Following last week's extremely gruesome episode, the latest installment of American Horror Story: Cult contains a lot of catharsis. We finally find out what happened to Meadow after Ally found her in a grave in Harrison's backyard last week. Also, Ally gets the validation she so needs in realizing she's been the victim of gaslighting. She isn't crazy at all.
Following the devastating events in Las Vegas, FX decided to edit Episode 6, "Mid-Western Assassin," to remove references to gun violence, and they released a statement regarding their decision:
"In light of the tragedy last week in Las Vegas, Ryan Murphy and the producers of American Horror Story: Cult have chosen to make substantial edits to the opening scene. This opening, which was filmed two months ago and which portrays an occurrence of gun violence that has sadly become all too common in our country, contains a sequence that some viewers might find traumatic. Only the edited version of the episode will air on the FX linear channel, while the unedited version of the episode will be available on the VOD platform of your cable, satellite or telco provider, as well as on the FX Networks non-linear platforms, FXNOW and FX+.”
This recap is of the unedited version of the episode.
1) There's a mass shooting at a political rally.
The uncut version of the episode opens with Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) at a rally for a seat on the city council. He announces, "America for Americans. We are the wall!" Then a gun is fired. The crowd disperses, but several people are shot, including Kai onstage and Ally's therapist Dr. Vincent (Cheyenne Jackson). Ivy (Alison Pill) screams but manages to avoid being shot, cowering behind a fountain. Eventually, a SWAT team moves in and tells the shooter to drop the gun. Ally is the one holding it.
2) Ally is waking up to the gaslighting.
Continuing from last week's episode, Ally is inside her house when Meadow appears at the window, begging to be let in. Meadow reveals that Ivy is in a cult before she is dragged away, presumably by her husband Harrison, who was planning to bury her in the backyard last week. Following this revelation about Ivy, Ally decides to hang up on her estranged wife and locks all of the doors and windows.
Ally's therapist Dr. Vincent calls to tell her that Ivy is concerned. He says, "It sounds like you're having an episode," to which Ally responds, "I'm not crazy!" She's finally realizing that what's been happening in her house and in the neighborhood is not normal, yet those closest to her have attempted to normalize it. But killer clowns are not normal. Dr. Vincent tells Ally to get some sleep.
3) Ally rescues Meadow.
Instead of going to sleep, Ally grabs a knife and a can of pepper spray and heads over to Meadow and Harrison's house. She finds the garage door locked so she climbs in through an open window. Once inside, she hears Harrison having sex with Detective Samuels and sees a set of keys on the floor amongst their clothes. She manages to grab the keys and unlock the garage, where she finds Meadow gagged and tied to a chair. She cuts Meadow loose, but just as they're about to escape, Meadow knocks over a toolbox and the noise alerts Detective Samuels that Ally is there. He chases them out of the garage, but Ally and Meadow manage to get into a car and drive away. It's a tense chase.
4) Meadow explains the cult to Ally. Ivy's in deep.
Meadow reveals that Ivy is responsible for all of the awful things that have happened in Ally's house. She says, "How do you think we've been getting into your house? Like the night of the guinea pig, Ivy made sure the alarm at your house was off, and that the door was unlocked, and she texted us when you were a few blocks away." When Ally asks, "Why would she do that?" Ivy replies, "To make you crazy."
Ally is in denial at first, and says, "Ivy is not a joiner. She hates all organized religion. She doesn't believe in anything." But Meadow claims that the hole left from the lack of a belief system is exactly how a cult, or political figure, slips in.
Meadow also reveals that the cult had been harassing people all over town. The chemical trucks Ally saw were actually just water trucks designed to scare people. The dead birds she found on her lawn were planted there by the cult. They did the same to other people to create fear everywhere.
5) "You can't just join the cult. He has to choose you."
A flashback to December 2016 reveals that Meadow was in love with Kai because he made her feel special. The pair even kissed following the murder of the Changs, with Kai telling Meadow that her work murdering the councillor was impeccable.
Then Meadow overheard Kai giving Ivy the same speech and she realized she wasn't special to him, nor loved in the way she wanted.
It's Kai's focus that ensnares new cult members, by making a new recruit feel like they're the only person in the world.
6) Meadow's decision to leave the cult is what gets her tied up.
Angry at Kai after hearing him bestow praise on Ivy, Meadow announces she's leaving the cult. However, Kai tells Harrison to call the police and tell them something has happened to his wife. Harrison and Detective Samuels then tie Meadow up. Kai tells her, "You're worthless. You don't exist. You're nothing." Then she's thrown into the grave in Harrison's backyard, where Ally discovered her last episode.
7) Meadow and Ally decide to kill Kai.
