Halloween came early this year thanks to Ryan Murphy.  Last Wednesday saw the second half of the nail-biting tale of Edward Mordrake.  Quite a bit happened, so let’s get straight to it:

First off, I need to stop claiming an episode is the best written piece before the season is over, because, well, this episode was one heck of a writing masterpiece as well.  The episode opens with a quick montage of Mordrake with numerous freaks from the troupe, all telling their stories.  The opening really helped to not only build sympathy for the freaks, but also to build tension since it was pretty obvious that Mordrake wasn’t going to take his victim in the first minute of the episode.  After all this, the pacing slows as he arrives at Elsa’s tent.  It takes her a while to realize what’s going on before Mordrake’s undead brethren removes Elsa’s prosthetic legs and Mordrake insists she tells her story.  And, boy, does she have a story.

Flashback to the Weimar Republic, 1932.  Jessica Lange is no longer the star-starved hag of a woman.  The 8mm footage reveals a young and beautiful Elsa.  The story continues, and she explains that she was a prostitute, but with a twist: she never let her clients touch her, and instead forced them to partake in some…interesting…rituals.  Armed with whips, dog collars, and the like, the young Jessica Lange attracts a masked crowd to her sexual rituals.  She gets involved in cinema; but nothing good lasts forever.  Young Elsa is drugged on set one day, at which point she is strapped down.  The men around her begin to roll the camera and then utilize a chainsaw to rip through her legs (insight: this is called a snuff film, which is defined as a film that displays on-screen legitimate murder and torture).  Jessica Lange’s backstory has definitely been the most bizarre and cringe-worthy of all.  Ironically, this snuff film was the film that made her a star.

Back in the tent, Mordrake announces that she is “the one”.  Elsa has been so consumed by the horror of her past that she actually begins to beg Mordrake to take her life.  He comes incredibly close to doing so before hesitating at the sound of music. Mordrake evidently changed his mind, and his actions are just suspenseful enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Meanwhile, Jimmy’s bike has broken down, so he and Esmerelda are about to cut through the black forest when they hear an ear-piercing scream.  They hide behind the brush in time to see the female captive running down the road with Twisty the Clown chasing her down and tackling her before lugging her back into the forest (in case he wasn’t scary enough, the 200+ pound monster of a clown is also a speed demon).  Jimmy insists they go help her.  So they lurk into the forest and see Twisty’s lair.  At this point, you can’t help giving a little fist pump knowing that the heroic Evan Peters is going to save the day—but then he gets knocked out as the camera pans up to the Twisty-wannabe, Dandy.  Seeing two fan favorites in a state of peril glues viewers’ eyes to the TV.

Creepiness is what American Horror Story does best, and the writers nail it in this episode.  The next scene reveals a slipshod yet freakish magic show, with all the captives (including Esmerelda and Jimmy) tied up and on the ground, forced to watch the madness.  As Dandy prances around the stage and begins to saw through a box containing one of the girls, Twisty sits on the ground in front of a toy piano and bangs on the keys.  Everything added together creates a very eerie and utterly disturbing picture.  Jimmy tells the others to run as Twisty tackles him and drags him back to the trailer.  At this point, Edward Mordrake appears and shakes things up even more by demanding that Twisty sits down and reveals his story.  As to be expected, the story takes an even more surprising twist.

Flashback to a traveling carnival, 1943.  Twisty is a children’s clown, and all is good until the other freaks are mean to him and start to make him believe that he took advantage of the kids.   Hiding out in his trailer, he desperately attempts to make homemade children’s toys, but he gets continuously shut down form the local stores.  Demoralized, Twisty decides to end things.  He lifts a shotgun barrel to his mouth and pulls the trigger.  We fade back in as we hear Twisty say, “I thought, ‘I’m so dumb, I can’t even kill myself’”.  Still wanting to make people happy, he drew a mask over his bandaged face and hung around Elsa’s Freak Show before being shunned by the freaks as well.  He insists to Mordrake that he is a good clown.

Mordrake tells the clown to stand.  Twisty is “the one,” for he has made the demon weep.  As he stands, Mordrake slashes the clown killer, who falls flat on his face, dead.  Soon afterwards, the undead troupe of Mordrake’s helps Twisty up, whose face has returned to its original state.  Surprisingly tear-jerking, the scene closes with the other in Mordrake’s troupe placing a hand on Twisty, welcoming him.

When Jimmy and Esmerelda return the next morning, they tell Elsa that Mordrake claimed his freak, and that  the curfew has been lifted.  Soon, cars pull up, and townspeople begin exchanging thank yous and handshakes.  The moment is uplifting and contrasts the chilling finale as Dandy (wearing Twisty’s mask) slits the throat of his sassy maid.

NOTES:

• Ryan Murphy seems to really be hitting on the roots of creepy horror, again creating scenes reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick.  Elsa’s flashback scene reminded me of Eyes Wide Shut.  One thing this series does well is embrace Kubrick-style horror.
• This episode was pivotal because it explained so many backstories.  First we got to hear Elsa’s, then Twisty’s.   Twisty had become the most interesting character in the season, and his backstory simply built mounds of sympathy for him.  Just as we felt bad for him, his time was up, but the touching scene lets viewers know that he’s in a better place now.
• The townspeople making friends with the freaks is a huge step.  What does this mean for the future?  More attendance?  Less attendance?  Regardless, this portion of the episode was great, as it really helped to humanize the freaks.  The whole isolation motif that appeared in the first part of the season is quickly dissipating.
• Elsa absolutely shafts Bette and Dot; now they are opening for the pinheads.  Stripped of their headline act, Dot is furious.  I presume that Elsa is doing this because she expects a bigger crowd and wants to reassert herself as a star.  This conflict will be an interesting one to watch play out.
• The ending to this episode was perfect.  At first, we all wanted to see Twisty go.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until it was too late that we took pity on him.  And then, he was replaced by the true freak: Dandy.  When Dandy takes Twisty’s mask and puts it on, the only word to describe it all is chill-inducing.  Now, American Horror Story has a real killer to deal with.