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American Horror Story - Season 4 Episode 02: Massacres and Matinees
American Horror Story: Freak Show begins its set in Jupiter, Florida in 1952, and follows the lives of a troupe of people belonging to one of the last remaining freak shows of its time. A troupe of curiosities has just arrived to town, coinciding with the strange emergence of a dark entity that savagely threatens the lives of townsfolk and freaks alike. This is the story of the performers and their desperate journey of survival amidst the dying world of the American carny experience.
The novelty and newness of the season premiere has worn off, the world building has mostly subsided, and the show has to start digging into its mystery and plotting. To say that's been a sore spot for much of the FX series' run would be accurate.
In the early going anyway, Freak Show is more concerned with serving up a series of indelible moments than connecting them via a strong, compelling narrative. And that's okay for now.
The second episode of Freak Show was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, whose sensibility is garish and loopy but also precise and formalist, like Wes Anderson directing a snuff film.
"Massacres and Matinees" was both scary and relaxed and set up a lot of very compelling threads that will probably be tugged on for the next few episodes.
It's probably way too early to make a judgment call on this season of the show so far, but it's essentially a slightly lighter-toned version of season two, aka Asylum, only much more colorful.
Twisty is my least favorite part of the season so far, but the throat-clenching tension of "Massacres And Matinees"'s cold open uses John Carroll Lynch's character to marvelous effect.
The second episode of American Horror Story: Freak Show allows us to leisurely soak in the considerable atmospherics of Elsa's (Jessica Lange) financially imperiled Cabinet of Curiosities.