Come one, come all to the new weekly TV Recap of American Horror Story: Freak Show in which every Thursday I take a look at the latest happenings in Fraulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities. What will the fourth season of Ryan Murphy's anthology series bring and what will we remember from this delightfully oddball group of characters? Join me as I look at the Top 5 Characters of the week, recap important events, and share overall thoughts on the series as well as any other interesting tidbits worth of mention.
Top 5 Characters of the Week
1. Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch)
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| John Carroll Lynch |
Importance: Not much is new with Twisty the Clown. He still has two people locked up in a bus and is wandering around killing people in toy stores. However, his menace and vengeance for reasons that remain unknown continue to make him a fascinating character. He has even managed to turn his serial killer motives into a reason for the cops to arrest Fraulein Elsa's (Jessica Lange) Cabinet of Curiosities. However, his creepiness goes beyond killing. There's a question as to why he keeps specific people alive. Why does he not immediately murder Gloria Mott (Frances Conroy) when she finds him on the side of the road? What's with that wind-up toy and what will his relationship with Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock) be like?
Best Scene: From the moment that Gloria picks up Twisty on the side of the road, there's something off. The man who once killed a couple because the boyfriend didn't like him all of the sudden has a heart. While the prisoners in his bus have some sadistic creepiness as well, the real magic comes when Twisty and Dandy meet each other. There's a constant fear that Twisty is going to strike down on this man with a ridiculous amount of toys and novelties. They play with puppets and look at toys. Something isn't right, yet it is the most peaceful that Twisty seems for the entire episode. Most of all it introduces us to Dandy's outcast personality and how he desperately wants to be a freak despite being a spoiled brat.
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| Evan Peters |
2. Jimmy "Lobster Boy" Darling (Evan Peters)
Importance: Okay, so maybe Lobster Boy was wrong in declaring a war with humans. He clearly has grown a conscience after burying the cop's body and holding onto his badge. He wants to create a great reputation for the freaks and cannot stand to see them become outcasts, especially as the become increasingly accused of murdering random people in the town of Jupiter. While he grapples with strongman Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis) about being allowed to mingle with the general public, he is set to make things right. He doesn't want them to be reduced to evening shows, which have become forbidden following the cop's murder.
Best Scene: While at a diner, Lobster Boy takes everyone out to eat. The other customers grow disgusted at the strange sights. Everything is going all right. Then suddenly Dell shows up to post fliers around town and gets upset when he sees them putting on a "free show" as it were. He wants them to remain a mystery. This only causes an outbreak that eventually convinces the manager to cast them out for unruly behavior. It goes against what Lobster Boy was trying to do, which may be the most tragic of it all. Though in fairness, Dell did get a lot of butts in seats.
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| Michael Chiklis |
3. Dell Toledo
Importance: Business is failing and Elsa is worried about the upcoming curfew that will sabotage the success of the show. In comes a strong man with a temper and a three breasted hermaphrodite named Desiree Dupree (Angela Bassett) with his trailer. He immediately clashes with Lobster Boy on how to best boost business. His approach ends up working and having a matinee draws in a crowded house that with his boisterous personality gets the crowd riled up. While Lobster Boy tries to frame him for killing the cop, it eventually backfires and causes Meep (Ben Woolf) to end up in prison and beaten to a pulp.
Best Scene: There's a lot of reasons to hate Dell simply by his demands. He won't cooperate with anyone and is convinced that he is right. He strangles a man who tries to sleep with Desiree. Still, there's no denying that despite all of this, Dell delivers on his promises. When everything seems like it will play against him, he becomes a presented with a powerful presence. He knows how to capture the attention and make everyone shine. This may prove to be problematic later on, but for now, the show goes on.
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| Finn Wittrock |
4. Dandy Mott
Importance: He seemed like a secondary, throwaway character in the first episode. He existed solely to be the one guy who was in awe of the freaks. This time around, he pleads for their acceptance. When rejected, he becomes a recluse who lives only to please Twisty. Little is known if that actually happens, but he has a dark side that is uncomfortable because through the act of rejection, Elsa may have made a sociopath who may not be all that freakish, but thanks to his ambitions, he is going to be someone that you do not want to mess with.
Best Scene: If finding admiration in Twisty wasn't enough, he follows the clown after being knocked out. He is fascinated with this individual and while it appears to be innocence early on, it quickly is made clear what his true intentions are. As Twisty's two prisoners escape, he bumps into a woman. With the child screaming off in the distance, he grabs her and walks back to Twisty's bus. Now that Twisty has a partner in crime, what exactly is going to go down and will Dandy's innocent looking face help make the crimes less suspicious?
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| Sarah Paulson |
5. Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson)
Importance: She may not be the audience's entryway into the freak show anymore, but that doesn't mean that she can't have problems. While there's marital disputes between Dell and Ethel Darling (Kathy Bates), Bette and Dot have to learn how to work the freak show angle. When Dot is convinced that she can sing, they become a performing act. However, due to being stabbed in the throat prior, only Bette has a great voice. It makes her a star and leaves Dot immediately jealous. Even Elsa tries to convince Dot that it is all a jealousy thing and that things will go horribly wrong if she is the head that is considered a freak.
Best Scene: After Ethel tells Bette and Dot that they need to work for their food, they try to find out what their talents are. They stand before Elsa and a few onlookers as Dot tries to sing. It doesn't work out and things are looking bad. Slowly, Bette gets brave and begins to sing in a way that sparks enthusiasm. She is the star of the group. Thus a jealousy between the two heads have started. It only gets worse as the episode continues and while they perform Fiona Apple's "Criminal," there's a clear sense of desperation to be accepted. Still, it all comes back to that first moment where the jealousy started. It's going to be quite a feud between the two.
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| Jessica Lange |
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I have heard many reviews stating that this isn't new territory for the American Horror Story series. The shock mixed with camp is something that is old hat to them. However, as someone who has come in fresh, this is still one of the most fascinating, curious, unique shows that I have seen this year. I really enjoy it and have come away really enjoying the first episode the more that I think about it. While this one is more about establishing the tiff between all of the different freaks, I am still excited by the universe and the potential for more Twisty/Dandy action gets me excited. In fact, Twisty remains a very interesting character that continually gets more complex with every minute of screen time.
I'll admit that overall, the episode feels a little familiar after the spark that launched last week. The Dutch angles feel familiar and even the song choice is less inspired. I love the anachronistic performance, but beyond being an intriguing way to present conflict between Bette and Dot, it seemed a little too bizarre. I like seeing them perform, but there's also the contradiction of them being either accepted or embracing of their outcast nature. Nonetheless, they continue to seem more empathetic and the introduction of Dell gives me some clues as to how the show can likely fall apart after people get power hungry.
Still, in terms of capturing tone and personality, there's a lot that still works. With a lot of the characters now in play and the feud with the cops a thing, there's room for this to go into a lot of interesting, strange directions. Will Elsa lead Bette and Dot to kill each other? I am not sure, but after these two episodes of strange oddities, not much is for certain. I don't even feel like it will follow a formula of any specific kind. I hope that this trend continues. While I cannot say that I outright love it yet, it think that it is really good with potential to be just that.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5
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