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Queenie is a member of the Witches' Council and an instructor at Miss Robichaux's Academy, who shares blood with both the Salem witches and the voodoo tribe. She is a character in American Horror Story portrayed by Gabourey Sidibe. She is a self-proclaimed "human voodoo doll", able to transfer self-inflicted wounds and the pain associated with them to another person.

Background[]

Growing up in the foster care system, 17-year-old Queenie spent her whole life longing for a place to call home. Now, a star student with unlimited potential at Miss Robichaux's Academy, this inner-city math prodigy may have finally found a true family – if she can survive the experience.[1]

Queenie worked in a fast-food restaurant in Detroit, Michigan in 2012 before she enrolled in Miss Robichaux's Academy. During a shift at work, Queenie was confronted by an irate customer who insisted that she did not give him the proper amount of chicken and insulted her intelligence. Queenie, being used to attempts by customers to manipulate her, firmly told the customer that his true intention was to get extra food for free and that she would not tolerate it. Angered, the customer insulted her weight. She retaliated by dipping her arm into boiling oil, thus transferring the resulting pain and physical damage to the customer's arm. Despite no evidence to incriminate Queenie, she was let go from her job. It was at this time that Cordelia Foxx found Queenie and took her in. There, she learned that she was the descendant of the witch Tituba, who sparked the Salem witch trials.[2]

Personality and Appearance[]

Despite often being ridiculed for her weight, Queenie shows no signs of a defeated attitude and carries herself with confidence and pride. She has short, curly hair and a tough disposition. Queenie makes it a point to knock Madison Montgomery off her pedestal when given the opportunity. As the only member of the Coven to possess a Voodoo-like power and as the Coven's only black member, she often felt isolated and different from the other witches. Queenie's hell showed that she hates not receiving respect. Through her experiences as part of the coven, she develops new abilities beyond her primary power, enough to become part of the Witch's Council. Beyond her capabilities as a witch, Queenie is a math prodigy and is even clever enough to have Papa Legba strip Madame LaLaurie's immortality after claiming that Marie Laveau's contract was breached. Frequently, she attempts to redeem Delphine, despite the racism of which she was often a target. However, she does not shy away from killing or harming, as she responds to Madison's pushing her plate full of food on her lap by stabbing her own hand with a fork, transferring all damage to Madison, or by killing and ripping out an evil man's heart for Marie.

During her time at Miss Robichaux's Academy, Queenie appeared to be a girl who distrusted most of the people around her, saying that she has been looking after herself for such a long time. This is probably due to her life before the coven, where she receives little to no respect at all. Nan is the only witch in the academy who's seemingly close to Queenie. Upon Zoe's arrival and stay at the academy, they develop a cordial relationship and eventually trust each to look after one another. She eventually warms up to Cordelia and accepts her as her teacher. She also develops a more outright confidence about her abilities and begins to see all her sister witches as family. She was shocked and saddened to see Zoe die during the test of Transmutation, and felt utterly disappointed in herself for not being able to execute Vitalum Vitalis to bring her back.

Queenie shows annoyance toward people who try to manipulate her, and she expresses that feeling out in the open. As seen when Fiona tries to manipulate Queenie into believing that she is the next Supreme, and when Misty Day successfully makes her slap herself by using Concilium.

Queenie also believes that all people have their good sides, as she believes that Delphine can be a good person by showing her different pieces and lectures her about black people and the world in general, which eventually works, and Delphine sees Queenie's efforts and finally accepts her as equal, but not long before Delphine is once again shrouded by vain and hypocrisy.

In the Apocalypse plot, Queenie is shown to be more knowledgeable, friendly, and warm toward her co-council members, Zoe and to her Supreme Cordelia. When she dies in the Hotel Cortez and after Cordelia's futile effort to bring her back, Queenie becomes pessimistic and uninterested, reluctant to take Michael's hand at first and to go out and test to see if Michael can indeed bring her back to the mortal coil. Even after her sudden resurrection, Queenie still feels pessimistic and sees that everything around her might not be real after all. She eventually comes back to her usual self and resumes her duties at Miss Robichaux's Academy until her untimely third demise at the hands of the Antichrist, Michael Langdon.

