Before Apocalypse Starts, Brush Up on the Events of American Horror Story: Coven

We're introduced to Miss Robichaux's Academy, a training ground for the coven of witches. The young witches who are being trained include the telekinetic former child star Madison, Queenie, who can use her own body as a sort of voodoo doll to harm others and who is descended from one of the most famous Salem witches, and Nan, a telepath and clairvoyant. They're overseen by headmistress Cordelia and her domineering mother, Fiona, who is the all-powerful "Supreme." Into this group comes Zoe, who accidentally discovers her powers when she causes her boyfriend to die of a brain aneurysm when they first sleep together. Overlooking all of them is the Council of Witchcraft, which includes Fiona's longtime rival Myrtle.

In some ways, the world of these young witches isn't that far removed from the real world of college kids. Zoe and Madison attend a frat party, where Zoe hits it off with the chapter president, Kyle. The rest of the boys aren't as pleasant: they assault Madison, who then flips their bus in revenge, killing most of the rapists, but also killing Kyle. Zoe kills the one rapist who had survived while he's in the hospital, and in return, Madison performs a resurrection spell on Kyle. The spell also inadvertently draws the notice of Misty, a witch who is able to revive herself after being burned at the stake long ago.

One of the most important through-lines to this season is Fiona's desperate attempts to maintain power at all costs. Tradition (and magic) dictates, however, that one Supreme must die to give way to another, so Fiona is cursed with incurable cancer. She's not about to go down without a huge fight. In an attempt to learn the secret of immortality, she frees Delphine, the suspended-in-time slave-hunting prisoner of voodoo priestess Marie. And when Fiona suspects Madison is going to be chosen by the magic as the next Supreme, she murders the younger witch and has her loyal butler Spalding help conceal it.

Fiona's rival Myrtle suspects something is off about Fiona, and she doesn't hesitate to call her out on it. Myrtle figures out that Fiona murdered Madison, which does not sit well with the Supreme witch. After Cordelia is the victim of an acid attack by witch hunters, Fiona uses the opening to frame Myrtle and have her burned at the stake.

The history of the Academy plays a big part in these events, too. Almost a century earlier, a previous generation of the coven tracks down and killed the Axeman, a serial killer who is terrorizing New Orleans, and confines his ghost within the Academy. When Zoe tries to use a Ouija board to talk to the recently killed Madison, however, her mistakes free the Axeman's spirit. He winds up in a toxic romance with Fiona, who convinces him to help her on her quest to survive and cut down potential future Supremes.

The Axeman might be a serial killer, but he's no match for Fiona's twisted ways. He helps Fiona and Marie — who have become grudging allies in the face of persecution by witch hunters — to take down the hunters who are after them. When he's outlived his usefulness, Fiona uses her magic to make him think he has killed her, and the rest of the coven destroys him in retribution.

Despite Fiona's best efforts, the competition goes ahead to see who will become the next Supreme. One candidate, Nan, is out of the running due to a slight case of being murdered, courtesy of Fiona and Marie. Madison is back in the game after being resurrected (along with Myrtle) by Misty — who she promptly attempts to kill in order to take out her competition. Misty and Zoe both are killed in the course of attempting their tests, and Queenie is disqualified when she fails to resurrect Zoe. Madison also fails a test, refuses to revive Zoe, and gets killed by Kyle for her refusal.

Remember Cordelia? If you had written her off — like the characters had — this is where she shows everyone how wrong they were. She puts herself forward, brings Zoe back, regains her eyesight, and becomes the new Supreme.

While other seasons of American Horror Story have fairly downer endings, Coven is on the more hopeful side. As the new Supreme, Cordelia reveals the existence of the coven to the outside world. Although Myrtle is sentenced to death (again), this time for murdering the previous Council, a new Council is formed, with Queenie and Zoe both taking seats on it. Kyle is able to stick around as the Academy's new butler, and Fiona returns to reconcile with Cordelia before dying. The season ends on the Academy reopening to admit a new class for more magic (and hopefully a lot less murder).