'American Horror Story: Cult' Episode 4 Recap
AHS: Cult Episode 4 is a flashback to Election Day and the hours before and after the results are announced - and we finally know who's doing the terrorizing in town.
1) Emma Roberts is back, and her cameo is unforgettable.
Roberts is introduced at the start of the episode as Serina, a news reporter and rival of Beverly Hope (Adina Porter), who we've seen in every news report on the show so far. Outside of a voting station, Beverly and Serina exchange words; Beverly is unhappy Serina is trying to take over as lead reporter. Serina responds, "Aren't you a nasty woman?"
2) Winter was a feminist before the election.
Chanting the mantra, "This pussy grabs back," Winter is shown queuing to vote with her group of friends. She also takes a photo in the voting booth as she casts her vote for Hillary. Winter is a totally different person pre-election, advocating for women and hopeful about life.
3) We see the moment Ally lied to her wife about voting for Hillary.
Arguably the biggest source of tension in Ally and Ivy's relationship is the fact that the former didn't vote for Clinton despite promising to. The moment Ally voted for an independent is shown onscreen and serves as the pivotal event that changed Ally's life - she lied about voting for Hillary and her vote contributed to Trump's win.
Later in the episode, in a flashback to the day before the election takes place, Ally tells Ivy, "If I thought Trump had a chance in hell of winning, I wouldn't even consider [voting for Stein]. He's a reality TV star for God's sake. Never going to happen."
4) Gary is properly introduced.
We saw Gary (Chaz Bono) briefly in Episode 1, wearing a "Make America Great Again" cap when Ally visited the supermarket. Episode 4 introduces Gary more formally and shows just how dedicated he is to supporting Trump in the election.
Kai helps Gary into the voting station, blood dripping profusely from his sleeve. Gary demands to vote, despite being in clear need of medical assistance. In the booth, he casts his vote for Trump, and triumphantly announces to the room afterwards, "Welcome to Trump's America!" He holds his bleeding arm up in the air and we see Gary's arm has been recently severed - he no longer has a hand.
It's not until later in the episode that we find out Kai encouraged Gary to cut his arm off in order to vote. Gary was handcuffed, so Kai offered him a saw and encouraged him to cut through his flesh. Disgusting, but effective.
5) Harrison is Kai's personal trainer.
The day after the election, Kai asks Harrison to be his personal trainer. He compliments Harrison profusely, telling him he looks strong. The pair get into a conversation about sexuality, with Kai revealing, "Listen, I like pussy. But if someone is in my life, man or woman, and a part of my crew, one of my people, I will fight for them. I will kill for them. And if they wake up in the morning with a hard-on that won't quit, I will find a way to make sure they know how much I love them." Harrison is pleased to hear this - Kai is certainly a persuasive leader.
Later, in a totally creepy move, Kai reveals to Harrison, "I've been watching you, and the people around you, for a long time." And when asked what his training goals are, Kai replies, "World domination," because of course he does.
6) Kai's back story is finally revealed.
Whether or not the back story Kai reveals to Harrison is true is up for debate, but it's possible we're finally getting some insight into Kai's personal life. He tells Harrison his work involves computers and coding, and that he's always been smart: "I tested at a genius level at 10. I was invited to join Mensa at 14. Right now I'm trying to focus on politics, changing the world, and all that shit."
Later in the episode, Kai tells Beverly he served in the Army before graduating from Yale. He tells her he plans to run for city council, to which she replies, "There are no seats on the city council." We all know how that turns out...
7) Kai's cult starts in the gym's steam room.
When Harrison is asked to clean up one of the rooms at the gym, he explains to Kai, "Sometimes guys jerk off in the steam room, and someone has to hose down the jizz." Kai replies, "And he makes you do that because you're gay? That's humiliating." As we learned in Episode 1 of Cult, "There's nothing more dangerous than a humiliated man." Kai is banking on this with Harrison.
Cleaning up, Harrison finds a face drawn on the steamed up glass: it's the very same face that we've seen drawn in blood at murder scenes in previous episodes. Later, in the steam room, Harrison finds Kai masturbating. He watches him finish, and Kai announces, "I'll clean it up myself." This proves his commitment to Harrison.