Ally says they'll go to the FBI or police in another state—they'll find someone to help them. But Meadow says there is only one way to stop the cult and Kai: "We have to kill him."
8) Kai meets resistance at his town council debate.
At the town council debate, a new character, Sally Keffler, announces that she's running for city council in opposition to Kai. She tells Kai, "You're not a conservative. You're a reactionary. You use fear, and the fantasy of a time that never was." Then, in dialogue that is a serious commentary on the current political climate, she tells the crowd, "People like Mr. Anderson and Mr. Trump are not the garbage. They're the flies that the garbage has drawn. It's time that we stop worrying about the flies, and we start hauling away the garbage. I can no longer stand by and let another candidacy of fear win another election."
Notably, Sally is played by Mare Winningham, who has also appeared in American Horror Story: Coven, Freak Show, and Hotel.
9) Ivy began to hate Ally following Ozzy's birth.
In a flashback to the day following the election, Ivy panics after seeing Gary, the man she and Winter kidnapped and locked up so he couldn't vote. He has, of course, sawn off his arm in order to vote, and Ivy is concerned she will be arrested for her actions. This is when Winter introduces Ivy to Kai, saying, "You have to meet my brother. He can fix everything."
Almost immediately, Kai invites Ivy into a pinky swear. He does this with all of his new cult members, to take on their fear. He asks, "What fills your dark heart with dread?" and under duress, Ivy replies, "The thought of lying in bed next to my wife." She then reveals that she began to hate her wife when their son Ozzy was born. Ally carried the baby, and breastfed him until he was three years old. Ivy felt excluded from her son's life, and resented Ally for depriving her of the experience. Due to endometritis, Ivy was unable to carry the child herself.
Ivy also reveals she hates Ally's "bullshit entitled phobias."
10) Kai suggests Winter and Ivy should be a couple.
Following the revelation that she hates her own wife, Kai asks Ivy if she'd be happy with Winter. Ivy replies, "Only if I could have Oz as well." It looks like Ivy and Winter are definitely romantically entwined.
11) Kai also suggests Ivy murder Ally.
When Ivy tells Kai the only reason she's staying with Ally is because she would never get full custody of Ozzy if she left, Kai asks, "Have you thought about murder?" Ivy says she doesn't want her son to go through that trauma, so Kai's alternative is to make sure no court ever grants Ally custody—presumably by making her appear to be crazy.
12) Ally goes to Sally Keffler for help.
Ally knocks on Sally's door late at night and begs for her help. Luckily, Sally believes Ally's stories about Kai and wants to work together to stop him from getting elected to the town council. Surprised that someone finally believes her, Ally asks why Sally doesn't think she's crazy. Sally says, "Well, I'm not surprised. This is the kind of shit that happens whenever the patriarchy is threatened." True story, bro.
13) The killer clowns break into Sally Keffler's house and kill her.
Kai notices that Sally is still logged into her Facebook account, so he pens a suicide note and posts it on her page. When she tells him no one will believe the letter, he says, "Of course they will. It's on Facebook." Kai shoots Sally in the chest while the other clowns hold her down. Ally is hiding in the bathroom, and although one of the clowns find her (it looks like Ivy), they do nothing.
14) When Ally gets back to Dr. Vincent's office, Meadow is gone.
Dr. Vincent tells Ally, "I highly recommend you check yourself into an inpatient facility." However, Ally seems to realize she can't trust Dr. Vincent and he is trying to make her believe she's crazy.
15) It's revealed that Meadow was the one who opened fire at the start of the episode.
And Ally tried to stop her, thus incriminating herself.
16) Another flashback reveals that Kai asked Meadow to shoot him.
As part of his master plan to become well-known nationwide, Kai asks Meadow to shoot him. As they have sex (surely another of his coercion techniques) Kai explains that Meadow will shoot him, he will be hospitalized but not die, and that the world will fall under his spell as a result. As Kai says, "We're a Christian country. Everyone loves a resurrection." Kai also wants Meadow to tell Ally everything about the cult, "because when it comes out of her mouth, that's when the truth can hide in plain sight. Nobody will believe what a crazy woman says."
Kai also encourages Meadow to kill herself after shooting him and other people at the rally, calling it "our eternal secret."
17) Ally is arrested.
Ally is led away by police as Meadow's dead body is covered with a sheet. Ivy looks over the scene, stunned at what has just taken place. Presumably, Ally's arrest is part of Kai's plan to get Ivy full custody of Ozzy.
18. After being shot, Kai wakes up.
The shooting goes to plan: Meadow is dead, Ally has been arrested, and Kai will become known the world over. What a terrifying turn of events.
