TWD Season 8, Episode 1: Mercy

Welcome back TWD fans! After a very long summer hiatus, the All Out War is upon us as Rick and the gang have prepared themselves to go head to head with Negan and The Saviors. We have reached 100 episodes, and this season premiere pays homage to the pilot episode a few different times which is pretty awesome. We jump around quite a bit throughout the hour and it's not always easy to know when we're in the "now," but it sure is nice to see everyone back together again...however short lived it may be. Here's what went down in "Mercy."

I Got A Brand New Attitude

The episode opens with a Maggie/Ezekiel/Rick pep talk as their followers gather around and listen to the trio of leaders talk about how far they've come together. Ezekiel calls the men and women who fight with him his brothers and sisters, Maggie tells the group they can't ever lose faith in each other, and Rick says their world is going to continue to get bigger. He also says there is only one person who has to die, "and I will kill him myself." The leaders deliver a message of a brighter tomorrow and the residents of all three colonies seem eager to make the world a safer place and win the war ahead of them. There's a lot of head nodding and "I got your back" exchanges among the group, so at least everyone is currently on the same page. 

We catch up with Carl as he's on a supply mission in what looks like a run down version of The Mystery Machine. His one-eyed driving skills seem to be pretty strong and his hair is just as inexcusable as it was when we last saw him. As Carl wanders around a gas station with an empty can, he hears a man call out to him. This guy is hiding behind a car and he tells Carl a little bit about his mom, quotes the Quran, and mentions that he hasn't eaten in days. He steps into sight and just as Carl is about to approach him, we see Rick firing shots over the guy's head, scaring him away. Carl had been hoping to help the dude but Rick is worried he's a Negan spy. Carl walks away in frustration as Rick gets his hatchet ready to dispose of a little girl Walker. Fun fact - if you're sitting there thinking "that little girl Walker looks like the one from the pilot episode of TWD," you're not crazy. It's the same young actress and they brought her back 100 episodes later. Neat, huh? We see Carl go back to this spot later in the episode and leave some food and a "Sorry" note. I'm guessing we'll see more of that guy at some point this season.   

We're All Gonna Get In A Fight

Seems we have reached the big day where Alexandria, Hilltop, and The Kingdom join forces and head to The Sanctuary. I'm not exactly sure how much time has passed between this day and the day Shiva ate Saviors in Alexandria...Judith suddenly looks like she's in preschool, but Maggie doesn't even have a baby bump yet. Fuzzy math. There has been a ton of preparation leading to this day though. Dwight is our inside man now and has made security for The Saviors very vulnerable. The Saviors' satellite sites and watch towers have been taken out, a large number of vehicles have become moving shields like the Spartans in 300, and the masses have been trained to wield weapons for combat against living enemies as well as the dead. I hope this carefully laid out plan has a payoff. 

Rick leaves Carl, Michonne, and Smokin' Hot Rosita (and her resting bitch face) behind in Alexandria to defend the homestead if needed and none of them seem thrilled about it. Tara, Carol, Daryl and Morgan have the daunting task of leading Negan's patrol cars to an area of explosives, and also leading a large herd of Walkers toward The Sanctuary. Timing is key here. 

The armored Spartan vehicles assemble outside The Sanctuary and some warning shots are fired. Negan, Simon, Eugene, Gavin, Regina and Dwight emerge from the front door and Negan doesn't look phased by this setup at all. "Well shit, I'm sorry. I was in a meeting." He goes on to say a few more things but I can't pay attention...all I can think is WHY AREN'T WE SHOOTING NEGAN ON SIGHT? I mean, there he is, Rick! Kill his ass! But that's not what Rick does. Instead, Rick offers Negan's lieutenants a chance to surrender and survive. Eugene is silently realizing he chose poorly in this fight and Gavin looks a little worried too. Simon, however, steps back inside to grab Dumbass Gregory, who has apparently been hiding out there and pouting. Dumbass Gregory calls out to the Hilltopians and tells them Hilltop stands with Negan, and any resident who takes up arms will find themselves homeless. "Go home now or you won't have a home to go back to!" Several folks from that colony look nervous but none of them waiver. Jesus shouts back "The Hilltop stands with Maggie!" and Simon tosses Gregory's ass down the stairs. Ha!

And You're A Tool

Negan hears the explosion from his patrol cars and sees smoke rising in the distance. He knows shit is going down. Rick initiates a countdown for the lieutenants to surrender, starting at 10 and opening fire at 7...and by opening fire, I mean the group shoots blindly at the building, hitting none of the lieutenants and possibly just grazing Negan. The Grimes gang wastes a shit ton of bullets shooting up the windows and I'm not entirely sure why. I get that gunfire was an alert for Daryl to get the Walkers heading that way, but are bullets really that disposable that we needed to unleash so many of them? Didn't we have a hell of a time finding "a lot" of guns for Das Sound Machine the garbage people? Where are they these days? 

Our heroes sprint to their vehicles and haul ass out of there. Gabriel rigs the RV to crash through the main gate and he jumps out of the back window. Instead of hopping in his car though, he makes the mistake of trying to save Dumbass Gregory, who makes off with the car instead and leaves him behind. Gabriel, really? You left the keys in the ignition? The herd of Walkers have now surrounded the place and Gabriel barely makes it into a trailer without getting bit. Problem is, he's not alone in that trailer. Negan is there as well and he tells the priest "I hope you have your shittin' pants on...cuz you are about to shit your pants." Groan. We then get an aerial shot of the Walkers ascending on the trailer outside, and the camera pans out the same way it did in the pilot episode when Rick was stuck in the tank.  

Tonight we also toggle back and forth to some sort of future where Rick walks with a cane has a long, gray beard....it's very Rip Van Rick. Michonne and Carl don't look like they've aged a day, but Judith is at least kindergarten age and she takes Rip Van Rick to see some sort of festival preparation happening outside. She tells him there's an owl and we see them head out their front door. At the same time, we see a somewhat more present day Rick, eyes red and a little shaky. He stands near two graves says, "My mercy prevails over my wrath," which is also a quote from the Quran. I'm guessing this is a post-war Rick, reflecting on decisions made and losses suffered. This scene seems very real. The Rip Van Rick sequence, on the other hand, reminds me far too much of the fantasy scenes we saw after Glenn and Abraham died where the group sits happily around a large dinner table without a care in the world. So should we worry that those two graves hold some combination of Michonne, Carl, and Judith? Are Gabriel's days numbered? As much as I would enjoy an Odd Couple spinoff of Negan and Gabriel in the trailer, I don't think cohabitation is in the cards for those guys. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks, but for now, The Walking Dead show runners have certainly given us a lot to chew on. 

