American Horror Story Freak Show Review S4.E4

AHS Freakshow

Edward Mordrake (Wes Bentley) continues on his search for a new Freak to add to his collection, as he invades the carnival and attacks one of the freaks. The CGI was somewhat laughable, but we’ll let that slide. A little backstory on Seal Boy and the Half Woman. Seal Boy explains that he was trying to scare people, when he got his tattoos. Like the poor fella wasn’t scary enough without them? Interesting tidbits on the two.

Mordrake proceeds to pay Elsa (Jessica Lange) a visit. The two sit down and attempt to discuss business. Else propositions Mordrake to work with her, which he quickly denies and instead insults Elsa. As Elsa attempts to scare off Mordrake, he turns on her and makes her have illusions that she’s being attacked by the Freaks. She declares that he cannot harm her, because she isn’t a freak. Mordrake inquires about Elsa’s darkest hour, right before the awesomely scary introduction plays. Are you scared? Are you scared?

It is starting to look like this episode is going to explore the dark history of each individual Freak. We’ll find out, when the show returns from commercials. As the show returns, Maggie and Jimmy break down in the middle of the woods. Nope, ran out of gas. Maggie hits on Jimmy, as a vehicle scares them from the road. Now, we get a view of the clown’s captives. The pair attempt a Houdini escape attempt, as Twisty the Clown arrives and nearly catches them in the act. A failed escape attempt may have captured the attention of Jimmy and Maggie.

Back to Elsa, we learn about her dark secret. Er…did we stumble into some dark, sex filled nightmare? Turns out that Elsa has been very naughty, as she reveals that she was a sadistic dominatrix of some sort.

Jimmy and Maggie spy on Twisty, as he carries his victim back inside. Just as Jimmy explains that they need to inform the cops about the missing kids, Dandy (Finn Wittrock) shows up to save the day. The show goes to a commercial, after Dandy knocks the two unconscious.

The history lesson on Else continues. Now, it is her turn to become the victim. Elsa was drugged, attacked and left for dead. Her attackers sawed off her legs, like Lieutenant Dan. Thankfully, the old solider showed up to save her. Elsa begins begging Mordrake to take her and he seems ready to oblige. Music stops Mordrake in his tracks, as the show flashes back to Maggie and Jimmy, both of which are now tied up, with Dandy running the show.

Jimmy saves everyone, except for himself. Twisty chokes him unconscious and is ready to attack, as Mordrake shows up. Dandy follows the escapees, as he dares them to come back, so they can finish the show. As she chases Maggie through the woods, he trips and begins throwing a hilariously childish tantrum. Back to Mordrake and Twisty.

Twisty begins to explain his story to Edward. Twisty was a former children’s clown. He loved the children, but the midgets picked on him. They get him high and begin making fun of him and his mom. Now, they’re turning Twisty into a peso. Uh oh, To Catch a Predator again. Here comes Chris Hanson. The clown gets scared and runs away, at the thought of the cops arresting him. As a side job, Twisty begins making toys from trash, but nobody seems to be interested in his inventions.

Twisty goes insane and wrecks the Toy Store, after everyone makes fun of him and new toys. Woah. Twisty tries to commit suicide, with a sawed off shotgun, but fails, which explains his messed up mouth. After getting his trademark mouth, Twisty attempts to join Elsa’s circus to no avail. Twisty explains that he is a good clown, despite a montage of his murderous rampage. Since Twisty cannot admit the darkness in his heart, Mordrake kills him and takes him with him. With a new mouth, Twisty joins Mordrake’s rag tag misfits and freaks.

Jimmy arms himself, as Dandy approaches and inspects Twisty’s corpse. Dandy picked up and equips Twisty’s mask, before turning into a psycho and running away, as cop sirens roar in the background. As the show returns, cops investigate the crime scene and interrogate Maggie and Jimmy. So far, both are staying tight-lipped. Jimmy threatens the investigator about the death of Meep. Finally, the pair make it back to the carnival and Jimmy is hailed a hero.

The town shows up to thank Jimmy for saving the kids. The town is finally being supportive of the oddities and Elsa takes the opportunity to invite the locals to tonight’s show. Of course, Dell Toledo appears and doesn’t seem too happy about the situation. Denis o’Hare finally shows up as Stanley.

Dandy returns home and is immediately belittled by the maid. Finally, Dandy snaps and slashes Dora’s throat……and after a brief second….he loves it. Guess we’ve got our next villain to replace Twisty!

Review


This episode of AHS Freakshow definitely took things up a notch. Several of the freaks revealed their histories, while Evan Peters’ character finally achieved the spotlight and success that he’d been clamoring, since the beginning. Twisty finally developed into something more than a mute nightmare, before being rescued from his self-induced nightmare. It was a sad, but fulfilling ending for old Twisty. And we’ve already got a new villain to take his place in Dandy.

Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis) only paid us a brief visit, but with everything going on, it didn’t matter. This episode was certainly a game changer and was by far the best of the season thus far. Things are looking awfully good for the Freakshow, however we don’t expect that to last. Things could go anywhere and we can’t wait to see what happens next. This episode was a high 8 out of 10.

Be sure to check our other reviews and recaps for AHS: Freak Show

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