American Horror Story Freak Show “Massacres and Matinees” Review

The second episode of American Horror Story: Freak Show This week, the show ups the ante when Twisty gets a Dandy companion and two new members–three-breasted hermaphrodite Desiree Dupree (Angela Basset) and strongman Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis)–join Elsa’s Cabinet of Curiosities.

The focus of “Massacres and Matinees” still seems very much on the comparison between the townspeople and the members of the freak show. The freak show is also a family, though, at least a makeshift one, and the show’s writers seem bent on testing the boundaries of that family as it is contrasted with the familial relationship between Gloria and Dandy Mott (who we got to see in terrifying Technicolor this week).

The cold-opening is a fantastic moment of tension—a short conversation, a tiny tin toy robot tracking blood, a 360 degree turn of a toy store full of vintage Halloween decor, and Twisty standing there, waiting. It’s a fantastic visual story, the kind that American Horror Story has thrived on over its past few seasons. The show is good at spectacle; it’s good at visual storytelling. And this week there were lots of stories to tell: (This is the part with spoilers!)

 

Twisty and Dandy:

Horror has a new odd couple.

We Have a New Contributor . . .

. . . and his name is Luther. You’ll want to read his every word!

Luther M. Siler, who writes awesome books about space gnomes, has joined us.

A little story now. I started this blog a year ago, and Luther is one of the first bloggers I met. I met him and Taylor Grace  on the same day by browsing the writing tag and looking for bloggers who answered my comments. I can’t remember which way it went, but I met one by leaving a comment and the other by following a gravatar link from the thread. Both of them answered me, and we’ve all had quite a blogtastic year.

Answer your comments, bloggers!

Anyhow. When we first met, I did not know Luther had a name or a face because he hadn’t put any personal stuff on his blog yet. I knew him as Infinite Free Time. I had a good feeling right away because he is an artist with profanity on his own blog. (Boy! wouldn’t it be great if we could do that here?) And because his avatar is a certain skyscraper-climbing gorilla that we all know and love.

The Walking Dead is Luther’s first topic. Look for his posts late in the week and don’t get your heart set on conventional tv reviews.

Luther doesn’t really do conventional. He may even mention the comics. Or maybe not. You’ll just have to read and find out.

More info on the schedule when we get it figured out.

You can follow Luther on Twitter @nfinitefreetime and find his books Skylights and The Benevolence Archives, Vol. 1 at Amazon.