AHS Cult Episode 7 - Valerie Solanas Died For Your Sins: Scumbag

I can say with 100% honesty that I don't know what I watched in this hour or American Horror Story: Cult. We're at that point in the season where Ryan Murphy likes to do a cutaway episode that features a "real" person. This season's cutaway comes in the 7th episode and is very is Lena Dunham heavy (meh). It's all a little off the wall, even for AHS, so I will sum up her portion as best I can. Episode 7 of Cult is my least favorite of the season so far, but hey - Frances Conroy is back, so that alone is worth the hour of my time. Here's what went down in "Valerie Solanas Died For Your Sins: Scumbag."

You Know You're Still Number One

Kai's assassination attempt certainly got him notoriety outside of Beverly Hope's nightly news report. The story Harrison sells the press paints Meadow as a disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporter (oh how I wish he had seen that vote for Oprah) who vowed revenge against Trump fans, specifically Kai Anderson. He says she wrote it all down in her diary. Isn't that convenient.... What Harrison doesn't address, nor does anyone else, is how Meadow went from missing person whose blood was all over the house to someone strolling up to a rally with a gun unnoticed. This one wasn't tied up very well, Mr. Murphy. 

As a huge surprise to no one, Kai wins the election and even gets a re-tweet from Eric Trump. Our boy is really moving up in the world. Beverly is ecstatic and ready for the next phase in world domination...problem is, Councilman Kai is already acting differently. He says he promised the people law and order and he plans it give it to them. Strange though. Kai also has a house full of young, aggressive, white male followers doing his bidding and suddenly it's time for the women of the clown posse to just "sit back and take a break." So much for equal power, Bev. Well, hell hath no fury like a crazy reporter scorned, so Beverly pays a visit to a mysterious person she had found lurking in the news station parking lot a day earlier. Welcome back, Frances Conroy! The AHS veteran plays Bebe Babbitt this season, a woman who has experience with cults...and with men trying to slow the progression of female power.

Beverly gathers Winter and Ivy at The Butchery (which never seems to be open) to discuss the sausagefest at the Anderson house. Beverly has brought Bebe along to tell her story. Seems the love of Bebe's life was a troubled young lady named Valerie...

We're Not The Fortunate Ones

We go back to 1968 where Lena Dunham joins us as Valerie Solanas, a radical feminist whose claim to fame is mostly her attempt to kill Andy Warhol. AHS introduces her to us as a desperate woman getting pounded doggy-style in the back seat of a car for less than $10. Times are tough. She uses this money to buy bullets meant for Andy Warhol because she believes he stole one of her scripts on purpose to hold her back from success. Andy Warhol, by the way, is played by Evan Peters and it's kind of refreshing to watch him in this role after seeing all of Kai's bloodshed in recent weeks. At one point Andy says, "Valerie...you know women can't be serious artists," and that seals the deal. Valerie returns to the studio and fires 3 shots at Andy, hitting him once in the chest. Bebe calls this the first shot of a revolution. The judge called it grounds for 3 years in prison under psychiatric evaluation. 

While incarcerated Valerie is still able to communicate with Bebe and the loyal supporters of her work, SCUM Manifesto, which I admit I had never heard of until tonight. For Cult purposes, SCUM stands for "Society for Cutting Up Men," and Valerie had already assembled a group of followers to murder all males who are not part of the men's auxiliary of SCUM. For instance, Drew and Bruce are two gay men who support Valerie, so they are members of SCUM as gender traitors. Now here's where we really go off the deep end: this group doesn't just kill men. This group kills men AND the women who spread their legs for a man to "gain value." I guess we'll shrug off the cash Valerie got earlier for spreading her legs. Anyway, once the first shot of the revolution was fired, we see the group murdering young couples in the midst of passion...the same way the Zodiac Killer murdered young couples in the midst of passion during that exact same time frame. What the actual fuck are we talking about now? Either Bebe is lying her ass off or the Zodiac Killer dining in AHS: Hotel is Coach Beiste from Glee. Shout out to Dot-Marie Jones for her 90 seconds on screen tonight. I've missed her. 

When Valerie is finally freed she resumes promotion of her SCUM work. She is particularly annoyed that a man had been taking credit for the killings, sending details in to the local paper as the "Zodiac Killer" and distracting people from the reason SCUM murdered these folks to begin with. Turns out Bruce is the guilty party so Valerie and the other SCUM women hack him to pieces. Valerie tries like hell to get the SCUM name out there and make people forget the term "Zodiac Killer," but it's too late. At this point she has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic as well, and her followers are getting concerned. They dwindle. They disappear...including Bebe. Valerie died alone in a hotel room in 1988 and we are seriously 46 minutes into the episode as this story finally wraps up. Bebe tells The Butchery women they must regain their power before it's too late, and for whatever reason, Valerie Solanas' story lights a fire under their asses to take action. 

They Wanna Have Fun

Winter finds Kai in their parents' room holding mom's decaying hand and I don't understand how neither of them are vomiting. The stench has to be unbearable, right? Kai wonders if they would be proud of what he's accomplished because there's just so much pressure on him now. "Am I worthy of the responsibility that's been hoisted above my shoulders?" Winter holds his other hand and tells him she loves him. She reminds Kai that he can count on her and he thanks her...but then whips out a copy of SCUM Manifesto that he'd found in her room. He tells Winter that he read it and found it fascinating and inspiring. Kai realizes he needs a philosophy "for the history books," preferably with a catchy title. His first idea is "FIT," meaning "Fear Is Truth." His second idea, that he claims came from Harrison, is "MLWB," meaning "Men Lead, Women Bleed." You can imagine how well that goes over with Winter. 

Harrison walks through The Butchery (again, not open) with Ivy and they discuss having a surprise victory party for Kai. Harrison is even thinking of building Kai an iron throne from Game of Thrones out of swords he acquired from The Golden Compass, which is honestly really badass, but Ivy is quick to question him about viewing Kai as a king. Harrison responds "what do you know about anything?" then heads into the main dining room. Winter, Beverly, and Bebe are there and he realizes the surprise party is for him. The ladies tie Harrison down to a table in the freezer and question him about Meadow. He swears he had no idea what she would do but says it's the most meaningful thing she ever did in her life. He also swears he didn't come up with "MLWB" but it's too late. These bitches are on the warpath and Ivy takes an electric saw to Harrison's neck and his blood splatters everywhere. Gordon Ramsay would lose his shit if The Butchery was ever featured on an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. As it stands now, I can't imagine how this place could ever pass a health inspection.  

