American Horror Story (2011–…): Season 3, Episode 8 - The Sacred Taking - full transcript

(siren wailing in distance)

(glass bottle rolling)

(glass shatters in distance)

(cat yowls)

(squeaking)

MAN: Let me guess.

You work the late shift,

some shit-hole diner.

Now you're taking the shortcut home.

You don't go home till I say.

(unzips zipper)



Make me fight for it,

I'll carve you up in big thick slices,

then plug every hole you got.

What you did?

What I do.

This works, too.

(screams)

ZOE (echoing): Queenie.

Queenie.

What the hell are you doing?

Nothing you'd understand.

This is voodoo.

You're a witch. We need
you back in the coven.

Marie Laveau set me straight.



You were never my friends.

Oh, boo-friggin'-hoo.

You switched because
girls were mean to you?

Fiona slit my throat. You
don't see me bitching out.

ZOE: We know our coven's
a shit show right now.

But things are changing.
A new Supreme is rising.

And who's that? You?

Fiona filled my head
with that bullshit, too.

That bitch will say anything
if it gets her what she wants.

This isn't for you. Yet.

(grunts)

Holy shit.

You just killed an innocent man!

Innocent? Shows what you know.

This bastard raped three
schoolgirls that we know of,

probably more.

Marie Laveau needs a dark heart,

and I'm gonna give it to her.

(grunts)

(exhales)

Voodoo Queen is making a special potion

to give me more powers.

Fiona ever do that?

Huh?

Voodoo, witchcraft.

This town ain't big
enough for the two of us.

War is coming.

And you're gonna lose.

(heart continues beating)

FIONA: Meningeal carcinomatosis.

That's what the doctor called it.

Tiny seedlings that the cancer planted

in the lining of my spine.

The little bastards are Satan's diet pill.

(retching)

I used to think I understood pain.

A burn, a cut, a broken bone.

(groaning) Heartbreak.

But this is as if I've been
dipped in the River Styx

and all the suffering of
all the souls that ever were

or will be has soaked my body.

My body doesn't belong to me...

not that I'd want it in this state.

I'm starting to look less Samantha

and more Endora every day.

And what could be more painful

than having to tell your
child that you're going to die?

The doctors say it's terminal.

Do me a favor.

Die before Thanksgiving,
so none of us have to suffer

through that mess of raisins
and Styrofoam you call stuffing.

FIONA: They say love is the best medicine.

You are so beautiful.

You're just a fool in love.

You like the way I look,

take a picture.

A month from now, I'll be a...

a balding and toothless skeleton.

So run away with me.

Paris.

Rome. Marrakesh.

(chuckles)

We can spend that month together.

(chuckles)

(groans)

I don't want you watching me decay.

Are you scared?

I'm not scared of dying.

I'm scared of living like this.

The constant pain and the ugliness.

You ever consider making it stop?

No.

I wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction

of me killing myself.

- Mm.
- I'll stay alive

just to spite them.

You know,

the only reason...

... my cancer is moving so fast

and my hair's falling
out like dead weight...

(sighs)

... is because one of those
girls is coming into her own.

Flexing her muscle.

I just have to figure out

which one of those
little pecker-heads it is.

- JOAN: Bitch.
- (hisses)

Her name is Nan.

She's dark-sided. The whole lot of them.

They worship the devil.

That's not true, Mother.

Where else could they get
their dark power from?

Look what they did to you.

You don't get it! They saved me!

Only Jesus can save you.

But only if you repent.

Only if you cleanse yourself
of all the impurities.

"Let the wicked forsake
their ways and the unrighteous

their thoughts."

Nothing happened in that house.

You brought this on yourself.
You had no business going

- to that house.
- You don't have

- to do this, Mother.
- Oh, but I do.

You're unclean.

From the inside out.

But we're going to fix that.

Take off your pants.

♪

LUKE (crying): Don't! No, no! No! No!

She's hurting him.

Sit down, Nan.

Let go of everything
outside this room right now.

Losing Queenie
is a terrible failure.

My failure.

But as of now, she's dead to me.

And no one else will slip
through the cracks.

Let's get back
to the battle plan.

- (doorbell rings)
- It begins with killing Fiona.

