Great Again

"Great Again," the eleventh and final episode of American Horror Story: Cult, directed by Bradley Buecker, serves as a climactic and provocative conclusion to a season deeply entrenched in sociopolitical commentary and psychological horror. This episode ambitiously dissects the misogynistic political patriarchy embodied by Kai Anderson while charting a narrative arc of empowerment, survival, and resistance through Ally Mayfair-Richards' transformation from a fearful victim to a formidable political force. The episode balances graphic violence, tense confrontation, and thematic resolution with a strong undercurrent of dark satire.

The episode opens in a maximum-security prison where Kai Anderson, portrayed with chilling charisma by Evan Peters, remains a self-styled "Divine Ruler." Disturbingly, Kai maintains considerable influence even behind bars, manipulating guards and orchestrating brutal violence, including the graphic removal of a prisoner's face to maintain his intimidating persona. This visceral, horrific imagery establishes the episode's tone of unrelenting menace. Simultaneously, Kai's mental state reflects growing paranoia, portrayed through hallucinations of Charles Manson, further underlining his psychological unraveling.

Parallel to Kai's incarceration, Ally's narrative takes on a more assertive trajectory. The storyline follows Ally and Ivy's fractured relationship, Ally's role in collaborating with the FBI against Kai, and her emerging political ambitions culminating in a Senate run focused on combating patriarchal tyranny and cult violence. The episode's centerpiece is a high-stakes political debate where Ally confronts entrenched sexism and hostile opposition with strategic poise and defiance. This sequence, richly acted by Sarah Paulson, crystallizes the season's themes of resistance and empowerment, symbolizing Ally's evolution into a resilient figure empowered by her trauma and judgment.

The episode skillfully weaves tension with biting social critique. The depiction of Kai's "Night of 100 Tates," a planned mass killing of pregnant women symbolizing oppressive patriarchal control, serves as a chilling metaphor for violent misogyny and extremist rage. The narrative's violent climax involves a coordinated FBI raid led by Ally and culminates in a bloody shootout, further stressing the brutal consequences of fanaticism. Ally's refusal to be reduced to victimhood and the portrayal of her survival and defiance carve a compelling counter-narrative to Kai's destructive path.

Bradley Buecker's direction is taut and atmospheric, balancing rapid, chaotic action sequences with intimate character moments. The cinematography utilizes stark contrasts between prison's claustrophobic, dimly lit spaces and the polished, public arenas of political debate, visually accentuating the duality of power and vulnerability central to the narrative. The editing maintains a steady rhythm that heightens suspense while allowing emotional beats to resonate effectively, especially in scenes of confrontation and revelation.

Performances are a major strength of the episode. Evan Peters' portrayal of Kai remains haunting, oscillating between menacing manipulator and deluded visionary. Sarah Paulson delivers a nuanced, multifaceted performance embodying Ally's complexities as a survivor and leader. Alison Pill as Ivy conveys conflicting loyalties and moral ambiguity, while Billie Lourd's Winter and Colton Haynes' Detective Samuels provide layered supporting roles that deepen the narrative fabric.

Thematically, "Great Again" probes patriarchal power structures, the allure of cult leadership, and the complexities of victimhood and agency. It critically examines how misogyny fuels political and social oppression and the capacity for resistance to emerge from trauma. The episode's title, invoking political slogans, underscores its biting critique of contemporary American political culture and the resurgence of reactionary ideologies.

Within a broader cultural and cinematic context, the episode continues American Horror Story's tradition of blending horror with socio-political allegory. It engages with historical and modern notions of cult violence, misogyny, and political extremism, positioning itself as a timely reflection on the sociopolitical climate of its era. Its intertextual references-from Charles Manson to modern feminist discourse-enhance its relevance and depth.

Through a blend of horror, political allegory, and compelling performances, the season finale offers a sobering meditation on power, violence, and resilience. While the season as a whole has been polarizing, this finale stands out for its focused narrative and thematic ambition, challenging viewers to confront uncomfortable realities about the cyclical dangers of fanaticism and the enduring strength of those who resist it. It leaves audiences with a stark reminder that the fight against oppression, whether personal or political, is ongoing and complex.

