‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’ episode 9 review: Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson shine

Remember last season on “American Horror Story“? One of the biggest complaints that we had about it was that Evan Peters basically spent the entire season grunting and being incredibly violent. He did everything with this role that he could.

The beauty of this show, though, is how quickly things can turn on a dime. This season, Peters is getting to be someone completely different in Jimmy Darling, and also happens to be really amazing in the role. He had a series of emotional moments tonight, starting with conversations with the apparition of his mother Ethel. It was great to see Kathy Bates again! He felt the pain and regret there, and to make matters worse, he was becoming a drunk very quickly in the wake of his sorrow. He was spending most of his time indulging the heaviest member of the freak show, bringing Maggie’s heart, and then desperately trying to cling to the memory of his mother.

Then, there were the scenes with Bette and Dot. Sarah Paulson was fantastic here as we witnessed one of the most vulnerable romantic confessions out there from someone desperate and willing to be the perfect lover. This moment almost hurt Jimmy more; he didn’t want to break any hearts, but the truth was simply that he had feelings for someone else. He could help it.

Then, the final shoe dropped as Jimmy was arrested, and will likely start off the next episode behind bars. This stemmed from tonight’s fantastic Dandy storyline, which showed him basically flashing his butt, bathing in blood, killing countless people, and also proclaiming that he was a god. He kept the police from targeting him due to a very hefty payment, and instead, he pointed evidence towards Jimmy as the real culprit of these crimes, knowing full well that he already knew what sort of monster he is.

Sure, there are still weak parts of this show, namely that we don’t care about Elsa and Stanley very much at all. Also, the scene with Dell was almost eerie as he tried to take his own life, given what we saw from Michael Chiklis on another FX show this week.

“American Horror Story” is thankfully finding itself again, and after a dud of an episode last week, things are starting to come together. Grade: B+.

What was your take on this episode of “American Horror Story: Freak Show”? Share your quick thoughts and reactions now with a comment, and head over here to preview next week! Also, sign up to get some more TV scoop on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: FX.)