4.7: Test of Strength
--First of
all...my five-year-old laptop is dying, as Apple products generally
do when they reach the age at which Apple wants you to pay them more
money. While I pursue various solutions and/or scrounge for a new
computer, I'm using my boyfriend's. This post and possibly the next
few will be my “Notes in Exile.” In case anyone cares.
--Now, then.
Metaphors galore. Last week, the spinning bullseye stood in for the
unpredictability of life itself. This time around, it was the famous
sideshow attraction where you pound a button with a hammer and try to
ring the bell. It tests your physical strength. It's how men attempt
to prove themselves to their wives, girlfriends, secret mistresses,
whatever. In Freak Show, the
only guy who can ring that bell is Dell Toledo. What he may not
realize is that a test of strength refers not merely to the brawn,
but also the mind and soul. How strong a man are you on the inside?
How can your character withstand certain moral challenges? This
episode handed Dell a huge, whopping chance to redeem himself. He
did, but not in the ways that mattered. And after teasing us by
fake-killing half its cast, Freak Show finally
stuck a dead freak in a jar for real. And it SUCKED.
--For once, we didn't get much of the Motts. Jimmy's ominous arrival
at their manor last week was a fakeout, as he seemed to be in no
danger. He tried to talk Bette and Dot into returning home – and
succeeded, after Dot discovered Dandy had snooped in her diary. Jimmy
also realized that, quite possibly, Dandy was the other dude in the
clown mask on Halloween night. They left, and Dandy was so upset that
his entire face appeared to be trying to hornk itself up his nose.
Now, however, Bette's ego is out of control and she wants more of the
high life: blonde ringlets, caviar, comedy routines. Bette is, quite
frankly, a dingbat, and Dot knows it, so she spearheaded a blackmail
scheme, using Bette as a tool to try and force Elsa into kowtowing to
the twins' wishes. In Dot's case, she wants to skim half the ticket
money so she can surgically banish her sister. As before. Tease.
--For some reason, Stanley is no longer concerned that Esmerelda
ain't really onboard any more. He's got a new plan. After spotting
Dell at the gay bar, Stanley initiated the second blackmail scheme of
the episode, confronting the big galoot and demanding that he snuff a
freak, else his man-chasing ways be exposed. I have no fucking idea
why, but Dell chose Amazon Eve as his target. Yeah, Dell, go after
the eight-foot-tall transgendered powerhouse. Great plan. Awesomely,
Dell got his ass kicked halfway to Miami...and, worse for him, Ethel
and the other ladies decided to straight-up black widow him in the
dead of night. Ethel maybe had reason, for she and Desiree dropped in
on their kindly doctor friend to find he'd killed himself. And his
daughter, full of anguish and rage, blamed the freaks for her dad's
demise and kicked them out. It was a moment of utter injustice, and
it opened the floodgates for another Kathy Bates Emmy Award moment,
as Ethel whimpered about all the evils of the world, all the rotten
shit that life continues to dump on her. The target of her tirade,
Jimmy, didn't get it...or didn't seem to.
--Jimmy had a lot going on this week, and I'm rather relieved that he
didn't once mention Meep. (Though he did growl through some Nirvana.
A lot of people hate this season's musical interludes, but I kinda
like their offbeatness.) He tried to calm down the vengeful women,
and then he confronted Dell himself. They went to a bar, and the
problem is, when two guys go to a bar, bromance often occurs. Nothing
like liquor to erode a man's mettle. Drunk and garrulous, Jimmy had
no clue what father-son bonding felt like, and so didn't realize he
was doing it. Or did he? In the alley outside, Dell considered
braining Jimmy with a brick, making him the dead freak delivered to
Stanley's greasy paws. But then Jimmy revealed that he'd figured out
Dell was his father. And he just wanted Dell to confirm it. Dell did.
I liked this so much better than the stereotypical “shocked
revelation” scene. It also led to Dell and Jimmy doing a raucous,
drunk double act. I suspect many actors secretly hope they'll get to
play shit-faced at some point in their careers. So Dell's a real dad
now! Can he clean up his act? Well........
--Before
I get to the tragedy, let's briefly touch upon the random subplot of
randomness. Penny wants to be with Paul and the freaks for good, and
because most parental figures on AHS are
over-the-top terrible in some way, her daddy said, “Okay!” and
got a tattoo artist to turn Penny into an alligator girl. So what?
She hated her old life anyway, and somehow I doubt Paul will care if
his girlfriend's a bit inked up. I kinda like her with scales.
--Also, Elsa and Dot started up a secret comminique, re: Bette is an
irritating problem that should be taken care of. But then Elsa told
Stanley about all this, and Stanley's inner monologue went: I can
snatch and formaldehydify the twins with Elsa's blessing, just like
that? Bonanza! Ahh, but Ethel seems to have overheard. Tease.
--This
show has characters I hate because they do shitty things, like Elsa.
It has characters I hate because they do shitty things and
are badly-portrayed, like
Monsignor Howard from Asylum. And
then it has characters that do shitty things and that I know I should
hate, but can't bring myself to, because I see the pain in their
eyes. Dell is such a character. He is so, so torn. Scared of his
newfound tenderness toward Jimmy. Stuck in his macho rut, unable to
understand his homosexuality. Hating himself. Hating the people who
he thinks mock him. He could have fixed everything this week. Here is
what I wanted to happen: I wanted Dell to go to Ethel and the ladies
and admit that Stanley had blackmailed him. Tell them everything, so
that the freaks could give Stanley the horrible death he richly
deserves. Instead, Dell snuck into Ma Petite's tent, sweetly gave her
a beautiful new dress, and then, his face haggard with self-loathing,
killed her. Ma Petite is dead and in a jar, and this time...this time
it's real. Why can't I hate Dell? What he just did was unforgivable.
And yet...and yet...there is good in that man. I hope, I HOPE, he
will accept enough of it to atone in some small way. Somehow.
--Unless, next week, Ma Petite isn't really dead! Jesus...I hate that
she died, but if they fake us out one more time, I will go all Angry
Ethel on their asses.
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