American Horror Story: Cult - Episode 8 Review (Spoilers)

In this review I will be discussing the eigth episode of American Horror Story: Cult. At this point we are well over half way through the series and it's virtually impossible to discuss the episode without spoilers. Anyone who plans to view it has had ample time to catch up now and so in this review I will divulge plot points and character motivations to better explain my points and analyse the episode. This will not be an Episode Synopsis or Breakdown however. If you truly want to go into the episode blind and not having any future enjoyment of it spoiled then I recommend bookmarking this review and reading it after seeing the episode. If you don't mind spoilers however then dive in. 

Episode 8 - "Winter of our Discontent"

  Not to sound crass or tasteless but there are times when being a fan of AHS feels like being in an abusive relationship. Time and again the series starts out well but either burns out or takes a nosedive in its second half. And every new season I watch convinced that this will be the one where that'll finally change. Season Seven aka Cult is not that season. The quality of Cult is falling at this point, with 8 episodes out of 11 down, somewhere between fizzling out and falling off a cliff. I really can't see how the last three can be satisfying at this point. But let's just deal with the matter at hand.

  The episode starts off with some vindication for me as it's revealed that Dr. Vincent Anderson (as is now revealed to be his name) actually was unaware of Kai's actions. Although this does slightly stretch credibility, relying on Kai breaking in and stealing case files unnoticed, I forgive it because I was already aware going into this episode that Ally had been left with no ally or support. Everyone who could help her has either been killed or revealed as part of the cult and I couldn't see her staging a particularly interesting one-person defence. The scene also intriguingly sets up Kai's revelling in his new power, in this case over his older brother, whom he now insists refer to him by his title as "Councilman". It's an effectively chilling way to throw us into the credits as we get an increasing unease of Kai's true lust for power and control, and just what he could abuse it for.

  And we see that as we get into the episode proper. Kai has used threats and fear to establish martial law and gain his own personal security force. The women who were one time members of the group have been relegated to kitchen duties, much to Bev and Ivy's annoyance. But Winter still won't hear anything said against her brother and begins to relay a tale of how Kai saved her life years ago... This is where the problems in the episode start for me. We start off with some heavy-handed but relevant backstory that Kai and Winter were essentially internet trolls tormenting "SJWs", but things take a turn when one of their would-be victims invites them to his house. Things quickly veer from believably creepy to absolute horror cliche that utterly defies belief. That Kai, who had already lived the horror plot of his dead parents rotting in a home shrine, could end up unfortunate enough to bump into America's best prepared serial killer is just ludicrous. Not to mention the nature of the complex death traps in this haunted house of poetic justice are entirely unbelievable and completely derivative of both Se7en and Saw. In a series that seemed to seek to reflect our own society and it's ability to twist people we now totally undercut that with the revelation that it was Kai's encounter with this psychopath that really "changed him". In case you didn't get the point we subtly see him covered in blood from his first murder and then rising like a Phoenix in the bathroom mirror with his newly dyed blue hair. Blue hair!? This guy must have gone crazy. You could probably hear the eye rolls from my flat in mainland Europe. There are hints of good in these opening scenes; a blatant reference to The Handmaid's Tale opens the door to a road that the show nevertheless refuses to go down, as do later revelations about Detective Samuels deep-rooted and violent misogyny. This could have been rich real-life subject matter to explore but the show would rather veer into high camp now, which is a shame. Likewise the idea that encountering this one lunatic made Kai lose all faith in humanity and decide to "burn it all down" because he couldn't save everybody ruins this character. Especially as we see his madness increase. We now saw the show try to explain and justify where this comes from. There isn't a need to explain villains origins to make them sympathetic. Kai is like The Joker, if you try to explain or justify him then he's less scary. And society is more than capable of creating these types of monsters for far less noble reasons. And sometimes, scariest of all, no reason at all.