- We can't afford to wait.
- MADISON: I should be the one.

- I want to slit her throat.
- No.

You have to stay hidden until it's time.

She cannot know you're back.

We have one shot.

That's it.

Our plan has to be flawless.

So does the execution.

Failure turns this into

- a suicide mission.
- (doorbell rings)

Where the hell is Spalding?

- Delphine?
- I'll get it.

(rapid knocking)

Misty?

You have to save me.

I knew the world could be
a dark and evil place.

It drove me to my haven
in the swamp.

I had my Stevie. My garden.

(whispers): I tried to
disappear into nature.

But I have been found.

(cicadas chirping)

Aw.

Aw, you probably have
no idea where you are.

Hmm.

You've been through a terrifying ordeal,

but you came back.

You're safe now.

Not likely, my dear.

There's a man in the woods
with a gun circling the shack.

I saw the assassin when
he nearly stepped on my face.

Do you hear that?

No.

The cicadas have stopped singing.

(heart beating)

(floorboard creaks)

(panting)

We hid in the swamp through the night.

Made our way here when
I was sure he was gone.

Who's there?

ZOE: A witch.

Seeking safety.

Somebody is looking to kill me.

(gasps)

(screaming, indistinct voices)

You're Misty Day.

You were set on fire
and left for dead.

Whatever troubles you had,
they are ours now.

You're under
the protection of this coven.

This is your house.

Could my friend stay, also?

I left her out back
in the greenhouse.

(insects chirring)

Hello?

Don't worry. You're amongst friends.

Of course I am, Cordelia.

So long as Fiona isn't with you.

Myrtle? Oh, my God.

I thought I'd never see you again.

Poor choice of words, girl.

But given my wretched appearance,

maybe it's a good thing
you're blind as a butter knife.

How did your hair grow back so quick?

Oh, little bird,

I've been buying in bulk
from North Korea for years.

What have they done to you?

I've lost my eyes.

You were burned at the stake,

and our own Supreme murdered
one of her witches.

I'm afraid this coven has fallen

on hard times.

Or maybe it's the best of times.

Resurrection

is a feat more difficult

than all the tests of the Seven Wonders.

Those of us who have recently died

have been brought back to life
by the hand of one person here.

Misty Day.

Behold, our next Supreme.

MALE VOICE: Our journey starts today.

Sort some sounds and read the books,

and we'll be on our way.

(bird chirping, whooshing)

I can't.

(video turns off) Not now.

We're doing a thing downstairs,
so you have to stay here, okay?

And get real smart.

So you can finally tell me
what's going on in your head.

Relax.

We're sharing him, remember?

(sighs) What's this?

We're gonna be busy all night.

Now he has something to do.

Why can't he watch porn and
jerk off like any other guy?

And why can't he learn something

so he can rejoin society and have a life?

(scoffs)

(sighs)

Be good, baby.

We'll have fun later.

(female voice playing over video)

(video game sound effects playing)

(gasps)

Mothballs and history.

It's a cocktail I swoon for.

- I feel like a queen.
- MADISON: How does

putting on this smelly old
stuff help us get rid of Fiona?

It's part of a ceremony
called the "Sacred Taking,"

which allows for the
ascension of the new Supreme.

And we're sure Misty's the next Supreme?

I'm certain of her credentials.

She's brought back

more people from the
dead than Jesus Christ.

Disappointed?

You thought it was you,
didn't you?

Well, I knew it wasn't you,

because when Fiona cut
your throat, you died.

It could be any one of us.

Not really. It's pretty obvious.

And what does that mean?

Being the Supreme isn't
something to wish for.

It's not a gift. It's a burden.

How many of these women had happy lives?

They had the power,

but with it came the crushing
responsibility of the coven.

They all bowed under the weight,

except my mother, who ran from it.

Can I say something?

I don't want to be the Supreme.

CORDELIA: Nobody gets to choose.

When Fiona dies,

whoever it is... will be.

Now, give me your hands.

We're ready to begin.

The Sacred Taking is a
ritual used in times of crisis

to ensure the survival of the coven.

It has been invoked three
times in our history.

The first, during the
Salem Witch Trials in 1692.

The coven had decided to flee south,

away from Salem and the persecution

of the Court of Oyer and Terminer.

