American Horror Story - Freak Show

Official thread for discussing season 4 of American Horror Story

 

I really look forward to seeing John Carroll Lynch as Twisty the Clown. He's an underrated actor and did a great job as villain Varlyn Stroud on Carnivale among other roles.

 

agreed!! He's a great actor, you've seen him in Zodiac too, right?

 

Absolutely! This guy shows up in a wide variety of roles and nearly always delivers. Aside from a couple disappointments (non-returning people), I think Season 4 has a pretty strong cast.

 

I was a bit underwhelmed by the season opener. Especially with the added running length. The CGI on the two-headed Sarah Paulson didn't really work (although the mini-girl was straight-up creepy....is she real???).

I'm only hoping that the slow opener means they're not gonna shoot their wad before mid season, like they have in the past.

 

Most definitely, Jyoti Amge.

 

I really didn't have a lot of interesting in watching this season until I heard some feed back, but I caved to curiosity and watched the premiere and was pleased with the outcome. Now I'm not going to hold my breathe and hope they will knock it out the park this season since the series has gone down in quality with each season, but I am willing to give this a chance and see where it goes.

 

I really liked the first episode ! Lots of perverse and creepy goings on, and the title sequence was a cool improvement, as is the music. Yeah I don't want to see the story run out of steam, but I am so interested to see where it's headed.

 

I thought the premiere was great, much better and stronger than last season. I loved that they spent a lot of time introducing these characters more fully. I loved the way they've done the twins's heads, the spilt screen and CGI is fantastic!

oh and that clown...

 

Really? I mean, it's better than Rosey Grier in The Incredible Two Headed Transplant (or was it The Thing With Two Heads?), but it looks really fake to me. I found it too distracting.

 

I'm with you on this one. When looking at her directing in frame it's very obvious the head on the right is CGI. It actually took me out of the story for moment it was so distracting. At least when looking at her from the side they kind of pull it off.

If anything she is, so far, making it believable that she is playing two different characters. Honestly I think Sarah Paulson has been the glue holding this show together since the second season. Sure, Jessica Lange is great and all, but lets be honest, she has played the same chain smoking, self centered cunt in three out of the four seasons of this series. At least Paulson has played a different part in each season. I think if she doesn't come back for the following season this series may be in big trouble.

 

AHAHAAHAH:lol: agree, jessica lange is amazing but that's just practically common knowledge at this point. i don't really critique her acting, because we all know she's good. sarah paulson has ALWAYS been my favorite actor on the show. she's amazing. zachary quinto was another favorite. it's too bad he couldnt be worked in this season.

 

I'm waiting for Angela Bassett. She was easily the best thing about Coven. I hope they don't waste Kathy Bates like they did last year. Easily one of the most evil characters ever on the show, but they ended up having her learn Black History from Precious. Sheesh.

 

I don't know why you think it looks so fake, it looks pretty seamless. Plus I love the split screen technique they use during her scenes. And Sarah Paulson's acting is fantastic, she's sure to grab an Emmy this season for it.

 

If Tatiana Maslany can't get an Emmy nomination for playing FIVE characters on Orphan Black, Sarah Paulson shouldn't get one for playing just two

 

I can definitely agree with that, but Paulson has been nominated twice (should've won for Lana!). Her performance just screams Emmy. As does Maslany's, but I can't understand why that show hasn't gotten the acclaim and awards it deserves.

Last night's episode was great by the way I have no idea where they're going with Twisty but it's definitely creeping me out, especially his paring with Dandy.

 

I thought this recent episode was the best of the season so far, and the first real "horror" episode of American Horror Story (Freak Show). As in, not a musical episode, although they threatened a musical number on us many times.

Everything I've disliked about Freak Show so far was either not present, or minimized. That's the musical sequences, the extended running times, and two-headed Sarah Paulson. In fact, I hope they give the musical numbers a rest for the remainder of the season, since the one true musically talented cast member has been offed (and without ever getting a song from her!).

I didn't expect the

Spoiler

Twisty the Clown

storyline to end so soon, but it's just as well since they gave him a sympathetic backstory.

 

Now that the season is over, any thoughts?

There were a few decent subplots, my favorites being the killer clown and the Lee Tergesen revenge plot, but for the most part it was another unfocused hot mess of a season. The show hasn't really been good since season one, I'm not sure why I keep watching.

 

I think it went out with a whimper instead of a bang. Worst season. Fun stuff, but no real story there.

 

IMO it was the least interesting. Still think season 1 had the most 'horror' and felt like it had the least amount of subplots. Jessica Lange is great but maybe it will be good to have her leave in order to have a more ensemble focus.