Beverly Hope is of course live at the scene where Harrison's body is discovered cut into many pieces and covered in pond scum. She suspects this murder was in retaliation to Meadow's mass shooting and Beverly looks dead into the camera and says "Clearly the promise of law and order in Brookfield Heights is not being kept." Kai watches this news report and his initial reaction makes me think: this bitch is toast. However, he looks to his right and asks "They're at their best when they're angry, don't you think?" The camera pans to Bebe, sitting with a smile on her face. "Aren't we all?" 

The episode ends there and it's going to take me a little while to process this hour. With Ally still being held in police custody, we were again granted a break from her emotional breakdowns this week...but I think Valerie's continuous rants and raves were just as annoying, if not worse. I never thought I'd say this, but I missed Sarah Paulson tonight. At the moment Ally has no idea that her wife has gone from a shy follower to a full on cold-blooded killer. She probably also has no idea who the hell is watching Oz these days. I would say the kid has a very well-paid babysitter, but The Butchery is NEVER open and should really never be cleared to serve food again. 

Thinking back on the bloodshed of episode 7, where did Kai find Bebe and what is her real backstory? Did she really know Valerie Solanas or was she making all of that shit up just to get his clown posse women all riled up? Is Kai really looking to be a leader who restores order or is he actually looking to set the world on fire? Sacrificing Meadow did not surprise me given she had begun to go rogue, but Harrison has shown unwavering loyalty to Kai since day 1, so Kai's sacrifice there really surprised me. Is Beverly going to build her own group of followers now? Will she find herself alone in the end the way Valerie did in the story? What will Ally's next move be? And most importantly...what will happen to the Wilton's collection of cool memorabilia from various Nicole Kidman movies? Detective Jack better find a good home for that shit (pick me!). 

AHS Cult Episode 6: Mid-Western Assassin

I already knew a bit about episode 6 of American Horror Story: Cult several days before watching it. In the aftermath of the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, Ryan Murphy was faced with a dilemma in airing this week's episode which features a shooting at a political rally. I had read he edited the shooting portion out of respect for the Las Vegas victims and their families, but what we see tonight is still very unsettling. Here's what went down in "Mid-Western Assassin."

My Odds Are Stacked

The hour begins with Kai making a speech at a pretty well attended rally. I personally haven't seen that kind of turnout for anything City Council related and I even live in the DC area. We hear Kai's booming voice, and then we hear chants, and then we hear gunshots. The camera follows Ivy as she makes her way through the crowd, trying to escape. She ducks behind a fountain with Harrison, but he bolts soon after and Ivy is too shaken to move. She sees a S.W.A.T. team move in on the shooter...and we see Ally drop a handgun as Kai remains motionless on the stage. Oh. Shit. Cue the opening music. 

And My Tears Dry

We jump around a lot tonight, and we go now to the day after the election where Ivy is standing on Winter's front porch, telling her about Gary showing up to the polls without a hand. She's panicking, thinking she and Ivy will be arrested for tying him up to begin with, but Winter tells her to calm the fuck down. "You have to meet my brother. He can fix anything." Ivy heads down to the basement to meet Kai, but she laughs at him when he suggests they link pinky fingers. He then tells Ivy that he is the person who set Gary free so he could exercise his right to vote. Kai says Gary is doped up in the hospital at the moment, "but he's gonna be back here with us soon and do you want Gary to find out who's responsible for what he's lost?" 

Ivy sits down and links fingers with Kai, and his first question cuts deep. When he asks what fills Ivy's heart with dread, she answers, "our new president" but Kai asks her for the truth. Ivy then says, "the thought of laying in bed next to my wife." Ouch. Kai wants the background to that statement and Ivy's resentment goes all the way back to her son's birth. Ally had carried Ozzie and was very particular about breastfeeding until the kid was 3 years old. Ewww. Ivy talks briefly about Ally's phobias and says the last straw was the election and Ally's vote for Jill Stein. The tears are rolling down Ivy's cheeks as Kai says, "I see before me an empty carcass, devoid of happiness. She has sucked every bit of it out of your marrow. But there's hope. Would my young, hot sister make you happy?" Ivy doesn't hesitate. "Only if I could have Oz as well." While Ivy admits she has wished Ally was dead, she never wants her son to go through that trauma...so they come up with a plan to make sure Ally would never be awarded custody. Can we pause for a minute to note that Ivy has known Winter for 48 hours? I get that her marriage has been crumbling for a while, but Ivy is wayyyy to quick to say Winter could make her happy. She hasn't even given me the impression that she's into Ivy. 

I Tread A Troubled Track

We go back now to the night Meadow was banging on Ally's window and begging for help. For those who don't recall, Ally sat on her floor crying and did nothing when Meadow was yanked away. We resume that scene now as Ally is locking all of her windows (shouldn't that have been done already? I mean...she has bars on the doors for god's sake), and standing in the kitchen with a "what the hell do I do now?" look on her face. Her cell phone rings and Dr. Vincent pops up on her screen. He had received a call from Ivy and wanted to check in. Ally tells Dr. Vincent that she doesn't know who she can trust anymore. "The best thing you can do tonight is do nothing. Please go and get some sleep." She agrees, hangs up the phone, then fiiiiiiinally does something that will make me root for her. Ally grabs a knife and a can of mace and heads back across the street. 

The Wilton's bathroom window is unlocked and Ally is able to get into the house. Harrison is busy getting busy with Detective Jack, so she grabs Harrison's keys out of the pile of clothes on the floor unnoticed. Ally finds Meadow tied to a chair in the garage and sets her free. Harrison and Detective Jack hear the commotion when Meadow grabs her purse and knocks a bunch of shit over, and they go after the women. Ally sprays mace in Harrison's eyes before she and Meadow hop in the car and drive away from Detective Jack. 

