American Horror Story Resurrects Cordelia and Brings Back Fiona
Cordelia Goode is alive again. Her mother Fiona Goode is back too.
Episode seven of American Horror Story season 13 resurrects Cordelia, the Supreme witch played by Sarah Paulson, and brings back Jessica Lange as Fiona, her mother and the all-time Supreme. The episode is titled "The Baddest Witch Of Them All," with episode eight to follow as "Hell No," according to details shared in a joint interview with the cast The Hollywood Reporter.
The interview brings together Lange, Paulson, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe and Leslie Grossman to discuss the new season. Season 13 is built as an all-star crossover season centred on Coven, the show's third instalment. A crossover, meaning characters from different seasons appear in one story.
It picks up from a brutal cliffhanger. Cordelia was left seemingly dead after an axe blow to the head from James Patrick March, played by Evan Peters. Episode seven reverses that death.
For Lange, the return is large. Fiona is her third franchise character to appear in season 13, with Sister Jude still to come. Lange was last a series regular, meaning a full-time main cast member, in season four and guest-starred in season eight.
She told the publication she agreed to come back on one condition. She wanted to play all four characters she created in the show's first four seasons. Creator Ryan Murphy said he started casting the season with Lange. If she had said no, he said he probably would not have done it.
Murphy earlier put it more broadly. He said: "It's all the seasons" The Hollywood Reporter. The latest episodes lean into that idea. Season 13 positions the Coven witches as the women tasked with saving the world and brings major villains back from the dead.
Lange, Paulson, Lourd, Sidibe and Grossman all said Murphy lured them back. They were led to believe season 13 could be the last. Murphy himself is not closing the door. He says he would like to do the franchise "forever."
What makes this stand out is the scale of the reunion. Lange appears as Constance Langdon from Murder House. Paulson was earlier reported to be playing six or seven roles across the season. Peters said he was "shocked" to learn Lange was returning.
For fans, this means old faces in new places. FX describes Coven as the secret history of witches and witchcraft in America FX. The network lists Lange as Fiona Goode, Paulson as Cordelia Foxx, Kathy Bates as Madame Delphine LaLaurie and Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau for that original run.
Season 13 debuted on Thursday, September 24 at 9/8c on FX and Hulu, according to listings TV Insider. The trailer showed Lange, Peters and Paulson all reprising past roles. Paulson is one of the show's longest-running favourites, with past turns across Murder House, Asylum, Coven, Freak Show, Hotel, Roanoke, Cult, Apocalypse and Double Feature.