In general, Queenie is a strong, confident, and smart woman who is always ready to go to war when someone tries to disparage her and her fellow witches.

Story[]

Coven[]

Queenie, with the help of Nan and Madison, pulls a rather scary prank on the new student, Zoe Benson. At dinner, Queenie has a fiery exchange with Madison, showcasing her unique ability to direct her wounds and pain onto whoever she targets by stabbing herself with a fork and laughing as Madison screams from the blood leaking from her own hand. Queenie is later seen with her other sisters and Fiona, who teaches them a lesson on witches in the French Quarter.[3]

During a meeting with the students and the headmistress, Queenie discloses her origins. She used to work at a fast-food restaurant but was fired because of an incident with an irate customer on whom she had used her powers to burn his hand.[2]

Later that day, she notices how visibly frustrated Nan was and follows the clairvoyant girl upstairs, who released Fiona Goode's hidden captive, Delphine LaLaurie. Delphine encounters Queenie in the hallway, and the two have a heated exchange. Delphine eventually knocks Queenie unconscious with an unexpected blow to the head with a candlestick.[2]

Queenie is later seen with Nan looking at a shirtless Luke, saying how hot he is. Delphine (posing as the new maid under Fiona's orders) refuses to serve Queenie lunch because of her race. Fiona then forces Delphine to be Queenie's personal slave because she hates racism. While forcing Delphine to make dessert for her, they both see Bastien outside. Queenie manages to draw him away with a sample of Delphine's blood, but rather than kill him, she tries to talk to him, stating that they are both creatures who just want love. She offers herself sexually, and he takes her from behind, clasping a semi-hoof hand over her mouth to muffle her screams. The encounter leaves her at the brink of death until being discovered by Fiona, who breathes new life into her. She is later questioned by the council about Madison's disappearance.

During Halloween night, Queenie is told by Nan to rest, but she refuses. Eventually, she is forced upstairs by Zoe in order to be safe. When Delphine does not return with ice for her wounds, she orders Spalding to investigate, only to hear him cry out in pain from being struck by one of Delphine's daughters, now brought back as a zombie. Delphine's daughter sees Queenie and attempts to kill her. Queenie's powers prove useless against it. She is then saved by LaLaurie. We later find out that Queenie and Fiona framed Myrtle for Cordelia's blindness and they both go to her burning at the stake.

Zoe, Queenie, and Nan decide to come together as a coven and use a spirit board to locate Madison, during which they encounter the Axeman of New Orleans, who yearns for release. Later, the spirit board tells the girls that Spalding killed Madison, so they go and torment him for Madison.

Delphine and Queenie bond over hamburgers, but Delphine tells Queenie that the other witches will never truly accept her because of her race. Queenie visits Marie, who offers her a home in exchange for Delphine. On a tip from Marie, Queenie asks Delphine about her past, who confesses that she murdered a child her husband fathered with a slave and used its blood as a night mask. A disgusted Queenie willingly turns Delphine over to Marie.

One evening, a man assaults Queenie in the desolate part of New Orleans. She picks up a board with nails in it and drives it into her own hand, making him bleed, then whacks him with it for good measure. Madison and Zoe find her and ask her to come back. Queenie says Marie Laveau set her straight about them not being her true friends and that she is working with the Voodoo faction now. Madison taunts her, pointing out that even if Fiona slit her throat, Madison still stays for the Coven while Queenie left just because she was feeling left out. Zoe says that a new Supreme is rising, and Queenie mocks her, asking if Zoe is referring to herself, since Fiona had also lied and told Queenie it could be her. Queenie proceeds to take the beating heart of the man, explaining to the witches that Marie needs a dark heart to make a potion to give Queenie more powers and that the man had raped three schoolgirls. She tells them that witchcraft and Voodoo are too big to both fit in New Orleans, and they are both on the losing side of the upcoming war.[4] Queenie later sneaks Delphine a hamburger, but she is scolded by Marie. Queenie later makes Delphine watch a video about how black people were treated and she leaves her. Queenie comes back again and puts on another video. Queenie is shot in the gut by Hank in an assault on Cornrow City, but she has the presence of mind to stop the attack by focusing her power on Hank and shooting herself in the mouth. Whether or not she survives her wounds, both of which were inflicted by blessed bullets, is yet to be determined.[5]