Ally takes Meadow to The Butchery and Meadow immediately asks for a cappuccino. I really do love her. Meadow tells Ally all about the cult and how Kai is trying to create an environment of fear in order to get elected. She says the Tommyknockers trucks are just water trucks, but they put poison in their bird feeders to make it seem as though someone was poisoning the neighborhood. Ally is having a hard time believing Meadow and .... wait... really? She's having a hard time believing Meadow but truly thinks she saw clowns having sex in the produce section of the local grocery store? Sigh. She tells Meadow that Ivy could never be in a cult because Ivy doesn't believe in anything. Meadow smirks. "That's kinda how it starts. If you already believed in something there wouldn't be any room for him." Meadow says Kai paid protesters to stand outside The Butchery so he could then be the hero and get rid of them. He has people everywhere. 

He Left No Time To Regret

Meadow takes us back to December 2016, a month or so after the election, and she is feeling very much like the third wheel in her marriage as Harrison and Detective Jack have become...very close. Meadow has started to redirect her feelings toward Kai. See, she designs the clown masks and costumes and every time Kai gives her a compliment, it's better than sex. He makes her feel so special, saying things like, "I know I've asked a lot, but a larva bee has to shed its skin to become the queen. It can be painful, but the dark must prevail to bring forth the light." Meadow explains that he set her free in many ways and thought she and Kai would be unstoppable together. This changes the day Meadow ventures down to Kai's basement and hears him saying the same "special" lines to Ivy. At that point she tells Kai he is full of shit and leaves to go pack a bag. Harrison, Detective Jack, and Kai follow her to try to reel her back in but Meadow is pissssed. "Can I ask you a question? When was the last time a seat on the zoning board lead to world domination?" Ha! Kai doesn't realize what a gem he has here. He instead looks at Harrison and says "It's time to call the police. Something terrible has happened to your wife." Meadow is thrown into the ditch Ally found her in last week and now Ally is up to speed on the cult and the roles people play. Meadow says there is no one they can trust and the only way to stop Kai is to kill him.  

For whatever reason, the TV in the corner of The Butchery is on and we see Kai debating his only opponent in the race for City Council seat. As he walks around near his podium preaching that "now is the time to be scared," a woman yells "bulllllshit" from the back of the room. AHS alum Mare Winningham plays Sally Kefler this season, and Sally is tired of the reports about "a community in terror." She says crime is down 14% from last year and almost 30% from 1980. Kai doesn't have a response and Sally goes on. "We need to get serious about finding whoever is responsible for the crimes you are talking about, but you're just trying to make these people scared." She says a few more things to put Mr. Anderson in his place before declaring her own candidacy for City Council. Kai reminds her that the deadline for submitting paperwork has passed and the ballots have already been printed.  Sally understands, which is why she will be going to the clerk's office the very next morning to file a letter of intent to officially declare her right in candidacy. Kai has an "oh shit" look on his face as the crowd applauds her.  The other guy he is running against doesn't even get a word in. 

We Only Said Goodbye With Words

Ally takes Meadow to Dr. Vincent because she feels she can trust him. Damn it, Ally. I was starting to like you a little. Just a little. Ally asks Dr. Vincent to talk to Meadow so he can be her "expert witness" and then leaves Meadow there. Literally leaves. I'm sorry...if almost everyone I knew was in a cult and trying to make me believe I was batshit crazy, and there was one person who could prove them wrong, I most likely would not let that person out of my sight. Just sayin. 

Where does Ally go? She pays a visit to Sally Kefler's house to tell her all about Kai and his cult. She says she can prove it because there's a girl who escaped who is willing to tell Sally everything....except Ally didn't bring this girl with her....because Ally is stupid. Sally listens as she rolls a joint and she is on board with bringing Kai down. "Every society that has ever chosen to lead with fear has undone itself." This conversation is cut short as the clown posse breaks into the house. Ally leaves her new found savior in the dust and runs to a bathroom, and Sally pulls a gun on the first few clowns she sees. One sneaks up behind her though and grabs the gun, so we know she's toast. Kai removes his mask so Sally will know before she dies that she fucked with the wrong dude. Beverly removes hers as well (another power play?) but everyone else keeps their masks on. Kai notices Sally's laptop is open, so he posts a "suicide note" on her Facebook page, holds Sally's gun against her chest, and pulls the trigger. Ally does some sort of crying yelp when she hears the gunshot and clown Ivy goes to check out where the noise is coming from. Ivy still has her mask on when she finds Ally, but Ally recognizes her. Ivy slams the bathroom door shut and leaves with the other clowns. 

You'd think at this point Ally would call 911, but I guess she's still worried about who she can trust and heads back to Dr. Vincent's office instead. He says he spoke with Meadow for a few minutes and she left. We see a quick flashback of Meadow sitting in the office and she must not know Dr. Vincent's connection to Kai. She looks as though she is about to spill her guts when her purse starts vibrating. Kai is calling her and she dips out. When Ally learns that Meadow didn't mention anything about a cult or being in danger, she flips out on Dr. Vincent and says he shouldn't have let her go. No, dumbass. You should have taken her WITH YOU. Ally cries and Dr. Vincent again suggests she check herself into a facility. She says "fuck you" and leaves. 

Back To Black

We pick up at the rally now from the beginning of the episode. Ally approaches just as Kai is telling the crowd that Sally Kefler "tragically committed suicide last night" and he pledges that he will never desert his followers like she did. Too soon, buddy. Too soon. Ally sees Meadow and calls out to her. Meadow starts making her way toward the stage and Ally follows her. Meadow takes out a handgun and shoots a woman standing closest to the podium. She shoots Kai in the leg. She turns around as people start running and shoots at least 3 more people before Ally tries to grab the gun from her. Meadow looks at Ally and says "this is the face of true love" before turning the gun toward the inside of her mouth and pulling the trigger. Meadow's body drops to the ground and now the S.W.A.T. team is surrounding Ally. 

The episode is not over...we go back now to the night when Kai told Harrison, "something terrible has happened to your wife." Meadow is tied up but has not been thrown in the hole yet. Kai is alone with her and unties her legs. He kisses Meadow and tells her she is everything to him. "You're the only one who sees me." Kai agrees that the City Council is too small and something big needs to happen to get him on the national stage. He needs an assassination attempt and he needs Meadow to do it. Meadow is hesitant but then Kai takes off her pants and...shows her how much he appreciates her. In between thrusts he tells Meadow that first she will bear witness and tell Ally everything so the truth can hide in plain sight. Meadow wants to do this for Kai but is worried she will crack under pressure and won't be able to lie to the police. Kai has no intention of letting Meadow get caught by the police. "It will be our eternal secret. Our everlasting love. Do you understand?" Cut to the scene of the crime where Ivy sits terrified and Kai is rolled away on a stretcher with a huge smile on his face. Now we're done.

