So, I just got done watching episode three of American Horror Story Freak Show, and it was alright. This episode entitled “Edward Mordrake” held a lot of valuable information for next Wednesday, as it’s a to be continued episode. We were introduced to quite a few new characters tonight, so allow me to give you guys the scoop on our newcomers.

Maggie Esmerelda (Emma Roberts) & Stanley (Denis O’Hare): At the beginning of episode three, we meet Maggie and Stanley, a duo of con artists. We find them at a freak show museum, posing as a doctor with a “double degree from Harvard” and his lab assistant, looking to sell a fetus of a “baby Sasquatch”. Their lie is immediately seen through, considering that their “baby Sasquatch” is a baby goat with a cat jaw sewn onto it. Despite being caught in a lie, the director of the museum sees promise in the con artists. She offers them a hefty sum of cash if they can find her some new specimens for her museum, to help her declining business. The director mentions that she would find new displays for her museums from freak shows after the passing of a troupe member. The light bulb flickers on in Maggie and Stanley’s head, and they head off to Elsa’s freak show in Jupiter, Florida. To land an interview with Elsa, Miss Maggie poses as a fortune teller, complete with a crystal ball. Maggie is crafty – to give Elsa an authentic reading, she scans the room to give her hints of the freak show leaders past, present, and future. She spots sheet music and a newspaper clipping of a rival performer. With that information, Maggie tells Elsa that she had a past filled with jealousy and being over shadowed by other singers. But fear not, because our little fortune teller is full of good news, letting Elsa know that there’s still hope to accomplish her dreams of being a musician – and that a man with dark hair and piercing eyes will help her achieve that goal. We don’t know much about Stanley yet, minus the fact that he’s the brains of the con artist operation. Mr. Stanley also appears to have a fetish for naked twenty something year olds in viking hats. Denis O’Hare always manages to play the weirdos in AHS, that’s for sure!

Edward Mordrake (Wes Bentley): First of all, I am absolutely OBSESSED with this character. Having said that, let’s learn more about him. Edward Mordrake was an European aristocrat, and what a talented young man he was. Edward was a poet, an author, a musician, and born into wealth – he had it all. But in one regard, he had too much. Mordrake had the head of a demon attached to the back of his scalp. This demon would whisper things that only Edward could hear. “It whispered of things only spoke of in hell.” The evil being fed into his ear drums would cause him to commit horrific crimes, and nothing could stop the demon, because it would not die. There’s this amazing scene in black and white where we see Edward laying in a bath tub, submerging the back of his head with water to drown the demon. When he lifts his head, the smiling devil is still there alive and well. Eventually, Edward’s family sends him off to Bedlam. He would try to engross himself in his writings to silence the devil, but of course, it didn’t work. Mordrake slit the throat of the orderly dropping a meal off into his cell and off he runs to the freak show. He is no longer Edward Mordrake now, but The Two Faced Prince. (Love it!) I’m sure you guys can deduce that this isn’t a happy ending story of Edward running away to the freak show and finding peace. Quite the opposite. On Halloween night, Mordrake snaps. He murders every member of the troupe and then hung himself. When he was found, the demon face on the back of his head was still smiling. Legend has it that if any freak show member performs on Halloween, the spirit of Edward Mordrake will come to the carnival to claim a member for his undead freak show troupe.

There were two particular things in this episode that I LOVED, which include:

Ethel Darling’s back story: We learn a lot about the bearded lady, Miss Ethel Darling in this episode. Right from the get go we learn that Ethel has a year or less to live because of an extreme case of sclerosis in her liver, thanks to years of alcoholism. When the doctor reveals the bad news to Ethel she replies with, “well shit. Shit, shit, shit.” I mean, what more can you say? Her motherly love for Jimmy really shines through in episode three as well, because she thinks he’s going to need a male figure in his life after she passes on. While sharing some hooch with her baby daddy, Dell Toledo, she drunkenly pleas to him “can’t you be decent? Keep an eye on him, for christsake.” So we all know who sweet Jimmy’s new mentor is going to be! The most effective part of Ethel’s story however dates way back to her early days. We learn this new found information from our good friend Edward Mordrake. He has been summoned by Elsa’s rehearsal process, which she deems necessary due to Maggie’s fortune telling. Mordrake appears in Ethel’s tent, and basically interviews Miss Darling to see if she’s worthy to join him and the undead carnies. His devil scalp and himself prompt her to open up about her past grievances. She speaks of her early career in vaudeville, where she was a star. The bearded lady was a hit amongst the freak show, and she found love in Dell Toledo. He became her manager and suggested that she performed an act of culture, rather than a comedic song and dance. Ethel took his advice and began performing Shakespeare on stage, much to the audiences distaste. At this point, Ethel is broke and pregnant, so she can’t even go back to performing her original act in her current expecting position. However, Dell thinks of a…creative way to make a buck, to say the least. Advertised as the “Live Freak Birth” bystanders can pay to watch Ethel deliver her son. Once Jimmy is born, you can hear Dell peddling “two pence to hold the monster baby! He’s a freak!” At this point of the story, Ethel is in tears and states in regards to her son, “he’s never known anything but exploitation from the start.” So, so sad.

Dandy Boy: So it’s no secret that I absolutely ADORE Mr. Dandy. I really think his character is so cool. It’s just such a unique take on a villain, because that’s really what Dandy is shaping up to be. Dandy Boy is also the KING of sassafras! “SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE, DORA!!!” Episode three takes place on Halloween, which is Dandy’s favorite. His mother, Gloria decorates the house and is dressed in a most elaborate costume, while Dora, the maid is dressed as Woody Woodpecker, Dandy’s favorite cartoon. Under the guidance of Gloria, Dora made Dandy a costume. Unfortunately, our man child is very displeased with it. “HOWDY DOODY?!?!” He throws a temper tantrum and storms off to make himself a better Halloween look. We see Dandy cutting up his Howdy Doody costume to make his very own clown suit. He then goes off to his pal Twisty’s van that holds his hostages. “Trick or treat, trick or treat”, Dandy sings to them. He offers them candy corn as a treat but then immediately pulls his hand away, bearing a knife as his trick. While Dandy tries to stab our young boy and girl in the van, Twisty comes lumbering back to join the party. The more the merrier, because Twisty has a guest. A new hostage stolen straight from Suberbia. He’s a handsome teenage boy, who Twisty kidnapped right in his own home and in front of his sweet younger sister, with a phobia of clowns. “Where’s your brother?” the mother asks as she comes running to the little girls room when she hears screaming. “The clown took him,” says the little girl as she points at the open window. Dandy is very pleased with his new playmate that Twisty brought, and says with a wicked grin “more fun!”

There’s one final thing that I really REALLY need to get off my chest before I conclude this article, and that’s KATHY BATE’S ACCENT!!!!! Why, God?! WHY????!!! Miss Bates is SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!!! I don’t understand what she’s trying to accomplish with this voice, but it sounds AWFUL. The accent being used has absolutely no distinctive origin, so I haven’t the faintest idea of where Ethel even comes from. Not only that, but she falls in and out of her accent so frequently through out her lines, so some words are heavily accented while others sound normal. Kathy is an Academy Award winning actress, and I REFUSE to believe that this accent is the best that she has to offer. The voice being used is making her character come off as a joke, which I am so sad to say. Vocal coaches were very much needed this season, and this goes for Jessica Lange’s accent as well. Honestly, it would have been more effective for both of them to use their natural voice rather than put on a half assed accent. Just sayin.

Needless to say, I’m very excited for the second part of this episode next week. What did you guys love about episode three? What did you hate? How did you feel about the new characters that were introduced? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight! -Sarah