Last week's premiere of the new season of FX's horror anthology, American Horror Story: Coven, did a solid job of introducing the new cast of characters and establishing the world in which witchcraft and voodoo are at odds.  Tonight's follow-up episode delved further into the history of both magical practices and hinted at the roots of their conflict.  Oh, and to spice things up, there were also some body-making and baby-making rituals in the mix.  In other words, everything that makes American Horror Story so fun to watch.  Hit the jump for my review because we got a lotta skinnin' to do before sundown.

When a supernatural horror show builds its plot around witchcraft and voodoo in New Orleans, there is bound to be a True Blood crossover or two.  The cold open of tonight's episode, "Boy Parts" was one part True Blood and one part Swamp People, but it served as a nice re-introduction for Lily Rabe's character, Misty Day.  The gator attack was a nice bit of effects work and the whole scene brought a new and refreshing aesthetic to the show, if only for a few moments.

Misty wasn't the only character whose return revealed a bit more about how she'll be worked into the plot.  Last week's episode left viewers wondering how Evan Peters' character Kyle would return after an unfortunate bus-flipping incident.  Well, it seems as if the writers have added a bit of a Gothic literature reference with Kyle's Frankenstein-like resurrection.  The ritual was a fun little sequence reminiscent of Ryan Murphy's Nip/Tuck.  Kyle's resultant Frankenrage was something to behold, but we'll see if Peters gets more dialogue any time soon or if he's doomed to flail uncontrollably for the rest of the season.

Though Madison (Emma Roberts) was solely responsible for putting Kyle back together, Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) was the one who managed to bring him back to life.  Somehow, Zoe was also responsible for drawing Misty Day to her.  Their relationship is off to a bit of a strange start with Misty patching up Kyle and introducing Zoe to the work of Stevie Nicks, so we'll see how this one develops over time.

Speaking of strange relationships, there's a magical hate triangle going on with Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange), Madame LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) and voodoo priestess Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett).  We learned that LaLaurie was punished by Laveau with both the murder of the madame's entire family and the curse of ever-lasting life.  Fiona wants that secret and seems to be positioning the madame as a bargaining chip offered up to Laveau for the prize of immortality, but Fiona's own loyalty to her fellow witches may complicate that deal.  Meanwhile, Laveau was last seen unleashing what is likely to be this season's big bad: the Minotaur.

While the major powers are jockeying for position to resume the age-old war between witchcraft and voodoo, the youngsters are still finding their way, much like the secondary plot arcs.  Zoe and Franken-Kyle are likely headed toward some sort of Beauty and the Beast relationship, while it remains to be seen which of Zoe's teachers (Fiona, Cordelia or now, Misty) will have the biggest impact.

Rating: B-

Quotes & Miscellanea:

Gator Hunter: "We got a lotta skinnin' to do before sundown."

Madison: "For the sake of peace among roommates, I'm sorry I killed your boy candy, okay?"

Fiona: "Jesus, woman! It's a cellphone, alright?"

It was fun to see a little story out of Queenie's (Gabourey Sidibe) past and she definitely has my favorite power so far.

Fiona: "I couldn't toast a piece of bread with the heat they were putting on you."

Zoe: "Did we just marry the Devil? Because I don't know if I'm down with that."

Fiona: "You're not used to having a white woman in your chair, are you?" Hairdresser: "I'm not used to having a white woman in this neighborhood."

Laveau: "The hammer wants the nail's magic. That is rich."

Misty: "This here is the shit ... literally."

Denis O'Hare still without a line of dialogue.

The Foxx couple has a sexy little ritual of their own, one that involves snakes hatching from eggs and blood sacrifices, which is certainly an interesting way of making a baby.