So I have to assume Kai told Meadow not to shoot anyone in the clown posse as she went on her rampage...they were all there and they were all panicked. But people had to have seen Meadow with the gun, right? They had to have seen Ally try to take the gun from Meadow before she killed herself, right? Or is this somehow all going to be pinned on Ally? That will greatly annoy me. I know Detective Jack is in on everything, and I assume he somehow got the police report from Sally's house to reflect a suicide even though she never fired a gun and the windows were broken (otherwise we have another gaping plot hole), but how are they going to explain Meadow's emergence? The last news story on Meadow showed her as a missing person whose blood was all over her "marked" house. Detective Jack did a great job of making sure Harrison was only questioned once on that front....then the whole thing went quiet. Will Kai's bullet to the leg propel him to the national stage? Will the shooting be the final straw for Ivy and her involvement in the cult? Will she go back to her wife and try to bring down the clown posse? And finally, who is Beverly's new cameraman? Dude has to realize that folks in the newscasting profession have been dropping like flies in that area. Might be time for a career change. 

AHS Cult Episode 5: Holes

On tonight's episode of American Horror Story: Cult, we find out who the crazy clown killers are (a portion of them anyway) as Kai continues his quest for a City Council seat and Beverly grabs a hold of as much power she can get. There are some definitely twists and turns throughout this hour and some of this may feel like uncharted territory, but don't worry....Ally has enough teary/breathy/whiny breakdowns to keep you grounded. How are the big reveal moments thrown our way? Here's what went down in "Holes."

Whatever You're Looking For

The episode begins with Beverly showing Bob a segment she has taped that is sure to scare the shit out of viewers. Aside from all of the murders happening around town, Beverly also enlists Kai, who she calls a "local businessman taking his campaign to the streets" to give an interview and stir the pot even more. He mentions The Tommyknockers trucks, saying the government is trying to poison them and feeds into Beverly's theme of a neighborhood gripped in terror. Bob is not impressed. He says the crime rate is the lowest it's been in years and 911 calls have decreased. "Your story is full of holes...and how is it that you're always the first one on the scene?" Fair question, but Beverly isn't going to reveal her sources. Bob won't air the segment, calling it "fake news," and he also shuts down any notion of airing footage of Serena's death. Her parents are apparently suing the network for not protecting her. This conversation escalates, Bob tries to fire Beverly, Beverly tries to blackmail him using his sexual relationship with Serena, and both walk away from the meeting very unhappy. Still...no dice on the serial killer segment. 

Beverly brings this dissapointing news to a meeting at campaign headquarters, also known as Winter and Kai's house, where Kai is having a meeting with his loyal followers. In the room are Detective Jack Samuels, Gary, Harrison, Beverly, her cameraman R.J., and Winter. They are discussing some of the challenges Kai is having gaining voters and R.J. doesn't get why the City Council seat is so important. Kai slaps him pretty hard as Harrison notes that people just aren't scared enough. Beverly says it will stay that way until people see the clowns on TV. Kai suggests they kill Bob in a horrible, satanic way and make sure it is filmed and broadcast. Another follower enters the room at that moment. "You're late," he says...to IVY! Fucking IVY is in the clown posse! Cue the opening music. 

Don't Come Around Here No More

Ally is having another session with Dr. Vincent, telling him about a dream she had where she was tearing the skin on her throat open with her hands. There had been holes in her neck and bugs crawling around in this dream. Gross. When she woke up she realized she had scratched her neck up pretty bad and she's crying as she tells the story. Thank goodness Dr. Vincent's coral isn't on display. The holes in that thing might put Ally completely over the edge. Dr. Vincent tells Ally that her "holes" were created because she is worried she will fall into the darkness of her life. "Metaphorically the holes were created by everything that's happened." Yeah her life really does suck at the moment. Ally's visits with her son are supervised and awkward and she haaaaaates being in the house alone. Well, she describes it as both "alone" and "all by myself." She thought she would have police protection since, you know, her house was marked by a serial killer, but she's only seen 1 cop car in 3 days. Ally is also kicking herself for being tempted by Winter and doesn't see much hope for reconciling with Ivy. That bitch cancelled all of their credit cards, so all of Ally's money is sunk in the restaurant. Ally feels like Ivy may have planned this (ya think?) because of how she was able to shut everything down so quickly. Dr. Vincent asks if Ally had any idea the relationship was going south...

We flash back to September 2016, a couple of months before the election, where the ladies are at home and Ivy is holding papers and punching numbers on a calculator. Do people still do that? Ally approaches with the intention of having some sexy time, but Ivy is preoccupied with the financial hole they are digging themselves into with the restaurant. With the worst timing ever, Ally then pulls out a gift box for Ivy, whose immediate response is "whatever it is, we can't afford it." Ivy opens it though and it looks like...I don't know what it looks like...but I think it's a sex toy. Whatever it is, Ivy isn't interested and leaves the room. 

You Darken My Door

Operation kill Bob is in full affect and Ivy and Winter arrive at Bob's house together. During the car ride, Ivy is blowing off steam as she prepares for shit to get real. She says "I hate this country...what it's become. I hate my fucking wife for letting it happen. The only thing I love right now is my son and I will do whatever it takes to make the world a better place for him, even if it means burning it all down." Welp, here comes your first big test, kid. 

Just before they enter Bob's house, Kai tells the group they will need to chant Latin words about Satan because "Latin is inherently scary." You know what else is scary? The image of Bob coming down the stairs in his underwear, wearing rubber gloves and sucking blood off of them. You read that right. He is making himself a bowl of ice cream when the clowns attack (makes sense to follow up rubbery blood with dessert).  Bob is scared of being murdered but not for the obvious reason. "No one will take care of it!" The Harrison clown and I both yell "what?!" at the same time. Bob tells them he has a gimp in the attic. Not sure what a gimp is? I had to look it up myself. In sexual terms, a gimp is someone with a fetish for wearing rubbery masks and suits who also enjoys being dominated. In this situation, Bob's gimp has hooks in his skin and likes to be suspended by chains from the ceiling. Neat. 

