Finally, American Horror Story ended its Freak Show last Wednesday on FX and I must say I was quite relieved, it was a really good episode, a nice conclusion to the season.
Still, I didn't enjoy every parts of it, just like for the rest of the season. Freak Show has been the weakest season so far IMO. It wasn’t all bad, the season had its ups, but it had way too many downs. It felt like the story never really took off, I have greatly missed the fast pacing and the twists AHS has used us to. Those two elements always have been a part of AHS, and of its success. That’s one of the reason I love AHS so much, and missing that made this season more flat than the others. Honestly, the season finale was very good, one of the best episodes of the season.
But comparing to the others finales, it was the weakest one. Murder House and Asylum were surprising finales, totally different from the other episodes of the season and last year, the quest for the Supreme was fun and exciting. Watching Dandy die and Elsa hated living her dream, basically killing herself to find her freaks family in some happy afterlife was good, but not that surprising or exciting. Dandy’s massacre was thrilling but yet something was off.
The main problem of Freak Show was its characters. They were very promising characters when introduced in the premiere but it turned out they never really evolved. They made the story go on but I found it very hard to get attached to them. They were whether too pathetic or too selfish to truly care and root for them. They had their moments, but in overall, they weren't great characters, compared to past seasons. Except for Desiree, she is just the highlight of the season. I’m sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed the season as much without her. Angela Bassett was just extraordinary. I was so relieved Desiree didn’t get killed !
The main problem with Dandy as character, apart from being a whiny sociopath, was he never really had been a threat to the Freaks. For the whole season, we have watched him revealed his true nature. He killed his maid and then his mother so he could finally become the killer he always wanted to be. He threatened the Freaks but never hurt them (he almost chopped off Maggie, but Chester finished it for him). I wish he had been more dangerous, more present at the show. His final death would have made a stronger impact.
Because in “Curtain Call”, Dandy took over the show, but being an arrogant brat, the Freaks hated him and decided to quit. So he killed them all (it was quite shocking and sad to watch them being executed like that so coldly... yet more blood and gore would have been great). Desiree was the only one to survive the massacre. I really hoped for Eve to kill Dandy. I think her death saddened me the most. I will miss you Erika Ervin (please come back next year !). Jimmy also survived the massacre, because he wasn’t actually there when it happened. It was so heart breaking when Desiree and Jimmy cried in each other arms surrounded by all their dead family. And Dandy finally got his girls : Bette and Dot.
Dandy spared their lives so he could marry Bette, and Dot. He truly believed in her love, oh so naive from him. I could not believe Dot would let Bette marry that man for a second. It was of course a set up to kill him. Desiree, as a maid and Jimmy as a butler drugged Dandy and put him in the Houdini escape cage. Well done freaks !
They had to avenge their family. Watching Dandy crying, begging didn’t touch me at all. He was still whining even before dying. He totally deserved what happened to me. It was actually fun to watch them all eat pop corn and smile while he drowned to death.
So, the show was over and the few remaining freaks lived a nice normal live afterwards. I was so glad Desiree got her happy ending, living her dream, with her man and children. She deserved it, even tough I'd love watching her run her own freak show. She would have been so badass. Jimmy and Bette and Dot also formed a family, they were even pregnant. It was a good and rational idea from the girls to get married to Dandy before his death. They were living comfortably despite being freaks in the 60's.
Elsa Mars also got to live her dream finally. She became the television star she wanted to be, the star of her own show, watched and loved by millions of people in America. She even found a husband, with who she met in a very Hollywood way. I'm always amazed how Jessica Lange can give me shiver and make me cry just with her voice and her eyes.
Despite having everything she ever dreamed of, Elsa wasn’t satisfied. She was still bitchy and bossing people around. Elsa could never be satisfied. When she first arrived in a Freak Show in America, she wanted to be the main star. She finally had her own Freak Show, but that wasn’t enough. She wanted more, she wanted to be a celebrity. So, she became that celebrity, she won 3 emmys and it wasn’t enough…. Honestly, it made it really hard for me to care for Elsa. I adore Jessica Lange, and her performance is perfect. But, I’ve never got attached to Elsa. It saddened and touched me to learn what she went through in Germany, still I couldn’t forgive her actions. She was a terrible boss and human being at the show, she never truly cared for her freaks, she cared for them because they loved her, saw her as their savior… until they get a real taste of Elsa Mars. And as a televisions tar, she was as horrible, especially to her husband.
