Zeitgeisting TV: 'American Horror Story: Freak Show'; Ep. 13: 'Curtain Call'

Jason St. Amand (national news editor):

Well here we are! We've been at this since October and "American Horror Story: Freak Show" has finally come to an end. And I have to say that I feel the same about the finale, "Curtain Call," as last week's episode: I really enjoyed it but also kind of hated it.

The first half of the finale was wonderful. The second-tier freaks got sick and tired of Dandy and his dumb requests -- treating the freak show as his own personal platform to become famous (hey, isn't that what Elsa did?!) -- so, after Amazon Eve (Erika Ervin) (and I have to say we did not give enough praise to her inn our recaps) punches Dandy in the face (it felt so good) and the freaks hold him down, Paul the Illustrated Boy tells him all things we've wanted to say to him this season then spits on his face. Then they announce they're breaking contract and peacing out.

But Dandy ain't going to let them get away with treating him like shit because, well, he's crazy. The next five or 10 minutes of the show are pretty stellar: Dandy goes freak hunting with his fancy gold-encrusted revolver and picks off the second-tier freaks one-by-one. I love how this segment was shot (the blood splattering on the sheet after he shot Penny and the way the camera was low when Legless Suzi was running and hiding from Dandy) and it reminded me of Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" and even season one of "AHS" when Tate (Evan Peters) opens fire at his high school.

It was painful to see the freaks go so helplessly but I can't say I didn't see it coming. But it was incredibly sad, especially seeing Amazon Eve die because she really tried her damndest to put an axe in Dandy's back. It was also hard to watch Desiree cower in fear as she heard her friends dying (although I thought that was a bit off brand for her: she's been a strong black woman this entire season who won't take shit from anyone. We know she owns at least one gun so I was a little confused as to why she didn't grab it before hiding. But I guess it's hard to pinpoint what people do in a situation like that).

Dandy eventually gives up on finding Desiree and we see that he's tied up the Twinnies. Fast forward a few days (weeks?) and they're at a creepy wedding in his playroom. But not so fast! Bette and Dot pulled a fast one on Dandy and teamed up with Desiree and Jimmy (who came back from that mystery shack a little too late and discovered all of the freaks' bodies lined up on the main stage) to finally take down Dandy. They do so by drugging him, telling him off, and then putting him in a tank, filling it up with water until he drowns. The four lone survivors watch Dandy as he squirms and pleas for his life and say crazy things (he was put on earth by God to kill etc.) until he looks like the bottled up freaks from the museum.

I'm not sure how I feel about Dandy's death. I think I like it (maybe it was a little anticlimactic) though, as we talked about, I felt he was going to get away with everything as "Freak Show" hinted that it was an amoral season and sometimes good things happen to bad people and the other way around. But I guess "good" things happen to good people too, and justice is served.

I wasn't feeling the second half of "Curtain Call" as much, however. It was all about Miss Elsa Mars and her rise to fame. Basically, she married her way into celebrity, which I thought was kind of lazy. After waiting and waiting and waiting for the head of the network, she ends up encountering Neil Patrick Harris' husband, David Burtka, who is a Hollywood exec with a former German last name. The show fast forwards the next eight years and we learn Elsa is a three-time Emmy Award winner (just like the REAL LIFE Jessica Lange!) and also a recording artist.

But I don't know. Wasn't the point of "Freak Show" that she really didn't have talent? Maybe she was the most talented of the freaks but I find it hard she became a household name strictly because she was able to capture a national audience. Sure, she married the right guy but it sounds like she made it big because she owned Friday nights. I was really hoping she did something a little more twisted and less conventional to make it big but I don't think one can have any expectations when it comes to an "AHS" finale.

We find out living the famous life isn't all it's cracked up to be and Elsa reveals she's miserable and that her marriage is a sham. Out of nowhere, Massimo shows up and after Elsa tells him that she wants to run away together, he explains he's dying -- he has a lung disease that will kill him in a month. Apparently he became sick after building houses for the government (I think?), who then tested all kinds of bombs and chemicals to destroy the makeshift towns. Elsa is upset and that's that. I found this scene pretty useless -- I don't think the writers nailed their past romance and although I get what they are going for, they didn't stick the landing. All this scene was good for was shoving in Ryan Murphy's most overt clue to season five: "American Horror Story: The Hills Have Eyes."

It turns out Elsa's career is about to have a major halt after a New York Times writer finds her old snuff films and plans to expose her. She also learns that all her old freak friends are dead, which helps her decision to perform a Halloween special so Edward Moredrake, Twisty and co. will come and take her away.

I don't know why the network would even let her do this Halloween special, knowing that her career was about to come to a weird end, but there Elsa was, singing David Bowie's "Heroes." But Moredrake doesn't take her because he realizes he's being used for suicide. But he kills her anyway and Elsa wakes up in freak heaven.

