American Horror Story: Cult In Progress Review
On television screens, the much anticipated seventh season of “American Horror Story” has premiered. This season’s theme is ‘cult,’ and creator Ryan Murphy has confirmed via Instagram that the entire anthology has been based on Dante’s “Inferno.” Each season has an underlying theme related to 1 of the 9 realms of hell in the inferno. This season, ‘cult’ is based off the 6th circle of hell, heresy.
Murphy’s announcement about the anthology has made viewers and fans excited for this season and the next 2 seasons, as it is confirmed that the anthology will release seasons 8 and 9. Although, there is some concern from fans about the future of the anthology, stating Dante’s “Inferno” only has 9 circles of hell, and there are only 2 more confirmed seasons. Nevertheless, Murphy has delivered a new and fresh storyline this season with political elements included.
The season begins with the 2016 election and Donald Trump being announced as the President of the United States. Married couple Ivy (Alison Pill) and Ally Mayfair-Richards (Sarah Paulson) are devastated by the news, while Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) is a Trump supporter. There have only been 3 out of the eleven-episode season aired thus far, and the character development continues with each episode.
Currently, Kai seems to be making a ruckus in town and sending Ally into a paranoia of fear. Kai’s motives are unclear, as well as the cult aspect. There are hints, but no clear cult making an appearance. Ally’s paranoia is also unclear as to whether she is hallucinating, or if what she sees is real. In the political aspect of the season, there is a scene where Kai harasses a group of Hispanic workers because he is simply racist. This has caused some discomfort from viewers as they may not agree with what Murphy is doing this season, but just a reminder that the show is completely fictional.
Aside from Murphy including the real-life 2016 election and creating racist, Trump-supporting characters in the show, the season began and continues to move incredibly slow. Although Murphy is notorious for keeping each season of AHS mysterious, there is too little happening with no answers to keep viewers interested for long. Grade: C+