American Horror Story: Freak Show is one of the more divisive seasons of the hit series, with the focus being on the old-school circus and a group of ‘freaks’ who all have different abnormalities.
While many had hoped that Twisty the Clown would be the main feature within this season, that didn’t end up being the case, with Freak Show having several different plots all pushed into one season, which left some people confused and asking questions.
As with any season of American Horror Story, there were plenty of unanswered questions throughout that never fully got explained or simply got ignored full stop, so, within this article, we will go through the 10 biggest unanswered questions from Freak Show.
Why Doesn’t Elsa Know About The Freaks’ Death?
When Elsa makes her big move to Hollywood, it was just always going to end up in failure, and when the president of the network ends her career there wasn’t exactly a major surprise from the audience and that wasn’t really an unanswered question.
The end of her Hollywood dream brought Elsa to have her life ending performance, but what was a surprise is the fact that when the president informs her that all of her freak show family had died, Elsa doesn’t even seem to know.
It seems quite bizarre that in the entire time she has been away that she wouldn’t have learned that news or even asked any questions. Considering how much effort she puts into the group, it makes no real sense that the connection would be finished just like that.
Why Did We See Dead Twins?
There are many unanswered questions about Freak Show, and one of the biggest ones comes from the museum, with some rather strange decisions being made that don’t seem to make much sense as the dead twins end up showing as a museum piece, despite the fact that they don’t die.
Obviously, this was done as a tease for that possibility, but why did Jimmy’s hands then show up even when the museum owner was killed, with this item being something he wanted which seems very strange that the two would happen.
Neither really made sense and neither was ever really addressed, leaving this as a major question mark from the show as something that seemed like a good idea on paper but made no real sense in reality.
Who Gets The Money?
The Mott family is incredibly wealthy, which is something that is well established throughout the entire season, but by the end of it, both Gloria and Dandy are dead, which means that all that inheritance is up in the air and not claimed.
After the show made such a big deal about the money and how rich the family was, it would have been nice to have tied in a character somehow to have ended up with that money, being able to put it to better use in the future, which is something the show could have used in the future.
This would have been a great way to tie in the Freak Show season with another down the line but instead, that option wasn’t taken and the money situation was simply left in the dark for fans to think about.
Is It A Boy Or A Girl?
The character of Betty and Dot was massively popular within American Horror Story: Freak Show, and while they certainly went through some dark times, they did end up pregnant at the end of the show with Jimmy’s child, bringing them together nicely with a happy family.
However, one small detail that is never revealed is whether or not they have a boy or a girl together, which might not seem like anything important, but due to the fact they were both so popular, it would have been nice to know.
Not only would it have been a fun detail to finish the show on, but that information could actually have set up a future season or character if the show ever wanted to do so.
Does Pepper Join The Freak Show Family?
Pepper is one of the American Horror Story characters that cross different seasons, having also appeared as a main character in Asylum. Freak Show smartly provides the incredibly moving backstory for her regarding how she ends up in the Asylum.
While we all know how things end up for Pepper (at least if you have seen Asylum), it would be interesting to know whether or not she re-joined the Freak Show family after she died, as the rest of the group got to do when they were killed.
Because Pepper was such a beloved character, it would have been nice to see her get to be back with them in some form, whether it be in a future season or a scene from the future in Freak Show but sadly, we will likely never know.
What Happens To Stanley?
Stanley was one of (many) the shows most hated characters, with the evil conman attempting to take advantage of the Freak Show, and while that doesn’t end up happening with Denis O’Hare’s character meeting a sticky ending, we never actually see what truly happens to him.
Yes, we saw Stanley end up no longer having any limbs and that was certainly the show bringing his character to an end, but Stanley was still alive, and at no time is there ever an official confirmation that he was killed, which begs the question, what happened?
Was he left to rot and die, was he a victim of Dandy, or perhaps he somehow managed to escape? It felt strange to not have a confirmed ending for such a big character, and it is something most people would have wanted to be cleared up if possible.
Where Was Emma Roberts?
At the end of Freak Show, all of the ‘freaks’ were brought back together in heaven, however, Emma Roberts’ character, Maggie Esmerelda, was nowhere to be seen which was strange as she had played a major part in the series and had been a key member of the group.
While she wasn’t technically a ‘freak’ that didn’t mean she would have been out of place as she certainly belonged in that group, and it was strange that her character didn’t get to be part of that happy ending (in a twisted sort of way), instead, being left out.
That leads us to question what type of hell she ended up living in, instead of being given the chance to enjoy heaven with the rest of the people she had spent time with.
Why The Happy Ending?
While all of the ‘freaks’ dying might seem like a tragic ending, the fact was they were all getting to perform the show once again, all together as a group, while the twins sit at home pregnant, which gave quite a happy feeling at the end of the show.
This is incredibly uncommon for American Horror Story, with the franchise normally ending with some form of a final tease of doom, which is a common trait for the horror genre in general, with most films ending with a big twist that leaves people feeling scared or sad.
This season didn’t have that and it left the question of why? Was it simply because a happy ending was wanted or perhaps the writing team just didn’t have any good ideas to actually put in one final twist.
What Happened To The Elsa Mars Show?
The Elsa Mars Show is a big part of the American Horror Story: Freak Show season, with the show being crucial to Elsa’s character, being the make and break for her each time she performs, and this is a big part of the Freak Show performance in general.
However, when Elsa dies there isn’t much of an explanation as to what happens to that aspect of the show, which is one of the biggest parts throughout, with nobody knowing what goes on next in the story due to the fact the show doesn’t really explain it.
Did anybody end up taking on the spot and being part of the show, did they simply get rid of it or did the name of the show section switch to something totally different? This is something that should have been touched upon it possible.
Where Does The Audience Come From?
While the fact that the Freak Show family get to stick together in the afterlife, still being able to put on shows and do what they love is very nice, something that isn’t explained at all is how they still end up getting a crowd each night when they are all dead.
While it is explained that the troupe are able to stay together as a team after they died, it doesn’t make sense that there would be a full audience every single night. Obviously, the audience also has to have died in order to be there, but why would they choose to go to the Freak Show all the time?
Surely there aren’t enough dead people in that area wanting to see the same show over and over without any real reason and while it is only a small detail it just doesn’t make sense.