  It's at this point that the train comes completely off the rails. I can only imagine the intent was to show the depths of Kai's depraved insanity, particularly in service of Winter's push away from his influence. But things get so crazy and are played for laughs so much that it feels like you're watching the wrong show. As Kai implies incest, then revealed his idea for a "ritual" to conceive a "new messiah" and cemented this by attempting to engage in a threesome with his sister and the gay Detective. I really felt baffled. And when he started playing a pop song as a sacred tune for whenever a messiah is conceived and Winter snippily replied that the point of a messiah is to have only one, it felt like I was somehow watching an unexpected third season of Scream Queens. I have no idea what the writers of this scene were thinking but suffice to say it was obvious that their tongues were so far in their cheeks they were bursting through their face. This kills all tension and sense of versimilitude, throwing you out of the scene and the series. I can't stress enough how bad this was.

  Returning to Ally we get a welcome surprise as we see that she has invited a guest for dinner, her new Councilman Kai. In the best scene of the episode Ally reveals that she will do anything to win back her son and that Kai's tormenting has done what nothing else could: it has cured her. She now fears nothing. This is so interesting and would have been wonderful to explore, particularly with an Ally who has nothing to manipulate and nothing to lose facing a Kai with no power over her. But alas, she still has one weakness, as revealed; her son. In exchange for reuniting with him she betrays Dr. Vincent selling him out to his brother and revealing that he discussed with Ally trying to have Kai committed or arrested. And here's the point where I'm done with this episode, and season. As I've discussed in the past my least favourite season of AHS is Hotel, and the main reason for that is that there is no protagonist. Everyone in that season was twisted, monstrous, amoral and/or murderous so there was no audience surrogate to identify with. Cult has now potentially put itself in the exact same position. As will become even clearer later.

  The next scene follows Winter as she is continually beaten down by her brother's new regime. Being picked up by Detective Samuels he reveals how he ended up as Kai's "bitch". It's an interesting narrative diversion as it's revealed that he has deep seated homophobia and misogyny. Kai effectively gave him a justification for hating women and having sex with men. Winter, quite rightly, cuts through her brother's bullshit and despite the Detective insisting that it's more complicated than him being gay she hits back brilliantly with, "it's as simple as you like dick!". This triggers his violent, misogynist rage and in a tussle Winter pulls a gun on her attacker and shoots the detective straight through the head. So far, so interesting. Maybe Winter will be our new protagonist. She's definitely played brilliantly and seems wonderfully complex. And the clue was in the episode title after all. Interest was rising again at this point.

  And so we enter the final scene as Kai, his followers, his guards and some conveniently masked Clownz face a bound and cuffed Dr. Vincent and Bev. Kai intriguingly shows us that he learned his "pinky" linking ritual of trust from his brother then chillingly turns that on it's head and murders him for his "betrayal". Turning to Bev he accuses her of murdering Detective Samuels and it becomes clear that Winter has lied and set her up. So much for our new character to root for (although the conflicted looks Billie Lourd plays here give me hope). Bev gives a brilliant speech cutting straight through Kai (and people like him). She screams at him that he has no grand or noble plan, ultimately he is just an attention whore who has done everything in service of his own ego. She is taken off to be tortured for this, Kai deciding that she didn't deserve a quick death. Truth hurts Kai, she touch a nerve? We conclude the episode with a pan round to the clowns unmasking and reveal that Bev's old costume is now being worn by their newest recruit... Ally. Shock horror! Except not. As I've said I'm not the most savvy viewer but even I called that Ally was in one of those costumes at the very top of the scene. Having that as your big end of episode reveal lacks any impact and leaves the viewer just feeling disappointed. That's basic screenwriting! Sigh.

  Overall then a very slight improvement on last episode as it at least furthers our main plot. But we have now been robbed of motivations, mystery and any sympathetic main character. AHS not being able to conclude a full season continues. Three to go...

**1/2 (2.5/5)

MM