American Horror Story: Freakshow is less horror than simple drama. I have only seen one previous season (Murder House), but although I found it very entertaining it wasn't exactly a statement. Freakshow, on the other hand, is really quite lacking in scares after the first few episodes, but it's also much more thoughtful. The season explores not only "what makes a freak?" (a rather well-trod path at this point) but also the nature of killing and questions of morality. Is this murder more justified than this other one? More understandable? What can I condemn someone for, and would I feel differently if they weren't a sympathetic character? We see murders out of desperation, jealousy, vindictive enjoyment, blackmail, even plain old sociopathic insanity, and it's hard to know what lines to even draw, let alone where to draw them. Murder House showed a bit of moral complexity, but this season is 150 shades of grey (so to speak).
The plot is seriously lacking in tension and focus, but it gives the characters a reason to interact. Performances are great as always (I especially loved Denis O'Hare). The setting is richly developed and eerie, although I wasn't quite as chilled as I was by HBO's Carnivale (though that might just be because the soundtrack to Carnivale was dynamite). Twisty the Clown might be the scariest clown I've seen since Tim Curry in IT, but Dandy, the aforementioned sociopath and ultimate mama's boy, is less exciting. Mostly because, if you've seen one Sadistic Amoral Excitable Manboy (see: Ramsay Bolton) you've seen them all. It's hard to take a character like that in new directions. I was also surprised to see so much love for Bette and Dot by the critics. I never found the character very compelling. More of a nominal protagonist who gets lost in a sea of way-more-interesting side-characters. Evan Peters does his normal cherubic hero thing, which is much more fun than it has any right to be. Kathy Bates is a goddess.
Okay. This episode. Maybe I should have posted this review on the season finale, but I wanted to write it here because this episode had the only gasp-out-loud moment of the season when Jimmy wakes up and sees his right hand missing. I think I may have had that exact nightmare because it was an incredibly visceral moment. I like eerie, but the best horror is disturbing and that was some disturbing business. A highlight for sure. Other than that, the episode blended with the rest of the season rather than standing out. NPH acted the crap outta his part (as usual) and Jamie Brewer dropped by for some gleeful cackling murder, which I enjoyed. The episode has a lot of focus on Dot and Bette, which is good for people who enjoy that character but a bit tiresome for me. Overall, very consistent with the rest of the season.
The plot is seriously lacking in tension and focus, but it gives the characters a reason to interact. Performances are great as always (I especially loved Denis O'Hare). The setting is richly developed and eerie, although I wasn't quite as chilled as I was by HBO's Carnivale (though that might just be because the soundtrack to Carnivale was dynamite). Twisty the Clown might be the scariest clown I've seen since Tim Curry in IT, but Dandy, the aforementioned sociopath and ultimate mama's boy, is less exciting. Mostly because, if you've seen one Sadistic Amoral Excitable Manboy (see: Ramsay Bolton) you've seen them all. It's hard to take a character like that in new directions. I was also surprised to see so much love for Bette and Dot by the critics. I never found the character very compelling. More of a nominal protagonist who gets lost in a sea of way-more-interesting side-characters. Evan Peters does his normal cherubic hero thing, which is much more fun than it has any right to be. Kathy Bates is a goddess.
Okay. This episode. Maybe I should have posted this review on the season finale, but I wanted to write it here because this episode had the only gasp-out-loud moment of the season when Jimmy wakes up and sees his right hand missing. I think I may have had that exact nightmare because it was an incredibly visceral moment. I like eerie, but the best horror is disturbing and that was some disturbing business. A highlight for sure. Other than that, the episode blended with the rest of the season rather than standing out. NPH acted the crap outta his part (as usual) and Jamie Brewer dropped by for some gleeful cackling murder, which I enjoyed. The episode has a lot of focus on Dot and Bette, which is good for people who enjoy that character but a bit tiresome for me. Overall, very consistent with the rest of the season.