Zeitgeisting TV: 'American Horror Story: Freak Show'; Ep. 10 'Orphans'

Jason St. Amand (national news editor):

A lot going on in this week's episode! We finally have a connection to the seasons of "American Horror Story" (does this mean it's still a mini series??) The title "Orphans" clearly set the theme for the episode: Everyone in "Freak Show" is an orphan! This episode also hammered in that "Freak Show" is an allegory for The Gay Experience, more on that later.

After Elsa, whom I assume doesn't have any family, decided to go it alone and start her own show, she picked up Penny the pinhead from an orphanage. We learn Esmerelda / Maggie doesn't have any parents, and Stanley is the closest thing to family. Jimmy has Dell, but he's hardly a father: Jimmy was raised by the freaks.

"Orphans" was also all about the past and future and we didn't spend much time in the present. I don't know why they waited this long to reveal the freaks' pasts. I feel we should have half of this episode earlier on in the season, because now I understand why Pepper was so freaked out when Ma Petite died: Elsa bought her three cases of Dr Pepper (lol...really?) from an Indian Maharaja. Kind of weird and hard to believe but OK, I'll take it! But anyway, instead of establishing this beforehand, I have to go back and put the pieces together when it comes to Pepper's emotional makeup.

But overall, this episode brought what "Freak Show" was missing: emotional connectivity. Sarah Paulson brought it last week during the heartfelt speech between Bette and Dot. And Pepper's shit-life sob story was really touching (thanks to those swelling strings that played anytime Pepper was on screen and suffering a hardship!).

So for that gay allegory thing I mentioned above: I think this season is all about the hardships of being a gay person, not necessarily in the 1950s; even now. As outcasts, family members aren't going to accept you, so you're forced to build your own family. I think that's what "Orphans" really got across in this episode. And Ryan Murphy and Co. did it in a nuanced way, never shaking the audience down to get the message across as in other episodes this season (let me remind you of Jimmy yelling "WE'RE NOT FREAKKKKSSSS" any damn chance he got).

Now for the good stuff: This episode was pretty important because it's the first time the seasons of "AHS" connect. It shows us how Pepper ends up at the asylum in Briarcliff in Massachusetts. After Salty, the other pinhead resident at Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities, dies, Pepper goes into a fit and it doesn't look as though she can recover. Elsa decides the best thing to do is to return her to the sister who dumped her in the orphanage in the first place. This doesn't make much sense if Elsa sees Pepper has her own child and loves so much. But I guess she thinks / hopes that her sister is a changed person. And I guess if she's willing to kill her BFF Ethel and destroy the twinnies to become famous, then I guess I'm a fool for trusting Elsa's bond with Pepper.

When Elsa and Pepper arrive in Sudbury, Mass., (I'm not sure how fast that happened or how they had the money to do that but OK), we find out the fabulous Mare Winningham is Pepper's older sister and is a total messed up drunk. After some convincing, she agrees to take in Pepper and Elsa and Pepper have a touching goodbye, one of the most moving moments of the season for sure (I'll confess after watching "Freaks" the film, I have a soft spot for the pinheads - they're so incredibly sweet and, as Elsa points out, some of the most innocent human beings in the world).

Of course, leaving Pepper with her sister and bastard husband is a disaster and, after they unexpectedly have a deformed baby (thanks to the sister's drinking) they concoct a plan to kill the baby and pin the murder on the pinhead, which is how Pepper ends up in the asylum we see in season two of "AHS."

Lilly Rabe makes an appearance as the pre-possessed Sister Mary Eunice. She takes Pepper under her wing and gives her a cushy job in the asylum's library. As Pepper is sorting through the magazines, "Orphans" concludes in one of the best, but confounding, episode endings in "AHS" history. We see Pepper caressing an issue of Life Magazine and who else is on the cover but Elsa, with a little caption that she's become TV's biggest star. She made it. Even though this season, like other seasons, has been implying that Elsa will miserably fail in becoming a star, it looks like the Universe fucked up. But I'm sure it didn't and Murphy has something up his sleeve.

I didn't forget to give out my gold star! It's really between Jessica Lange and Mare Winningham. Lange was moving and amazing but not because she was screaming or giving a passionate speech; she really got across a specific kind of kindness and love this season needs. But I gotta give it to Mare Winningham. She was perfect as the drunk lunatic sister, who KINDA look liked Joan Crawford. As you probably remember, she was in "Coven" as Frankenstein Kyle's (Evan Peters) pedophile mother and it's pretty clear at this point she needs to be a regular in the next season of "AHS."

We still have to go over Esmerelda / Maggie and Desiree (and Theo Huxtable!) and Stanley convincing Jimmy to cut off his lobster penis hands to pay for a lawyer. Also, my review wouldn't be complete without me bitching: Where the hell was Dandy? He's this season's big bad monster and didn't even make an appearance. The inconsistencies in "Freak Show" are seriously maddening.

Robert Nesti (arts and entertainment editor:

Dandy - in the person of Finn Wittrock - must have been out promoting "Unbroken," the Angelina Jolie pic in which he has a supporting role, while they were filming this episode. No, but you do point out the most maddening inconsistency this season: the way the narrative lurches from character-to-character, ignoring some from week-to-week. This was, though, a cumulative episode - one that, as you pointed out, brought together many of the connections and did so with surprising sensitivity and emotional depth. It also never let you forget that this is a horror story in which sympathetic characters end up in jars of thalidomide.

