The premiere of American Horror Story: Coven packed in some engaging story telling, cringe worthy scenes and ratings to boast about.

Entertainment Weekly reports that the season premiere brought in 5.5 million viewers and held a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49, showing a 44 percent increase in viewership and 90 percent rating increase respectively from last season’s debut.

The opening sequence set the odd and frightening tone for series, as the audience witnessed Madame Lalaurie (Kathy Bates) find all kinds of disturbing ways to torture her slaves. The only thing to be mentioned here is Minotaur. American Horror Story has never shied away from placing controversial topics in stories and treating them with a tinge of disrespectfulness, but nothing ever seems forced or contrived. It is something to admire, and this writer does.

The audience then gets introduced to the focal point of the season, Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga making her return from season 1). Zoe learns she is a witch and along with the fact that any boy she sleeps with doesn’t walk away from the encounter, suffering a terrible fate. Zoe then goes to live at the Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies in New Orleans, a school dedicated to bringing up young witches.

The characters that follow are a perfect fit for every scene and set a pace that at times is humorous and gripping. Jessica Lange portrays Fiona Goode and commands the screen the moment her character appears.

For a more thorough re-cap, read Darren Franich’s story at Entertainment Weekly.