Television

Is AMERICAN HORROR STORY’s Cult Connected to AHS: ASYLUM?

by Rosie Knight
Sep 20 2017 • 2:35 PM

*This piece contains spoilers about almost every season of American Horror Story including big ones about Cult*

As we delve deeper into the hive-like mind of American Horror Story: Cult, we’re learning more about the world in which it exists. We can’t help but wonder if history might be repeating itself due to the clear significance of the bloodied Smiley Face that seems to be the icon at the center of the group terrorizing Ally and Ivy’s neighborhood.

American Horror Story: Freakshow confirmed that the world of AHS is in fact a shared universe, which had been a popular fan theory due to numerous easter eggs peppered throughout the show. In the midst of season four, Murphy cemented this truth once and for all by saying, “They’re all connected. We’re just beginning to tell you how they’re connected. They’re all very separate but there’s clues every season that we’re now telling you how the different worlds are intertwined.”

So how is Cult connected to Asylum? Well, in the second season there are numerous plotlines that all revolve around an institution called Briarcliff and its inhabitants. Whilst there we were introduced to Dr. Oliver Thredson, who though apparently calm and kind in comparison to the evil staff at Briarcliff was actually the Bloody Face serial killer who’d been terrorizing the area. In this series, we’ve been introduced to a murderous gang that loves to adorn houses with bloodied smiley faces, which could easily be a re-imagining of Bloody Face’s mask. But the connection goes even deeper.

This season of AHS is steeped in paranoia. As we go deeper into the rabbit hole the number of potential cult members/possible antagonists is growing, and after watching episode three one is particularly fresh in our mind. Cheyenne Jackson’s Dr. Rudy appears to be a friendly neighborhood psychologist, just like Asylum‘s Dr. Thredson. He also has a suspicious connection with the targets of the clown gang, who all seem to be murdered and terrorized using the fears that Dr. Rudy is treating them for.

Could Dr. Rudy be the deranged killer inspired by the bloody legacy of Dr. Thredson? We know this series is all about icons, so could Bloody Face be someone that the group holds up as a beacon of terror and fear? Could this mean that AHS: Cult‘s obsession with fear and power could see them revisiting more of the horrific figures of the show’s past? We can’t confirm anything yet, but we’re pretty sure that the legacy of Bloody Face lives on this season and we’re terrified to see what happens next!

What do you think of our freaky fan theory? Excited to see AHS: Cult revisit the ghosts of its past? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Fox

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