Queenie, having survived the gut shot, arrives unceremoniously at Nan's funeral. She has also reattached Delphine's severed head and hand back on her body (without any scars, as Kyle remarks). Cordelia goes to talk to Queenie, who tells Cordelia her belief that she is the next Supreme, as she was not killed by the blessed bullet that she was shot with. Queenie is later seen talking to Fiona about Supremacy. Fiona then starts to choke her and tells her to leave. Queenie performs a voodoo ritual and goes to Hell, where she meets Papa Legba. Queenie then goes back to the world, where she tells Legba that she wants answers. Queenie visits Delphine, who is now the tour guide of her house, where she also killed the other tour guide. Queenie then murders Delphine in response. Cordelia has a vision that all the girls, including Queenie, get killed by Fiona. Queenie later finds Misty and takes her home. Queenie is also seen when Madison and Misty are fighting and they all kill the Axeman for killing Fiona. Queenie is later seen looking at the picture of Fiona with the others.

Queenie is seen making a shrine for Nan and getting a good luck from Stevie Nicks. Queenie is seen eating caviar with the others for their "Last Supper" for some of them. Queenie masters Telekinesis and Concilium by first getting hit by Misty and then pulling Misty's hair. Queenie also masters Descenum by going to Hell and back. Queenie then plays tag with Zoe and Madison, showing her mastery of Transmutation by transporting. But she is not Supreme, because she could not bring Zoe back. Queenie is seen with Cordelia, who masters the Seven Wonders, making Cordelia Supreme. Queenie is seen once more burning Myrtle at the stake and then saying yes to being one of the witches of the council by Cordelia. She is last seen showing the new witches who is Supreme.

Hotel[]

In 2015, Cordelia enchants Queenie's ticket for the Price is Right, magically ensuring that she will win big. While in Los Angeles, Queenie checks into the Hotel Cortez and is unhappy with her room, describing an intense feeling of "bad juju," which deeply unsettles her. She asks the hotel manager, Iris, if she can change her room, but is informed that there are no refunds. While freshening up in the restroom, Ramona Royale jumps out from behind the shower curtain, hungering for the witch's blood. Just as Queenie is about to use her power to finish Ramona off, James March appears and stabs Queenie with a knife, as her magic has no effect on ghosts. Ramona then drinks a wounded Queenie's blood to rejuvenate herself, killing the latter.

Apocalypse[]

Not long after Queenie went missing, Cordelia went to the Hotel Cortez in order to save her and found her ghost playing cards with her killer, James March. March tells Queenie that he is very glad he killed her, as she is the only one in the hotel who is worth playing against. Unable to extract Queenie's ghost past the doors of the haunted hotel after countless attempts, Cordelia realized that the Cortez was truly a demonic portal that was connected directly to Hell, and she was unable to overcome it, as her powers were suppressed by demonic influences. Cordelia regrets the failed rescue of Queenie and considers it her greatest failure as Supreme. Michael Langdon, who overhears Cordelia narrating this story to the Warlock Council of the Hawthorne School for Exceptional Young Men, gets inspired by a scrying vision of the Cortez. He travels to the location and is able to emerge with Queenie intact, to the lament (but not surprise) of March. After Langdon also saves Madison from her personal hell, Queenie asks him why he rescued them, and he says he needs the two to prove a point.

Following the meeting, Cordelia, Myrtle, and Zoe get ready to return to New Orleans. As they exit the building, in the distance, they see Michael, accompanied by resurrected witches Queenie and Madison. Upon seeing them, Cordelia is shocked and collapses to the ground, and as all her fellow witches rush towards her, Langdon rejoices.[6]

Cordelia, unconscious at the Hawthorne School, envisions a terrible future of the post-apocalyptic Miss Robichaux's Academy in ruins, and when she awakes, she reunites with Queenie and Madison, hugging them. Later, Cordelia reveals the vision to the warlocks and allows Michael Langdon to participate in the Test of the Seven Wonders. Queenie and Madison settle at the Academy once again. Later, they are both present during Michael's Test of the Seven Wonders and Misty's resurrection. After Misty is brought back from Hell by Michael, Queenie welcomes her as well as an overjoyed Cordelia. Queenie is among the audience while Stevie Nicks serenades to Misty to help her heal.[7]