File Bob's gimp under "things I couldn't have guessed with 100 tries" in terms of Bob's hobbies. This is a plot twist that even throws off the clowns. They head up to the attic and see this poor dude hanging there, completely helpless. They remove their masks and try to figure out what to do next. Because the gimp is bound in a way that has him deaf and blind to his surroundings, R.J. suggests they let him go. Kai, who we now know is the clown with 3 faces, is SO not into that idea and plunges a knife into the gimp. The hooks tear through his skin and it's incredibly cruel. Ivy runs to the bathroom and throws up (don't blame her) and Winter follows her, but it's time for the main event. A couple of clowns drag Bob to the attic and he flips out when he sees the dead gimp. The group begins the Latin chants and R.J. holds up a cell phone to record what comes next. Some of the clowns take turns stabbing Bob, but Ivy's clown is not one of them. Just before Bob takes the final blow, Beverly lifts up her mask (off camera) so Bob knows she's part of the chaos. 

Beverly Hope is first on the scene to report on Bob's murder, and she shows cell phone footage that she received...via email...and the video holds nothing back. I'll be honest and say that if one of my local newscasters kept reporting on a string of unsolved murders and then showed me a video of creepy ass clowns stabbing the shit out of somebody, I would be terrified. Well played, Kai. Well played. 

Stop Walking Down My Street

The Butchery seems to get a lot of action after hours. Kai and Beverly are currently there having a cup of coffee and Kai mentions he is disappointed that Ivy didn't actively participate in Bob's slaughter. Beverly chalks it up to "first time jitters" and wants to talk about who she thinks are the real weak links in the group.

We flash back several weeks to the murder setup at Rosie and Roger's house. Meadow doesn't seem to be a ton of help and R.J. keeps bitching about how heavy the coffins are. After the terrified couple's fate is literally sealed, both R.J. and Meadow are having second thoughts about this situation. I assume now that Meadow caused her disappearance and it was not just some publicity stunt to scare the community. Bummer.

Speaking of Meadow's disappearance, Ally has taken up a new hobby - spying on her neighbors' homes with a telescope. She peeks in on the Wilton's house and sees Harrison outside with a shovel, dragging a very heavy looking duffel bag to the back yard. She sees him shortly thereafter in the living room smooching Detective Jack. Because we are more than half way through the episode and it's been almost 30 minutes since Ally cried, it's time for Ally to get scared and have a meltdown. I can't think of any other reason she would walk across the street to the Wilton's back yard knowing Harrison and Detective Jack are nearby. But she does...and she finds a hole...and Meadow is in it whispering "please help me." Ally, realizing NOW that Harrison and Detective Jack are nearby and she's super dumb for being there, runs home and calls 911. There is a high call volume and she's put on hold, so naturally she hangs up and calls Ivy, who is just as annoyed with Ally's whiny/crying voice as the rest of us. Ivy sounds like she might be genuinely surprised when she hears about Meadow and tells Ally to call 911. Meadow is now banging on the window though and begging Ally to let her in. "It's a sick cult and everyone is in it! The police, my husband, your babysitter, your WIFE!" Ally tells her the police are on their way (bullshit) and someone throws a sheet over Meadows's head and drags her away. Way to go, Ally. This was your chance to get some real answers and you fucked it up.

Ivy arrives at campaign headquarters for another group meeting and asks Harrison about Meadow. He's super busy flirting with Detective Jack and just casually says "she's with a friend." Winter joins them and tells the group Kai went up 10 points in the polls after the clown video aired. You would think Kai would be happy to hear his chances in City Council have skyrocketed, but he isn't. "I feel resistance. I feel dissension in the ranks. If we're going to win, we can't close our eyes to the problem. We need to be strong and vigilant and ruthless!" He then says they will take care of a problem right now, and everyone heads to be basement/pinky swear room to find R.J. gagged and bound to a chair. Uh oh. He is terrified when Kai calls him an anchor that will bring the rest of the group down. Kai takes out a nail gun and Ivy asks him not to kill the cameraman. Kai indicates that Ivy can make up for her disappearing act at Bob's by putting a nail in R.J.'s head. Sensing that she might be the next weak link, Ivy complies and the nail gun is passed from person to person. Poor R.J. has several nails in his head and face before Kai finally shoots one into his medulla oblongata and puts him out of his misery. Just before dealing the final blow, Kai says "Good night, sweet prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." Interesting that Kai would choose the final words in Hamlet here. Hamlet himself spends most of the play viewed as a crazy person while he is trying to get everyone to see the truth...there is some shady shit going on in Denmark. Hamlet has very few loyal friends, and because this is a Shakespearean tragedy (spoiler alert), pretty much everyone dies. When Hamlet is taking his final breath, his most dedicated friend Horatio speaks those same words Kai just whispered to R.J.

I've Given Up

Kai and Beverly sit down for a round of the pinky game, but this time Beverly is the one asking the questions. She wants to know who Kai really is, where his parents are, and how he got to be so...passionate. "Secrets make you weak," she tells him. 

We flash back 3 years to see Kai's dad angrily trying to get himself from his wheelchair into one of those stairwell contraptions for handicapped folks. He had been a silver tongued lawyer at one point, but then he was in a motorcycle accident that turned him into a "grade A cocksucker." He makes his way downstairs and gives Kai a bunch of shit about his degree in Religious Studies. Winter is at away at Vassar so I assume she's more of the golden child during this time. Anyway, mom puts dinner on the table and dad flings it across the room. Asshole. Completely out of nowhere, he then accuses mom of cheating on him and grabs her pretty damn hard by the arm as he screams at her. He's a total dick. 

Later that evening Kai is in the basement on his laptop when he hears gunshots. He sprints to his parents' room and sees that mom shot dad. Mom then tearfully says, "it's the only way out" before killing herself in front of Kai. Jesus. Unsure of what to do next, Kai calls his brother and in walks....Dr. Vincent! Holy shit. Did NOT see that one coming. Kai's big brother doesn't even bat an eye. He's more worried about the government taking all of the money dad received from his accident settlement, so he doesn't want anyone to know what happened. He instead suggests they put the bodies on the bed, cover them with lye, then padlock the door. "It will be like a mausoleum." Gross. Kai thinks this plan is disrespectful, but he does a pinky swear with his brother (interesting) and goes along with it. Kai does not tell Winter what happened until she comes home for Thanksgiving break. Apparently she never calls home unless she needs money anyway, so when Kai mentions the settlement money, Winter agrees to keep her mouth shut. So 3 years later mom and dad are still hanging out in the bedroom and Kai visits them from time to time. At one point he tells his very, very decaying mother that he's going to be someone someday and make her proud. 

