Part two of the Halloween episode for the fourth season of American Horror Story continues and expands upon the Freakshow superstition of Edward Mordrake.
After the completion in episode three of Freak Show I was not hooked for the next episode. It seemed like the story lines were moderately completed and though a two part episode, I found part one of Edward Mordrake satiating as a narrative. Needless to say, it was on with the show and the Halloween motif forged forward.
Part one of Freak Show's third episode ended with Edward Mordrake arriving at the carnival after hearing a performance and being summoned, despite the carny superstition to never perform on Halloween. Once there he inspects and interviews the performers looking for the most quintessential freak to add to his menagerie as dictated by his second face.
Creators Murphy and Falchuk continue to hone in on certain stories and leaving others untouched adding to further clarity in the show. Edward Mordrake Part two focuses on Twisty, Dandy, Elsa and Jimmy and Maggie. It is weird but having only four simultaneous stories is simpler than the previous episodes in which five or more were constantly being introduced.
Part two is definitely superior to part one, adding more dark and macabre subject matter that is more mournful of days past and how the respective characters ended up at their present state. Jessica Lange's Elsa's backstory is significantly illuminated and Twisty's story must be at completion while Dandy takes a giant leap in a deciding direction and Finn Wittrock is perversely enchanting.
Less reliant upon sets and production, the episode rests on the depressing stories of its characters and sublime effects on Twisty. By far this is my favorite episode of the season but it stands to reason where does the show go from here? If I was a skeptic before regarding the show's potential I am more of one after episode four.