Written by Keto Shimizu & Grainne Godfree
Directed by Kevin Tancharoen
Ray (to PT Barnum): "You had me at circus."
Um, didn't American Horror Story cover the old freak show concept three years ago? Yes it did but for this show we've got an equally just as chaotic take on things to boot.This week, we're in the 1870s and our celebrity history figure is PT Barnum and the freak show has come to town with our Legends getting caught in the mix.
First of all, I have to say that I like Billy Zane as an actor so having him pop up as Barnum was a nice treat. He worked pretty well in the episode, even if his role became more antagonistic and he managed to capture Ray, Nate, Amaya and Jax and try and use them all for his show while Sara was distracted by Sharpe and Mick and Stein had to come to the rescue.
The freak show scenes themselves were executed well enough, with some comedy at the expense of Ray and Jax being forced to pretend they were conjoined twins while a sabre tooth tiger also managed to get loose and cause some havoc on the Waverider as well. Of course while this made for a satisfying enough A plot, it was the subplots that were a bit livelier.
Nate and Amaya's relationship in particular came under the microscope as we saw their break up in flashbacks while in the present day Nate managed to act like a complete jackass before being the one to help Amaya, who now seems to be unable to control her totem. The plus side was that she revealed this to the gang pretty fast and they were all determined to help her and she rejoined the team. I do have a feeling though that this season might end up seeing the character depart but I'm also hoping to be wrong on that one.
The other subplot included the Time Bureau also being a reminder that the Legends are still being monitor. The rather cute but utterly hapless Gary spent most of his time being knocked out and tied up while Ava and Sara were content flirting and fighting with each other before the former dropped a cryptic hint about Mallus which the gang failed to take seriously.
Speaking of Ava, aside from the inevitability of her and Sara hooking up, did anyone else get the impression that she was the Mallus follower who summoned Kuasa at the end of this episode? I'm probably wrong but I can't shake off the theory for some reason though. Either way, Kuasa is now in the game and the show has been clamouring for a female antagonist for a while, plus her connection to Amaya will certainly make their inevitable meeting interesting to boot.
- The Titanic jokes in this episode were greatly appreciated. It's just a pity we didn't have a proper scene with Victor Garber (Stein) and Billy Zane (Barnum).
- We saw Mari in this episode on the news to begin things and then ended with Kuasa coming out of the water. There was also another DC hero in Barnum's freak show as well.
- I liked the picture Sara had of herself with Laurel and Oliver. I'm really hoping she faces off with Black Siren soon too.
- Chronology: 1870 Wisconsin for most of this episode. Also Central City 2017 as well.
Freakshow wasn't the best episode we've ever had but it was a lot of fun and I do like that they're seeding in the Mallus threat pretty well and didn't waste time in having Amaya rejoin the gang as well. That along with Mick's scenes with the clowns and the shrunken tiger were amusing.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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