‘American Horror Story: Cult’ Ends the Series’ Most Polarizing Season With a Bang

Alex Aronson

In its most timely season yet, “American Horror Story” closed the doors on “Cult” with a shocking and unexpected ending. Political in its theme, season seven of the hit FX anthology took an all too real look at the current political climate. Opening on election night in 2016, the dismay experienced by many on that very night served as the jumping off point for high-tension and polarizing opinions – all the perfect ingredients to pool that fear mentality fluidly into a cult.

At the head of the clown-posse cult was Kai Anderson, played brilliantly by Evan Peters. “Cult” served as a centerpiece for longtime “American Horror Story” player Evan Peters. The 30-year-old actor, who dawned blue hair to play the malicious cult leader, delicately balanced the line of sanity as he rose in his ranking. His performance and character is quite possibly the meatiest role the actor has had in the series to date.

Adding fuel to the already impressive fire, Peters portrayed several other real-life cult leaders, including the heavy-set Jones Town leader Jim Jones, as well as one of the most infamous cult leaders, Charles Manson, in a dark and grisly recreation of the Sharon Tate murders. His eerily spot-on performances significantly demonstrated how fear could coincide with power and influence.

In “American Horror Story’s” forgoing agenda to interweave previous seasons together, this season saw the fitting return of Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch) from the series’ fourth installment, “Freak Show.” His appearance was brief, albeit quite proper. Clowns have never been more relevant in the horror genre. The choice to represent fear using the face of a clown, especially given the season’s political undertone, could perhaps be the most provocative commentary yet. But with a season that opened with pro-trump character Kai, spreading the orange dust from his Cheeto bag all over his face in order to emulate the Commander-in-cheif, nothing seems too off limits.

Billy Lourd (“Scream Queens”) who played Winter Anderson, the sister of Kai Anderson and caretaker to Ally’s (Sarah Paulson) son, was a welcomed addition to the “American Horror Story” repertoire. Her style of acting is quite befitting of the long-running series, and her presence in future seasons will be warmly welcomed. It should also not go without noting Adina Porter, who churned out the top performance last season in “American Horror Story: Roanoke.” Here she played a determined reporter, Beverly Hope, dealing with a sexually driven boss, and overcoming the fear of the cult using her own satisfying and exploitative extremities.

Perhaps the most disappointing element to season seven was the misuse of its leading lady, Sarah Paulson. For seven years Paulson has served as a mainstay and rightfully so, but it wasn’t until episode seven that Paulson’s Ally found her legs. Before the fateful moment of poisoning her betraying wife Ivy (Alison Pill), Ally was spending much of the season hurtling in fear. Suffering from an irrational coulrophobia, among other phobias, she was paralyzed in her actions. This substantially limited the Emmy award-winning actress to simply running around a house, continually screaming for someone to believe her.

However, the character did reach a form of redemption when she pooled her fear into drive – from turning against her own wife that betrayed to standing up to the cult leader who ruined her life. By the season’s end, she safely secured her seat in the US Senate. An unexpected move, but in the world of “American Horror Story” nothing is out of the question. Nonetheless, the season based solely on actual fear, forgoing any supernatural elements, concluded in a satisfying final act. Splashed with a bit of “American Horror Story” style spectacle, shock, and gore – it will prove enough, but for others, their opinion will remain as polarizing as the “Cult’s” overall commentary.

“American Horror Story: Cult” finale aired Nov. 14 on FX.