American Horror Story: Freak Show Recap “Edward Mordrake Pt 1”: Yes, More Singing

In the latest American Horror Story: Freak Show recap, there’s another song and dance number, Emma Roberts arrives and we meet a mystical murderer named Edward Mordrake…

By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer

It’s clear after three episodes of American Horror Story: Freak Show that creator Ryan Murphy misses his previous show “Glee” already.

The new series set in a freak show carnival has two themes thus far — creepy clowns and a hell of a lot of singing. The debut episode had Jessica Lange singing David Bowie. The next with Sarah Paulson belting out a little Fiona Apple. And in episode three we’re back to Lange again as she sings a Lana Del Ray tune. Why are they singing songs from recent times when the show is set in 1952? Why does every episode have to feature a musical performance like this is Saturday Night Live all of sudden?

I wish I could explain.

I will say this season hasn’t captured my attention yet, nor has it frightened me in any way. I’m not afraid of clowns so the instant chills some are feeling with Twisty the Clown roaming around town isn’t generating a great deal of fear and this week’s inclusion of the kid off American Beauty as two-faced Edward Mordrake seemed more comical than terrifying. The characters this season seem two-dimensional at best and the maniacal killer is currently being out scared by a pompous, entitled brat who dresses up like Michael Myers when he was five years old.

Maybe I’m wrong? Maybe the season will pick up as the weeks move forward. That said, let’s get into the recap for the latest episode of American Horror Story: Freak Show titled “Edward Mordrake Pt 1”.

The Collectors

This week finally saw the debuts of Emma Roberts and Denis O’Hare as con artists Maggie and Stanley, who were trying to dupe the American Morbidity Museum with a fake sasquatch fetus to score some cash. The local scientist on hand sniffs out the grifters, but the curator commends them for quick thinking and an ability to get things done. She mentions that the museum is struggling to survive and they need new specimens to draw in the crowds (sounds familiar right?). The only problem is the last surviving freak shows are dwindling in number in favor of people sitting at home to watch Ed Sullivan. But if Maggie and Stanley can procure a freakish fetish item — like say the skeleton or entire preserved body of conjoined twins — the museum will pay them handsomely.

Thus Esmeralda, the crystal ball reading mystic is born (it’s really Maggie in blonde). She heads to our favorite Floridian freak show to get a job and immediately she lands on Jimmy’s radar because she’s pretty, he’s pretty, and of course sparks fly. It doesn’t hurt that Emma Roberts and Evan Peters are engaged in real life either. Of course, Bette and Dot (especially Dot) don’t take too kindly to a woman stepping in on their territory so they both give Esmeralda the cold shoulder right away.

Elsa appears ready to do the same until Esmeralda gives her a reading of her own. In reality, Maggie just looks around Elsa’s tent and sees sheet music and posters and a scrapbook and she knows right away she’s dealing with a fallen star who only wants to be placed back in the sky again. She tells Elsa everything she could possibly want to hear — including the news that a man would eventually show up ready to take her to the top again. Elsa’s convinced. She’s got the gift. You’re hired.

Later that night, Esmeralda makes a call back to a local dive hotel to her partner Stanley to let him know that she’s not comfortable with this job. The people really are freaks and she didn’t sign up to murder one of them to turn their corpse into cash. Stanley more or less says man the fuck up and go kill a freak. He’s got more to worry about right now — like a male prostitute dressed as a Viking who discovers Stanley is a freak as well, at least between the legs it seems.

It was good to have Emma Roberts back again. She was a real standout last season on American Horror Story: Coven so I’m glad she returned for Freak Show. Hopefully her con artist character can inject a little life into an otherwise dull season thus far.

Why Did I Look for Love in a Bottle?

Ethel visits a doctor this week and finds out that she’s got cirrhosis of the liver and only has about six months to a year to live, assuming she gives up alcohol all together and slows down on her consumption of meat. Ethel is brought to tears, but not by the news that she’s about to lose her life. No, she’s touched by the fact that the doctor who diagnosed her, treated her like a normal person and that’s more than anyone else has done during her life.

Back at the camp, she lashes out at Jimmy and basically calls him less than a man because he can’t protect the troop from the predators that are lurking out in the shadows. Jimmy’s already feeling pretty beat up following Meep’s murder so his mother slamming home the point doesn’t help matters much.

Over at the strongman’s trailer, Del is pumping iron and Desiree is putting on her best French maid outfit because tonight is Halloween. She tries to give her man a little treat, but he can only give her a trick. His strongest muscles aren’t anywhere in the groin region it appears and she’s a little fed up with all of his excuses about why he’s not performing these days. He erupts and she threatens to leave.

