# American Horror Story: Freak Show



## Black Mamba (Nov 15, 2014)

Anyone on SSO watching this? I'm really enjoying it.


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## Dusty Chalk (Nov 16, 2014)

It's in my queue, I really need to start watching this, I was told by several, independent sources that it would totally be my thing.


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## Rosal76 (Nov 17, 2014)

I've been watching it. Thumbs up for Maggie's (Emma Roberts) change of heart on episode 6. Have a feeling it's gonna backfire on her, though.


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## asfeir (Nov 17, 2014)

cool show I still think asylum is the best one.


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## wankerness (Nov 17, 2014)

I've only watched seasons 1/2 and this one, but I think this one is wayyy better than 1 and not nearly as good as 2. This show's quality sure does vary wildly since it always does such outrageous stuff that it can miss really hard. I'll have to watch 3 at some point, though it seems like no one likes it very much.

This plot seems to be more haphazard than 2's in that they seem to be pressing the restart button every couple of episodes (


Spoiler



particularly how they introduced the clown as if he was going to be the big villain of the series and spent so much time on the two people he kidnapped and already by episode 5 they were rescued and vanished from the show entirely and the clown was dead


), but maybe it will make more sense when binge watched. I'm also getting annoyed by the fake-out deaths where they kill a character and then are like "ha ha, just kidding, that scene didn't happen!" Once would have been OK, but now they've done it two episodes in a row!

Also, that annoying musical sting with the sliding string notes (usually to signify THIS IS FREAKISH!!!!) drives me nuts, they must have done that about 30 times in the first couple episodes, they've been doing it less in more recent episodes but it still sure sucks!


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## wankerness (Nov 17, 2014)

Dusty Chalk said:


> It's in my queue, I really need to start watching this, I was told by several, independent sources that it would totally be my thing.



Be careful with it, the first season is almost intolerably awful for several episodes (there are a couple solid episodes in the first season but by and large it's very bad unless you like to watch Dylan McDermott angrily jack off in front of a window) and might sour you on the whole thing. Be aware that the seasons have nothing to do with each other besides some shared cast members and thus if you hate a season you can just skip to the next one to see if you like that one more since there's no reason at all you need to see season 1 to understand season 2, 3 or 4.

1: Haunted house crap, takes place in the present with a bunch of flashbacks, tons of murder and ghost rape and whatnot, I mainly couldn't deal with it cause basically none of the characters were sympathetic apart from maybe the main woman, the two teenagers in particular are like fingernails on a blackboard every second they're on screen

2: It happens in an insane asylum in the 60s and features everything from nazi medical doctors to alien abductions to a musical number to a demonically possessed nun, and also has a plotline that cuts to the present involving a crazed killer with a disgusting mask called "bloodyface", this one is really enjoyable and actually gives you characters to root for

3: Witch junk in the present, I haven't watched this one yet, everyone told me not to, but I will probably do so at some point anyway

4: Freak show with a side helping of killer clowns and rich spoiled brats.


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## vilk (Nov 17, 2014)

That old bitch gets entirely too much airtime even though she's one of the worst actresses on the show. Season one was good because she was just kind of a complimentary character but .... she basically ruined Season 3 just by having so many scenes, which would otherwise have been a kickass season. 

I think season 3 is arguably even cooler than seasons one or two, it's just horribly obstructed with Jessica Lange scenes that simultaneously bore me and gross me out because they try to make this *65 year old woman * into a sex-oriented character.

I basically stopped watching this new season seeing as how the first two entire episodes revolve around her new terrible german accent.


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## UnderTheSign (Nov 17, 2014)

You serious? Jessica Lange is awesome, 65 or not. The accent is indeed terrible though.

Season 1 took a while to get into but I thought it was very well written. Season 2 pretty much the same. 3 seemed a little all over the place, some really random stuff going on. Not sure what to think of 4 yet - at this point it can go the same way as 3 or they can make things right again.


