American Horror Story: Freak Show episode “Massacres and Matinees” saw the townspeople of Jupiter fearful for their lives and the police force out to find answers in the disappearance of one of their own. Predictably, they suspect that the Freak Show performers are to blame.

'American Horror Story: Freak Show' Recap

Mr. Hanley, the proprietor of a local toy shop, unlike most residents of Jupiter, refuses to shut down his business in light of the recent spate of killings. When his assistant returns from a coffee run, he’s greeted by a wind-up robot that tracked blood across the floor. Following the trail, the young man looks up to find the decapitated head of his erstwhile boss before suffering a fatal knife would through the back of his neck from the Clown.

At the Freak Show, “Lobster Boy” (Evan Peters) and some of the others are trying to figure out a long-term plan for the cop’s body. Now that they know that they’re all prime suspects, it’s more important than ever that the body isn’t found. Jimmy “Lobster Boy” Darling, taking control despite never killing anyone before, also suggests that they try to get the townspeople and cops to know them for who they really are.

A Bored Dandy

Meanwhile, Dandy (Finn Witrock) and Gloria Mott (Frances Conroy) are supping on opposite ends of a regal, long table. Dandy’s petulance, which was first revealed last week, was in high gear. Everything about everything is boring to the spoiled grown man, especially his mother and the snails he’s been served. What he isn’t bored of are sweets and cognac, which he drinks from a glass affixed with a baby bottle nipple. As it turns out Dandy has also been bored by every woman his mother has tried to set him up with and finds the prospect of having a baby “more boring than anything.” He wants to act and eat caramel corn in St. Petersburg.

The following morning, Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) is paid a visit by two individuals who’d like to join her Freak Show – strong man Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis) and “full-blown hermaphrodite” with three breasts Desiree Dupree (Angela Bassett). Dell and Desiree, as it happens, are a couple. They’re on the run from Chicago after Dell killed a few guys Desiree had hopped into bed with, though there are no hard feelings between the two.

Elsewhere at the Freak Show, Dandy has arrived and tells Jimmy that he wants to join them. Jimmy tries to dissuade him from the idea, letting him know that it’s not the glamorous life he imagines. Dandy persists, telling Jimmy that he knows the carnival is where he belongs. When Jimmy makes him get lost, Dandy slams his head against the wheel of his car before heading home to his mother Gloria. In his playroom, he finds the clown.

Strongman Is Lobster Boy's Dad

Dell and Desiree start to make themselves at home at Elsa Mars’ Freak Show, with Dell exercising his new power as the show’s head of security. When he spots Ethel (Kathy Bates), it’s clear the two have a history. As it turns out, Dell is Jimmy’s father and had tried to kill him when he was a baby to spare him from the pains of being branded a “freak.” Ethel, fearful for her sons’ safety, asks Dell to stay away from him. Elsewhere, Elsa is trying to figure out what talents the Tattler twins (Sarah Paulson) have. When it becomes apparent that the outgoing Bette can’t sing, Jimmy encourages Dot to give it a go and she nails “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”

At the Mott resident, Dandy is trying to bond with his new clown. Trying to impress the frightful creature, he puts on a puppet show of The King and I and then starts to search around in his bag of tricks for something else. Before he can locate whatever he was looking for, the clown knocks him out. When Dandy comes to, he follows the clown into the forest where he’s keeping the boy and young woman. The girl manages to knock the clown’s mask off, and both she and the boy make a break for it. Seeing his opportunity to bond with his clown, Dandy snatches up the girl and brings her back to the bus.

Dot Becomes A Star

Jimmy, on his campaign to prove that freaks are people too, encourages a group of them to sit down for lunch at the local diner. Dell thinks it’s a terrible idea, giving people a free show, and decides to beat his estranged son for the stunt. Jimmy responds by taking his thoughts to Elsa and telling her she should fire the Strongman. Before they can get into it, the show begins and Dot sings Fiona Apple’s “Criminal.” They’re a hit.

As Massacres and Matinees” came to a close, the cops arrest The Geek after Dell planted evidence on him for the cop’s murder. A jealous Elsa tries to bait Bette into killing Dot, claiming that Dot stole Bette’s thunder – failing to mention it was her own thunder that was stolen. And a drunk Jimmy bemoans his lot in life, then breaks into tears as the body of The Geek turns up at his doorstep.