After Madison and Behold's trip to the Murder House, the Coven finds out about Michael's origins. At Miss Robichaux's Academy, Queenie, Mallory, and Zoe are sitting around a table. Mallory asks when the new Supreme will rise, and Zoe explains that a new Supreme rises only when the old one dies. Coco comes running down the stairs in excitement because she has discovered a new power: Calorie Detection. Zoe congratulates her because her powers are growing. They make her name the calories for all sorts of foods, which she successfully does, and Queenie brings out a half-eaten Sno Ball. Once Coco correctly tells her the calorie count, she eats the 80-calorie Sno ball and starts to choke, freaking both Queenie and Zoe out. Coco collapses onto the floor and dies. Mallory calmly kneels next to her and uses her magic to open her throat and remove the Sno ball, then brings her back.

Queenie, along with the other girls and Behold, is present during the dinner when Cordelia says they are celebrating because this might be the last time that they are all together. They later find John Henry's ashes and resurrect him, with the help of Mallory. Queenie is also present during the execution of Ariel Augustus, Baldwin Pennypacker, and Miriam Mead. They are set on fire by the Albino servants and burn before everyone's eyes. The witches watch as they burn before turning and walking away.[8]

At Miss Robichaux's Academy, Queenie and Zoe are teaching the witches how to cast a Protection Spell when Michael Langdon and Miriam Mead intrude. Queenie and Zoe attempt to attack and kill Michael, but he uses his Telekinesis to save himself. Queenie attempts to kill Ms. Mead by slitting her throat via Injury Transference, but this merely causes Mead to secrete a viscous fluid, since Mead has been recreated as an Android. Mead then shoots Queenie in the chest, and Michael destroys her soul, preventing Cordelia from reviving her.[9]

Queenie's death is reversed by Mallory using Tempus Infinituum. On Mallory's "first day" at the Academy, Queenie tells Cordelia and Mallory that she is planning to stay at the Hotel Cortez while in Los Angeles, but Mallory convinces her to stay in Venice instead, preventing her death at the Hotel Cortez.[10]

Powers[]

Queenie is a powerful natural born witch and is shown to have mastered five of The Seven Wonders. Papa Legba seems very impressed by her skill. It is possible that she gained her new abilities as a result of Marie Laveau's power-granting potion.

  • Telekinesis - One of the Seven Wonders, the magical ability to move things with only the power of the mind. She used it to tear down the brick wall keeping Misty entombed.[11] She used it again to pull a candlestick to her in the Test of the Seven Wonders.[12]
  • Concilium - One of the Seven Wonders, the magical ability to bend the will of another individual and force them to do whatever the user desires. This power is more commonly known as Mind Control. She uses this when she made Misty pull her own hair.[12]
  • Transmutation - One of the Seven Wonders, the magical ability to move from one place to another without physically occupying the space in between. This power is more commonly known as Teleportation. She uses this when teleporting while playing tag with the other witches.[12]
  • Divination - One of the Seven Wonders, the magical ability to gain knowledge through indirect means. Queenie develops this power when she senses bad energies at Hotel Cortez the first time she goes into her room, just like Behold did in the Murder House.[13]
  • Descensum - One of the Seven Wonders, the magical ability to descend into the netherworlds of the afterlife. This power is also known as Astral Projection. Queenie has practiced this power prominently, even as far as traveling to other personal hells like Madison's.[11][12][6]
  • Vitalum Vitalis (incomplete) - One of the Seven Wonders, the magical ability to balance the scales between life and death. She used it to bring back dying Misty from asphyxiation.[11] However, later in the Seven Wonders test, she could not use it to bring back Zoe.[12] This may indicate that she can only transfer enough of her life force to wake up an unconscious person. It is entirely possible that Misty's waking up might have been a coincidence, possibly restoring herself under her own power.
  • Injury Transference - The magical ability to sympathetically transmute one's own injuries onto someone else, whilst not enduring the pain or damage of the injury themselves. This power is also known as being a "human Voodoo doll" and a part of the voodoo branch of magic.[3]
  • Silver Bullet Immunity - She survived when Hank Foxx shot her with a blessed silver bullet.[5][14]
  • Spellcraft - Affinity for casting spells and performing rituals. Given her peculiar heritage, Queenie has come to a point where she practices both witchcraft and voodoo rituals.
    • Restoration Spell - She uses it on Delphine in order to put her together after she gets dismembered. The results were noted to be better than those achieved by Madison, Zoe, and, later, Misty on Kyle's body and scars.
    • Invocation of Loas - She summons Papa Legba to her presence, something only Voodoo practitioners are known to be capable to pull off (except for Fiona), in order to discuss Marie's contract with him, declaring that it has been breached.[11]
    • Spirit Contacting Spell - Queenie is seen performing the spell to contact Nan's spirit during her preparation to the Seven Wonders Test.[12]
    • Protection Spell - A spell to protect a location. She is seen teaching it to the students of the Academy alongside Zoe.