It's the same old Jupiter, Fla., set up and all her friends are there. Look, it's Amazon Eve! And Ethel! ETHEL! And they're all waiting for Elsa because she's the star of the show!

I can't get behind this though. We've wondered throughout the season if Elsa is a good or a bad person. I'm going to have to go with bad. Everything she did was out of selfishness and to become famous. The freaks wouldn't have been dead if she didn't just hand over the freak show for $10,000 to a psychopath rich boy. I mean, she's not as horrible as Fiona from "Coven" but I think it's kind of a crock that she gets such a happy ending. That line Ethel gave about being a shitty friend and a shitty boss but we forgive you was pretty ridiculous; like hey, you're kind of responsible for all of us dying but we love you anyway! And on top of that, she gets to perform her numbers to an adoring crowd? And not pay for any of her sins? I don't think so. Poor Maggie, who, yes was pretty shitty at the start but came around and tried to do the right thing, gets her guts poured out on stage and she doesn't even end up in in freak heaven.

Like the season as a whole, "Curtain Call" had it's bright brilliant moments but it was weighed down buy lazy writing and inconsistent details. It's so frustrating because "Freak Show" had the seeds to be a stellar season.

For my final golden star, I'm going to give it to Erika Ervin. We never really gave her the credit she deserved but she actually made me feel devastated when Dandy got her. Here's hoping she returns next season.

Robert Nesti (arts and entertainment editor):

Funny. I thought the "AHS" team pulled it off. Considering how fragmented the story felt at the end of the last episode, the bold plot strokes made sense to me. Starting with the mass murder sequence. It pulled together what happened to the freaks with startling and very chilling economy. And it felt very organic from what came before - what else does Dandy do when challenged but go nuts and kill people? I agree that his one-on-one with Amazon Eve was gut-wrenching. And I also felt that the scene's coda - when Jimmy returned to see the freaks bodies arranged as if part of some ritual - was poignant and horrific at the same time. Again, the show brought real emotion to a frightening situation.

Dandy's death - the next sequence - was also quite riveting. Having him die in such a theatrical manner was slyly ironic. Wasn't it Dandy's dream to star in his own show? That Jimmy, Desiree, Dot and Bette coolly watched while eating popcorn only added to the creepiness of his death. Though I also thought given the amoral tone of this season that Dandy would get away with it. Still, his passing was riveting and just considering just how malignant he's been all season. Perhaps there is justice in this world.

But I must disagree about Elsa. Often talentless people make it big - it's often a matter of timing, as the early sequence where she waits to see the television studio bigwig showed where she meets producer Michael Beck (David Burtka). She was in the right place at the right time. It can sometimes be that simple. Her limited talent has little to do with it. Then by using newsreel footage (the Hollywood Walk of Fame sequence) to bring the story up to the late 1950s was a brilliant stroke. And that Elsa hates her husband and her life brought the story back to reality. Elsa would never be happy, even with fame.

This made, for me at least, the final sequence oddly touching. Sure, she didn't deserve to go to a heavenly place, but it was sweetly satisfying. She went home where she was loved. I wouldn't have wanted to see this story end any other way. That the freaks forgave her felt genuine. There was a bond between them that couldn't be denied. I also loved the way she collapsed on camera - was this meant to be an allusion to when Carmen Miranda lost her footing while on the Milton Berle Show only to die hours later? I'm not sure, but I completely bought Elsa's transformation into a star. It also recalled the end of "Sunset Boulevard" when Norma Desmond slips into her own mania. How do we know if any of this is real or what Elsa was dreaming at the moment of her death?

Im pretty sure that liking this ending, though, is a minority opinion. Nearly everyone I spoke to so far has been disappointed that Elsa is treated so kindly, finding this sappy and out-of-tune with what came before. It's funny how it reminded me of the ending of "All That Jazz" when the dislikable Broadway director (played by Roy Scheider) dies and meets the Angel of Death played by Jessica Lange! I don't know if that was an inspiration, but whatever the reason, I thought it brought the story to a satisfying end.

And, yes, the Gold Star for the episode should go to Erika Ervin. She was terrific throughout the show in a performance that largely sat in the background. Her confrontation with Dandy was her season high point. But what of Lange? She embodied this demented, mean, selfish and abused woman with equal amounts of vulnerability and camp. She was great in this episode. Let's hope that the producers enter it for Emmy consideration next year. She could win her fourth for it.

But where does the show fit in the continuity of the series? In the end, it wasn't as strong as "Asylum," but better than "Coven." I'm not sure I liked it more than "Murder House," which had the advantage of the shock-of-the-new to it. I will say it was the most striking of the series so far. The superb design elements, from the depiction of the freak show to the gorgeous cinematography, only added to its uniqueness. I don't think there's been a television series quite like it.

