The Cutprice Guignol

Can we just take a second to talk about Kathy Bates? In this episode, she’s a majestic, episode- dominating force; by turns hilarious (“they gave me a three-episode arc, but iI got five!” she maniacally gurns into the camera, her apron drenched in blood) and terrifying. Despite her strong performances in the show so far (season four being her finest, for my money), I’ve always had the nagging feeling that the show has never quite given her a role that allows her to display her full, magnetic talent; finally, somehow, in this outrageous, blood-soaked forty minutes, she’s in full flight, and it’s magnificent.

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