Death isn't always final in American Horror Story, especially when it comes to the fan-favorite character, Madison Montgomery. The young witch played by Emma Roberts, first portrayed Madison in season 3's Coven before reprising the role for season 8, Apocalypse. The character was killed not once, but twice, throughout her arc but she has a sense of immortality in the series created by Ryan Murphy.
Madison was an up-and-coming actress before she became a student at Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies. As a witch, she harbored telekinesis but she was also highly confident and self-centered so she didn't always get along with the fellow students. It wasn't until Apocalypse did Madison start to change her tune in realizing how important it was for her coven to band together and fight for the future of the world. She put her life on the line but for that situation, it was for the well-being of others, not just herself.
Thus far, Roberts has played four characters in Murphy's horror anthology series but Madison is the character that won't stay dead. Madison was killed off twice in Coven alone but the narrative always found a way to bring her back. This might be due to the fact that Roberts' portrayal of the snarky sociopath quickly won viewers over. Her popularity remains apparent and Murphy has a fondness for the witches in the series with a plan to bring them back a third time. Here's a breakdown of Madison's multiple resurrections in American Horror Story.
Madison Montgomery's History With Death Explained
Madison was still learning the true potential as a witch while staying at Miss Robichaux's Academy. The coven's Supreme, Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange), was sick and her powers were weakening which meant a new leader was emerging. She feared that Madison was growing more powerful by sucking out her life force. At first, Fiona decided to allow Madison to kill her but when the girl refused, the two argued. Fiona wound up slitting Madison's throat and ordered the butler, Spalding (Denis O'Hare), in getting rid of the body. The other girls eventually found Madison's corpse before Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) and Misty (Lily Rabe) repair her before using the resurrection spell to officially bring her back from the dead.
Madison was back to her old self but she was unable to feel any physical sensations following the resurrection. Since the coven still needed a new Supreme, the young witches tested their worthiness with the Seven Wonders test. Zoe was killed in the process and Madison refused to help repay the favor and bring her back. Enraged by not helping Zoe, Kyle (Evan Peters) strangled Madison to death and led the others to believe she left the Academy after failing the Seven Wonders test.
In reality, Madison was stuck in her personal hell: working as a retail employee at the returns counter. Michael Langdon (Cody Fern) then freed Madison from the afterlife to prove his power as a powerful warlock in Apocalypse. Even after being resurrected a second time, Madison was thrust back into the drama of the coven. This time the stakes were higher after she learned Michael was actually the Antichrist. She then helped her fellow coven members to come up with a plan to stop him from destroying the world. In order to thwart his plans, another witch, Mallory (Billie Lourd), had to travel back in time which undid her second resurrection. Madison is currently back in the afterlife but she will likely come back at some point in American Horror Story, meaning a third resurrection will occur.