Zeitgeisting TV: 'American Horror Story: Freak Show'; Episode 2

Jason St. Amand (National News Editor):

In this episode of "Freak Show," "Massacres and Matinees," we're introduced to strongman Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis) and his wife, Desiree Dupree (Angela Bassett) -- a hermaphrodite who can apparently "turn" gay men straight. Does Toledo have a thing for women who are genetically unique? He did have a love child (Jimmy) with Ethel, the bearded woman, after all. Oh, and Ethel side note: Kathy Bates confirmed her accent. She's supposed to be from Baltimore.

Anyway, this was no "Monsters Among Us," especially that weak Fiona Apple "Criminal" cover. I got shades of "Coven" here, too. Not just because this episode wasn't that scary, but I think the show is leading up to two opposing forces within "the family" (the freak troupe a la the coven) that will eventually have to unite to overcome an external force (Twisty and Dandy). Also, Fraulein Elsa (Jessica Lange) becoming jealous of Bette and Dot (Sarah Paulson) over Dot's talent brought back a flood of bad memories of the Fiona vs. Madison vs. Everyone Young. But at least this time if you're dead, you stay dead. Kind of unfortunate for Meep the Geek, RIP.

Robert Nesti (National Arts and Entertainment Editor):

Hmmm. You didn't like the "Criminal" cover? Granted, the audience response, complete with the "freak" mosh-pit, was over-the-top; but who knew Sarah Paulson could be so bluesy? And it certainly helped delineate Dot and set up an interesting dynamic between Fraulein Elsa and the twins. Why she gave Bette a knife is a bit bewildering -- wouldn't Bette maiming Dot kill the golden goose that might save Fraulein Elsa's show?

But the number also showed how important music is to this series this season --�not only in presentational numbers such as this one, but in the underscoring, from the moody, atonal jazz that accompanies scenes to the Theramin-driven theme, a riff of three long-held notes that appears and re-appears at crucial moments. The music and the lush look of the show suggest that this season is a bit David Lynch and a bit Baz Luhrmann, and I mean that as a compliment.

Lynch has already worked this year's central theme -- freaks are people too -- with his film on the most celebrated "freak" of all time: John Merrick, the severely disfigured Victorian that went from freak show to social acceptance and fame.

His cry, "I am not a monster. I am a human being!," is the subtext to "Freak Show." "They don't even know us," says an angry Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters). "If they just got to know us they'd would see we are just like them. No better, no worse. Just regular people. That's what we gotta do." It's a bit obvious, but crucial to a story like this one. (It is also the theme to the cult musical "Side Show," about the real-life Hilton Sisters -- from "Freaks" -- that is returning to Broadway in a few weeks.)

The other story thrust -- that of Twisty the Clown Killer -- brought what tension there was to this episode. He puts the horror in this year's horror story, and he's quite effective. Again, as in the first episode, the most terrifying moment happened in broad daylight: when Twisty and his new partner-in-crime Dandy capture the two victims that have escaped from Twisty's trailer, and bring them back. The camera sits, cooly and at a distance, as the young woman and boy are brought back into the trailer for what horrors we can only imagine. That we've already seen a severed head leads one to think only the worst.

Jason:

The "Criminal" cover was fine, but I think I'm still coming off the highs of "Life on Mars?" It's just hard to top that, and it made "Criminal" seem pretty tame/boring in comparison. But yes, this is going to be a music-filled season, which I am fine with as long as we're not approaching "Glee" territory.

Yes, you'd have to be deaf and dumb to not get "WE ARE PEOPLE" theme; at this point you can play a drinking game around how many times Evan Peters screams it. I'm perfectly fine with this being one of the central themes of the show (how can it not), but they've mentioned it so many times by now I'm a little insulted.

I didn't find Twisty scary this time at all, save for that brutal opening. Is everyone in this town blind to the fact that a clown that looks like he emerged from a 10-year-old's nightmare is just walking around in the middle of the day? How did he get into that store in the first place? As oblivious and sheltered as she is, I find it hard to believe Gloria Mott (Frances Conroy) welcomed Twisty into her home, and that Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock) wants to be BFFs with him. I guess we're just supposed to suspend rational thinking in the same way they're covering Fiona Apple and Bowie in 1952.

It's also pretty clear Dandy is some kind of psychopathic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, right? There was the thing about the missing cat and how the maid, Nora (Pattie LaBelle!!!!!!!!), said neighbors were coming around looking for their missing animals. (I really hope they give LaBelle a bigger part, because I know she's got some shit to say.) Then there was the part where he smashed his head into the steering wheel. And then when he caught Penny, who managed to escape Twisty's bus of horrors, and brought her back to the clown.

This episode was too patient for a good "AHS" episode. But it did move along, building up to how these stories are going to all connect in the face of pure evil.

But what is really keeping me interested in this season is its style. Like the best "AHS" episodes, this one was directed like Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, even though this felt like it was directed by Wes Anderson: The quaint placement of Twisty between the two cat decorations in the store in the opener when he was holding the balloon, the pastel Instagram-filtered overall look, and the camera zooming in and out.

Now I really want Wes Anderson to direct a horror movie.

Robert:

Wow. It seems like reaction is setting in! It took until the third episode of Season One -- the house invasion -- before I succumbed completely the show; so maybe after another week it will be in top gear. And, yes, the "freaks are real people too" theme is overdone, but I guess we need to accept that as it moves forward. After last season, with the comatose Peters, it's good to see him passionate about something!

I can't imagine Murphy and Falchuk aren't going to use Patti Labelle to a greater effect. Right now she seems to have walked out of "The Help," and if any diva can be scary, it's Patti Labelle. As for Dandy, he's more Dorian Gray than Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, but why parse Victorian counterparts? The rich dandy as a psychopath has a rich tradition. You only have to think back to Leopold and Loeb for a well-known example. But the sophisticated Dandy (he knows the complete Cole Porter canon!) makes a good foil to the sub-literate Twisty. Did you think that Twisty is able to thrive in the world because he might not even be real at all? Though this is the 'realest' AHS so far, there might be a touch of the supernatural; and Twisty might be a force from beyond.

That idea isn't meant to make excuses for the obvious disconnect to Twisty's truly bizarre presence not making waves in this sleepy town, but I can't imagine Murphy and Falchuk aren't aware of this incongruity. There's something primal and very unreal about Twisty, which makes me think that the creators may fall back on a supernatural theme. There was also the scary shot that hinted that beneath that scary smile is something even more frightening -- a rotting face. It happened quickly, but it left an impression.

The story is setting up the divisions with Fraulein Elsa's world. Let's hope they build on them without slipping to heavily into the melodrama and gore that took "Coven" to the brink. In the meantime, I'm enjoying Lange's faded diva, though there are times when she becoming to look like late Joan Crawford when she starred in "Berserk!," one of her final movies, in which she played an aging trapeze performer in love with a much younger man.

This story is part of our special report: "Zeitgeisting TV". Want to read more? Here's the full list.