by Cookie N Screen
There is possibly one person in American Horror Story, through all of their anthropologies that everyone expects excellence out of. In fact, she has even won an Emmy for it. Of course, I’m talking about Jessica Lange. Whether she is the matriarch of a ghost family, the stripper turned nun for an asylum or the motherfucking supreme, she has always excelled in her roles. So when she bounded to the next AHS project, Freak Show, it’s only natural that the woman should take up a character who embodies traits from all three previous outings:- a mother, a saint and a sinner.
There is possibly one person in American Horror Story, through all of their anthropologies that everyone expects excellence out of. In fact, she has even won an Emmy for it. Of course, I’m talking about Jessica Lange. Whether she is the matriarch of a ghost family, the stripper turned nun for an asylum or the motherfucking supreme, she has always excelled in her roles. So when she bounded to the next AHS project, Freak Show, it’s only natural that the woman should take up a character who embodies traits from all three previous outings:- a mother, a saint and a sinner.
There isn’t much of a focus in this episode except to extract the awful nature of Elsa’s true fame grabbing personality has come to boil. She has sold the twins to teenage murderer Dandy and he is keeping them as friends as he too feels like a freak (he’s an incest baby, it’s a little weird). The collection of oddities under Elsa's tent are starting to get suspicious about the disappearance of their greatest attraction and soon Paul starts to suspect Elsa’s intentions. However, could it be that she got rid of the twins so she could have their time in the spotlight? And what will happen when truth comes to light?
Of course, as always, Lange delights us in Elsa’s role. She has the ability to convey bursts of different emotions that her character is embroiled with. First she is a sweetheart, then she is a lover. Then she loses it all to become angry or upset – tangled in her own web of jealousy because she believes she has earned the right to be a star. She is ruthless in her ambition and that’s where her seeds of evil lay, with the reckless abandonment of anyone who upsets her or drags her to the level that she is actually on. Lange is a wonderful character actress so much so that she may encompass all she has played before but it still feels fresh and undated.
Of course, as always, Lange delights us in Elsa’s role. She has the ability to convey bursts of different emotions that her character is embroiled with. First she is a sweetheart, then she is a lover. Then she loses it all to become angry or upset – tangled in her own web of jealousy because she believes she has earned the right to be a star. She is ruthless in her ambition and that’s where her seeds of evil lay, with the reckless abandonment of anyone who upsets her or drags her to the level that she is actually on. Lange is a wonderful character actress so much so that she may encompass all she has played before but it still feels fresh and undated.
In similar retrospect, Dandy too is an image of Elsa (we’d almost say son but we all know he comes from inbreeding). He is delightful happy and wonderful when he believes everything is going his way and then bam, he’s a spoilt brat and tantrums when he feels he is losing control. While I could happily do an entire thesis on why Dandy is the best character here, choosing the focus on these parallel and mirrored storylines is interesting enough to keep the series afloat.
Which is good because it seems to have stalled a little bit. Though the main villains have been placed on the con artists and their intent to ensnare a freak into big jars (Ma Petite almost getting pickled made us nearly cry), there is a bit of a plateau here as some of the storylines collide with one another. Still enjoyable and still showcasing much more of the depravity “normal” humanity has rather than the freaks, it just needs to move a little more punchier next time.
Which is good because it seems to have stalled a little bit. Though the main villains have been placed on the con artists and their intent to ensnare a freak into big jars (Ma Petite almost getting pickled made us nearly cry), there is a bit of a plateau here as some of the storylines collide with one another. Still enjoyable and still showcasing much more of the depravity “normal” humanity has rather than the freaks, it just needs to move a little more punchier next time.
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