Zeitgeisting TV: 'American Horror Story: Freak Show'; Episode 4

Jason St. Amand (national news editor):

Oh boy, what an episode! This is the first one that actually scared me. I have hope again!! The payoff was pretty good -- the last three episodes leading up to "Edward Mordrake Part 2" laid the groundwork and everything came to a boil.

Although this also felt like a finale and we have nine episodes left. Well anyway, I really enjoyed this episode and I think they pulled out all the stops for Halloween week. Hopefully this show can keep up the pace though, I'm a bit worried where we go from here but the previews looked promising.

Elsa's backstory story reminded me why I love this show: snuff films. No one in a million years would have guessed she lost her legs while doing '20s porn. Being from Germany, I think most of us assumed (at least I did) that she was the subject of some Nazi experiment. But not only did Elsa's backstory genuinely frighten me (I had to watch the toilet-seat-of-nails scene behind my fingers) it also exposed why she's really a freak: It's not because she's deformed, it's her grand delusions of fame.

I'm glad this is where they are taking Jessica Lange's character and not following the same emotional road map they did in "Coven."

There's a lot to cover in this episode (which by the way was 20 minutes shorter than the other three)! Twisty! Dandy! PATTI! NOOOOOO.

Robert Nesti (arts and entertainment editor):

I agree. It felt like the long exposition was finally over and the series kicked into gear this week. And, it pointed out what I like most about the show - how it pushes the envelope. Another series would have kept Twisty around for weeks to come, but the writers (this episode was by co-producer Jennifer Salt) saw that he had pretty much played out as a horror meme and found quite a brilliant, even touching, way to eliminate him.

The Edward Mordrake character was not only menacing, but his interrogations of his victims brought a poignancy to the series, allowing the audience to share the darkest moments in these characters' lives. Twisty, especially. "I'm so dumb. I can't even kill myself," he laments after his grisly, failed suicide attempt, and your heart went out to him (at least for a moment). And his death and resurrection (as ghoul with a restored face) gave the character an unexpected emotional release. Then the transference of his psychopathic spirit (for the lack of another term) to Dandy when he picked up the mask only showed how Twisty's twisted persona was going to continue. I agree, though, that it was a bummer to see Patti LaBelle bite the dust - and she didn't even get to sing! No "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?" from this diva this time! But I loved her exit line: "You can barely wash your own ass. I should know because I wash your drawers." Hilarious!

As for Fraulein Elsa! I agree. I fully expected a Nazi experiment to explain how she lost her lower legs; but the cut to the Weimar Republic caught me off guard. It was like "Saw" meets "Cabaret." And the camp meme was in full throttle when Elsa asked, "Are you ready for my close-up?" the moment before she was mutilated. For those that got the reference, Norma Desmond is the perfect embodiment of Elsa's show business delusions - those dreams drove Gloria Swanson mad in "Sunset Blvd." and appear to be Elsa's fatal flaw.

Jason St. Amand (national news editor):

Yeah, you're right. I was really impressed what they did with Twisty and his entire backstory. John Carroll Lynch was pretty amazing too and I hope he returns to future seasons of "AHS." I also loved how they showed freaks can be terrible people too.

I'm also glad Edward Mordrake is gone -- I'm still not sure what he was looking for in the freaks; the freakiest freak? The purest freak? It was kind of lost on me. He served his purpose though and it was effective and isn't going to stick around for longer than he needs to be (I was worried he was going to be "Freak Show"'s Ax Man).

The first thing I thought of when Dandy picked up Twisty's mask was "WHY DIDN'T HE CLEAN IT?" But I loved his split second transformation -- his eyes lit up as soon as he placed it over his face. So this is shaping up to be Dandy vs. Jimmy, right? I'm guessing now that Dandy has the bloodlust, he's going to continue killing and the townspeople are going to flip on Jimmy and maybe even accuse him of the murders?

Also the scare of the season goes to Dandy. When he snuck up behind Emma Roberts and Evan Peters and clubbed them while wearing that hellish clown mask made me jump and I screamed like a little girl.

I hope Patti comes back as a diva ghost because that needs to happen to justify her having this role. The best line of this season so far has got to be: "Get bent and take this tray!"

I think we all thought Nazi experiments were the cause of her missing legs. But nope. Snuff films!!

So, this episode was an origin story, right? Dandy going from annoying brat to psycho serial killer?

Robert Nesti (arts and entertainment editor):

What caught me most off-guard was the "It's a Wonderful Life" scene towards the end when the townspeople embraced Jimmy and the Elsa's troupe. Who could have expected that moment of harmony? But I think you're right: once Dandy begins to pick up where Twisty left off, the townspeople will be turning on Jimmy. Isn't this the first time in four years that the series had one of these uplifting sequences? It's surely an outlier here.

I even liked Emma Roberts in this episode. She was spunky and sarcastic - more like her character in "Coven." Can't wait for her to spar with Elsa! And Evan Peters was better this time around. Like the idea a love triangle (or, as you put, a 'love square') between Peters, Roberts and the two Sarah Paulsons should make for some interesting cat fights!

The acting throughout was uniformly excellent. But I never thought that Mordrake was going to stick around: he's a Halloween apparition, so would go away once he picked his victim. Did love Wes Bentley, though! Hope he comes back in an upcoming season. By the way, did you know there is supposedly a real Edward Mordrake? That this week was shorter may be because there wasn" t="" a="" big="" musical="" number.="" Could="" that="" also="" be="" why="" it="" felt="" tighter="" and="" more="" suspenseful?="" Maybe="" you're="" right="" that="" the="" "Glee-facation"="" of="" the="" show="" takes="" away="" from="" its="" suspense,="" though="" I="" love="" the="" numbers!
My favorite line this time around was spoken in German and was subtitled' target='_blank'> "Does this puppy need to pee pee?" And, yes, it was a look-away moment, but in synch with the show's use of Grand Guignol scare techniques.
Lastly, I think you mentioned that you're bothered by Elsa's jealousy of Bette/Dot, but that makes perfect sense. To paraphrase Helen Lawson from "Valley of the Dolls," there's only one star in Elsa Mars' freak show and that's Elsa Mars!

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