Well, with all of the death scenes that are "just kidding - a character is daydreaming" scenarios we've been dealt, Freak Show gave us torment and murder in this episode. We lost a beloved character, we saw the continuing moral decline of other characters...and (spoiler alert)...Dandy survived the hour. I'm so unbelievably sick of him. Additionally, there are several elements of the episode that are just plain silly. Here's where we are with "Test of Strength."
The Choice Is Yours
Jimmy arrives at the Mott mansion to "rescue" Bette and Dot. Gloria and Dandy maintain that the girls are not being held against their will, and Bette defends the strange mother and son duo by telling Jimmy how well they've been treated. She then calls Jimmy a liar because she totally bought Dandy's story about saving the kids from Twisty. "He's the real hero." Jimmy realizes that Dandy was most likely the other clown there that night and tells the twins they need to leave with him. Dot is ready to go and uses her thoughts to convince Bette to leave as well. As they walk away, Dandy does that scrunchy nose crying thing that has become a staple, and I just want to punch him in the face.
When we next see Jimmy, he's singing Nirvana's "Come As You Are." Yes, you read that right. During his performance (which Elsa is enjoying about as much as I am), we see clips of Penny tending to Paul the Seal Boy's wounds, Dell beating the shit out of a bartender while waiting for his no-show male prostitute lover, and Stanley setting his sights on his own male prostitute lover. Kind of a random place for a montage, but whatever.
Jimmy finishes his song, keeps his rage, and calls Elsa a liar. "We don't take orders from liars!!!" He reveals Bette and Dot and tells the rest of the group that Elsa had sold them to the rich family that had tried to buy them earlier. Dot tells everyone that the girls requested to go to Dandy's...that Elsa didn't get rid of them at all. What? Why is she covering for Elsa? And by the way, shouldn't Elsa be in Hollywood by now? No one seems concerned that the talent agent rarely pops up, and there's no real rush to get the ball rolling on this television career thing. Just sayin. Anyway, in exchange for keeping Elsa's actions a secret, the sisters successfully negotiate with her for more stage time and money. Bette also wants to become a comedienne and dye her hair blond. What the hell is happening with this show?
Elsa senses Dot's almost hostile animosity towards her sister. She gives Dot a note asking what her heart's desire is. Dot sends a note back to Elsa, requesting the services of the doctor in Chicago who recently performed the conjoined twins separation surgery. Later in the evening, Elsa dines with Richard/Stanley and tells him she needs him to locate this doctor. She wants to send the twins to Chicago and be rid of them. The fake talent agent suggests it would be easier to just kill them...out of "mercy." Elsa asks him if he's the type of manager who would kill for his client, then they laugh and move on to dessert.
Take A Rest
Desiree takes a very weak Ethel to the doctor's office and when they arrive, they see a "closed for business" sign on the door. They find his daughter inside (she's a rude bitch by the way) and she tells them the doctor took a hammer and smashed both of his hands, then blew his brains out. Okay, so that would be an incredibly impressive feat - he's skilled enough to smash one hand, smash the other with the already smashed hand, then somehow pull the trigger on a gun? No one finds this suspicious? Ethel and Desiree are both devastated...where else are they going to find a doctor who is so understanding and supportive of their abnormalities?
An Old Enemy
Penny, Paul the Seal Boy's lady love, sneaks home after caring for his gunshot wound that no one else seems concerned about anymore. Penny's dad is livid that she's been at the freak show all night and he's actually starting to seem a little crazy too. Penny says she's going back there for good as soon as she packs. She also tells her father he'll have to kill her to keep her from leaving the house again to be with Paul. Dad talks about his amazing reputation and how she is shaming him. He says he'll do what it takes to make sure "no one knows you belong to me." He means this literally...he has a tattoo artist on standby to ink the hell out of Penny's sweet face. She almost has a jungle animal print thing going. Dad also had her tongue forked...apparently he wasn't playing around with his threats.
As I Want You To Be
Back at the freak show grounds, Richard/Stanley approaches Dell and tries to blackmail him. He says he saw Dell at the gay bar. He pulls a gun on Dell and tells him that he won't out him...if Dell brings him a dead freak. So...my brain immediately says...Dell should just kill Stanley instead. Right? I mean, wait til Stanley isn't holding a gun...and just kill him. Apparently I'm off my rocker though because....
Dell first decides he's going to try to take out the Amazon Woman. Makes sense because, you know, she's the only person in the whole damn place that could kick his ass...which she does. The writers are really reaching here. Ethel is pisssssed when she finds out about this and Jimmy swears that he'll kick Dell's ass to the curb. When Jimmy approaches him, Dell decides he'll kill Lobster Boy instead. This doesn't work either because the two have a heart to heart and do some male bonding over a bottle of something. Jimmy gets drunk, throws up, tells Dell he knows Dell is his father. they share a hug...all is well.
In the end, Dell chooses to kill Ma Petite, which was really the most logical choice to begin with (other than Stanley). The poor thing escaped Maggie/Esmeralda's plan last week, but she was unfortunately living on borrowed time. Dell brings her a new dress to wear...so she immediately wants to hug him. I guess she has no idea that he tried to kill the Amazon Woman the night before? Dell picks her up and snaps her neck, and it's very hard to watch. He says "I'm sorry" when it's over, and the next time we see Ma Petite, she's on display at the morbidity museum. For real this time.
The episode ends there, and I have to say that my interest in this season is starting to wane. Elsa is going to Hollywood! Except she isn't and no one seems to care. Dell is the strongest man alive but is being blackmailed by a snaky dude that he could crush like Ma Petite...but he crushes Ma Petite...after trying to overpower someone whose body would have been almost impossible to remove with no one noticing. The dead doctor has magic hands that allowed him to mangle himself before blowing his brains out. Everyone is good with this explanation. Penny's strict and proper dad knows a freakishly tattooed tattoo artist who comes over to his house...without ruining his reputation. You get where I'm going with this. Can the witches from Coven pop up and resurrect Twisty please?
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