American Horror Story never stops with the freakiness and this week, and season, is no exception. In this episode, “Massacres and Matinees,” Jimmy just wants to fit in, while it seems some people actually want to join the sideshow. However, new member Strong Man Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis) seems to have other plans in mind once Elsa agrees to let him and his wife, Desiree (Angela Bassett) in. And in the world of freaky, spoiled brat Dandy Mott whines about boredom and finds a new friend in Twisty the Clown.
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Everybody Wants To Be a Freak
Just as things are starting to look bleaker and bleaker, Strong Man Dell and his three-breasted wife come to Elsa’s group in hopes to join, and perhaps bring life to the show. They come from Chicago where Dell killed a man who was sleeping with his wife.
At first Elsa is hesitant to allow more people into her close-knit group, but when he mentions that carnies are a vanishing breed, she has a change of heart. She believes the show needs a strong man to help protect the camp, especially with a killer on the loose.
Meanwhile, our favorite spoiled adult child Dandy freaks out on his mother claiming he is bored. He runs out on her and heads to the freak show, looking to join. Jimmy dashes his dreams of being a star because he’s “normal.”
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The Freaks Just Want To Fit In
While some want to join the show, others still do not accept the carnies because they are different. Jimmy wants to change that. After he gets rid of the police detective’s body, he makes a vow to make sure the world knows he and his carnie family are just like everyone else.
Later on, he and his friends head to a diner, where patrons start leaving and the staff eventually refuses to wait on them because they are freaks. Dell walks in and not only makes them leave, but fights Jimmy outside.
A Struggle for Power and Stardom
After Elsa agrees to let Dell and Desiree join the show, Dell takes his role as keeper of the camp seriously. Since there is a curfew in Jupiter because of the killer, Dell thinks it’s best to have matinee performances to draw a crowd. Elsa disagrees, but Dell goes ahead and puts up fliers against her wishes. In addition, the fliers don’t bill her as the star of the show. Instead, the Siamese Sisters, Bette and Dot, are billed as the headliners.
With Jimmy’s backing, Elsa agrees that Dell has to go. They make a plan to set him up by planting the detective’s badge in his trailer. However, that backfires when Dell sees Jimmy going into his trailer. Dell sets up Meep (the Geek), who is taken down to the police station. Once thrown into the cell, he gets attacked. His body is later dropped back off at the camp. And Dell now has the upper hand.
And in a struggle for stardom, Dot’s performance rubs not only Bette the wrong way, but also Elsa. Both ladies, as we know, have dreams of being a star. And since Elsa wasn’t billed as the star and Bette is tone deaf, Dot stole the show. Elsa seeks out Bette while Dot is asleep and puts thoughts into her head, perhaps to get rid of Dot. She insists that Dot is purposely trying to steal the limelight from Bette. As she walks out, Bette pulls out a knife.
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Dandy and Twisty Play Nice
After Twisty heads to a toy shop to get “presents” for his captives, he is stopped on his walk home by Gloria, Dandy’s mother. She offers him a hefty sum to entertain her son. He agrees and Dandy has a great time trying to get him to play. He’s intrigued by Twisty, but freaks out when he sees what’s in his bag. Twisty knocks him out and leaves, but Dandy follows him to the van.
Twisty offers up a toy robot to the teen girl and boy. When they don’t seem to like it, he offers them the head of the toy store employee instead. The girl knocks off his mouth mask to reveal what’s underneath, and the pair run out. But, Twisty gets the boy again, and the girl runs into the arms of Dandy, who returns her back to Twisty. In his mind, they have formed a bond.
I think I’m going to like the power struggle between Dell and Jimmy. Just when Jimmy was seeing himself as a father figure to the group, his actual father comes along and starts bossing everyone around. I’m not a huge fan of Elsa, but I do like the manipulating she does to get what she wants. I don’t like that Dell is one step ahead of them though, and it was very sad when Meep got killed.
I am very curious to see where this Twisty the Clown storyline goes. As freaky and scary as he is, I do wish he had more screen time because I want to know what happened to him and why he is the way he is! Even though we’re only two episodes in, I think I can see this season of American Horror Story: Freak Show is shaping up very nicely.
American Horror Story: Freak Show airs Wednesdays at 10pm on FX.
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(Image courtesy of FX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
