season 4 episode 2 recap! time for plus horror 

A Strong Man Arrives – American Horror Story: Freak Show – Season 4 Episode 2 – “Massacres and Matinees”

Another morning rises on the freak show and on the radio they hear that the town is in an uproar over the recent murders, and a police officer and child who are missing. The cops are not happy and are out for blood.

Two detectives show up looking for Elsa. Elsa will not allow the men to look around the show grounds without a search warrant but they are welcome to attend a show. They inform Elsa that there won’t be any more shows because they are putting a curfew into effect for the town. Elsa asks if they are planning on arresting one of them. The detectives say no, but they have a stack of murders on their hands so her and her band of freaks better get used to seeing them until they find the killer.

The toy store clerk is looking for Mr. Hanley and is surprised by a toy robot covered in blood. The clerk follows the bloody tracks and we see the monstrous Twisty the clown hiding in plain sight in the store. The boy follows the blood trail and sees Mr. Hanley’s head on the shelf. Just then Twisty comes up behind the clerk and that is all he wrote for the clerk.

The freaks are enjoying a night off but Jimmy is not happy at all. He leaves the party and starts digging up the body of the man he killed. He is sorry for any trouble he has caused his friends and they tell him he did the right thing.  Jimmy decides that they will burn the parts. He thinks they just need the townspeople to get to know them and then they will see that they are normal folk like everyone else.

Dandy and his mother are having dinner and Dandy seems preoccupied. He argues with his mother over his recent situation with a girl and he yells that he did not touch her.  It seems he may have had a run in with the law over that situation but his mother was close with the police officer and was able to keep Dandy out of trouble.

Dandy is also upset that his mother won’t support him becoming an actor and he storms out of the dinner. The maid warns Gloria that she found some strange parts in the shed with fur on them and she mentions that the neighbor’s cat is missing, not to mention the people around town that have gone missing as well. Gloria tells her that Dandy had nothing to do with any of that.

Back at the show grounds, Dot, Bette, and the bearded lady are outside when a man pulls up in a car and he has a woman with him. They meet with Elsa and it seems they want to join her freak show. He explains that he and his wife, Desiree, are from a freak show in Chicago. He is Dell, a strong man, and Desiree is blessed with three breasts and has boy and girl parts, a hermaphrodite.

We see a flashback of him and Desiree three weeks earlier in Chicago. He caught some boy sleeping with Desiree and in a fit of rage he killed the boy. Elsa is concerned about the tempers strong men are supposed to have and Dell assures her that there is no trouble following them from Chicago. She tells them that the position is filled but he insists she place a contract in front of him and he will sign it. She gives him a once over and begins to think the show could use a strong male presence. It seems Desiree and Dell have a job.

Gloria is traveling down the road when she runs into Twisty and she asks if he does children’s parties, thinking he may be able to cheer Dandy up.

Dandy comes to Jimmy for help. He wants to join the show and he believes this is where he belongs. Jimmy doesn’t think this is a good idea. Dandy says he is one of them and he will prove it. Jimmy tells him he doesn’t realize how lucky he is and he should go home and count his blessings. Dandy is outraged and proceeds to slam his head on the steering wheel of his car.

Gloria is preparing to eat when she hears Dandy come in. She tells him that she has a surprise for him when she sees that he is bleeding. She asks what happened and he screams at her that he hates her and he hates his life. She insists that he come see his surprise and she introduces Dandy to the not so sweet Twisty waiting for him. A freaky stare down ensues.

Back at the show grounds Desiree is heading off for a shower and Ethel heads to Dell’s trailer. It turns out Dell and her are past acquaintances. She tells him that he is not welcome here and he better stay away from Jimmy.

We flashback to Jimmy as an infant and it seems that Dell is Jimmy’s father. He tells Ethel he didn’t come back for Jimmy. He explains that he is married now and he is now her new boss as well.

Bette and Dot are working on a singing performance, well Bette is, and Elsa stops them and tells them to try again, but it is just horrible. Elsa will have to find something else for her and Dot to do. Bette and Dot don’t want to just be stared at, they want an act. Jimmy suggests that Dot try and sing something. It turns out Dot has a voice.

Dell comes in as Dot is finishing her performance and he tells her that act will be great for tomorrow’s show. Elsa asks him if the curfew has been lifted and he says no, but they can put on a 3:00 matinee performance. Elsa refuses saying the show works best at night. That is when people come out to see freaks.  Dell seems upset by Elsa’s words. Desiree urges Dell to listen to her. Jimmy tries to calm Dell down but he pushes him away. Dell heads out telling them all that there will be a matinee show the next day.