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## MFB (Nov 17, 2014)

wankerness said:


> Be careful with it, the first season is almost intolerably awful for several episodes (there are a couple solid episodes in the first season but by and large it's very bad unless you like to watch Dylan McDermott angrily jack off in front of a window) and might sour you on the whole thing. Be aware that the seasons have nothing to do with each other besides some shared cast members and thus if you hate a season you can just skip to the next one to see if you like that one more since there's no reason at all you need to see season 1 to understand season 2, 3 or 4.
> 
> 1: Haunted house crap, takes place in the present with a bunch of flashbacks, tons of murder and ghost rape and whatnot, I mainly couldn't deal with it cause basically none of the characters were sympathetic apart from maybe the main woman, the two teenagers in particular are like fingernails on a blackboard every second they're on screen
> 
> ...



Thanks for justifying everything I've thought about this show so far. I tried to watch season 1 and 3, and found both to be absolute garbage. This one just seems to be more of the same, and I wonder how it keeps going on despite it just being so terribly bad.


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## wankerness (Nov 18, 2014)

vilk said:


> That old bitch gets entirely too much airtime even though she's one of the worst actresses on the show. Season one was good because she was just kind of a complimentary character but .... she basically ruined Season 3 just by having so many scenes, which would otherwise have been a kickass season.
> 
> I think season 3 is arguably even cooler than seasons one or two, it's just horribly obstructed with Jessica Lange scenes that simultaneously bore me and gross me out because they try to make this *65 year old woman * into a sex-oriented character.
> 
> I basically stopped watching this new season seeing as how the first two entire episodes revolve around her new terrible german accent.



Mannnnn oh man. Jessica Lange is the only thing the show had going for it in the first season and she was definitely the highlight of season 2. She's a bit more wasted here than in the first two seasons but it's great watching one of the best actresses of her generation ham it up to no end in such delightful trash. She's great in the earlier seasons, this season they're just not giving her much to do besides the accent and some crummy musical numbers (note: the musical number in season 2 is one of the best things ever). I can't believe you think she's "one of the worst on the show." That's like, I dunno, watching Crazy Heart and going "it sure was good besides that Jeff Bridges guy, he really ruined it." Well, not that bad, there are some other really good actors on the show, especially Sarah Paulson, but yeah. I'm chalking this up to AGEISM!!


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## wankerness (Nov 18, 2014)

MFB said:


> Thanks for justifying everything I've thought about this show so far. I tried to watch season 1 and 3, and found both to be absolute garbage. This one just seems to be more of the same, and I wonder how it keeps going on despite it just being so terribly bad.



Are you saying you skipped season 2? It's well worth watching even if you hate 1 and 3 imo. Unless you're a woman, in which case you probably should never watch it.


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## MFB (Nov 18, 2014)

wankerness said:


> Are you saying you skipped season 2? It's well worth watching even if you hate 1 and 3 imo. Unless you're a woman, in which case you probably should never watch it.



I just started watching "Californication" but once I plow through all seven seasons of it, I'll give Asylum a watch. 

The big thing that grabbed me was as you said, characters to root for. NONE of the tweeny, spoiled fvcktards from Coven were worth rooting for and season one had the same problem.


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## vilk (Nov 18, 2014)

Ok, though I do not personally like Jessica Lange, I would also call it the writer/producer's fault for giving her so much air time. Like I said, I thought the level of Jessica Lange in season one was just right. But honestly I get so sick and tired of not just her but her STORY in season 3 with the Axe-man. Yeah it's interesting as an idea to have romance between a witch and a ghost, but the way those scenes progressed was just so ....ing slow and boring and also kinda gross for aforementioned reasons (she's an old ass grandma and constantly on about sex and being sexualized). Maybe I'd be all about it if I were an old man.


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## wankerness (Nov 18, 2014)

vilk said:


> Ok, though I do not personally like Jessica Lange, I would also call it the writer/producer's fault for giving her so much air time. Like I said, I thought the level of Jessica Lange in season one was just right. But honestly I get so sick and tired of not just her but her STORY in season 3 with the Axe-man. Yeah it's interesting as an idea to have romance between a witch and a ghost, but the way those scenes progressed was just so ....ing slow and boring and also kinda gross for aforementioned reasons (she's an old ass grandma and constantly on about sex and being sexualized). Maybe I'd be all about it if I were an old man.



