'American Horror Story: Cult' is the Most Confusing Mystery Since 'Lost'

(Note: This post contains spoilers for “American Horror Story: Cult” through the Sept. 26 episode.)

For four episodes, “American Horror Story: Cult” has been weaving a story about a murderous clown cult, and a bunch of other weird stuff, kicked up by the fear and chaos following the contentious 2016 election. Up to now, things have been pretty confusing as the show focused on Ally (Sarah Paulson), a woman with a host of phobias who’s been seemingly terrorized by a group of murder clowns who, at least at points, seemed like they might have been in her head.

Over time, the show has developed the fact that Kai (Evan Peters) is actually the chief creator of chaos on the show. And in Episode 4, we finally see him really at work, taking the side of vulnerable people, no matter what they believe, in order to draw them into his plot.

Also Read: 'American Horror Story: Cult': Important 2016 Election Facts You Need to Remember

It seems Kai is the guy behind the clown cult, with its bloody smiley face insignia, and in Episode 4 we see him convince one person to commit murder and another to cut off his own hand on Election Night to ensure he could “pull the lever for go f–k yourself” (Trump, as it happens).

Some of the pieces are coming together — Harrison (Billy Eichner) and Meadow (Leslie Grossman) are apparently a part of the clown cult, as is newscaster Beverly (Adina Porter) — and Kai is definitely involved in murders. And his actions in the first three episodes might mean that the goal of the clowns terrorizing Ally is to get her to join up, like the other characters he’s targeted.

But the questions still outweigh the answers. There’s the weird chemical spray truck and Harrison’s crazy plastic barrels (which are of the variety Walter White used to dissolve bodies on “Breaking Bad,” if you remember). Nothing about Winter (Billie Lourd), Kai’s Hillary-supporting, liberal stereotype sister, seems to make sense at all. And what about Ivy (Alison Pill), who apparently didn’t just know Winter before she and Ally hired her to be their nanny, but kidnapped a guy with her?

Also Read: 'American Horror Story: Cult' Fans Are Finally Putting It All Together

It’s not that the hints that “American Horror Story: Cult” is dropping aren’t landing. The first three episodes did a solid job of portraying Kai first as a bigot, then as a manipulator, before finally putting the pieces together to show him as a charismatic murder-leader. There were plenty of clues popping up about Harrison and Meadow, and fans have been suspicious of Ivy from the start.

But what’s interesting, and ultimately confusing, is just how much information the show is throwing at people, and how many questions it’s raising. Not just about who’s in the cult, but what the cult is trying to do, and how seemingly unrelated elements factor in as well.

It’s a lot like “Lost,” really. Not only is there the hatch to wonder about, but there’s the polar bear. And the bus. And the monster. And the numbers. And the strange connection that seems to bind all the characters together.

Also Read: 'American Horror Story: Cult' Fans Can't Help But Ask, 'Why Are You Wearing Sombreros?'

“American Horror Story: Cult” has that kind of stuff going on as well, and it’s still not even close to clear how everything fits together. For instance, we know Kai is a cult leader, and we know he’s recruited several people — but we haven’t seen anyone as the clowns yet. And the murder of Serina (Emma Roberts) seems to have taken place before any of the other clown murders, as Kai was recruiting Beverly. Three clowns were present for that one. They could have been Kai, Meadow and Harrison, but it seems a bit early to take your new pals out on a murder spree. So does that mean Kai has other recruits waiting in the wings (with knives) that we haven’t seen yet?

There’s one other element that’s exploding a lot of fans’ theories and attempts to understand “AHS: Cult” after four episodes: Harrison and Meadow. At the end of Episode 3, “Neighbors from Hell,” Meadow disappeared and Harrison was found covered in blood. Earlier in the episode, the cult’s smiley face mark was seen on their house.

Why would Kai and the cult target their own? There have been hints about why the cult might kill Meadow, but why leave Harrison alive, when he could potentially turn on everybody? (Also, a quick tangent: Honestly, what is going on with Winter?)

Also Read: 'American Horror Story: Cult' Fans Agree: Ozzy Has the Right Idea

With weird additional elements like the chemical sprayers, it might be a mistake to think that everything in “American Horror Story: Cult” is connected, or at least, connected to the cult. As has been the case in previous seasons of the anthology series, sometimes the links between ancillary things and the main story are a bit tenuous — the scares are more important than everything making sense together.

Then again, maybe we’re just thinking about this mystery wrong. Maybe fans aren’t seeing the big picture yet. Maybe Kai’s clown cult isn’t the only clown cult in town.

It might be confusing, but trying to puzzle out where “American Horror Story: Cult” is headed is the most fun part of the season so far.