What I liked most is that - finally - the story is getting an arc. Up to now it has centered on Elsa, her freaks and their relationship with the citizens of Jupiter, FL (with side trips to that Morbidity Museum in Philadelphia); but this episode opened up the narrative. The final image of the Life Magazine with Elsa on the cover came out of nowhere. Up to now we've been led to believe that Stanley is just duping Elsa into believing that television was in her future. Who would have thought that she ended up as big a star as Dinah Shore and Perry Como? Talk about your reversal of fortune! What, though, was the cost? That appears to be what the rest of the season will cover, but it turned what seemed predictable on its end. It will make the next two episodes (the final two of the season) that much more interesting.

And what of the promised return of Edward Mordrake (Wes Bentley)? I believe there was talk of his return before the season's end. That will bring Twisty the Clown back in the mix and may be the way the Dandy meme will be tied up. Though, I hate to speculate. I was completely blown away by how the writers have given the story an another dimension by simply indicating that Elsa indeed became a star.

Speaking of stars - as in the golden ones we award each week for the best performance of the episode - I agree with you that both Jessica Lange and Mare Winningham were terrific; but I have to give the gold star for this episode to Naomi Grossman as Pepper. Up to now, both in "Freak Show" and "Coven," she's been a mysterious, if sympathetic presence; by telling her story, she becomes richer, rounded and more real. Without the benefit of speech, Grossman conveys Pepper's emotional being with heartbreaking sensitivity. Her scene when Elsa leaves her was enormously touching, and the gesture, smile and tear she ended the episode with was equally powerful. That this actress does so much with such limited means, so naturally that it almost didn't seem like acting, is why she gets my gold star this week.

As for orphans, don't forget that both Dandy and Dot/Bette are orphans because they both killed their mothers!

Jason St. Amand (national news editor):

As much as I liked this episode, every single episode in "Freak Show" needs a dose of Dandy - even a small one. Yeah, this show really either needs to: A) Cut down the number of characters or B) figure out way to bring them all together. And what the hell happened to the musical numbers? Those special little performances just dropped off and I'm getting the feeling they were just shoved into this season as a gimmicky hook. Blah.

Speaking of that trip to Philly...how the hell did that happen? The time line for this episode was pretty warped. I wasn't sure when things were happening at what time. Also, how did they afford tickets to Philly (and Elsa to Mass.)? Whatever, I guess if I'm willing to believe Elsa bought the world's smallest woman for a few cases of soda, I can believe this little thing.

I know, that last shot of Elsa on Life Magazine was great. But there's no way there's some sick, ironic punishment going on that we don't know about. Despite her love for Pepper, Elsa is a pretty despicable human. As I said, if "Freak Show" has done anything right this season, it's pounding out some fantastic endings.

I believe they will return! I can't wait to see how they're worked in there. Also coming up is Neil Patrick Harris, who will take over for Elsa and is some creepy ventriloquist - Dolls! Your favorite!! While I'm excited for the return of some good characters, and introducing new ones (even this late in the game) I'm sure three or four other characters are just going to vanish (or maybe die! That'd work for me!)

Naomi Grossman was in my top three. Pepper is actually one of my favorite characters on "Freak Show" and "Asylum" (remember her amazing speech when she gained intelligence from the aliens?) but I was just really into Mare Winningham's awful character. There's something about a mother who doesn't love her own child and so self-absorbed and a complete pig that I am compelled towards. But, as usual, the acting in this episode was fantastic. Giving it to Grossman is not a wrong choice.

Desiree (Angela Bassett) was pretty great too. Cookin' up that pot roast for Theo Huxtable! She's a regular lady now you know! I'm really interested to see what happens with her and her unexpected new bestie, Esmerelda / Maggie. Who woulda thunk that a sassy black hermaphrodite and a pretty bitchy white girl would team up?! The scene at the freak museum was great too, especially when they unveiled Jimmy's lobster hands. I saw it coming but I loved it.

Robert Nesti (arts and entertainment editor:

I also saw the unveiling of Jimmy's hands, but I wish they hadn't gone there. I mean, what's that back story about? Did he get an electric knife smuggled into the cell? Did Stanley pay off the cops to get entry? That's a likely scenario, but it still felt a bit far-fetched for a reveal that didn't add much to the story. Think it's interesting, though, that Jimmy has no memory of that day and thinks he may be the murderer. No doubt someone's warming up the electric chair for him!

It made perfect sense for Elsa to dump Pepper. As long as her minions worship her without drama, they're welcome; but once they become a problem, they get the gate! But that doesn't also deny the emotional connection they had. Elsa's a pragmatist with her eye on the prize - that still being stardom. She's kind of like a 1950s version of Susan Boyle! But she also has feelings.

It was also pretty cool that they never showed Mare Winningham's devil doll baby. Do you think he was a pinhead as well? One of the meme's this season has dealt with hereditary conditions: Dandy's mania, Jimmy's hands and, in this case, one sister that's born "normal" and the other with a genetic abnormality. Did Winningham pass that condition off to her son? It is never fully explained.

You're right. Winningham should be part of the show as it moves forward. Maybe as one of the continuing leads, especially with talk that Lange is pretty much over the show.

And every episode needs that dose of Dandy! He's sorely missed, though this episode was so compelling in telling its back stories that they nearly had me not missing him. It wasn't until he made a brief appearance that I wondered just what he was up to. Wittrock is this season's find, don't you think? So eerie and compelling as the crazy archetype of upper class America: Mr. Moneybags meets Norman Bates!

What sucks is how the holidays get in the way of bringing the story to a close, especially after how smartly Murphy et all ended this episode. Like "Asylum," the larger shape of the story didn't fall together until the final three episodes. I think that is what's happening here.

So you give your star to Winningham; I give mine to Grossman. We agree to disagree on that one; but think we are both in agreement that this episode brought the show forward in unexpected and really interesting ways that leaves me holding my breath (well, figuratively) until the new year.

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