When the show opens, Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) announces Chester (Neil Patrick Harris) is taking over the Freak Show. Elsa thanks Stanley (Denis O’Hare) and insists everyone will be on television thanks to him. Of course, the truth is revealed, as Maggie Esmerelda (Emma Roberts) reveals she told Elsa everything. Stanley opens a gift box, which contains the head of Lillian Hemmings (Celia Weston), who ran the Museum of Morbid Curiosities. Stanley is tied to the spinning wheel, while Elsa throws knives at hime. Stanley tells the Freaks about Elsa killing Ethel, but they cash him down, where he is potentially killed under a wagon.
Afterwards, Elsa visits Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters) and tells him about Stanley’s death. She also tells him about Massimo Dolcefino (Danny Huston), who made her prosthetics. Next, Maggie cleans Jimmy’s nubs with alcohol. Maggie confesses her love for Jimmy and suggests moving away. Of course, he wants nothing to do with it. Massimo shows up and is greeted by Elsa. Chester has sex with the Tattler twins (Sarah Paulson). Chester agrees to hide Marjorie (Jamie Brewer) for the time being. Chester insists the twins are going to be able to heal him, but Marjorie insists he is a murderer. Marjorie and Chester agree the twins are going to have to go.
When the show returns, Paul the Illustrated Seal (Mat Fraser) and the other Freaks discuss the possibility of Elsa killing Ethel. Paul riles them up, as they all agree Elsa is behind Ethel’s death. Next, Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock) visits the twins and tells them about Chester’s bizarre past. This angers the twins, as they force Dandy to leave. Elsa and Massimo visit Jimmy and Massimo reveals he has come to make Jimmy some new hands. Through flashbacks, we see how Massimo avenged Elsa, but was shot by the group’s leader, Dr. Hands Gruper, before being tortured, until being released by the General.
The Twins tell Chester that they do not wish to be his assistant anymore. He suggests sawing the Twins in half, but they have no interest in partaking in the act. Instead, Maggie shows up and agrees to get into the box. Chester begins to see Lucy, as he angrily secures Maggie in the magic box, before pulling out his saw. He continues seeing Lucy, while Marjorie belittles him, before he begins to saw. Chester kills Maggie, while the Freaks watch in horror. Marjorie laughs at Chester, as he tries to put Maggie back together. Chester kills Marjorie. Next, we see a flashback of Jimmy’s first performance. Amazon Eve (Erika Ervin) tells Jimmy about Maggie and suggests Elsa is next.
The Twins visit Elsa and recommend for her to flee, since the Freaks are going to kill her for murdering Ethel. Elsa insists she doesn’t have anywhere to go. Desiree Dupree (Angela Bassett) and the freaks head to Elsa’s tent to discover she is already gone. When the show returns, Elsa meets with Dandy and buys the circus for a small amount of money. Next, Chester takes Marjorie to the police station and reports her murder.
Dandy arrives at the circus and reveals he is the new owner, in exchange for paying 10,000 dollars to Elsa. Dandy discovers Stanley, who has been mutilated and transformed into a Meep look-a-like. Before the show ends, Jimmy gets some new claws, which look like his old ones.
Review
Sadly, American Horror Story: Freak Show is drawing to a close, yet it is still difficult to follow the overall narrative. It is becoming obvious that the central struggle revolves around the ownership of the circus, but otherwise there isn’t much there. None of the characters are particularly interesting, aside from Paul and Dandy, but they’ve been severely under utilized. Maggie wasn’t a strong character, which left her death feeling unemotional and bland. Elsa’s departure was slightly depressing though.
On the other side of things, Chester was thrown into the show for no good reason really. Don’t forget Massimo, who was likely a crutch and used to bridge Freak Show with Asylum. Sadly, this season has been worth the watch, due to the oddities and no other reason. The real star of the show has been Matt Fraser. Too bad, the writers didn’t bother giving him any lines, because he’s out performed Peters, Paulson and Lange throughout. Overall, the episode felt disjointed and deserves a 6 out of 10.
Be sure to check our more of our AHS: Freakshow Reviews and Recaps.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
