Monsters Among Us


"Monsters Among Us" is the premiere episode of the of the anthology television series American Horror Story, which premiered on October 8, 2014 on the cable network FX. It was co-written by creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk and directed by Murphy.
The episode introduces Elsa Mars who runs one of the last remaining freak shows in the United States in the hamlet of Jupiter, Florida, and her recruitment of conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler. It also introduces the rest of her traveling performers and the murderous clown known as Twisty. The episode is the second longest in the series' history, clocking in at just over one hour without commercials.
"Monsters Among Us" holds the highest ratings of any episode of the series so far. Jyoti Amge, currently the world's smallest living woman, has her American TV debut in this episode.

Plot

In Jupiter, Florida 1952, a milkman enters the house of Eudora Tattler to find her dead, and upstairs finds an injured pair of conjoined twins: Bette and Dot. They are rushed to the emergency room, shocking and sickening the hospital personnel. Elsa Mars arrives and asks candy striper, Penny, about the "discovery" and then invites Penny to her Freak Show known as "Fräulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities", infiltrating the secure wing to meet them. Elsa tells the twins that she tried to meet them at their home, but now that they are out of the house she has come to see them. As the conversation progresses, it becomes apparent that the twins can communicate with each other without speaking. Bette takes an immediate shine to Elsa, but Dot despises her.
Near Lake Okeechobee, a couple enjoy a picnic. Twisty, a clown with a disturbing visage, appears and knocks them unconscious before stabbing Troy to death with scissors. Terrified, Bonnie runs and he chases her. Later on, Twisty slaughters a married couple and takes Bonnie and Corey, the son of the murdered couple, to the woods and imprisons them in an old bus.
Elsa spots a member of her troupe, Jimmy Darling, at a local diner. Jimmy expresses his belief that the show's days are numbered and his desire to live a normal life away from the freak show. Later at a tupperware party, Jimmy uses his fingers to pleasure a curious young party-goer. Elsa returns to see the twins and asks them to explain their mother's murder. They first lie and claim that a man broke into their house. Elsa again confronts them at their home after they escape from the hospital, planning to run away. The twins confess to Elsa that their mother kept them captive and when she refused to let them leave the house, Bette stabbed her to death. Two days later, Dot stabbed Bette non-fatally out of guilt at not preventing the murder.
After accepting Elsa's offer for a new home, Ethel, a bearded lady and Jimmy's mother, tells the twins how Elsa rescued her from the drunk tank and reunited her with Jimmy. Dot is smitten with Jimmy but disgusted by Ethel, and refuses to perform in the freak show. Ethel warns that there is no other life for them. Penny emerges into Elsa's tent, wanting to go home. Elsa starts up a projector showing a film in which Penny was involved in what appears to be a freak-filled orgy, guaranteeing Penny's future silence.
Jimmy expresses to Ethel that he wants to leave the show, but she tells him to forget about it as they would never be accepted by society. That evening, a detective attempts to arrest the twins for the murder. The other carnies fill the tent before the detective calls them "freaks", causing Jimmy to slice the detective's throat open in a fit of rage. Later, Jimmy leads a procession of carnies who carry the detective into the nearby woods, as he rants that he is tired of being treated differently by society. After his speech, the carnies hack the policeman's dead body apart while Twisty watches.
The wealthy Gloria and her stunted son, Dandy buy every seat for that night's performance, delighting Elsa who is convinced that the twins' arrival will revive the freak show's fortunes. The show gets underway as Ethel provides the introduction, showing off the "freaks" followed by Elsa singing David Bowie's "Life on Mars?". Dandy is enthralled with the twins and offers to buy them permanently, for $15,000. The twins decline, claiming they have found their new home.
Elsa confesses to Ethel that she brought the twins into the show to draw crowds, not for the family of carnies, but for her own glory. Ethel agrees that Elsa is gifted enough to be a true star. As Elsa prepares to go to bed, she undresses and reveals that she is legless below both knees.

Reception

Reviews

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the episode has an approval rating of 92% based on 12 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Freak Show sets the template for a compelling character-driven narrative with thoughtful pacing and creepy scares."
Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+. IGN reviewer Matt Fowler gave the episode a 7.6 out of 10, praising the characters set up and the killer clown, though felt the introductory elements with Elsa and the twins was overlong. Critics have also praised the performances of the cast, particularly Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson. Verne Gay of Newsday wrote: "Paulson's performance is so memorable that it's not a completely incidental question. Then, of course, there's Lange."

Ratings

The episode received a total audience of 6.13 million viewers, making it the series' most watched season premiere and the series' most watched episode ever. As a result of these particular high ratings, the show was immediately renewed for a fifth season.