Following the fight with his wife, Del runs into Ethel and the two old lovers talk about their past relationship. He says he never loved her, she was just the woman closest by with the right parts to receive him. He does regret not playing a bigger part in Jimmy’s life, however, and Ethel begs him to look out for her son once she’s gone. What Jimmy can’t know now or ever is that Del is his father. Which pretty much means Jimmy’s going to find out Del is his father.

The Next Clown Over

With Jupiter shut down due to the curfew, it’s West Palm Beach who receives all of the local children to go trick or treating on Halloween night. Kids are running around dressed as pirates and fairies and of course a few random clowns. There’s even an older brother who dresses up as a clown because he knows his little sister is mortified of them (he’ll pay for that later).

Since nobody is willing to play in Jupiter, Twisty has taken his act to the next town over so he can find his next set of victims.

Back in Jupiter, Dandy Mott is ready to celebrate Halloween and so is his mother Gloria. She even has Dora the maid dress up as Woody Woodpecker because that’s Dandy’s favorite cartoon. When the petulant snob shows up, he’s pissed beyond words that his mother had the audacity to get him a Howdy Doody costume. He tosses it to the ground, breaks a few more things while mother rushes off to the store to find him a new outfit.

Upstairs, Dandy puts together his own costume — a clown costume like his new pal Twisty. He completes the attire with a plastic clown mask and heads downstairs to exact his revenge on Dora the maid. The scene is shot in a clear homage to John Carpenter’s “Halloween” where we see a point-of-view shot from behind Dandy’s mask and eyeholes. When he gets downstairs, he grabs a knife, but when he confronts Dora she’s not playing this shit. She calls his bluff. Dares him to kill her. Dandy drops the knife and stomps off like he just had his ball taken away. Needless to say when Dandy finally does get the murderous urge, Dora’s done for.

Back in West Palm Beach, Twisty shows up to the house with the little girl who has a mean older brother and he snatches the bully and runs out a window. That’ll teach you to tease your little sister.

Since Dandy was bored (again) and couldn’t kill the maid, he shows back up at Twisty’s bus of terror and torments the two kids he’s captured already literally poking them with a stick. He gets way too excited when Twisty shows up with another playmate. As I stated last week, Dandy seems like the one to really fear in this show thus far because he’s quickly developing his killer instinct and it won’t be long until the student surpasses the teacher. Outside of Twisty’s dirty clown getup, he’s really not all that scary, but Dandy is one rampage away from a temper tantrum and turning someone into a woman suit.

The Legend of Edward Mordrake

The featured story this week centers around a mythical figure known as Edward Mordrake. A nobleman from the 19th century, Edward was cursed by being born with a small face and a second personality attached to the back of his head. The second head would whisper to him and tell him bad things all the time. He tried to kill it, that didn’t work. He tried to join a freak show to be around people like him and that didn’t work either. Eventually, Edward went mad and killed everyone in his troop to appease the voice on the back of his head and now every Halloween if a freak show performs on that day, he will appear and take at least one soul back to Hell with him.

So all of the performers are enjoying the night off. Ethel won’t go near a stage on this day. But Bette and Dot think everyone should start practicing and stop celebrating, especially this soon after poor little Meep was killed.

Elsa is ready to perform, but first she has to get the two-headed dragon off her stage. Bette and especially Dot are enjoying this star making role they have. Dot even has dreams of one day sawing off her other half and going at it alone. Dot doesn’t seem to care much if her sister dies, so long as she can go on singing and performing. Bette on the other hand is scared that her sister is so ready to go on without her. When they have a disagreement with Elsa about who gets the headline spot, it’s clear this altercation is going to end badly down the road.

Elsa finally gets her time on stage and she performs “Gods and Monsters” by Lana Del Ray because why not. Her singing also summons Edward Mordrake to the tent and Elsa believes this is the mysterious man that her fortune teller spoke about earlier in the day. Before she can finish, however, he’s gone in a green mist in the night.

The next time he appears, Edward is in Ethel’s trailer and she knows he’s there to collect her. Before he will take anybody, Edward first has to hear their story. Ethel reveals her awful life where she was virtually a star at one point as part of a song and dance troop until she met Del and he convinced her that the only way a bearded lady should perform is by reading excerpts from Shakespeare in front of a crowd. Of course this plan fails miserably and they become destitute from the new show failing.

To make matters even worse when Ethel gets pregnant and is about to give birth to little Jimmy, Del sells tickets to local townspeople so they can see a freak right out of the womb. For an extra two bits you can even hold the little monster!

Edward hears all of this, but the voice on the back of his head says ‘not the one’ and he moves on and Ethel gets to keep her life for now. Edward is back again next week and he will claim at least one freak before he slinks back to hell. Who will he choose?

The only way to know for sure is to tune into the second part of the Halloween special for American Horror Story: Freak Show next Tuesday night at 10pm ET on FX.