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 an 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 own 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. Chester eventually surrenders to the police for stabbing and killing the puppet.
The worst thing about the storyline is that “Freak Show” would be virtually unchanged without it. “[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.”
Regarding the Redditor’s latter claim, while it’s unknown if Chester was a part of the season before Harris’ involvement or not, the actor famously reached out to “American Horror Story” producer Ryan Murphy and asked 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.