'AHS: Cult' Episode 1 Has A 'Coven' Easter Egg & It's Not A Pretty Sight

Although it's an anthology series that tells individual, self-contained stories in each of its seasons, American Horror Story loves to throw in little nods to its past seasons when it can. And American Horror Story: Cult is no exception. Although the big AHS throwback in the Cult premiere was to the series' fourth season, Freak Show, Ryan Murphy also snuck in a little wink to Coven for the hardcore fans… although most viewers might have missed it. Spoiler alert: This post will discuss moments from the first episode of American Horror Story: Cult. So, did you catch that AHS: Coven Easter egg in AHS: Cult?

Of course, the most obvious throwback in the first episode of Cult was the return of Twisty the Clown, one of the main antagonists from American Horror Story: Freak Show. In a scene later revealed to actually be part of a comic book, Twisty brutally murdered two picnickers out on a date. But there was one more little Easter egg to a past season hidden in that bloody scene as well — the way Twisty killed the woman is reminiscent of a moment of graphic dismemberment that fans of American Horror Story: Coven have seen once before.

At the end of Twisty's scene, we see the woman picnicker's severed tongue fall to the ground, much like a particularly horrifying scene from Coven. Back in the third season, we saw the coven's butler, Spalding, cut off his own tongue with a razor in order to prove his love to Fiona (Jessica Lange). Here's a reminder of that scene:

The short Twisty vignette at the start of the new season was definitely a treat for longtime AHS fans, including allusions to both Freak Show and Coven, but it looks like the rest of the season will be steering clear of bringing up the past. The premiere was largely focused on the vast differences in reactions of Sarah Paulson's Ally and Evan Peters' Kai to the election of Donald Trump as president. But given AHS' self-referential history, we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for more little nods to past seasons.