American Horror Stories: Ba’al Brings Back A Forgotten AHS Coven Storyline
American Horror Stories’ fifth episode, “Ba’al,” features a pregnancy storyline that calls back to Cordelia and Hank’s struggles in AHS: Coven.
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“Ba’al,” episode 5 of the AHS spin-off series, American Horror Stories, marks a familiar return of Cordelia’s American Horror Story: Coven pregnancy subplot. “Ba’al” features a varied cast and characters, including AHS’ Billie Lourd, Ronen Rubinstein, Virginia Garner, Chad James Buchanan, and Kimberley Drummond. The American Horror Stories episode follows Liv Whitley, a woman who desperately wants to have a baby and accidentally becomes wrapped up in a demonic summoning after her child is born.
Cordelia Goode (Sarah Paulson) was a supervisory witch for American Horror Story season 3’s coven, being that she was the magically inclined daughter of The Supreme (Jessica Lange). Her plotline seemed pretty innocent as she struggled with infertility for the first few episodes, that is until she was attacked with acid by a mysterious figure, blinding her and leaving her face scarred. The accident gives Cordelia heightened powers with her witchcraft, turning her into the most powerful witch alive and the rightful Supreme in Coven’s ending. Cordelia then returns with several other Coven witches in season 8’s AHS: Apocalypse, where she sacrifices herself to save the world from Michael Langdon.
While Billie Lourd’s character Liv isn’t a witch, the beginning of “Ba’al” makes it appear she inadvertently used a satanic demon’s statue to become fertile, finally becoming pregnant after years of going to fertility clinics with her husband. The American Horror Stories plotline is eerily reminiscent of the start of Cordelia’s AHS: Coven story, where she and her husband Hank had also spent a long time trying to have a baby unsuccessfully. In Coven, Cordelia finally resorts to using her magic as she and Hank perform a satanist-like ritual as they try for a baby, though their method is unsuccessful.
Liv’s pregnancy story in American Horror Stories also mirrors Cordelia’s in the plot twists and revelations about their respective husbands. American Horror Stories’ episode 5 ending revealed that Matt never actually wanted children, and had been purposefully making himself infertile and gaslighting Liv into believing there was a demon. Hank’s storyline twist in Coven was much more extensive, but still suggested he may not have actually wanted to have children considering it would possibly also become a witch. Not only did they not want children, but they both also intended to turn their wives into victims. Matt wanted to turn Liv crazy to have her hospitalized and steal all of her money, while Hank was secretly a witch hunter who would eventually have to kill Cordelia.
This isn’t the first time an episode has connected back, with a killer Santa also appearing on American Horror Stories recently. However, “Ba’al” also connects the two husbands in the questionability of their love for their wives. When Matt is in prison after Liv conjured the real Ba’al to murder Matt’s friends and pin their murders on him, Matt explains that he did love Liv in the beginning, but never wanted children and eventually fell out of love with her. The first fake demon twist of American Horror Stories reveals that Matt had an affair with the fertility clinic’s receptionist, Bernadette, for a significant amount of time, likely right after they started to see the doctor. This relates to Hank in Coven, who did actually love Cordelia but was continually having affairs with women he would meet online and subsequently murder. With the spin-off already bringing back an AHS: Coven storyline, Murphy may be teasing the witches to return in the American Horror Stories’ Murder House season finale or future seasons of the show.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/american-horror-stories-coven-pregnancy-storyline-return/