The episode ends with Kai having a total emotional breakdown as he finishes telling Beverly the story. Am I the only one who thinks Beverly gained a lot of ground this week? We had a lot of big reveals this episode but I think Beverly turning the tables on Kai in his own game...a game he uses to gain power over people...is the biggest takeaway. Yes, Ivy participating in R.J.'s demise was surprising, as were Bob's extracurricular activities, and I let out a super loud "whaaaaaaaaaaat?!?" when Dr. Vincent was revealed to be the third Anderson sibling....but Beverly is the one who planted the seed about R.J. being the weakest and Beverly was the biggest star of the Bob murder tape. I smell a real power play coming and I wonder what the fallout will be. Is Ivy going to continue to tow the line now that she knows what Kai is capable of? Will Ally do something useful and take a real shot at saving Meadow? I'm pretty sure Meadow is dead now but perhaps she is, in fact, "with a friend." Who is Oz's replacement babysitter now that his previous babysitter is too busy in cult-land to be an awful caregiver? And onto the most obvious questions - did mom and dad Anderson not have any friends or additional family? They've been decomposing in their bedroom for 3 years and there's no one out there that would have reported them missing? Mom didn't have a job, or a book club, or bingo nights? I think in an episode called "Holes," that's the biggest one so far. Maybe we will get some additional information on the Anderson family in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, I am going to focus on trying to unsee Bob's gimp. 

AHS Cult Episode 4: 11/9

Tonight American Horror Story: Cult takes us back to the day before, day of, and the days soon after the election as we learn quite a bit of background on some of our more mysterious characters. Several of these folks were intertwined before we knew (or suspected) they were intertwined and I think this episode was a hell of a setup for things to come. Who are the co-conspirators I speak of? Here's what went down in "11/9."

You're Not The Only One

The episode opens with Beverly Hope reporting live from the polls on election night. Beverly wants to do another take on her report, but her cameraman tells her not to bother because their boss, Bob, isn't going use any cutaways that night anyway. She's. Pissed. Her rival, Serena Belinda (welcome back Emma Roberts), strolls past her just then and they exchange insults. Serena is there to "jump the line and pull the lever for HRC" and then she plans to sit on the coverage panel with Bob for the rest of the evening. Beverly goes from pissed to livid. 

The camera pans through the voting line and we see Ally and Ivy snuggling and saying things like "madam president," Winter and her friends are nearby chanting some protest stuff, and Meadow and Harrison stand side by side looking miserable. Meadow asks "shouldn't people have to pass some sort of test in order to earn the right to vote?" Ha! Harrison asks her if she'd pass that kind of test and she gives him a quick "of course not." Meadow thinks she's more qualified to vote for the Emmys or Golden Globes. I love that she is willing to admit that....so many people aren't. 

Inside the building, Ivy is reminding Ally that she should not submit a protest vote. Ally is totally on board, saying she wants to be just as much a part of history as Ivy does. Cut to them in the voting booth where Ivy votes for Clinton and Ally votes for Jill Stein. We see others make their choice as well, including Winter, Dr. Vincent, and Beverly who vote for Clinton, and Harrison, who votes for Gary Johnson. Serena does not pull the lever for HRC - she votes for Trump instead. Meadow? She writes in "Oprah" and I don't know whether to laugh or cry. 

Kai stumbles in with Gary, the grocery store cashier that wore the "Make America Great Again" hat during Ally's clown-filled shopping trip. I just now realized that Chaz Bono plays this character. Can't believe I missed that before. Anyway, Gary has his left hand in his pocket and it's bleeding pretty bad. The woman at the check-in table thinks maybe he needs an ambulance but Gary and Kai go apeshit on her and they both make their way to booths to vote for Trump. When Gary is finished, he steps into the main voting area, raises his arm...revealing a bloody stump instead of a hand...and yells "Welcome to Trump's America motherfuckers!" Yup, this network is now able to drop f-bombs as desired. Oh...and cue the opening music. 

I Can See A Love Restrained

We go now to Funtime Fitness on November 9th, the day after the election, where Harrison works as a personal trainer. Kai has just joined up and requested Harrison because he "looks strong." Pretty sure Harrison got an immediate boner. Through the course of the workout Harrison says he considers himself a versatile gay but Kai doesn't believe in labels. "A man with no labels has an allegiance only to what is right." Kai explains that he works in computers now but wants to focus on politics and changing the world. He also mentions that he was invited to join MENSA at the age of 14. While he is not into dudes, he tells Harrison, "if someone is in my life, man or woman, and they are part of my crew...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's boss interrupts the conversation to send Harrison to clean up the sauna. Seems some guy has jerked off in the steam room and Harrison needs to go hose it down. The douchebag boss always sends Harrison in these situations because he's gay. Kai isn't happy about this so he makes an effort to show Harrison his, uh, love by jerking himself off in a shower near the steam room and letting him watch. If Harrison didn't have a boner before, he sure as hell has one now. 

Harrison heads home to his gorgeous house with Meadow, hoping to get drunk and watch TV, but Meadow is super upset. She somehow screwed up all of their finances and the bank is going to foreclose on their house. The Wiltons need to be out in 3 days but Meadow has known about this for a while. Harrison is trying to wrap his head around being homeless but Meadow says all she needs in her life is him and a decent cable package. She kisses him and tries to get him to have sex with her but he shuts her down. Apparently they have had sex twice over the years but Harrison isn't looking to do it anymore...even though he is a versatile gay. 

The house foreclosure weighs heavily on Harrison's mind when he sees Kai again. Harrison's boss gives him shit because he hasn't locked Kai in for more sessions and tells him his job depends on bringing in business. Harrison himself goes into douchebag mode and tries to sell Kai another personal training session package. Pretty sure he's really just worried about Kai's other package, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Kai calls Harrison out immediately and Harrison tells him about the house, saying he has no idea what to do, where to go, or what to be. Kai has a path for him. "Take my power in both of your hands and take your life back." 