Elsa was bored in her new life, so she reached to her former flame : Massimo. Their lunch scene was excellent, I’m always so fond of Jessica Lange and Danny Huston’s s chemistry. It was so heart breaking to watch Elsa finally opening up, telling what she always wanted : to be loved. (well she was loved by millions on TV, but that’s not the same love). She wanted to live a quiet and peaceful life in Roma with Massimo. It was a real change of character for Elsa, she got bored of her celebrity quickly. Unfortunately, she came a little too late to Massimo. He had only one month left to live, because of his lung and bones cancer. Poor Elsa, her new dream was crushed. And afterwards, her former dream, her new life, being a television star was also crushed.
Elsa' snuff film made in Germany had been found and was soon to be released. Her career would be soon over and she learnt her family had been massacred back in Jupiter. That was the moment that changed everything for Elsa. Maybe she remembers her time back there at the show, being loved and feared by her Freaks, but they were forming a family, more honest than Hollywood world. She wasn't very happy there, yet she was happier than in Hollywood. Elsa finally accepted to perform a special show on Halloween… And we all know what it means for Freaks.
Elsa choose to die, she let Edward Mordrake come back and take her soul. I was very happy to see Wes Bentley again. The whole scene with Jessica Lange in white singing “Heroes” from Bowie was exceptional, one of the best of the season. Edward took Elsa’ soul, so Elsa died as she always wanted to : on stage, on air, as a star. It was very beautiful and powerful.
I’m not pleased about what happened afterwards. Elsa was sent by Edward to the Freaks afterlife, where everything was nice and everyone was happy. It was nice to see Ma Petite, Ethel, Paul, Penny, Eve, Suzy and all the freaks keeping doing their stuffs at the show. But when Ethel revealed they all had forgiven Elsa and they were glad to see her back as the headliner, I was very surprised. The freaks were ready to kill her when they were alive, because she was a selfish, lying woman. She broke their code by plotting against Bette and Dot and killing Ethel. I can understand death had changed their perspective, but I was a bit disappointed they forgave her so fast. They were too nice, she didn't deserve their pardon.
The Freak Show is not dead, it will never stop existing. The freaks will keep on performing every night forever and ever… And actually, we never really got to watch much of their acts. For me it’s a real pitty. I was really looking forward watching more performances from the Freaks. We watched Elsa and Bette and Dot musical acts, a bit of Ethel, a tiny bit of Desiree but that was all. I really wanted to see more.
Freak Show had ended, and for me it will always have this unfinished business feeling. Maybe I had too much expectations from it. It was a bold choice to have a season focused on Freaks, I was quite surprised when they first announced it. Freak Show was quite different from the past seasons, and for me it didn’t really do it. This season has been a quiet ride, I have enjoyed some parts of it, there were some great moments with Gloria and Dandy, with Twisty and also Edward Mordrake but in the end, it feels like nothing major really happened. AHS Freak Show never was as shocking and disturbing as the other seasons.
Did you enjoy the season finale ? What are you feelings about this season ? Who do you want to be back next season ? Hit the comments !
Carnies notes :
- Three headed girl ? Loved Dot’s face ! Finn Wittrock has really rocked his part this year, I really want to see him back next year. !
- So why so many clowns in the opening title ? Twisty was there for only 4 episodes…
- There has been some problem with the special effects this year. Elsa’s legs never looked wooden except when they had to for the story and Bette and Dot were nicely done in the first episodes, Afterwards, the quality wasn’t as good.
- It’s funny how time passed and nobody aged…
- Still can’t believe it was Jessica Lange’s final episode on AHS… It can't be... She has to come back next year right ? Even just for two or three episodes. It would be so weird to have a whole season without her :/
- So, any idea what next season will be about ? Did you catch any clues ?
Werent the clues in the first three episodes? I Never catch them anyways but ui thought they were there.
ReplyDeleteI agree this season was the weakest, but it was a great finale. It was everything i expected.
I was shock when Dandy started to kill them all tho i felt he deserved so much worst when they kileld him. It was the propper end for him.
Elsa... Bow to Jessica Lange tbh. She nailed that final part with the freaks in the afterlife, they were always her family and at the end they were together not even death could keep the freaks appart.
I hope this is not the end for her on AHS but if it was. It was a good way to go.
Also i hope that nexts eason the give Frances the lead, She is such a great actress, I hope Ryan give her the spotlight she deserves.
"He totally deserved what happened to me."
ReplyDeleteTell us more about it. ;)
"And actually, we never really got to watch much of their acts"
I noticed that. And we never got to see a class in Miss Robichaux's last season.
