Also, one of Marie Laveau's daughters sort of took over for her after her death (they called her Marie Laveau II), so I'm not sure we're supposed to think Laveau survived all this time. Then again, with this show, who knows.

I can imagine she wanted LaLaurie to live on, because isn't that a fate worse than death? To be buried alive? The less believable thing to me is that LaLaurie isn't completely batshit at this point.

How would we be able to tell, based on what we saw of her pre-entombment?

Given that there are real witches with fairly extensive powers and Marie Laveau's fame as the "Witch Queen of New Orleans," I'm going to assume that the modern-day version from the previews is the same person as in the flashbacks.

Oh, I'm assuming LaLaurie is completely batshit. I'm hoping so.

Also, because this is the only place that I feel comfortable asking these sorts of questions: considering that the horrible racial violence in the opening was lifted from the reports about LaLaurie, is there a way the show could have presented it ... not better, but less charged? I know that AHS gleefully goes for as OTT as it can, but I'm trying to figure out if they crossed a line they shouldn't have.

I'm asking because I know I'm a well-intentioned white lady, but I don't know if the "discussion" I've seen on Tumblr is useful or not.

I don't know, she seemed barely disoriented to me. More ... peeved.

I guess I don't love the idea that he's using actual historical characters and changing their fates. That seems like cheating to me. Make up people! That's what writers do!

At the same time, it's not like I'm going to stop watching, so.

(And to go for three posts in a row: I actually think the rape part of the plot was handled fairly well, considering the writers decided to go to that storyline. I don't think it was presented as something titillating, and I cheered when Madison got her witchy revenge. Plus, there's some sociological / historical subtext that's being there that I find fascinating, but I won't go into that essay at the moment.)

I guess I don't love the idea that he's using actual historical characters and changing their fates. That seems like cheating to me. Make up people! That's what writers do!

But if they'd gone with setting this season's arc in New Orleans and made up their own characters that were anything like LaLaurie and Laveau, some of the audience would have been ehhh, they're just ripping off history, the historical figures are more interesting.

(Some of the audience = me, because I'm a dork like that, and hi, can I rant at you about my yelling at episodes of SPN for getting basic things wrong? That's not what Enochian looks like, dammit! grins )

I'm not sure how much worse the cold open could have been and still been on TV, but I also think they needed to make her crimes and her insanity pretty clear right off to set up the possibly!real minotaur.

I don't think the rape was presented as titillating, either, and I was surprised that it happened -- I believed Madison's facade of sexual confidence, based on the way she'd behaved at the school, and I thought they were going to have her really nastily rejecting the guy.

Also, because this is the only place that I feel comfortable asking these sorts of questions: considering that the horrible racial violence in the opening was lifted from the reports about LaLaurie, is there a way the show could have presented it ... not better, but less charged?

I couldn't watch it, FWIW, and almost gave up on the season right there, in case it was going to be like that much more. But I don't think that means the show shouldn't have done it. Why should it be more off limits for fiction than the horrible things edging on real that they've done so far? It's more raw for me, but that's not a good enough reason.

eta: Amy, your reasons are an extension of why I don't enjoy historical fiction, starting from the stumbling reasons I can't divorce myself enough to read RPF. That part of my brain has a hair trigger and a megaphone.

Oh lordy, just saw the first episode of AHS: Coven. Yeah - big time with the cray cray, but also more coherent than the first season premiere. Sadly, I never got past the first episode of the second for a variety of reasons even though I had the season on my (former) DVR. The fire fucked up a lot of shit, dammit.