The AHS: Freak Show Storyline Fans Wish Never Happened
While "American Horror Story" is known for changing its cast, theme, and plot every season, one thing about the series that always seems to remain is its reliance on way too many storylines. The flaw is so recurring, in fact, that it has even become a bit of an infamous staple of the anthology series.
After the bite-sized structure of "American Horror Stories" was announced, an NME article praised the new format as having "the potential to be the best thing to happen to the series." That same piece went on to say that the show's seasons always start strong before suddenly pivoting to "throwing any disparate OTT idea they can find into the mix... until it completely veers off the rails" toward a baffling conclusion.
Fans on the show's subreddit often echo this criticism, pointing to the series' constant overabundance of subplots as being what tends to bog down otherwise strong seasons. One thread dedicated to discussing storylines fans "could've done without" even covered dozens of the show's various, superfluous storylines, but when it came to "American Horror Story: Freak Show," one popular answer rose above all the rest.
So, which "Freak Show" storyline do "American Horror Story" fans wish never happened?
Freak Show fans didn't care for Chester Creb
Redditor u/Illiana24 pointed to the two-episode "American Horror Story: Freak Show" arc involving Chester Creb (Neil Patrick Harris) and his "stupid" puppet, Marjorie, as being a totally unnecessary narrative detour. The user expressed frustration that the storyline's inclusion "ruined the overall feeling of the season" and marred an otherwise "almost perfect" entry in the "American Horror Story" franchise.
Chester, a salesman and magic enthusiast, briefly comes into ownership of the season's central "freak show" and begins a relationship with Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson). However, he has hallucinations and believes that Marjorie (Jamie Brewer) is a living person who forces him to misbehave. These delusions prove deadly, and Chester eventually turns himself in for stabbing the puppet to death.
The worst thing about the storyline is that, without it, "Freak Show" would be virtually unchanged. "[The] Chester and Marjorie storyline shouldn't have been two episodes long and it ruined what could've been Maggie's redemption arc," wrote u/Coffeenwineplease. "Chester only existed because NPH wanted to be in the show."
In regards to the Redditor's latter claim, while it's unknown if Chester was a part of the season prior to Harris' involvement or not, the actor did famously reach out to "American Horror Story" producer Ryan Murphy and ask to appear on the show (via EW). Unfortunately for Harris, this led to one "American Horror Story" fan calling him a "literal real life dandy" on the thread.