Zeitgeisting TV: 'AHS: Freak Show'; Ep 9 - "Tupperware Party Massacre"

Jason St. Amand (national news editor):

Here we are again! And I'm glad to say that "Tupperware Party Massacre" kept up with the pace of last week's episode, and was actually a little better, even though there were some problems. But I'll get to that later. First up, I gotta give my golden star out!

Finn Wittrock came THIIIIIIS close to getting it, but just edging him out is Sarah Paulson. For the first time this season, her characters, the twinnies Bette and Dot, actually made me feel something. I thought their conversation on that operating table in the shack in the middle of the Florida swamp was very touching and moving. Their plea to Jimmy was also great, although kind of depressing. But nevertheless, I thought this was a fantastic performance; it's easy to play crazy, although Wittrock does it exceptionally well, but to get across a sense of love (especially when you're acting with yourself) is much harder to pull off and I thought it really worked.

Back to what I was saying: This episode was great, reminding me why I still watch "AHS." Everyone was on point in this episode and things actually made sense (well for the most part, let me tell you why i was into this episode first). I actually even felt for Jimmy Darling, who has been really nothing more than a whiney baby this season all while trying to be a leader and hero. But his downward spiral (ever since his mother Ethel died) has been good for his character. I loved when he was drunkenly screwing fat lady Ima Wiggles in some weird I'm-dealing-with-my-mommy-issues way.

And I'm into Dandy setting him Jimmy up for a life of hell: everything from creepily visiting Esmerelda to tailing him to frame him for the Tupperware party massacre. But what I don't understand is Dandy's motive. Is he really that pissed at Jimmy for taking the twins away? I was never really convinced of Dandy's infatuation for the twins. Is it because Jimmy knows Dandy was at the scene way back when with Twisty? If that's the case, why act on this murderous rage now? Why not two or three episodes ago? Is it because he's bored because he's offed his mother, who seemed to be doing her best to guide his morals?

Still, this episode had what it needs to sustain "AHS," and like I said last week, this pace needs to be kept to pull off "Freak Show." And I think it will. We are in the series' endgame and with four episodes left, there is no more room for errors.

Finally, a few things:

The twinnies puppet made out of Francis Conroy's body and the Avon lady's body was truly horrifying and perfect.

Why the hell was Theo Huxtable (Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Angus T. Jefferson) in this episode for 10 seconds and the never mentioned or seen again? (Not that I'm mad he's here I actually love it, but what gives?)

How did Dandy kill the group of pleasure-seeking women? I really, really wish they showed us how Dandy pulled that off. It's hard to believe, even Dandy at his most charming, could take on a gaggle of 50s housewives. But I did love that scene of the ladies floating in the pool full of blood, one of the best moments in "Freak Show."

Then there's the whole thing with Regina (Gabourey Sidibe vs. Dandy. First let me say I love the things Dandy is saying: "I am a god" (shoutout to Kanye??!), "I'm above the law," "You do what I say," etc. etc. That's the language of a true maniac. And the fact that he's manipulative, throwing his frozen food money around to bribe a cop was pretty great. Though I wish we knew more about that cop, or at least I hope we learn more about him. I actually laughed out loud when he didn't hesitate to shoot and kill Regina. It was hard to believe but maybe not. It's 1952 after all.

OK, so who's going to get your golden star?!

Robert Nesti (arts and entertainment editor):

Before I award my gold star, I have to say my favorite line of the year is "You got a shovel?" It was spoken by the cop after he shot Regina (Gabourey Sidibe). Just prior to that the truly charismatic and terrifying Dandy (Finn Wittrock) had his chilling Charlie Manson moment: "I have imbued with the light. I have seen the face of God and he is looking at me from the mirror. I can think of nothing that can stop me know." Scary stuff, and Wittrock delivered it with such aristocratic confidence that he makes it appear that Dandy may get away with it. It certainly put him the running for the gold star, especially after the eerie opening - in which he created his own version of Bette and Dot as a grisly joke.

