The season finale of American Horror Story: Freak Show began with Dandy trying to assert his new authority over the freaks. Dandy tried to blame the freaks for the lack of ticket sales which caused the group to push him down and quit on the show. This leads to Dandy returning to kill every freak he can find around the Freak Show, killing them off one by one with his pistol.
The scene of Dandy walking around killing freaks as he pleased was definitely one of the more intense moments of the season. It was pretty tough to watch some of my favorite side freaks like Paul the Illustrated Seal, Amazon Eve, and Legless Suzi be gunned down within the first 10 minutes of the episode but it definitely helped set up a big clash between Dandy and the remaining freaks.
Elsewhere, Elsa began her journey to stardom with a trip to Hollywood. After dealing with his secretary, she meets with the Vice President of Casting at WBN to kick off her career. Since we already found out at the end of "Orphans" that Elsa would eventually be a successful singer/actress, this just served as a sort of preface for those events.
Jimmy, along with his new hands, returned home to find all of his friends and family slaughtered and lined-up from the stage to the aisle way. He finds Desiree, who managed to escape Dandy by hiding under her bed, and the two begin to plot their revenge.
Meanwhile, Dandy and the twins have an elaborate wedding ceremony back at Dandy's house complete with a minister and stuffed animal guests. Bette had accepted Dandy's hand in marriage and the two newlyweds appeared to be a happy couple. Later at dinner, Dandy finds himself drugged by the hands of Desiree posing as a new maid. Joining her is Jimmy who, along with the twins, promises to get revenge on Dandy before he eventually passes out.
Dandy awakes to find himself chained inside Hardeen Houdini's Chinese Water Torture Cell, surrounded by Jimmy, Desiree, and the twins. Despite his pleas and best attempts, the freaks show no sympathy as the cell slowly fills with water and Dandy drowns to his death.
Throughout the season, Dandy had caused several deaths and faced no consequences. It was fitting to see him finally get his comeuppance in the season finale. The best part of the scene might be Desiree's final words to Dandy, "You may look like a motion picture dreamboat, but you are the biggest freak of them all." She encapsulated his entire character into one sentence.
The show flashes forward a few years to 1960. Elsa has become incredibly famous and receives her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Despite her fame, Elsa is very unhappy until she reunites with Massimo Dolcefino. Elsa suggests that the two run away together but is heartbroken when the surgeon reveals that he's dying of lung cancer and only has a month left to live. Things get worse for Elsa as her husband/manager and the President of WBN tell her that a copy of her snuff film has been found by a reporter. Realizing that things aren't going her way, Elsa agrees to perform a Halloween Special in hopes of summoning Edward Mordrake.
Elsa performs on a live telecast that's seen by Desiree and her new family while walking down the street and watched at home by Jimmy and a pregnant Dot and Bette. Mordrake and his followers, including Twisty the Clown, arrive to take Elsa with him. However, upon realizing that she's basically committing suicide, Mordrake tells Elsa that she doesn't belong with them before stabbing her in the chest.
Elsa finds herself back at the Freak Show, where she's greeted by Ma Petite and the other dead freaks, including Ethel who welcomes her back. Elsa then takes the stage to perform, finding happiness in the afterlife.
While the ending itself was satisfying, Elsa's half of the episode felt like it stretched a bit longer than it should've. It was a surprising ending, and it definitely took its time getting there. Overall, the season finale did a solid job of tying up loose ends. After watching them struggle with their identities throughout the season, it was nice to see all the freaks find peace in one way or another.