It's kind of refreshing to have an older woman that has something to do other than be a sexless crone! It's sorta sad, too, though, since I grew up watching her in King Kong, back when she was probably the most beautiful woman alive. Anyway, I haven't watched season 3 so maybe her role is really grating and bad.


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## asfeir (Nov 18, 2014)

Still, That scene with that spoiled brat shouting "howdy doodie" is great


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## MikeH (Nov 18, 2014)

Watching it regularly. I'm kind of conflicted about how they're trading story value for shock value as the seasons progress. I started watching because it was shocking and sort of grotesque. Now they have a small amount of shock value, but focus a lot on the story. For some, that would be seen as a win, but I still think they could continue developing a deep storyline without sacrificing the parts that drew me in to the first and second seasons.


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## ridner (Nov 20, 2014)

I didnt see last night's but I hope they focus less on Dandy - he is annoying!


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## Black Mamba (Nov 20, 2014)

ridner said:


> I didnt see last night's but I hope they focus less on Dandy - he is annoying!



Ha; he's my favorite character! Also, for those who are unaware, AHS will return in two weeks on Dec. 3.


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## UnattendedGolfcart (Nov 21, 2014)

I've seen seasons 1 and 2 and I'm watching season 4 now. I'll probably start 3 after my Thanksgiving break. I like season 1, but it feels like I watched it so long ago so I can't remember it perfectly. I absolutely loved season 2, I thought it was so depraved and dark and lived up to the title American Horror Story. Season 4 is my least favorite so far, I personally find it to be really slow right now. You can tell there's more development going on that's going to lead to more climactic stuff, but it feels a bit boring to watch at times.

Jessica Lange is so awesome to me, again I thought she did best in season 2 because her character was the most filled out out of all of the characters she's played in my opinion. Season 4 feels like the characters don't have as much going for them individually. Sarah Paulson seems so uninteresting right now but in Asylum (season 2) I constantly wanted to watch her character. Same with Evan Peters and Lange.

I'm hopeful that season 4 will end up doing better, but right now it's playing out to be a drama and not a horror show. That's okay, but it just feels rather hollow in comparison to everything I've seen so far.


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## wankerness (Dec 15, 2014)

I watched 3 this weekend since they recently added it to Netflix. Gotta say, I liked it a lot more than season 1 and this current season. It's nowhere near as good as 2 ended up being, but that almost seemed like an accident where they were just throwing crazy stuff at the wall until some of it started to stick and they realized there were actually themes to explore there. Season 3, on the other hand, seemed to be trying really hard to deal with racism, but never managed to pull it off. Here it felt like the theme was the idea before the crazy stuff, and the show suffered for it a bit. However, I really liked watching Madison for the first several episodes (she got boring in the last two episodes) and Jessica Lange was a hoot as usual, Angela Bassett gave a great dragon-lady performance and Misty was just so adorable it hurt, she was definitely my favorite character. I was really annoyed with the last couple episodes where


Spoiler



she first gets locked in a box and then unceremoniously dissolved


 and we go back to the characters the show seems to have decided are REALLY important: the excruciatingly bland Zoe and Kyle and their even more bland relationship, and the goddam Axe Man and his undying love for Jessica Lange. Die in a fire, axe man. 

They just really didn't seem to know what they were aiming for in the last couple episodes. The last episode in particular was truly awful. I barely made it through it. The opening with the Stevie Nicks video filmed in super-80s style was amazing, but nothing else about it was good at all. I hated the focus on Zoe and Kyle so much, Kyle is seriously completely without a personality and Zoe barely has more of one, she just has her annoying little boy face that is incapable of any expression other than confusion. Argh. She's fine in the first bunch of episodes where she is sort of the innocent of the group, but by the end she doesn't even serve that purpose and is just a void of blah.



Spoiler



The resolution of the Madison situation via strangulation and then apparently being whisked away by the creepy butler guy that wants to play dolly with her was wayyyyy too boring and abrupt for how colorful her character had been.



