Everyone knows the cautionary tale of Edward Mordrake — right?

No?  Well, prepare for this story-within-a-story flashback in Episode Three of American Horror Story.  This grainy flashback early in Episode Three reframes the current narrative in an innovative way that extends the Freak Show beyond Twisty’s serial killing into the supernatural realm of ghosts and possibly even possession.

For those who don’t know the cautionary tale, here it is: don’t have a Freak Show performance on Halloween night, or else the deceased two-faced madman will rise from the dead to claim a freak for his troupe of murdered performers.  Specifically, while Mordrake himself seems quite handsome and goodnatured, the face on the back of his head — a smaller face that perpetually and creepily mutters things only Mordrake can hear — essentially drives him to madness.  This grainy flashback shows the tragic demise of Mordrake, but it also highlights his ability to possess the body of later freaks — as shown by the scene when a Freak Show goes horribly wrong after its Halloween performance.

With this caveat set in place early in the episode, the plot naturally gravitates toward Elsa breaking this sacred Halloween rule.  Specifically, when Miss Mystic Esmerelda (Emma Roberts) tells Elsa that she is destined to meet a man that night, Elsa takes to the stage to perform—and inadvertently summons the ghost of Edward Mordrake.

Besides Mordrake, this episode gives an in-depth look at AHS’s other freak with two faces: Bette and Dot.  We see Dot’s dream of a surgery that separates the two.  When Dot reveals to Bette her intentions to raise money for the operation, Bette argues that one of them will die.  To that, Dot replies, “But one of us has a chance at happiness.”

That’s cold.  Mordrake cold.

As for the hyper-violent Buddy Comedy of Twisty and Dandy, they continue to have “more fun” on Halloween by walking through streets full of costumed children and adding a third victim to the school bus torture chamber.

Kathy Bates’ Ethel (Bearded Lady) moves from the background of the show to the foreground in one of those most sympathetic exchanges of any character on the show thus far this season.  She sees a doctor, who tells her she has a terminal liver disease.  Ethel weeps, not for her illness, but for the kindness the doctor shows toward her despite her freakish features.  It’s a touching moment of the show, and Ryan Murphy knows how to properly develop a likable character: The key is to show a character at a moment of slight weakness, just enough to gather enough sympathy from viewers.

This development sets up a HUGE payoff at the end of what may be possibly one of the best written episodes of the season.  Now, I say HUGE, but perhaps it’s not very obvious; however, I think most people were getting a little anxious when Mordrake pays Ethel a visit late at night.

Even though Elsa summoned Mordrake through a hypnotic cover of Lana Del Rey’s fitting tune, Gods and Monsters, we all knew she wasn’t going to be the one to follow him to the grave.  When Mordrake disappears, the tension heightens, and even more so when the camera cuts to Ethel in her tent, alone.  This cut gives the show a chance to build more pity for Ethel as she explains her heroic rise to stardom and her quick fall to disgrace (when Del persuades her to charge admission for a “live freak birth”).

To quickly interject, Mordrake is portrayed as an immensely polite aristocrat who is only taking care of business.  He even shows unexpected sympathy towards Ethel, making him an oddly likable guy.  At this point, it’s a little obvious that Ethel is going to be saved, and she is.  But that leaves a new burning question: Who is going to be offed this week?

NOTES:

• I’d like to think none of the major characters are going to be killed, but then again, someone has to go this week in the second half of this tense episode.  I—along with many others—would love to see him take Del.  However, my instinct tells me that he is too big of a presence on the freak show.  In fact, he is pretty much propelling all conflict in the freak show right now, so it wouldn’t make sense to kill him.  What could make things interesting, however, is if Mordrake murders Del’s wife Desiree.  This could really set off Del’s temper and release a whole barrage of violent possibilities.  Not to mention Mordrake claims he is looking for the right freak, and Desiree happens to be a full blown hermaphrodite.
• Twisty and Dandy are easily the most interesting part of the show, and again, they receive little screentime.  Although both dress differently and speak differently (or not at all in Twisty’s case), both similarly confuse childish play with violence.  Both violently react to interrupted play, puppet-shows, picnics.  However, both enjoy the escapism of carousels, live performances, and toys (even decapitated heads).  While both may appear different, the source of their trauma is based on their refusal to mature — a sign typically of childhood trauma.  Dandy’s absent father suggests his relationship with his mother may be more than simply the dutiful son. As for Twisty, his mask suggests childhood abuse of some form (potentially not parental).  A question to ponder though: Who is more insane — the crazed clown killer or the boy infatuated with Twisty’s acts of terror — or his mother?
• Miss Mystic Esmerelda is actually at the Freak Show to, it seems, capture a freak.  She and her comrade (Denis O’Haire) hear of the money in “freak” parts, and so Roberts poses as a gypsy to get in to Elsa’s Freak Show.  Right away, Jimmy appears to be heavily attracted to her.  This could play out in many ways, but it will likely end in “Esmerelda” breaking his heart and attempting to capture one of the troupe — at which point Jimmy will have to make a very difficult decision to save the family.
• The relation to Cuckoo’s Nest continues to remain a strong connection, mainly because of the isolation of the freaks from the conformed normality in the town.  Jimmy still provides leadership to the troupe going forward, and the character of Del seems to be the most closely related to Ken Kesey’s Nurse Ratched.  Ironically, Jimmy still has no idea of his relation to this man, and the writers use this irony subtlely thus far — but it will most likely lead to a climactic moment later in the season.
• Regarding cinematography: It seems like Ryan Murphy forgot to read The Rebellion articles recently because he clearly didn’t catch wind of my praises for the shots used in the first couple of episodes.  Remember that chilling one-point perspective shot I talked about? Yeah, it doesn’t come up in episode 3.  All three episodes have had a different director, but as the creator, writer, and producer, Ryan Murphy indefinitely has final say on these calls.  There must be a reason for the lack of these shots. Perhaps there weren’t enough opportunities to use such a shot last week, but I’m really hoping they get back to that style.
• What did they do right for cinematography? How about that homage to Halloween?  The point-of-view shot used through Dandy’s mask really helps connect him to the famed Mike Myers: Both boys just want a little bit more attention (One would think he has more than enough).