Ally Mayfair (Sarah Paulson) tries to move on with her life after Donald Trump wins the elections. But their fears are coming back to life when a cult starts a real massacre with political reasons.

No one was expecting a lot of this season after the announcements that it were given to promote the show, it seems to be a very political season. And yeah, it may be deeply a political commentary about fear but it's also a lot more. This season is by far one of the best seasons of the show. The cast is great and the two leading characters played by Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson are stunning, they gave an Emmy worthy performance.

The horror in this season is realism, it doesn't have supernatural creatures and that makes the season better, if you die here, you won't come back, never. There are stakes at risk in this season and the twists and turns shock me. This is a good season.

The only problem I got with this season is the ending. I felt that it was a little bit rushed, but it was a great season after all.

The highlights on the acting department this season are Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter and Billie Lourd. This season gets 9 out of 10

Ryan Murphy used to be a great writer and director. I was an early adopter of Nip/Tuck and appreciated his audacity to put on TV things most people squirm at.

However, like Nip/Tuck & even Glee, AHS has devolved into Murphy's agenda platform and everything suffers. The writing, the characters, even the "shock" has steadily dissolved into the Murphy has an ax to grind show. It's his show, he can do what he wants. But it's been all down him from Murder House. Wildly disappointed with the same old shtick. If you look at the review demographics, the only people rating AHS highly are the under 's who still think this kind of stuff is "edgy".

If you've seen one season of AHS, you know how this one ends. Hopefully it's the last time we have to settle for this tripe.

I think it's awesome that the pilot episode of this season was what finally killed Charles Manson. However, I believe Evans character was based more upon Waco with a bit of Manson, Jones, etc. thrown in. Even more upsetting is having any form of entertainment go far beyond a bit of political satire (which is perfectly fine and expected from comedy shows typically such as Laugh-In, SNL, Fridays, Second City TV, and any others I might have missed) HOWEVER this entire season was nothing but more Hollywood attempting to continue its mission of. Rainwashing by insisting that Trump is evil and Hillary is not. Handled differently by a different show...THAT premise would be historically funny! But on top of Hollywood's insistence that anyone watching movies or TV MUST be exposed to homosexual lifestyles and intimate sexual moments. And before anyone complains about my 'narrow mindedness'. I have no need or desire to see anyone having intercourse, full frontal nudity, and all those other pointless skin scenes thrown in just to get the actor more money, and the director a 'reputation', and to push the envelope of what is NEEDED to make an excellent piece of entertainment. I'm no prude and enjoy heterosexual relations whenever possible, but I grew up in the decades from 1960-1980 that saw the rise of public pornography to Heorge Carolina famous sentence about the SEVEN words you can't say on TV. However, although the words he mentions are mostly now permitted. There are far MORE words that can not be said on TV because of all the nonsensical and idiotic ideas of this new thing called Political Correctness. Now THAT is what's TRULY obscene.

This season was nothing but another of propaganda exhibits since season 5 with Hotel. Now that the wonderful Jessica Lange returning to the show might help it recover from how far it has strayed from being a season of different horrorific situations from Murder House thru Freak Show. Supposedly, this new season will be a tie in or tie together multiple seasons that CAN be tied together in a well thought out manner. For example...Asylum has Pepper, then we see her again in Freak Show as well as how Elsa Marrs found her and added her to her troupe. Will something like that be tied together somehow? Not sure since the years shown don't quite match up. UNLESS Asylum chronologically comes after Freak Show which was set in the 1950s. If yes, that means Pepper was rescued from the orphanage by Elsa, did her time with Elsa and the Show. But then after that ended Pepper somehow wound up in an Asylum in NY in the 1960s and hasn't aged a day. Just as long as this new season isn't more politically motivated crap as in the last few seasons.

Extremely empowering to see someone who has suffered a trauma develop resiliency and stand up to her abuser. Love the message the episode sent.

This may not be a popular post. I might get some unhelpful votes but this way my takeaway from it.