But I agree with you, the conversation between Bette and Dot is the emotional high point of the season so far. The two sisters have been battling since the season began - this was the first time they actually spoke to each other in a way that was bracingly real, and Paulson actually appeared to be two different people, which is, of course, the intention. That she pulled if off so commandingly is why she gets the gold star for this episode.

This was the most emotional episode thus far, what with twins' opening up to each other and Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters), the suicide attempt by Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis) and Jimmy' alcoholic binge, the characters are coming apart right before our eyes. Jimmy's binge also fits into what's shaping up to be the show's final battle - one between the corrupted authorities (now controlled by Dandy) and the Fraulein Elsa's troupe, who may - like their predecessors in Todd Browning's "Freaks" - take the law into their own hands. Also that scene in which Dot confessed her love for Jimmy was enormously touching, though the question remains just whom Jimmy is in love with. Is it Maggie (Emma Roberts) or could it be Bette, which would lead to some stormy moments in weeks to come.

But I disagree: I totally believe Dandy's obsession with the Twins and why he would want to seek revenge on poor Jimmy. That, I think, is underscored by his perverse totem of the twins in which he conjoined his dead mother's head with that of the dead Avon lady (who, conveniently enough, looked like Frances Conroy). It was such an unexpected, over-the-top moment that only showed the extremes of Dandy's mania.

Even Denis O'Hare as Stanley came into his own in this episode. Up to now he's been a cardboard villain, but with his interchanges with Fraulein Elsa and Dell (not to mention his prompting of his boy toy in a speech for the twins) gave O'Hare material he could work with and he entirely convinced with skeevy charm. It's funny how what him a freak - a giant penis - is used so well as a plot point, and how he knows how to manipulate the other characters because of it.

And I suspect that Angus T. Jefferson (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) will be back in upcoming weeks, especially after Dell's suicide attempt and Desiree's return.

Jason St. Amand (national news editor):

I'm glad we agree on the gold star winner!

Yeah all the Manson-y stuff Dandy was saying throughout the episode was exactly what someone who is losing grip with reality would say. Spoken like a true maniac.

Agreed - let's give a shoutout to Stanley. Waving his monster dick in front of Del was suuuuper gross. I also loved how he hired a gay hustler to be the Siamese-twin-sperating doc. I'm not sure why he thought that was going to work but it lightened the episode a bit.

Also interesting Elsa was hardly in this "Tupperware Party Massacre." I manly watch "AHS" to see the high highs of Lange, but I did not miss her in this episode - that's not a slight to Lange...but everyone was particularly good here and things were moving right along.

Robert Nesti (arts and entertainment editor):

I know. The only thing remarkable about Elsa this week is how fashionable she looked in those black slacks when she was speaking with Stanley. I still don't get that relationship - I mean, doesn't she see he's a fraud? But perhaps the point is that she is so deluded in her quest for fame that she'd be taken in by him. Still it's a stretch.

And not to sound harsh, but wasn't the murder of Regina (Gabourey Sidibe) something of a guilty pleasure? I mean, after her amateurish performance in "Coven" last year, Sibide has worn out her welcome in this skilled ensemble of actors. Sorry, but I'm not alone is saying that her murder brought a collective sigh of relief from many viewers.

But where do we go from here? Is the show becoming a commentary on the notion of how money and power corrupts? It's beginning to look that way. It's funny how Dandy's story reflects that of "Foxcatcher," the story of how multimillionaire John Eleuth�re du Pont (a creepy Steve Carell) who attempts to use his wealth to manipulate amateur wrestling in the 1990s; and that of Robert Durst, the scion of a wealthy New York real estate family impicated in a number of murders over the years, but never convicted of them. (He did serve three years in prison for lesser offenses.) His story was already told once on film in the underrated drama "All Good Things" in 2010 with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, directed by Andrew Jarecki. Jarecki is also directing a multi-part documentary on Durst that will air on HBO in February. Perhaps real-life horror stories - remember that Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk next endeavor is an anthology series "American Crime Story" that will begin with O.J. Simpson's story - is where this genre is headed.

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