8) The bank is foreclosing on Harrison and Meadow's house.
We're given a glimpse at Meadow and Harrison's life before they move across the road from Ally and Ivy. It's not pretty. The bank is foreclosing on their house, and even though Meadow handles their money, she's failed to tell Harrison just how bad things have gotten.
After telling him, "All I need is you, and a decent cable package," Meadow kisses Harrison and tries to coerce him into sex. Harrison stops her, and the tension between the pair is palpable. They're both in desperate need of a savior.
9) We see Kai draw the smiley face, revealing he's definitely one of the killer clowns.
Talking to Harrison in the steam room as he cleans up yet more jizz, Kai draws the sinister smiley face on the glass, proving he's one of the murderers.
10) Kai convinces Harrison to murder his boss at the gym.
Bonding over Harrison's desperate financial situation, Kai encourages him to take control of his life by murdering the boss he hates so much. Harrison doesn't take much convincing. Whispering in his ear as Harrison chokes his boss, Kai says, "Show him what it means to suffer."
After it's done, Kai tells Harrison, "I'm proud to call you my friend." As Harrison freaks out about committing a murder, Kai sends texts from the dead man's phone telling his friends he's out of town on an emergency.
11) Kai helps Harrison dispose of the body.
Meadow and Harrison have been staying in a hotel since their eviction. She arrives at their room to find Kai and Harrison in the bathroom. Harrison is in the bath with the body of his boss, cutting off his head. When Meadow asks who Kai is, Harrison tells her, "Someone to believe in."
12) Reporter Beverly is Kai's next recruit.
Watching her reporting on the discovery of a dismembered body in a local landfill, Kai decides Beverly is the next person to become a member of his cult. He researches her and learns she's recently taken a leave of absence from work and checked herself into a psychiatric facility. Following several instances of men ruining her reports by shouting "Grab her in the pussy!" on camera, Beverly assaulted one of them, and her rage in the clips makes Kai light up. He's found another disciple.
Kai finds Beverly slashing the tires on Serina's car. He takes hers for coffee to convince her to work with him.
13) Serina is the main source of Beverly's rage.
It's revealed that Serina has been sucking up to news anchor Bob, and the pair plan to "discuss her career" at his lake house. Beverly interrupts them, visibly angered by Serina's attempts to replace her. Serina's response to Beverly's distaste is brilliant: "I'm going to be on The Today Show one day, and I don't care how many dicks I have to suck to get there."
14) Kai announces his plan to run for Congress.
Using Trump as an example, Kai tells Beverly anything is possible. "If you get the world scared enough, they will set the world on fire for us," he says. "You should be pulling out a knife and slashing their fucking throats." When it comes to Kai's cult, the sky is the limit.
15) Serina meets a grisly end.
Recording a news report about puppy adoption, three clowns accost Serina and viciously stab her and her cameraman to death. Emma Roberts' role in Cult is over before it began, but her murder happens for an important reason.
After seeing the disturbing footage, Kai tells Beverly he murdered Serina for her. He also tells Beverly he believes in her, and the pair form a crucial bond. She asks for equal power in Kai's cult, and he agrees. After all, she is the mouthpiece.
Does this mean Beverly is the fourth clown we've seen carrying out murders in the present day?
16) Gary assaults Ivy.
In a shocking moment during a pre-election day rally, Gary (Chaz Bono) grabs Ivy's crotch. She freezes in shock, and Winter comes to her rescue, threatening Gary until he leaves.
17) Winter and Ivy form a bond.
It's revealed that Winter and Ivy knew each other before Winter became the babysitter of Ivy and Ally's son, which is incredibly suspicious. Over dinner, there's major flirtation between the pair, and Winter implies that Ally doesn't deserve to be married to Ivy.
After flirting, Ivy and Winter kidnap Gary and tie him up. They lock him in a basement to stop him from voting for Trump in the election. However, their plan doesn't work, as Kai gives Gary the saw to cut off his arm and escape.
Now that we know the identity of all the clowns, we'll probably see more of their crimes the coming episodes. Things are gonna get a lot more disgusting.
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