The reigning Supreme at
that time, Prudence Mather,

suffered from consumption,

and knew she would be too
weak to make the journey.

(creaking)

She gathered her witches
and invoked the Sacred Taking.

It's the most hallowed
sacrifice a Supreme can make.

Prudence took her own life,

which allowed a new Supreme to rise

and lead them to safety.

MYRTLE: Can you imagine

those poor Salem witches,

traveling all the way
down here in covered wagons

without a proper charcuterie
platter or a bidet?

Absolutely savage!

Does nobody see the flaw in this plan?

You really expect that narcissistic bitch

to kill herself for this coven?

Not without a push.

(coughing, retching)

(sighs)

(groaning)

(sighs)

(instrumental rock music
playing)

(music continues loudly)

♪ When I look out my window ♪

♪ Many sights to see ♪

♪ And when I look
in my window... ♪

(Madison sighs)

I just love this room,
especially the walk-in closet.

I need that.

And my Warhol Mao would look great

on this wall. (laughs)

- Madison?
- Surprise, bitch.

I bet you thought you'd
seen the last of me.

Hmm. How soon can you have
all of your stuff out of here?

I really need my own room.

Oh, and a bed.

I can't wait to break it in.

God knows it's not getting any action

from you, Grandma. (laughs)

What are you?

♪ Must be the season
of the witch, yeah... ♪

Who brought you back?

Are you deaf?

I'm the next Supreme.

I brought myself back. (chuckles)

Looks like you've got
some 'splainin' to do.

Maybe we should call the Council.

Oh, wait. You killed Myrtle, too.

Well, that won't matter.

We all know the playbook on this.

You killed me, so we burn you at the stake.

I'm gonna bring marshmallows

and graham crackers to make s'mores.

(laughs)

Does Cordelia know?

That you killed me?

Everyone knows.

You'll be hash browns
by this time tomorrow.

Of course, you're half-dead already.

♪ Sure is strange... ♪

Get out!

(door creaks open)

(sighs)

Poor Fifi.

As my powers grow...

yours fade away.

Let me break this down for you...

and stop me if I talk too fast.

I'm in, you're out.

And you can

leave this world one of two ways.

You can burn at the stake tomorrow,

which would be messy and painful,

although very entertaining.

Or...

... you can swallow these pills

and go to sleep.

Stop suffering.

And stop our suffering.

The choice is yours.

(laughs)

(pills clatter on floor)

MYRTLE: Going somewhere?

Oh.

Is everyone back from the dead,

or have I already died
and gone to heaven?

Well, I suppose
it would be hell, you know.

I've been resurrected by
our new Supreme, young Madison.

She rather reminds me
of you in your youth,

thin as a pin with a dreadful
case of the "me, me, mes."

(laughs) Yes.

Well, I wish her the best.

I will be... on the island...

of Patmos.

That's not one of the choices, darling.

Take your own life or be
burned, I believe it was.

No, I'm not ready.

I have finally

found someone I belong to.

Someone I truly love.

No details, darling. I couldn't bear it.

I am very ill, Myrtle.

I won't last long.

And he wants

to take care of me.

You haven't thought
through this, Fiona.

Maybe it's your weakened state.

(footsteps echoing)

You're still my beautiful angel.

MYRTLE: This dream of a
perfect love you're clinging to

is just a nasty trick
life is playing on you.

You will die the same
way you lived your life...

alone and disappointed by everyone.

What's the matter?

Huh?

MYRTLE: He won't stay till the end.

They promise,

but... they don't.

FIONA: You are nothing...

but an envious old bitch.

(groans softly)

Where are you going?

This is taking too long for you to die.

FIONA (whispers): Don't... don't leave.

The smells... they make me sick.

Your breath, your piss,

your shit... this whole room
smells of death!

I know. I'll die soon.

I promise.

(grunts)

How'd it go?

Boffo.

She thinks I'm the next Supreme.

- Why can't it be me?
- Because you have

no style and your pits
smell like fish sticks.

Do you think I could be the Supreme?

You guys suck balls.

Nan...

(crickets chirping)

(wind whooshing)

(door creaks) NAN: Luke?

Luke?

(muffled grunting in distance)

(muffled grunting continues)

Luke?