Dandy is giving Twisty a puppet performance and he explains to Twisty that he needs a little diversion. Dandy notices the clown’s bag and he distracts Twisty with toys so he can get a better look in the bag. Twisty sees Dandy looking and knocks him over the head. Twisty leaves and we see that Dandy is following right behind him.

Jimmy and some of the other freaks show up at the local diner. The waitress asks them what they want and Jimmy explains that it is a diner, they are hungry, and would like to be served.

Jimmy reminds everyone to mind their manners while at the diner. A lady sitting nearby asks them if they can eat somewhere else because they are scaring her daughter. They are attempting to order when Dell, who is putting up posters outside, notices the freaks inside the diner. He comes in and asks them what they are doing there. Jimmy tells him that they are not doing anything wrong. Dell tells them to get back to the camp and he calls them stupid freaks. Jimmy gets upset and tells him to stop calling them that. Dell and Jimmy get into it and Dell beats Jimmy up.

In the woods, the woman and the little boy are trying to break out of the caravan Twisty is holding them in. Twisty returns to the caravan and Dandy is close behind. Twisty goes in and sits with the girl and the boy. He pulls a toy out of his bag for the boy. Just as the girl is clinging to a board she broke loose from the caravan, Twisty pulls out the head of the toy store clerk from his bag. She strikes Twisty with the board and her and the boy race out of the caravan. As Twisty regains his bearings we see why he wears a mask as his mouth is completely messed up.

The girl is racing through the woods when she runs into Dandy who grabs her and takes her back to Twisty, explaining that he has to do a better job of keeping his belongings locked up if they are to have any fun.

Meanwhile, Jimmy and the freaks make it back to the show grounds and Jimmy has one of the matinee posters in his hand. He goes to see Elsa and tells her about the posters. Elsa says she has reconsidered having the matinee shows. Jimmy warns her that Dell will tear them apart. She insist they need a strong man around and Jimmy tells her she already has one, admitting that he is the one who killed the cop because he was going to take the twins.

The next day at their first matinee showing, Dot and Bette are introduced and Dot gives an amazing singing performance, but I am not sure how Bette feels about that and Elsa seems to notice. During their performance Jimmy slips out of the tent.

The following day the police show up at the grounds and present Elsa with a search warrant to search the grounds for anything belonging to the police officer that is missing. The detectives claim they got a tip from an anonymous source that Dell may be involved.

Dell looks at Jimmy and tells him that there is no way they are going to find what he tried to hide in his trailer. Jimmy knows that Dell knows that he tried to set him up. It turns out that Dell saw Jimmy going into his trailer the prior day during Bette and Dot’s performance. He went in after Jimmy and took the detectives badge that Jimmy planted in his trailer and placed it in Meep’s trailer, which is exactly where the detectives find it. They take Meep away and Jimmy is distraught.

The cops put Meep in jail and he knows he is in danger as the prisoners gather around him. That evening at the grounds, Elsa goes to talk to Bette and congratulate her on her performance. Elsa seems to be trying to play Bette against Dot. She tells Bette that Dot is jealous of her and she wants what Bette has, and Bette mustn’t allow it. She leaves a knife beside Bette and leaves.

Ethel finds Jimmy drinking his woes away. She asks him what is going on. Jimmy tells her about Meep and that it is his fault. He explains that he just wanted Dell gone and she tells him to stay away from Dell. Jimmy tells her that he has to go tell the cops so he can get Meep out. He plans on confessing to the murder of the cop, but his mother doesn’t know what he is talking about as she is unaware that Jimmy is the one who murdered the cop. As he walks out of the tent he sees some men drop a bundle off the back of a truck, and when Jimmy open’s it he sees Meep’s body. Jimmy begins sobbing and screaming. The freaks come out and gather around him and Meep’s body.

What will happen to our freaks now that they have lost one of their own? Will Bette follow through with Elsa’s advice and end Dot?  What do Twisty and Dandy have planned for their prisoners? Be sure to tune in next week to see what lies ahead for this freak show.

Catch up on American Horror Story: Freak Show here!

A Strong Man Arrives – American Horror Story: Freak Show – Season 4 Episode 2 – “Massacres and Matinees” was last modified: October 15th, 2014 by

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