Jason St. Amand (national news editor):

The murder sequence was the most chilling part of all of "Freak Show." Was there any music playing during it? I can't remember but I felt like I was suspended in time during it. Yes I agree about the right time and right place and how often that happens to celebs but we're supposed to believe she revolutionized TV? I don't know about that. I can buy she becomes a star but a massive household name? Not so sure about that.

But I agree with you no matter what she accomplished, she would never be happy. I really liked that part of Elsa; it's true with a lot of people: they work and work and work to reach their goals and when they're finally they're still not happy. It's truly devastating and maddening and I actually wish "AHS" played that up a bit more with Elsa.

Maybe I didn't hate Elsa's ending. I also found it sweet and I was actually happy. It wasn't until after watching the episode that I thought about everything...that I sort of...disliked the ending. I just wanted her to get some punishments and not get of so scot free.

Lange was great here but I would give her my bronze star. The silver goes to Finn Wittrock for Dandy's final moments. My favorite line came after Bette shot Dandy in the arm with his golden gun and he yelled, "Hey! That's MINE!"

But there were so many loose ends that "Freak Show" didn't bother explaining. What happened to mutilated Stanley? What was the point of not showing Dandy's therapist's face earlier this season (I think we were all expecting some payoff there)? What happened to those corrupt cops who worked with Dandy? Shouldn't they have gotten their comeuppance? I thought there was going to be some showdown between Jimmy and Dandy (that's what it was implied mid-season) but that never came to be. Does Jimmy even love Dot? It seemed she was second fiddle to Maggie. And what about poor Bette? She needs a man too! But instead of solving any of these lingering questions, we get a 3-minute explanation of how Jimmy got into Dandy's mansion. Didn't you think that was a weird flashback to include? Like of all the things to explain, they go for that. Maybe I am being nitpicky here but it's all these weird little inconstancies that prevent me from loving "Freak Show." Instead I just like / enjoy it.

Are you asking me to do a power-ranking of the "AHS" season? OK you are, so here it is:

1. "Asylum" -- I honestly think this was one of the best seasons of TV of any current show. It was near perfect.
2. "Murder House" -- I agree perhaps we wouldn't have loved this season if it weren't the first. But it was. I did a rewatch of it last year and I think it still held up. The feel of it was actually very different from where "AHS" today but I recommend going back to the Harmon residence while we wait for season 5.
3. "Freak Show" -- There's a large gap between this season and "Murder House" but for all it's problems, like I said, I enjoyed this season. It felt more like a soap opera at times than a horror TV show but it was a fun watch and it was interesting to learn how seasons are connected. I think Murphy was testing a lot of ideas out here for future season but time will tell.
4. "Coven" -- This is easily still the worst of them all. At times, it was hard to get through an episode. Unlike "Freak Show" the seeds of a good show were hardly there. Lange was great and Lily Rabe was stellar but I'd rather forget about "Coven" than rewatch it anytime soon.

So what's next? Lange is up-in-the-air about season 5, rumored to be about government experimentation in the current day. After "Freak Show" ended this week, Murphy tweeted: "Thank you Jessica...For everything. Always." I'm sure in the coming weeks we'll learn if she will be another HBIC next fall or if we'll have to welcome a new leading lady. But if she does leave us, it won't be the same. At this point, she pretty much is "AHS."

Robert Nesti (arts and entertainment editor):

I know there were lost of loose ends. It would have been funny to end with a shot of Stanley cackling in his cage; but I think they were looking for something more poignant, and I think they got it.

It was a crazy ride with about as high a body count as could be imagined; but I never wanted to give up on the series (which sometimes happens when watching series like this in real time). Like I said, it had a unique look, some great acting and a plot that never seemed to flag. Ryan Murphy has a knack for mashing genres and synthesizing them into something unique, which I think is what makes this show so appealing. It could be the setting and subject, but I did prefer this season to the first, which I thought made for a great introduction to the series' vision. "Asylum" is in a class by itself - it's like "The Godfather" of mini-series for me. "Coven" was a let-down, but entertaining enough in its mix of camp and scares.

But "Freak Show" pushed the envelope in ways that left me always wanting more. I don't think there are characters as memorable as Dandy and Fraulein Elsa; and the show's overarching theme of finding show business success was treated with equal parts of irony and wonder. I guess I'm more accepting of inconsistencies and plot holes; but I was never bored for a moment, which I can't say for most series television. Whether Jessica Lange returns or not remains to be seen, but in four seasons she takes twisted, often unappealing characters and makes them compelling. She has held each season together. It will be interesting to see that if she chooses not to return whether the show's standard will slip. Thanks to Ryan Murphy for having tapped her for the show and Lange for showing that some actresses get better with age.

And thanks for doing this! It's been fun to look at each episode and comment on where it went and where it was going. It made me appreciate the show even more.

This story is part of our special report: "Zeitgeisting TV". Want to read more? Here's the full list.