American Horror Story: Freak Show: “Edward Mordrake, Part 1” Review
American Horror Story Season 04 Episode 03
MORDRAKE IS LATE TO THE PITY PARTY.
Note: The following review goes into detail about the episode. SPOILER ALERT!
American Horror Story and its tall tales of creepy urban legends go hand-in-hand. Part one of “Edward Mordrake,” this year’s Halloween episode, takes on this season’s character of interest. Mordrake possesses a double-demoned-faced monster who has placed fear and superstition into the hearts of all the freaks. This makes them ambivalent to perform on Halloween night to avoid the return of his spirit, and his unavoidable pick of the litter of who will accompany him back to hell. Sounds action packed, huh? Well, it isn’t.
The writer’s and Ethel’s (who’s dying) convincing storytelling hyped up what was supposed to be a crazed, maniac ghost. Unfortunately, he’s a big disappointment. Elsa gave a laugh out loud performance of Lana Del Rey’s “Gods & Monsters” (great symbolism by the way) that summoned his soul back to Earth; the crowd didn’t go wild at all. The viewers were let down and led astray, seeing as how Edward Mordrake is a top notch gentlemen.
WHOMP. WHOMP. WHOMP.
We still don’t know what the Clown’s relevance is in the storyline, as he kidnapped yet another teenage boy to put in his hostage cage. The synchronization of events is mind numbingly boring, with cliche dialogue and less than terrifying scenes. By the time Esmeralda is introduced as a phony fortune teller, the show might as well be called American Love Story. Jimmy’s got a crush and Dot’s got a new bone to pick.
Dandy manages to be the most interesting and annoying character this week, as he’s been working up enough nerve to play in the big leagues since the premiere. Yet when his time to prove that he can also be a murderous clown comes to fruition, I don’t know whether he just checks out or if he realizes that his weapon of choice, a butter knife with a side of crazy people tears, isn’t all that intimidating, and it’s pathetic.
THE BREAKDOWN
The time to show us why we even watch this show is now. There are too many backstories and storylines that are taking too long to connect and too long to make sense of. So far, Season 4 has been suspenseful, at best. Where is the ruthlessness that has made this series’ fan base so vast? Where is the horror? The episodes have become slow and twenty minutes too long for no reason. Maybe “Part Two” will decide to put the pedal to the metal, or rather, put some heads on a platter. GET TO THE ACTION PEOPLE! Your audience forgot that it was Halloween and fell asleep.
Do you think Ethel will get killed off through natural causes early or make it to the end? Who will Dandy’s first victim be? How many times can you bring the dead back to life before it becomes boring? Comments are below.
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