American Horror Story Recap: ‘Show Stoppers’ Slice Slice, Stab Stab! [Episode 12]

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We begin the second-to-last episode with greasy Stanley arriving at the farewell dinner to celebrate Elsa’s move to Hollywood. Elsa toasts Chester for taking over her carnival of curiosities, but asks him to leave so the original family may have a few  moments alone. This should have been Stanley’s cue to leave seeing as he’s not family. Elsa toasts Stanley as a big, silver present is rolled out to him. Inside, the head of the museum curator is in a jar. A quick flashback is shown of Desi and Maggie stabbing the woman in the back. Knives are then thrown at Stanley, and he’s hit, but before making a run for it, Stanley tells the gang that Elsa killed Ethel. The freaks close in on ole Stanley.

Jimmy is tucked away in the same shack the twins were stashed in weeks earlier. He’s mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. Jimmy calls Maggie a slut and tells her to rot in hell. Maggie professes her love and says they can still run away together to New York. (Yeah right, it’s because of you his hands are in a jar, bitch!) In walks a stranger. It’s Massimo the kind doctor who saved Elsa’s life and crafted her new legs. Actually he’s The Axman from Coven with a German accent, but he’s there to help Jimmy.

The twins are having sex with Chester in their tent but he’s having trouble finishing the job, what with Marjorie watching and commenting on his performance. Dot and Bette ask to remove her and surprisingly Chester agrees, knocking Marjorie to the floor. After the deed is done, Chester apologizes to Marjorie, but she is pissed and wants the twins gone.

The freaks are plotting Elsa’s demise. Everyone believes that she killed Ethel. Paul the Sealboy is ready to the lead the revolt which probably means he will die soon. Over at Bette and Dot’s tent, Dandy strolls in. This is a humbled, polite, normal Dandy who tries to tell the twins what his P.I. found out about Chester, but the twins won’t hear it. Dandy leaves the extremely thick folder of information and graciously leaves. How is it that now Dandy can control himself, when all those other times he couldn’t? Where did his insatiable appetite to kill go? Sigh.

Elsa visits Jimmy to give him a shot of something, but it’s really just an excuse for the flashback of Massimo. He tracked down the men that butchered Elsa and murdered each of them, but the leader, a doctor who resembles a young James Cromwell, the creepy doctor from Asylum, shoots him first and captures him. Massimo was tortured repeatedly by this man and now has lost his soul because his testicles were zapped with a battery charger.

Chester is having his first meeting with the freaks as the new owner, going over the line-up. His magic act will be the finale and as a twist, Bette and Dot are going to get into the box to be sawed in half. They so, “Oh, no we’re not” and walk off. Maggie, who is on a mission to save the world, volunteers to be Chester’s assistant. As she climbs in the box, Chester has flashes of his dead wife’s ex-lover criticizing him. He proceeds to saw Maggie in half, separating the boxes, blood and guts falling onto the floor. Guess she won’t be running off to New York with Jimmy. Desi’s advice is priceless, “Steal her jewelry and bury the bitch.” Words to live by. Chester runs off to his tent, following Marjorie, and stabs her to death for making him do that.

Amazon Eve delivers the news to Jimmy that Maggie is dead. Eve tells him that Elsa is next. Jimmy has no reaction. On the table is the sketch of his new hands and fingers. Eve wishes him a nice, normal life.

Back at the campgrounds, Dot and Bette tell Elsa about the plot to kill her. After all Elsa’s done to hurt them, I’m disappointed by their betrayal to the other freaks. Bette and Dot say it’s because Elsa saved them, but that was so long ago. And we’ve already seen the Life magazine cover with Elsa, so we know she gets away.

The freaks are organized and ready to kill. To prove it, Desi breaks a glass bottle after chugging the alcohol. With knives and clubs, the freaks storm the castle, but the queen is gone. Elsa is waiting in her car. Dandy pops in and hands her a large bundle of money. She hands him an envelope. Dandy is now the new owner of  Freak Show.

Chester runs into the police station, hysterical, carrying a wrapped package in his arms. He wants to report the murder of a young lady and places the blanket on the ground. When the police unwrap the blanket, they find a wooden dummy. Chester begs for the electric chair.

The following day Dandy arrives to introduce himself as the new owner. Finally, he is in show business. As Dandy takes a bow on stage he hears mumbling. He goes backstage and finds Stanley in coop. He is now the human chicken, and officially a freak.

Massimo delivers Jimmy’s new hands. Jimmy says they’re perfect. We don’t get to see until after Jimmy puts them on and holds them up. They are prefect replicas of his lobster claws. Who needs normal.

Things to Ponder for the Finale:

Will Chester be committed to Briarcliff for turning in a murdered doll to police?

Will we learn if there is any “blood” relations between Dandy and Bloodyface?

With an obvious connection being made to Asylum, will aliens be involved in the Freak Show finale?

And finally, I have to point out, when Elsa was the supreme nun, Sister Jude, at Briarcliff, perhaps we wouldn’t have noticed her wooden legs, but once she became an inmate, we most definitely would have. With Briarcliff’s propensity for cruelty and Sister Eunice’s devil possession, no question they would have taken her legs away and made her crawl around.

See you next week for the finale. I’m sure it’s going to be freaking great!

 

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