‘American Horror Story’ Season 13: What’s Changed for Mallory & Queenie?

American Horror Story:13 is bringing back plenty of familiar faces, and at least two familiar witches who have changed quite a bit since fans last saw them.

Billie Lourd and Gabourey Sidibe are returning as Mallory and Queenie, respectively, reuniting with several of their Coven and Apocalypse costars for the highly anticipated new season. While details about what brings the witches back together remain tightly under wraps, Lourd and Sidibe gave TV Insider a few hints about where their characters are now.

Lourd’s perspective on Mallory has changed, too. The last time we saw her in Apocalypse, Mallory had emerged as the Supreme and used Tempus Infinituum to travel back in time and prevent Michael Langdon (Cody Fern) from bringing about the apocalypse. How has she changed about the character since then?

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“I have a lot of empathy for Mallory now,” Lourd said. “She was so powerful in the end that I didn’t. And now she’s been through so much that it’s sad for her. I feel sad for Mallory. I love Mallory. Justice for Mallory.”

She also jokingly pointed out one mystery that AHS still hasn’t solved: “She still doesn’t have a last name, even. Internet, do your thing.”

As for what Mallory knows about Season 13? Lourd wasn’t giving that away, but she offered one very cryptic clue. “I don’t know what I can say,” she teased. “Just watch my face when I’m not talking. I know a lot of stuff. Mallory knows a lot of stuff.”

Sidibe, meanwhile, revealed that Queenie has moved into a very different position within the coven. When fans first met her in Coven, Queenie was still discovering both herself and her abilities.

“I think in Coven, Queenie was so young, and she had a lot of bravado, but the bravado came from a place of insecurity,” Sidibe explained. “We literally saw her lose her virginity in an episode, now that I think about it. We get to see her grow into her powers too.”

Season 13 will show just how much Queenie has grown up. Sidibe revealed that Queenie is no longer one of the students at Miss Robichaux’s Academy. Instead, she’s helping guide the next generation.

“Certainly she is much older, and I think she has more of a position of power around the coven now,” Sidibe said. “She’s not a student anymore. She’s much closer to a teacher. She’s a mentor, and she’s basically on staff with the Supreme, working side by side with the Supreme to rear up other young witches. So, she’s definitely in a place of power.”

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There may also be another side of Queenie’s powers and heritage explored this season. Sidibe said she discovered that Queenie’s interests extend beyond what the other witches are focused on inside the coven.

“I discovered that she’s probably a lot more interested in voodoo than every other witch in the house,” she teased. “That is her connection outside of the house. Everyone’s focused on the inside of the house and the powers that these witches do, and I think she’s the only one with an extra interest.”

Exactly what that interest means for Queenie, or how Mallory fits into whatever awaits the witches in Season 13, remains a mystery. But after watching these characters grow into some of the coven’s most powerful witches, it sounds like we’re meeting both of them at very different points in their lives.

American Horror Story: 13, Season 13, Thursdays, 9/8c, FX and Hulu