American Horror Story: Freak Show Premiere

First aired October 8th, 2014.

“What you’re about to see will astound your senses and harrow your very souls.”

American Horror Story: Freak Show hit the ground running, opening the series with a milkman walking into a house and finding a woman brutally murdered. But it’s his discovery of Bette and Dot Tattler (played by Sarah Paulson), conjoined twins living in the house, that truly horrifies him.

The twins are brought to the hospital where most of the staff are repulsed by them and they are immediately suspected in their mother’s murder based solely on their appearance. Subsequently, it’s revealed that Bette did in fact kill her because she refused to allow them to leave the house and they flee the hospital to go on the run. Bette and Dot are then given a different alternative from Elsa Mars (played by Jessica Lange), a woman who visited them in the hospital and deduced the truth about their mother’s murder. She offers to let the girls join her freak show, “Elsa’s Cabinet of Curiosities”, as her new headliners and have a chance to see the world. The show has been struggling to bring in customers and Elsa believes the twins can turn things around, it seems to work as two wealthy socialites, Gloria (played by Frances Conroy) and Dandy (played by Finn Wittrock), buy out an entire show. The spoiled Dandy is fascinated by the performers and even tries to make his mother buy Bette and Dot to have his own freaks. The offer is flatly turned down.

I like that the show slowly introduced the twins and fleshed them out as characters instead of just throwing them into the freak show. I found them to be one of the more intriguing characters from the previews, especially knowing the complex shooting styles that went into making Paulson play the dual roles. Taking the time to see the different personality of each girl made them both their own character. I also liked learning how their body worked because everyone would have been curious about that. For example, Bette and Dot share a central nervous system which allows them to speak telepathically and feel each other’s pain and that’s pretty cool. The role of both Gloria and Dandy in the series seems to be to highlight how “normal” people misunderstand or mistreat the “freaks” who perform in the show. However, there was plenty of that throughout the episode from guest stars.Since the Motts are listed as main characters, I’m hoping there will be more to them as the season goes on.

Though the twins took up a large portion of the episode several other main characters were explored during the episode. Ethel Darling (played by Kathy Bates) is the show’s bearded lady and right-hand woman of Elsa, helping to keep things on track behind the scenes. Ethel was an alcoholic who spent many nights in the drunk tank before being taken in by Elsa and made a star in the show. She is fiercely loyal to Elsa. Her son, Jimmy (played by Evan Peters), born with syndactyly, is advertised as “Lobster Boy” because his fingers are fused together. Jimmy makes extra money by using his condition to provide “entertainment” for several women in town. He wants a life away from the show and wants to be accepted as a normal person instead of being judged for the way his hands are. Jimmy isn’t shy about protecting his fellow freaks as he kills a policeman who comes to arrest Bette and Dot for their mother’s murder. Later, everyone works together to cut up and hide the body. Elsa was shown to have dreams of being a star and hopes the twins and the show will make her famous for her singing. Near the end, it’s revealed that she had her legs are amputated below the knee, showing she can relate to her performers because she can also be considered different.

I like how many of these characters are essentially your average human beings but with one flaw that forces them over the line to being a “freak.” I think Elsa’s handicap may have been the reason she started her show, she may have figured that it would be the only way she could be on stage. Ethel and Jimmy are interesting characters and I can’t wait to see their pasts explored. In fact, his father (and her ex-husband) will be joining the show probably in the next episode, which should add some drama. Jimmy’s frustration with how people treat the “freaks” in the world was a nice contrast to the relative innocence of Bette and Dot who wished to see the world. They lived their entire life in seclusion and never experienced discrimination whereas Jimmy grew up knowing nothing else. It’ll also be interesting to see how the crush Dot is developing on Jimmy plays out, whether her other half will approve of him (or want him for herself).

Of course AHS wouldn’t earn its name without providing scares and it certainly sets out to be darker than last year’s somewhat campy season. Penny (played by Grace Gummer), a local candy stripper at the hospital, is persuaded to visit the freak show by Elsa and later wakes up from an opium-induced haze. She threatens to report them to the police for violating her but Elsa blackmails her with a video of her engaging in drugs and other illicit activity and appearing to enjoy it. However, the real horror came from the murderous Twisty the Clown (played by John Carroll Lynch), who has already become one of Freak Show’s break out characters. Over the course of one episode, he murdered three people and took two hostage, passing the time by terrorizing them in an abandoned bus. Twisty later visited the freak show and watched them dismember the policeman with a murderous stare, suggesting that he isn’t happy to see them in town and they’ll soon be visited by him.

The “freaks” may be the protagonists but they couldn’t all be good. I was hoping to see some darkness there and I knew Jessica Lange’s character would be involved. In every season, her characters walk a line of being good or evil often drifting toward the latter side. Twisty has definitely lived up to the hype about being one of the most terrifying characters on the show this season. His appearance is enough to give people nightmares but it’s his actions that really make him terrifying. That scene where he went from making balloon animals for his captives and then flew into a rage when it popped is amazing because it highlights how unpredictable he can be. I also like that we don’t immediately know what motives (if any) Twisty has for his rampage. He could be a clown whose career was destroyed and is taking it out on innocent people or he could be an escaped mental patient. It’s always scarier when there’s no clear rationale. Even his last scene where he watches the carnies dismembering the body, it’s unclear if he’s targeting them or envies them and wants to sign up.

Quotes & Thoughts

“I tell you, sometimes I can’t take it. The way they look at us, the way they treat us, it ain’t right.”

I can’t wait to see how Twisty got his name, I’m sure it’ll be something creepy and, well, twisted.

“Nothing will wash away the ghastly memory of that infernal caterwauling. By far the most freakish thing of all tonight was your pathetic attempt at singing.”

Only one episode in and already I think this may be my favorite season so far.

If you enjoyed Manny’s review, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers. You can also follow him on Twitter @KN_Manny.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fiction: Snowfall In The Living Room
• “It Came From The Archives” Doctor Who Special Reviews: The Church on Ruby Road
• Review: Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer by M. Rickert
• Friday Fiction: Frozen Army
• Foundations: The 5 Best Artifact Cards