(grunts)

Oh, God.

You're preparing the corpse.

(sighs)

Be a dear, will you?

Come hold this mirror for me.

My hand shakes so from those meds.

Life is a carnival, Myrtle.

(laughs)

Oh, my God.

Do you remember Levon?

The drummer with The Band.

Great God, he was something.

I was so crazy about him.

(chuckles)

We had such a...

wild six months together in Woodstock.

Anyway, the point is...

... some play it safe
on the merry-go-round,

others go for the thrills
on the roller coaster.

I mean, I could sit here
and boo-hoo my choices,

torment myself...

over the selfish detours
I have taken.

But what good
would it do now? Hmm?

Do me a favor, get me
my fur from the closet.

(sighs)

They were all over me that season.

(chuckles)

But Levon, mm... (smacks lips)

Oh, my.

It was preemptive, I suppose,

my leaving.

Get out of town before
they run you out on a rail.

I've always been rigorous

about not staying too long at the party.

Bad form.

Know when it's over.

(sighs)

Look after my beautiful Delia, will you?

My most...

terrible failure.

One that'll torment me
into eternity, I imagine.

And you've chosen the
perfect color for your lips.

I could never pull off the corals.

Make sure they hang my
portrait in the place I chose.

Don't let them store me in the basement

with that disgraced... Russian witch.

(exhales)

♪

Half of it's paste,

but goddamn half of it's good.

(door closes)

SPALDING: Madame.

Wake up.

Spalding?

You need to take this. We
must purge you of this poison.

(whispers): You can speak.

Yes.

I was murdered.

Those idiot girls thought
they could silence me,

but they've only given me voice

here in the spirit world.

300 years,

my family has been a clan of watchers.

And now...

I see everything.

Take this.

No, Spalding...

you don't understand.

(panting weakly):
I am finally...

trying to do...

something decent...

something noble for the coven.

(chuckles softly)

Horseshit.

(spoon clatters)

You're making a martyr
of yourself by giving up.

You've been tricked.

You've allowed a pack of
lesser witches to buffalo you

into this ignominious end.

I won't permit it.

I don't understand.

They've been running a number on you.

Huh?

Madison Montgomery is not the next Supreme.

She didn't conquer death.

She was brought back
by some dirty little...

swamp witch.

They've been leading you to your doom

with lies.

Lies...

you swallowed more easily

than those pills.

Huh?

(retching)

(panting)

(toilet flushes)

(spits)

(chuckles softly)

Oh, Spalding...

you've always been my silent sentinel.

(panting)

And I will avenge your murder.

Right after I've avenged my own.

♪

Delphine?

(sniffles)

Is that a Jumpin' Jack with cheese I smell?

(laughs)

Mmm.

Oh!

Heaven.

Ain't they feeding you?

All they ever do is
bleed me for her poultice.

Come tomorrow, I'm gonna be dry as a bone.

Whatever did I do to deserve this betrayal?

Didn't you like my pot pie

and my peach crumble

I learned how to make just for you?

You put me in here.

You can get me out.

Only for a minute,

just so I can stretch my legs.

This cage is just un... unfit for a human.

Which is why it's so perfect for you.

What I told you

about feeding the animals?

Queenie?

I'm sorry, Reine.

Mm.

(sighs)

You know,

when I had the idea to
have you brought back to me,

I thought of all the many
ways I could dispose of you.

But I've found it give me great pleasure

just to know you in a cage.

Shut your mouth, Negress.

Bring me something to
drink in a clean glass,

so I can enjoy my food in silence.

I'm not your damn maid!

And if I were you,

I wouldn't be so eager
to show my arrogance

from that side of the cage.

What you gonna do? Kill me?

(laughs)

I can't die.

(laughs)

Eh, throw me back in the box.

I seen enough of this world.

I'll take no part

in a country that has a
darkie in the White House.

Hundred years from now,
when they dig me up again,

the natural order will be restored.

You think I only have those two choices?

The mistake you make is

from a lack of imagination.

I'm not afraid of you.

I wouldn't give you that satisfaction.

(screaming)

Dear God!
Oh, my God!

You know, you're right, Delphine.

This gave me no satisfaction.

But we've only just begun.

(wails)

We can't go next door.