Notes[]

  • She is the first character portrayed by Gabourey Sidibe. For a complete list of her characters, see Cast.
  • Queenie is the sixth character to make a crossover appearance in another season. She books to stay at the Hotel Cortez when she travels to join the studio audience of The Price Is Right.
  • Queenie is the first character to appear in three seasons: Coven, Hotel, and Apocalypse, respectively.
  • Queenie's hell is serving customers in the fast-food restaurant forever, similar to Madison's personal hell of endless department retail work, as shown in Apocalypse.
  • Out of the Seven Wonders, she was never shown using pyrokinesis.
  • Queenie is one of three ghosts who manages to get out of the place of their death, the other two being The Axeman and Moira O'Hara.
  • Queenie is the first deceased witch to become a ghost.
  • There is a two-year time gap between each of Queenie's deaths.
  • Interestingly, despite Cordelia's claim that witches are all but powerless in the Hotel Cortez, Queenie was still able to use some of her powers (divination and injury transference). This because divination is a passive power and injury transferance belongs to voodoo power.
  • Queenie seems to have knowledge of the existence of vampires, which may be due to her place as a teacher at Miss Robichaux's Academy. When confronted by Ramona Royale, a starving vampire, Queenie refers to her as a "red-dotted blood whore."
  • According to James March, Queenie is truly talented in black magic.[13]

Quotes[]

  • Queenie: "I grew up on white-girl shit, like Charmed and Sabrina The Teenage Cracker."
  • To Madison Montgomery: "Stop what? I don't feel nothing! I'm a human voodoo doll!"
  • To Madison Montgomery: "Bitch, I will eat you!"
  • To Delphine LaLaurie: "You best put that food down in front of me before I Frisbee this plate at your head."
  • To Delphine LaLaurie: "You think I'm any less perplexed? I dragged my ass all the way here from Detroit to be with my, quote, "sister witches," and, instead, I'm sitting in a fast-food parking lot at 3 in the morning with an immortal racist. How'd that happen?"
  • To the Council: "Madison Montgomery is a stone-cold bitch who loves hard drinking, big dicks, and trouble. If she's dead, it's probably because she got wasted and offered the Grim Reaper a hand-job or something."
  • To Zoe Benson: "Dude, there's a shit-ton of books in there, and not one of them is written in English."
  • To Zoe Benson and Madison Montgomery: "Voodoo. Witchcraft. This town ain't big enough for the two of us. War is coming, and you're gonna lose."
  • To Delphine LaLaurie: "I see you finally got that makeover. Guess you figured you could make over a little history too."
  • To Ramona Royale: "Bitch, when's the last time you saw a dermatologist?"
  • To Ramona Royale: "That's right, I'm a human voodoo doll, bitch!"
  • To Ramona Royale: "I ain't nobody's protein shake, bitch!"
  • To Ramona Royale: "I'm not letting some raggedy-ass, red-dotted, blood-whore freak take up another second of my time. It's my vacation, bitch!"
  • To James March: "Fuck you, March. This is Cordelia. She knows exactly how to get me out of here."
  • To Madison Montgomery: "Damn, a hoe even in the afterlife, huh?"

Gallery[]

References[]

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