally Zoe gets him to admit that he didn't kill Madison and with a wail he confesses that it was indeed Fiona. Spalding tells Zoe that his family has served their Coven for over ten generations and that he's devoted his life to it. Then, to my horror, Zoe tells him he's done talking and she immediately stabs him in the chest.

In the kitchen of the academy, Delphine and Queenie are again talking. Queenie asks LaLaurie what the worst thing she had done before she was buried alive was. Delphine is hesitant to discuss such vile things but Queenie implies that they could be real friends by telling her that to be real friends, one has to see the ugly to appreciate the good. Delphine concedes that she's always had one slight regret. LaLaurie was at the dinner table with her husband and Sally, the maid, was standing next to him as Delphine questions her about the recent birth of her child just the night before. Louis is feeling up the slaves butt while the two women chat about names for the baby. Sally moves to serve Delphine and as she's doing so, LaLaurie offers the slave the position of her new hand maiden, seeing as Borquita is serving her 'punishment.' Sally happily accepts and Delphine tells her to meet her in her room to assist her with her beauty treatments. That night, Delphine is talking of all the creams and regimens and how there's only one thing that works and it is her very own special concoction. She tells the slave that she will take the formula to her grave but they can play a game and she can try to guess one of the ingredients of her remedy. Sally very correctly guesses blood. Delphine tells her that the batch she is holding is extra special and asks the girl if she can guess why. Delphine tells her that the blood came from a boy who was newly born and that youth begets youth. She tells the slave that she knows who has been between her legs and she doesn't need to give her baby a name.

Queenie is in disbelief and Delphine tells her she couldn't have the baby grow up and try to stake a claim on their fortune. She tells Queenie that the next morning, they found Sally had thrown herself from the balcony, split her head open and died. She tells Queenie that they buried the mother with her son, saying it was the right thing to do. Queenie accuses Delphine of not knowing what the right thing to do is and Delphine can only say that she's learning. She then says she's grateful to have a true friend to guide her.

In the final scenes, Fiona is about to shave her hair off, tired of the clumps falling out. She cannot bring herself to do it however. Zoe take a shower to clean herself of any of Spalding's blood and DNA. Just as she's finishing, Madison slides the shower curtain back. Madison confronts Zoe about what she had walked in on earlier. Madison tells Zoe that she's not giving Kyle up because when they were together has been the only time she's felt anything since she's been brought back. She then tells Zoe she doesn't have to either. Madison leads Zoe, still in nothing but a towel, to the room they share. Kyle is sitting on the bed and Madison kisses his cheek as she sits next to him. Both Madison and Kyle extend an arm out to Zoe, who reaches out and takes a hold of their hands. The last we see of the trio is Zoe dropping her towel and everyone climbing back onto the bed. Fiona goes to the bar the Axeman plays at and asks if she can buy him a drink.

Queenie has given Delphine the impression that she's taking her to get her hair done but we know what her plan is. As Delphine is looking at the products on the shelf, Marie comes up behind then and says her name and Delphine's eyes widen and she spins around to find her old enemy. Delphine tells Queenie that she doesn't know what Marie will do to her and Queenie tells her that she does and that is why she brought her here. Delphine is taken by the arms by the group of Marie's henchmen and locked up in a cell. As Delphine yells, Marie asks Queenie to make the first cut so that she can make her elixir. Marie then slowly and ritualistically paints her face with Delphine's blood.

Overall, 'The Dead' was a good episode, however not as exciting as the first few episodes, in my humble opinion. I've become less interested in the Axeman story line with each episode. I was very excited for the Axeman, but so far all he's done is concern himself with Fiona as opposed to going on any murderous rampages. I'm so incredibly sad that my Spaldy was offed, but this is American Horror Story after all, so there's every possibility he could return. I'm so mad at Queenie for turning Delphine over to Marie, which sounds ridiculous! Only American Horror Story could make me feel bad for a sadist! Next week should be interesting, as we'll see the return of Misty and Myrtle among many other things. Please feel free to leave your comments below! Have a great weekend and we'll see you next week when American Horror Story returns with an all new episode!

Kelly Ann
I am a reviewer for SpoilerTV, reviewing True Blood and American Horror Story. I also enjoy Grey's Anatomy. I also run and or contribute to several True Blood accounts across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.