It's the first place she'll look.

Then where?

I don't care. Anywhere.

Just us.

You mean boyfriend-girlfriend?

Yes, there's an intruder
in my house right now.

I'm staring at her.

- She's armed and dangerous.
- That's a lie!

How dare you come into my
house after what you've done.

Stay away from her!

We're leaving, Mother. You can't stop us.

The hell I can't.

I'm your mother.

I made you and I can unmake you.

(heart beating)

(gunshot)

(gasps)

(gunshot)

(gunshot)

No!

- (gunshot)
- (Luke shouts)

(crying): Luke.

Don't leave me!

(sobbing): I'm your Supreme.

(playing Schubert's
"Sonata in B-flat major")

How about something less doleful, Myrtle?

It's Schubert's last sonata.

It's all about acceptance of death.

ZOE: This is so incredibly

stressful and weird.

You don't feel anything?

My stomach feels like
a storm's about to hit,

but it's probably just my nerves.

I'm not exactly what you
call a natural born leader.

MYRTLE: Neither was King George,

but one rises to the occasion.

Your feet should be getting warmer.

MYRTLE: I'm told it starts

as a tingle in the cooch.

FIONA: For me, it started
as a classic migraine.

Auras, nausea,

pain behind the eyes.

You know, Myrtle,

Schubert was emotional, not mawkish.

So where...

is this gifted little swamp witch

that everyone's been talking about?

(siren wailing)

NAN: I'm going with him.

(indistinct chatter)

Well, well, well.

So you're the swamp witch
I've heard so much about.

It's not every day

we see a witch with
the power of resurgence.

According to my daughter,
a power fit for a Supreme.

MAN: Hey, ladies,

- you can't be in here.
- Yes, we can.

You're gonna tell us what
happened here, Officer.

There was a shooting.

Maybe a robbery gone wrong.

Son has a grievous head wound.

Mother is dead.

We're waiting on the coroner.

That's perfect.

Here's one

you can... use your talent on.

(siren wailing)

They think maybe it was a robbery.

CORDELIA: And my mother? Misty?

ZOE: I saw Fiona go inside.

CORDELIA: Lead me.

Wait.

There's something here.

(Cordelia panting)

(gasps)

(gunshot)

(gasping)

(gasps)

(gasping)

(groans softly)

This was no robbery.

He was after us.

(bell clangs over video)

MALE VOICE: This road goes two ways.

See if you can guess

which road the friends will take.

- Click...
- KYLE: This...

This road goes two ways.

GIRL VOICE: Click on the microphone button

and say the word.

It's not you. We're under attack.

None of us are safe.
I have to get you out of here.

No!

This... road...

goes...

two... ways.

What does it mean, Kyle?

I...

love...

... you.

I love you, too.

Where are all the servants?

I might have slept until noon.

You didn't really make this coffee

all on your own, did you?

I'm not entirely helpless, Mother.

Oh, no, of course not.

Though I do think we might
move your bed downstairs.

I mean, we wouldn't
want you to have a...

accident coming
down those steps.

Wouldn't we?

I'd much rather be found

at the bottom of those stairs

than be burned at the stake.

According to Auntie Myrtle,

- that just hurts like hell.
- Oh, Cordelia.

You don't really think I'd do

something like that to my own daughter?

Cut the shit, Fiona.

We both know I tried

to orchestrate your death last night.

Yes.

And very nearly succeeded.

If you're waiting for me
to get down on my knees

and beg for your forgiveness,
you can forget it.

It's not gonna happen.

Beg?

I might throw you a parade.

What you and your girls
demonstrated last night

was real grit.

I finally have hope for
the future of this coven.

And you,

my dear...

... I'm so proud of.

You really are my daughter.

Now you're proud?

Hell...

if I knew how easy it
was to win your approval,

I would have made an attempt on your life

way before now.

(laughs, sniffles)

What's this?

CORDELIA: A silver bullet.

I found it last night in the street.

It's blessed.

Mm-hmm.

Witch hunters.

(doorbell rings)

I'll admit, when I found it,

I was glad you were still with us.

We need you now, Fiona.

More than ever.

(doorbell rings)

Where are the servants?

♪

Who was it?

I don't know.

(wheezes): Help.