“I think there might be something wrong with me. I don’t know what’s real anymore…”
In “Don’t Be Afraid of The Dark”, Kai uses his assault at the hands of a group of immigrants to push his bid for a seat on city council, Ivy feels the brunt of Ally's growing paranoia, and murder continues to plague post-election Michigan. What moves the plot along significantly is how clear it becomes that, while Ally certainly has some issues, there’s also a much larger conspiracy afoot.
“A hive is the perfect natural community because every single member of the hive is completely committed, 100%, to a singular task.”
Ally and Ivy have some new neighbors, Harrison (Billy Eichner) and Meadow (Leslie Grossman), who Ally immediately feels unsettled by. Perhaps it’s the fact that Harrison is a beekeeper (Ally isn’t a big fan of honeycombs), or maybe it’s because they took only a week to move into a home where a horrific murder took place. Regardless, within the first few minutes of the episode we start to get some hints that Harrison and Meadow will have a big part to play in how this season unfolds.
I’ve been a fan of Eichner for several years now, from his hilariously uncomfortable shout-comedy on ‘Billy on The Street’, and more recently as one-half of the outrageously funny duo at the center of ‘Difficult People’. This is, unquestionably, new ground for him. Eichner managers to somehow still come off as charming despite there being an obvious sinister edge to his character. He and Grossman are a comedy dream team, and they’re indeed quite funny here, but it’s even more exciting to see a different side to both of them.
“You’re that asshole who threw a latte on my wife and me…”
There’s an electrifying scene between Kai and Ally this week, and I absolutely can’t wait to see more of them together as their paths continue to cross. Colton Haynes and Cheyenne Jackson also both appear in one scene each, fleshing out their characters more but still remaining relatively mysterious. What's great about 'Cult' so far is that every plotline feels connected to the central story, without any meandering side plots that threaten to derail the season.
Scary Good: Stuff You’ll Love
- I already said it, but Billy Eichner is fantastic. I’m hoping that he and Billie Lourd both become mainstays of the series going forward.
- Speaking of Billie Lourd, she continues to be both super creepy and ridiculously funny. Particularly memorable this week is a scene where she draws a bath for Ally.
- Ally, feeling the need to protect herself, gets a gun. Her therapist isn't happy about it.
- So many fantastic one-liners, as usual. I think my favorite this week goes to, “Lesbians! We’re under attack!” Basically, anything uttered by Harrison and Meadow is gold.
- “You’re asleep.”
Bottom Line: I’m thoroughly enjoying the slow burn of this season’s narrative; rather than feeling front-loaded (like, say, ‘Freak Show’), it feels like the writers are truly building to something. With a smaller cast and a tighter focus than most previous installments of the series, 'Cult' continues to feel like it might just be the best overall season since 'Asylum'.
'American Horror Story: Cult' airs Tuesday on FX and Friday on FOX UK. For more on this series and all my other SpoilerTV work, feel free to follow me on Twitter. Hit the comment section to let us know what you're most excited to see in episode two.
