Spoiler Alert! Recap and Review: Matt Bomer Falls Victim to an American Psycho in a Crowded FREAKSHOW

NOTE TO READER: This is not a recap, instead my Spoiler Alert! columns will serve as a more in depth critical review of specific episodes and shows as a whole. I always invite your participation in the discussion, so please feel free to leave comments below, or to reach out on Twitter @BWWMatt, just do me a favor and keep it civil, ok? Patrick Bateman would want it that way.

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When I was a child, I loved drawing pictures; despite the fact that it was very clear that I had little to no artistic ability in this arena, I continued to draw anyway. Whether it was a sunrise over a mountain with little "V" shaped birds flying towards the horizon, or a sunset over a beach with little "V" shaped birds flying towards the horizon, I kept drawing. However, every time I would get to the point when the picture had just enough detail, I would think of something else that it must have before it could be considered complete. So, I would add more pine trees on the mountains, or umbrellas on the beach, until my canvas piece of paper was so overcrowded with stuff, that it was hard to see the forest through the trees, often literally. This has been my major complaint about the genre-defining (and defying) anthology series AMERICAN HORROR STORY from the beginning.

This week's episode of FREAKSHOW served as a reminder that the show's strength is in its ensemble, as nearly every member of the main cast got at least one emotional moment to flex their acting muscles, and a few guest stars also had moments to shine as well. However, the episode also served as a reminder that the ensemble is the show's greatest weakness as well. Despite these touching, terrifying, and heart-breaking moments, there was so much jam-packed into the hour that it was hard for any of them to have any resonance, because there was little build-up, and even less conclusion to each of the countless conflicts.

There was so much going on in last night's episode that four of the hour's major characters didn't even show up until halfway through. Del, Bette, Dot, and guest star Matt Bomer's Andy all appeared after the first 30 minutes, meaning that we didn't have nearly enough time to empathize with what happened in the second half-an-hour.

This is especially true for Del and Andy, who have the more shocking developments during the episode. When we first find them, we learn that the reason Del wasn't at that night's show was because he has fallen in love with Andy, an artist who is supporting himself as a prostitute, trolling for customers at a local gay bar. While the fact that Del's sexuality is in question isn't much of a surprise, considering that he is married to Desiree, whom, until later in the episode, we assume is a hermaphrodite; what is surprising is how passionate Del is about Andy, since this is the first that their relationship is even hinted at. He talks about working up the courage to run away with him, how he has been skipping work to be with him, how thinking about Andy with other men drives him crazy. While Michael Chiklis acts the hell out of the scene, it doesn't land, because it has no backbone.

This fact is magnified when Del learns that Desiree is a "full-woman" and is leaving him and going to have cosmetic surgery to reduce her enlarged... "lady part." Yes, it is completely understandable that a man can be having an affair, but still be blindly possessive of his wife, but when these things are contrasted in such a short amount of time, it looks not like the emotions of a conflicted individual, but rather like rushed storytelling and unclear characterizations; especially when Del goes so far to stake his claim on Desiree that he breaks the surgeon's fingers.

Similarly, after Dandy purchases Andy's services, and leads him through the woods to Twisty's dungeon on wheels, we know that Bomer's not long for the FREAKSHOW. And while his death is bloody and gory, since we barely know him, it carries little more impact than Bonnie's boyfriend in the season premiere.

That all being typed, there are times when this disjointed storytelling can be incredibly effective; for example my heart started racing as the show opened and we saw Paul the Illustrated Seal floating in the tank at the American Morbidity Museum. We quickly learned that this was only the visualization of Stanley's sick plan to con and kill the members of Fräulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities, and not (yet) reality. This bait-and-switch was fresh in my mind when later in the episode we saw Stanley poison and then murder Bette and Dot with his pink cupcakes. As I was watching, I convinced myself that Michael Uppendahl and Jessica Sharzer (the episode's director and writer respectively) couldn't be employing the same misdirection again just 45 minutes later, but fool me twice they did; shame on me.

This show is designed for the storytelling-savvy viewer, the television watcher who is aware of horror and TV conventions. Jjust as the teenage couple on their first date are the perfect marks for traditional horror fare, we, the self-anointed TV intelligentsia are the perfect suckers for a show that regularly defies any and all expectations. We think that we can read a show's script like a map, pointing us to the final destination, no matter how off the beaten path it is; but with AMERICAN HORROR STORY, there are so many storylines in play at once, and plot points appear and disappear so quickly, it is nearly impossible to foresee what's going to happen next; which can be both exciting and frustrating.

Quotes of the Week
Elsa, after Stanley promises her a television show:
"I'd rather be boiled in oil than be on television."

Maggie, after reading Jimmy's palm, and warning him to leave town immediately:
"You're future's bright, I'm just not in it."

Desiree, explaining why she loves Del, despite his issues:
"I've always been a freak, but he made me proud of who I was."

Gloria, after Dandy blames her for making him a murderer:
"It's 1952, you can't just go around picking up vagrants and killing them. People are missed. I'll figure something out."

The Tattler Sisters, after Elsa promises to take them to the best seamstress in town:
Dot: "She's anglin' for something."
Bette: "Who cares? I'd love a new hat."

Desiree, after Del grabs her during an argument:
"You go on, do your worst. Once they change me down there, I'm gonna be too much woman for you anyway."

Dandy, as he prepares to murder Andy:
"I've got a keen idea. We turn our backs to each other. You take off your clothes and I take off mine. On the count of three, we turn around. Whatever magic happens... happens."

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

• I know Ms. Gloria blames it on affluent inbreeding, but perhaps punishments like being sent to his room for the rest of the day for murdering the family's housekeeper is the reason that Dandy became the spoiled psychopath that he is.
• As Elsa reprised "Life on Mars?" and was pelted with popcorn, the way the scene was shot seemed to suggest that we were supposed to sympathize with her, and her reaction was heart-breaking, but the fact that she put herself in the star spot, and effectively buried the Tattler Twins out of pride and arrogance made me hope that someone in the audience had just happened to bring a rotten tomato.
• The momentary expression of joy that Desiree had when the doctor told her that she was in fact a woman, and able to bear children was quite touching. The moment was fleeting as she then heard the rest of his statement that she had miscarried, but for the first time, Angela Bassett was given the chance to bring some depth to the character.
• Between with his obsession with working out, narrating his murders, and killing naked, was it just me, or is Dandy anachronistically channeling Patrick Bateman? Could Dandy be the original American Psycho?
• Now that she knows that Dandy is on a killing spree, do you think Gloria will pay more or less than her initial offer-price for Bette and Dot?

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Did you think that the episode was a bit overcrowded? Please share your thoughts in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt. Also, don't forget to follow @BWWTVWorld on Twitter and Like us on Facebook for all of the latest TV news, reviews, and recaps.

Check out a sneak peek at next week's episode titled 'Bullseye':

Photo Credit: Michele K. Short | FX

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