Frances Conroy is the single most aggravating actress on the face of the earth. Her whiny little voice is just like fingernails on a chalkboard and I hate her in everything I see her in. She's usually SUPPOSED to be aggravating, but man, she's way too good at it. She's like Joffrey without being funny. Though I did like the theremin playing.

But yeah, overall, it was definitely a fun watch and is making me wonder how bad this season is. I definitely remember huge outrage over season 3 being awful, but it was way better than this current season, which definitely lacks the craziness level of the previous three for a bunch of boring grandstanding about "FREAKS ARE PEOPLE TOO!!!" every episode and more dire attempts at character development. Plus, no Lily Rabe! She's such a goddam delight in season 3 and was one of the most distinctive cast members of the first three seasons, I'm surprised she wasn't in this one. Especially since they got Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett and Sarah Paulson back, all of whom actually appear in classy stuff now and then. 

Oh, google has just revealed that Lily Rabe is actually going to be on the show next week. Thank gawd.


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## FILTHnFEAR (Dec 18, 2014)

I don't think I made it past the 2nd episode of the 1st season.

Several people keep telling me to give it another chance, though.


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## vilk (Dec 18, 2014)

The first season is_ supposed _to be hokey. Just like a real horror movie generally has a certain element of "hokey-ness". I would say to approach watching this show (the first season at least) in the same way that you'd approach watching an actual horror movie. It's not that deep. It's not that confusing. It's just creepy or graphic or suspenseful and kind of only enjoyable for the moment. I'm saying this as a positive thing.


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## FILTHnFEAR (Dec 18, 2014)

^^^

Yea, a friend was talking about how much she loves it the other day. 2 episodes in isn't very far I guess. I'll have to give it another shot.


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## Steinmetzify (Dec 18, 2014)

I really liked season 1....it was different and shocking and pretty good, plus hot maid and Connie! They've pretty much all gone downhill for me after that. Someone said it up above, story developed over shock, and as a horror series I just don't care anymore. I don't think it's possible to maintain it, really...you can only shock someone with the same thing once. First season was great in that there wasn't anything like it on TV, 2nd was ok, 3rd was more WTF to me than anything especially with Stevie showing up(big fan, but cmon)?! 

I made it three episodes into this season and quit.

It's called American Horror...there's no horror. Shame too...thought it started out as a really strong series and now to me it's coasting...I'm not really that fickle of a TV watcher either...if it entertains me then it works for me. This just doesn't anymore.


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## wankerness (Dec 19, 2014)

Season 1 is REALLY bad besides one or two episodes towards the end (the one with the big reveal regarding Lil' Miss Angst in particular). It's way more messy, ridiculous and offensive than this new season, though, so it will probably appeal more to certain types.

Season 2 is some kind of bizarre masterpiece and is easily the best this show has done so far.

Season 3 has a bad rep, but I found it very enjoyable before the horrendous last two episodes. It's nuts and it's all over the place but many of the characters are really fun to watch, which is more than I can say for season 1. If they'd removed Taissa Farmiga and Evan Peters from the back half of the season and focused on the characters with personalities I think it could have rivaled 2.

This current season started out promisingly but has really devolved into a crappy attempt at a serious show since they


Spoiler



got rid of the clown.


 The last few episodes in particular have just been misery fests that haven't done the character-building necessary for me to care. Last night's episode was one of the worst yet, just the same couple of miserable "heart-tugging" string chords OVER and OVER while we get tons of mawkish Pepper crap which is just trying to extract tears right and left that the show hasn't earned. Though I was overjoyed to see Lily Rabe again (she was the best part of season 3 for sure). It ends with a weird zoom forward, but given how clumsily the show's played around with fast forwards and resets and "heh, JUST KIDDING that death scene didn't really happen!!!" who knows what will stick by next week.


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## hikizume976 (Dec 19, 2014)

struggled through season 1, didn't make it through the end.

Decided to give it another chance with season 2. Glad I did. Best one in my opinion.

Season 3 was good too.

Struggling with season 4, to me it seems like it relies too much on shock value.


