American Horror Story How Ma Petites Death Changed Season 4 Completely

American Horror Story: How Ma Petite’s Death Changed Season 4 Completely

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American Horror Story’s fourth season, Freak Show, gave a tragic end to beloved character Ma Petite, whose death altered the whole season.

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American Horror Story How Ma Petites Death Changed Season 4 Completely

American Horror Story season 4, Freak Show, was arguably one of the more light-hearted seasons of the long-running horror anthology series; however, its decision to bring about a tragic end for fan-favorite Ma Petite had major repercussions for the characters and shifted the season’s tone dramatically.

While significant to fans of Ryan Murphy’s series due to it being the last for mainstay cast member Jessica Lange, Freak Show was very highly rated by critics and audiences alike, and saw high levels of viewership throughout the season. Out of the existing nine seasons, Freak Show still nears the top on most lists, up there with other standout seasons like Asylum, Coven, and Murder House. While it has been criticized in part for its inclusion of musical numbers, which certainly detracted from some of the more horrific elements of the season, Freak Show does have an overall departure in theme from the previous three season, focusing more on familial loyalty and togetherness along with the importance of finding one’s tribe.

Drawing from true stories of real sideshows and circus performers, such as P.T. Barnum’s “Greatest Show On Earth”, Freak Show followed Elsa Mars (Lange) as the leader of a similar sideshow; Mars was an aspiring actress who ended up transitioning to the circus, where she performed as a chanteuse. While not always maternal toward all of her ‘freaks’, Elsa took a shine to some of those under her care in particular, and showed a softer side toward Ma Petite in particular.

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How Ma Petite’s Death In Freak Show Effected The Whole Season

Actress Jyoti Amge, a 26-year-old Indian actress, holds the Guinness world record for being the smallest living woman as of 2011. Standing just over two feet tall, Amge’s height is attributed to a condition known as achondroplasia. Her role on season 4 of American Horror Story was very much the heart of Elsa Mars’ show – Ma Petite worked closely with her, and was often seen playing a little violin or being carried around by the other performers or Elsa. Often, Elsa would summon her to cuddle, and while Ma Petite certainly was not a child, and had a very fully-realized, feisty personality, she also possessed a childlike sense of wonder and innocence.

Ma Petite was easily trusting because she had been so lovingly cared for by Elsa and the other performers throughout her time in Jupiter, Florida. This made her susceptible to Stanley (Denis O’Hare) and Maggie (Emma Roberts), who were conspiring to capture and kill some of the freaks to sell them to a museum that specialized in “morbid curiosities”, similarly to the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, PA. Ma Petite was targeted initially by Maggie, but she wasn’t able to go through with killing such an innocent person. Instead, the job fell to strongman Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis), who struggled with his sexuality and has a violent temper. First, Dell targeted Amazon Eve, but was unsuccessful; since he was being blackmailed, Dell knew that coming to Stanley empty-handed wasn’t an option, so he smothered Ma Petite, crushing her fragile body in a hug.

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Heartbreaking as it was, this singular event was very much the impetus for Elsa’s “family” falling apart. Riddled with shame over his actions and self-loathing, Dell attempted suicide, but was later shot to death by Elsa after she found out that he’d murdered Ma Petite. While many of the performers end up mutilated or killed through various interactions with Stanley and other predatory outside influences, Ma Petite’s death set a precedent in American Horror Story regarding the true death of innocence, which changed the tone of the season dramatically. While always steeped in the horror genre, the more light-hearted aspects of Freak Show came crumbling down when the audience realized that nobody was safe, that truly evil forces were at work, and the show reiterated that real monsters are often human, even ones that could previously be trusted.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/american-horror-story-season-4-ma-petite-death-tragedy/

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