Every 'American Horror Story: Cult' Character, Ranked by How Likely It Is That They're a Murderous Clown (Photos)

When "American Horror Story: Cult," kicked off on Sept. 5, fans immediately started speculating that some of the weirdness between the show's characters could be a clown cult conspiracy. After eight episodes most of their suspicions have been confirmed, but now members are turning against each other, and people who were in are trying to find way s to take the cult down. Warning: Spoilers!
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Oz Mayfair-Richards (Cooper Dodson)

Seeing as Oz is a kid, we can be pretty sure he’s not a member of the clown murder cult. But we now know he's an integral part of at least some of the cult's plans. Could little Oz be on the recruitment list? And how is he going to react when he starts to learn the truth? Maybe he'll gather a clown-fighting posse of local kids, a la the movie "It."
FX
Dr. Rudy Vincent (Cheyenne Jackson)

Poor Vincent. Despite being Kai and Winter's brother, it turns out he really didn't know anything about the clown cult -- until it was too late. Vincent really should have listened to Ally all this time, instead of disbelieving her while never realizing that the guy responsible for her torment was his brother all along.
FX
RJ (James Morosini)

Beverly Hope's cameraman was revealed to be a part of the cult when "American Horror Story: Cult" finally took all the masks off, but he's one member who hasn't been fully on board with all the murders. He might have wanted to keep his mouth shut, though, since Kai and Beverly made an example out of him to prove everyone else's loyalty. It seems likely that'll create some more dissension in the ranks, and soon fans will be guessing who's about to try to leave the cult, rather than who's joining up.
FX
Beverly Hope (Adina Porter)

After Kai got his spot on the city council, he immediately started sidelining the women in the group. Beverly isn't happy about it -- she previously was Kai's favorite cultist and his second-in-command, but now she's thinking about betrayal, and helped get rid of Harrison to start it. It seems she underestimated how much she could trust Winter, though, but Kai hasn't killed her yet. There might yet be time for Beverly to get free and start a cult of her own.
FX
Ivy Mayfair-Richards (Alison Pill)

Fans immediately started to believe Ivy might be in on the clown cult after the first episode, when clowns repeatedly tormented her wife, Ally, but Ivy saw nothing. Now we know Ivy was using the clowns to try to get out of her marriage and grab custody of her son. After Kai started cutting out the women, though, it seems that Ivy is rethinking her choices. It might be too little, too late though, since Ally is now part of the cult, much to Ivy's shock.
FX
Winter Anderson (Billie Lourd)

It turns out Kai's sister is among his biggest supporters, which isn't totally shocking. But now that he seems to have replaced her and the other women in the cult's power structure, Winter's loyalties seem to be fluctuating -- starting with taking out Harrison and Samuels. But she was still loyal enough to pick Kai over Vincent and Beverly.
FX
Ally Mayfair-Richards (Sarah Paulson)

Ally was the cult's target for the longest time, but as she said in Episode 8, Kai's torment might have actually cured her of all her phobias. She's definitely got a plan, and she's executing it -- by joining the cult. Ally turned on Vincent without much trouble, but is she really backing Kai, or does she mean to dismantle the whole thing from the inside?
FX
Detective Samuels (Colton Haynes)

There have been hints all along that Detective Samuels might be in on the cult. He showed up conveniently at key points in several investigations, and when it turned out he was dating Harrison, there seemed to be no way he wasn't helping the clowns out. We finally found out how Kai brought him aboard, only to watch him bite a bullet for being a sexist Neo-Nazi.
FX
Bebe Babbit (Frances Conroy)

Appearing out of nowhere to warn the women of Kai's cult against him, it turned out that Zodiac killer Bebe is actually working with Kai. She might not be a full murder member of the clown cult, but she's definitely helping the leader execute his master plans -- which seem to involve literally cutting some people out.
FX
Gary Longstreet (Chaz Bono)

When the clown masks came off, finding Gary underneath one was about pretty unsurprising. After all, this was the guy who cut off his own hand so he could make sure to vote. He also was clearly involved in one of the first clown cult appearances to torment Ally. Gary's a true believer, that much is obvious.
FX
Harrison Wilton (Billy Eichner)

Harrison became one of Kai's most committed acolytes. He clearly saw Kai as having saved, and salvaged, his failing life. Harrison was fully on board with all kinds of murder and mayhem, without hesitation. It wasn't enough to stop Beverly, Ivy and Winter from slicing him up, though.
FX
Meadow Wilton (Leslie Grossman)

The big twist in the sixth episode of "American Horror Story: Cult" revealed that there's nobody more fanatically dedicated to Kai than Meadow. She played double agent beautifully, and went all-in for Kai in a way that probably no one else in the cult would.
FX
Kai Anderson (Evan Peters)

Kai has a plan for world domination in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, and his clown murder cult is helping him do it. As things begin to pick up speed with Kai's faked assassination attempt, though, it's becoming clear there's more to his strategy than even his followers know. That, or he's completely lost it.
FX
Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch)

There’s no denying that Twisty the Clown is literally a murderous clown. So far, though, he doesn’t seem to be a real murderous clown, but a fictional one. He’s only appeared in Oz’s comic books and dreams, so he might just be a tormenting, gross-faced monster showing up to confuse the other characters about what’s real and what’s in their heads.
FX

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Alliances are fraying in the murder cult

When "American Horror Story: Cult," kicked off on Sept. 5, fans immediately started speculating that some of the weirdness between the show's characters could be a clown cult conspiracy. After eight episodes most of their suspicions have been confirmed, but now members are turning against each other, and people who were in are trying to find way s to take the cult down. Warning: Spoilers!

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