Well, usually, the clues are all over the season. Murphy said the cup was a clue but they had to be others. Anyways, I'm always very bad at the guessing game ^^
ReplyDeleteI'd love Frances Conroy to get the lead but I'm guessing it will be Angela or Kathy, along with Paulson with she's not too busy with American Crime Story :)
Your reviews are always ridden with typos... Makes them almost unreadable, to me.
ReplyDeleteWhen will the theme for next year be reviled?
ReplyDeleteI liked the ending, Freak Show was a good season in my opinion. However, I expected it to overtake Asylum, my favourite season so far, but it only beat Coven, the weakest one for me. I think the idea in general was perfect, it had a brilliant start (the first two episodes amazed me), but then... there was practically no plot. And I agree with the thing about the performances: we just saw different freaks singing but nothing else, I really expected bizarre shows but they never happenned. The best we got was Meep eating hens (you didn't mention his return in the season finale!)
ReplyDeleteI think the best of the season were Dandy, Twisty and Desiree, the three of them were perfect. Then we had Lange, Bates and Conroy with their excellent performances as usual, but I expected more of them (Kathy mainly, I think there was a lot more to see about Ethel!) Of course, I loved Naomi Grossman with Pepper's episode and the little appearance of Lily Rabe as Eunice (although I didn't find it necessary to connect Freak Show with Asylum).
Now, really looking forward to knowing something about season 5! With or without Jessica Lange??? I think Sarah Paulson and Emma Roberts are officially out because of their roles in ACS and Scream Queens, right?
Yeah, it was nice to see Meep back at the show too. I'm glad I'm not the only who has mixed feelings about this season. The beginning of the season was so promising.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on Bates & Ethel. I was a little disappointed too, after Madame LaLaurie, they had to have a great character. Ethel was good but not that great.
Well, Paulson could still be available; ACS will debut in 2016 and Scream Queens will premiere in fall 2015, as AHS so Roberts is out.
Probably this summer or September. Apparently, it will take place in our time, not in the past as Asylum and Freak Show.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recap. I thought the ending was lovely although not the send off I would think they would give Jessica especially if it's her last episode of AHS. I really don't think they could have ended it any other way. A bunch of my friends were thinking they would all end up in jars so this was close to that. I did enjoy the duality of the episode, which reminded me of a recent episode where everything was in pairs. I thought the very ned was nice with the freak afterlife. Reminded me of last season where Fiona has to live the same day over and over again.
ReplyDeleteWhile this has been a hot mess of a show, it certainly has dished up very memorable characters and scenes even if they didn't really advance the story (see NPH and Marjoree...which I loved, but it felt like filler...crazy filler, but nothing that had to do with the plot). Looking back (so far back) I have to say that once they killed off Twisty the Clown the show really lost focus. I'm not even sure what the point of this season was.
Shout out to Finn WIttrock who really was the breakout and rocked it as Dandy. And Sarah Paulson who, once again gave a top notch performance (for me this was the best one for her so far). Honorable mentions: Jyoti Amge as Ma Petite, A meeped out Denis O'hare, Twisty, and Jimmy Darling's Lobster Claw hands! Not enough screen time for Angela Bassett or Patti Labelle.
We watch all of the same shows! Looking forward to your recap of Americans!
I saw clues of the hat (Mordrakes?) and that voodoo witch doctor from last season was all over the place. Well maybe not all over but on 2 occasions was seen on Elsa's bag.
ReplyDeleteOh and just want to say that the filming this year was spectacular! The Dot/Bette camera shots were the best. Loved the music too (that one sci-fi synth sound in particular).
ReplyDeleteI believe that next season will be about Amish people. The hat in the coffee cup, the photos posted in the famous spoiler instagram (ahstory.hq) showing a farm and what looks like a corn plantation, and the recent interview with a producer (cant remember) basically confirmes that season 5 will be contemporary. And the fact that the instagram account has been taken down only reforces that they really know something. Obvious that nothing points directly to amish, but thats my guest.
ReplyDeleteI thought this season was overall much better than the travesty of season 3, but this finale was very disappointing, especially the focus on Elsa. I actually would have been happier if this season had ended at episode 12; it works in a lot of ways as an ending, and not much that happened in episode 13 felt necessary to me. Also, I have to say that I'm really tired of what the writers keep doing with Jessica Lange's characters on the show, and I hope that she sticks to what she said last year about this being her last season. If she does return, the only way I won't be greatly annoyed is if it's a very small role or a completely different (non-evil) role.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say RIP Meep :( The actor was killed by being hit by a car and the driver fled!!!!
ReplyDelete