Harrison finds his boss bench pressing after hours and sprays cleaning solution in his eyes. He then holds the bar down over his boss' throat and crushes it. Kai is right there telling Harrison how proud he is. The boss man is not quite dead though. He's gasping for air. Harrison picks up a dumbbell and smashes the dude in the head. Kai has taken care of everything at this point, including erasing the last 3 weeks of security footage. "We are going wipe out everything you know and build something bigger and better than anything you could possibly imagine." The last item to be dealt with is the body. The Wiltons are staying in a motel room these days, and when Meadow comes home that evening she sees Harrison in the bathtub with his boss' body and a saw. She also sees Kai sitting in the corner. "Who's that?" she asks. Harrison replies, "someone to believe in."

Just Tryin' To Kill The Pain

In December of 2016, an unidentified male torso is found in a landfill. I guess Harrison did a good job hacking it up. Beverly is on the scene, because she gets assigned all the shitty locations these days, and she's not happy. She reports live then kicks it back to Bob (Dermot Mulrony), who welcomes her back to the news station. Oh dear. Beverly had taken a leave of absence after an incident caught on camera. Apparently an array of immature assholes kept interrupting her live reports and yelling "grab her right in the pussy!" Finally Beverly lost her shit and beat one of those immature assholes with her microphone. It's hilarious and I am loving Adina Porter this season. Beverly "voluntarily" checked herself into a facility for 30 days of psychiatric evaluation and Serena is given the story to report on. Kai finds all of these videos online and targets Beverly as his next minion. 

Kai finds Beverly slashing tires in the parking lot after Bob tells her to cut out a portion of her (rather important) report to make room for Serena's wine tasting piece. Not sure if it's Bob's car or Serena's but they were both equally awful to Beverly in that conversation. Kai offers to buy her a cup of coffee and she accepts. Guess there's really nothing to lose at this point. He's done his research and immediately has Beverly's attention when talking about her needing to take control of her life. Kai explains his thoughts on weaponizing fear and having a good messenger to spread it. "Believe me, Beverly Hope, if you get the world scared enough...it would set the world on fire for us." Kai then goes on to tell her that he was in the military and did a tour in Iraq before coming home and graduating from Yale with a double degree in political science and feminist studies. He wants to start his world domination by winning a City Council seat. Then he'll move on to state senate, congress, and so on, building millions of followers along the way. Beverly is intrigued but hesitant. Kai gives her the address to his campaign office and calls it a night. 

The next time we see Serena, she's taping a segment at a pet adoption event and she's pissing and moaning about having to hold a cute as shit dog during her report. Emma Roberts plays the bitch roles so well. As the camera starts to roll we see a clown walking toward her from a distance. Then another. And then three clowns are standing right behind her. The camera man is creeped out but Serena thinks they are part of the event even though they are sinister as hell. When she turns to interview them, they stab the shit out of her...and the poor cameraman too. Lots and lots of blood and the whole thing is caught on tape. Thank goodness the dog is okay though. That would have really pissed me off. 

Kai is hanging at his "campaign headquarters" with Meadow and Harrison when Beverly shows up. She has seen the footage of Serena's demise and asks if he did it. "Yes, Beverly. Without apologies. For you. I did it for you so you would believe I would do anything for you." She is teary and tells Kai she believes in him. They hug it out, each noting that they have equal power. We then see Beverly reporting on Harrison's boss finally being identified and listing a string of other violent crimes happening in the area. She questions whether people should feel safe in the community, and Kai watches the report on his laptop with a big grin on his face. 

Even Friends Seem Out To Harm You

The final story of the night takes us to Ally and Ivy's house the day before the election. Ivy is trying to get her wife to protest with her at a rally, but she opts to stay home. Ally says Michigan is a lock for Hillary and there's nothing a Trump rally the day before the election can do to change that. Ally also hints that she is not a Hillary fan.  "She acts like it's owed to her. What does she even believe?" Ivy senses a Jill Stein vote coming on and the ladies argue for a bit before Ivy finally heads out. 

Ivy arrives at the rally and protesters are yelling things like "love trumps hate" and taunting the Trump supporters. Those supporters threw it right back, with Gary telling Ivy that Hillary started the hate when she called them deplorables. A few more insults are traded before Gary reaches forward at Ivy and does some pussy grabbing himself. Ivy is stunned. She has no response but Winter jumps in and yells for someone to call the police. Gary runs to his truck and leaves...and Winter and Ivy dine at The Butchery. Ivy makes a comment about Ally not loving the restaurant and Winter asks "then why are you with her?" Ohhhh shit. Ivy deflects, asking Winter what she wants to do with her life. Winter explains that she wants to be behind the scenes right next to a powerful person and pushing them toward greatness. She encourages Ivy to get angry about her assaulter and the conversation leads to punishment for Gary. 

As he is closing down the grocery store on election night, Ivy uses a taser on Gary and she and Winter chain him up in the basement so he can't vote. I suppose that could have been punishment enough, but they didn't bank on Kai showing up with a saw and freeing Gary via cutting off his hand. Of to the polls they go. That's....dedication.

In The Cold November Rain

The episode ends on that bloody note and it might actually be my favorite Cult episode so far. Seeing all of these "before and after" stories adds extra madness to this whole season and I really like it. I have to say that it was also incredibly refreshing to sit through an entire hour where Sarah Paulson did not scream and have multiple total breakdowns. That may be the biggest selling point in "11/9." Thank you, Ryan Murphy, for that reprieve...however brief it may be.

In thinking about the violent group of Kai followers coming together, I found his recruiting methods for Beverly, Harrison and (by default) Meadow very interesting. Sure Gary fits the stereotype of one of the so-called deplorables, and I'm sure all Kai had to say was "Trump" to get him on board for setting up Ally's clown-filled shopping adventure, but Kai driving versatile gay Harrison to murder and tapping into Beverly's rage to get her to be the messenger of fear is not what I expected to come from this evening's episode. I was more than entertained and am curious to see who the other followers are. We knew Beverly wasn't in one of the clown costumes during Serena's murder, but were Harrison and Meadow in that clown posse? Did they help slaughter the former inhabitants of their house? When does/did Kai recruit Dr. Vincent to this madness? How about the detective? Did Winter and Ivy start an affair after their teamwork? Has Ivy been recruited as well? And what is the deal with The Tommyknockers trucks (that's what I'm calling them from now on)? I'm hoping we get answers to at least some of these questions next week as we are reaching the midpoint of the season, but regardless, I'm enjoying Cult far more than I thought I would and am looking forward to seeing how this all unfolds.