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## ridner (Jan 20, 2015)

Freak Show is not as good as I was hoping for. the premise is good but the follow through is lacking. the last few episodes have me totally bored. honestly keep forgetting the show is on and then I am looking through my DVR recordings like "oh - I have an episode of that to watch"


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## bostjan (Jan 20, 2015)

I've watched Seasons 1, 2, and 4. I skipped season 3.

Season one was okay to me. It was pretty straight-forward, and had plenty of psychological stuff going on, which I enjoyed.

Season two (this opinion will be unpopular), to me, was overly ambitious. I thought it was spectacular at first, but then they went one step too far with the freaking [spoiler aliens [/spoiler] ! Other than that, all I could say was "wow!"

The current season, IMO, is "good." I wouldn't even say it's beter than the first season, though. I think they've taken too many cues from GRR Martin and decided to continually kill off the main antagonists and protagonists too early in the show. I'm not against killing off characters, but at least let me spend enough time with the character to get acquainted first.

I think that the only season I would enjoy watching a second time through would be season two - there was just so much going on, and there was a good balance of thrills and drama. I'll certainly give season 5 a chance, assuming there will be one.


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## wankerness (Jan 20, 2015)

The last two episodes of Freak Show were particularly bad. "Oh, let's introduce a new main character in the last three episodes, make him the main focus of two episodes in a row, and have him kill off a major character really abruptly and arbitrarily without giving them a proper send-off despite tons of time spent on them for the rest of the season!!!" BAD. Seriously, the set-up for that last death was groan-worthy, it was immediately obvious where it was going, it didn't develop organically at all. 

And clearly the last episode will be back to being the Dandy hour. I can't really stand him, but at least he was the focus of most of the season, besides the last few episodes. 

Season 2 is the only one that didn't feel completely haphazard, it crammed everything and the kitchen sink into the plot but the characters actually developed somewhat and the plot didn't seem like they were making it up every week.


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## Black Mamba (Jan 20, 2015)

I haven't watched the previous seasons (got some catching up to do) but I've enjoyed Freak Show quite a bit and am looking forward to the finale.


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## MikeH (Jan 21, 2015)

It has not maintained my interest very well this season, but I've felt obligated to watch it. I'm really hoping season 5 is going to be as good as they say.


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## Black Mamba (Jan 22, 2015)

Enjoyed the finale, look forward to next season! Hopefully, Finn Wittrock returns; great actor.


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## wankerness (Jan 23, 2015)

Finale was dumb, it was like three sections, none of which were interesting, and a long undeserved "inspiring" musical montage to yet another goddam David Bowie song sung with a bad German accent. Barf. The massacre was so lame, with this show you'd expect at least some creative deaths, but nope, none! I hated the last few episodes of this season and think that besides the first few episodes with the clown and then the Pepper episode that this was the worst season yet.


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## crg123 (Jan 23, 2015)

Yea this season was especially bad. I mean the last one was basically drama with witches this one wasn't even interesting. I can't believe they ended it in such a boring way. I was waiting for an awful twist of fate but nothing. No edge anymore apparently. The dandy "massacre" wasn't horror it was just some sociopath just killing people while humming a tune even worse no witty lines ala "American Psycho." Which I think could have saved that scene.

Edit: Yea the accents were pretty terrible. I think the worse was Kathy Bates' scottish (?) accent. Jessica Lang's was pretty bad but mostly when singing Bowie lmao. 

I agree with wankerness about the Pepper episode being on of the better ones. I don't know if I want to watch any more of this after these last two turds. Its a shame because I liked the first season and the second season (besides the weird alien's thing they threw in near the end) so much.


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## bostjan (Jan 23, 2015)

Finale was pretty good, IMO. No big twists nor surprises, though, to me. I had kind of expected something.

They kind of left loose ends with Stanley and Chester, but I was okay with that.


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## Triple7 (Jan 24, 2015)

All the seasons start out really strong, but always manage to fall apart by the end. I always seem to lose interest half way through. All seasons except the second one, that was a really good season.


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## ridner (Jan 26, 2015)

finale was weak


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