American Horror Story: Cult episode 4 recap and review: Flashing back and making sense

The fourth episode of American Horror Story: Cult focused heavily on Kai and Winter building special connections to plenty of characters.

For episode 4, American Horror Story: Cult kept things entirely in flashback to turn in the most interesting episode of the season so far. Did it stop the show from having plenty of improbable events and ridiculous lines? Of course not. But for once, things actually seemed engaging and coherent. That has to count for something,

To start things off on election night, Emma Roberts’ reporter character, Serena Belinda skips ahead of a line including Harrison and Meadow, what appears to be Lena Dunham in a familiar red hat, Winter, Ally and Ivy. Although the votes are supposed to be secret, we see who votes for whom. Notable: Ally really does vote for Jill Stein, Winter takes a selfie, and Harrison votes for Gary Johnson. Quick way to get the characterization, eh? Chaz Bono’s Gary K. Longstreet also returns, brought in by Kai so they could vote … and so that Gary could reveal his bloody stump in the middle of a polling place for a cheap scare.

Roll credits!

The day after the election, Kai starts working with Harrison for some fitness, and creepily mentions corpse relocation. Despite the roots showing, the intensity (and the corpses), Harrison’s into what Kai’s selling. Sent to hose down the steam room (which, gross on multiple levels), Harrison also encounters the smiley face of death and destruction and Kai in the shower, also being gross.

(Frankly, how nasty is this season? American Horror Story has never shied away from the nastiness, but it seems even more prevalent.)

Having just found out he and Meadow are being foreclosed on, Harrison confides in Kai at work, no pinky contact needed. Kai’s pep talk goes creepy, and then he follows Harrison to the sauna … only to draw the smiley face on the door (and continue the creepy pep talk)! It’s really not surprising that he’s tied to the symbol. Much of the weirdness has surrounded him this season. It’s expected, and it’s frankly a little boring.

With Kai urging him on, Harrison kills the manager who kept sending him to do nasty things. Afterward, Kai coolly helps him cover it up, only for Meadow to walk in to the motel room they’re living in and find the two men dismembering the body! “Someone to believe in” is how Harrison introduces Kai.

In December 2016, Beverly Hope visits a dump to find the headless (and handless) body of Harrison’s manager. Kai focuses in on her, then finds a video of her being videobombed so many times that she ends up hitting one of them with her microphone. Thus begins Kai’s recruiting of Beverly while she’s taking it out on a car’s tires, then moving to what appears to the Butchery. Although she’s receptive, she doesn’t take him up on the offer immediately.

While Serena starts putting together some footage, three of the murder clowns arrive to kill her and her cameraman, and it’s all on film! (Emma Roberts did not last long on this season, did she?) Beverly rushes into Kai’s basement and interrupts his conversation with Meadow and Harrison about some sketches of the clown masks, having been brought over to the cause. It shows in her next report about the finding of the manager’s head.

An aside: Kai tells Beverly he did it, and there were two men and one woman clown, but the time doesn’t seem to match up — they’re looking at sketches of masks that they already own? American Horror Story just can’t resist having one mystery, can it?

Ivy’s experience of the day before the election includes encountering Gary, who emulates a certain tape, and Winter, who takes her out for food after chasing him off. If Kai’s all about being overt in his recruitment, Winter’s efforts are more insidious — but no less about saying what someone wants to hear.

At his grocery store, Gary locks up, then finds Winter still in the store. Ivy tases him, and when he comes to, he’s handcuffed, and the two ladies, now with masks on, tell them they’ll let him out tomorrow, after the election, and shout things like “You don’t matter anymore” at him before taping his mouth and leaving.

When Winter gets home, she cleans blood off her face. Kai gets the details, then goes to visit Gary with a way to get him out of there. After receiving a Kai speech, Gary takes the saw and cuts off his own hand.

Talk about your dedication. At least Kai puts his belt around Gary’s arm to stanch the bleeding before observing. Though there are some bloody shots, it’s mostly focused on Gary’s face.

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This episode ended up feeling tighter overall. Did it exactly explain why Kai is so good at convincing people to do what he convinces them to do? Probably not, but it did help make him seem less bizarre and more actively dangerous. He appears to be moving nicely into the antagonist’s role this season on American Horror Story.