This New Detail In 'AHS: Cult' Confirms That Ivy Theory & We're Freaking Out

Week by week we inch deeper into the chaos and terror that is American Horror Story: Cult, and without fail, each new episode offers us the insane twists and turns we have come to expect from Ryan Murphy's sinister brainchild. This time around, the shock comes from the revelation that *gasp* Ivy is a member of Kai's maniacal clown cult. That's right, fans of the show have suspected Ivy to be a member of the cult from the first episode, but now it is confirmed.

Episode 5 — "Holes" — starts off with the jaw dropping reveal that Ivy is part of Kai's cult when she walks into a gathering of several cult members in Kai's basement, including Winter, Harrison, and Beverly. Throughout the rest of the episode, Ivy fulfills many other important cult-ly duties like breaking into people's homes to incite fear and assisting in the murder of a fellow cult member (via nail gun to the head, nonetheless... ouch).

As terrifying as that is, though, perhaps the most harrowing part of Ivy's being in the cult is the fact that she has played a role in terrorizing her own wife, Ally, all along. As of now, the cult's motives for targeting Ally are unclear, but having Ivy as an insider certainly makes for a suspenseful buildup to what will undoubtedly be a terrifying climax.

Of course, now that one major theory regarding the plot of Cult has been confirmed, the question on most fans' minds is: How long has Ivy been a member of Kai's cult?

Well, it's hard to say for certain because of how frequently this season jumps forward and backward in time, and how AHS loves to keep us guessing. But looking at the first several episodes, there are details that point to Ivy's early involvement in the cult.

The first major clues are in the season's first episode: To begin, Ivy has palpable animosity towards Ally for voting for Jill Stein instead of Hillary Clinton; secondly, Ivy can be seen wearing the same striped shirt as one of the clowns.

At the time, this didn't necessarily guarantee anything (other than they both shop at Kohl's maybe), but it was certainly suspicious. Obviously, looking at it now, it's easy to see this is the first major clue that Ivy has been in the cult all along.

Other hidden-in-plain-sight clues include Ivy knowing Winter prior to hiring her as Oz's nanny, as well as her participating in the kidnapping of Gary on the evening prior to election night. If Ivy met Winter at a rally the day before the election, as the show suggests she does, then it stands to reason that Ivy has been a member of Kai's cult (by way of Winter) roughly since that time.

All in all, though this is certainly a dark reveal, it's no huge surprise. American Horror Story loves a good-character-gone-bad plot twist (looking at you, Dr. Thredson), and this season is set up perfectly to deliver exactly that type of jaw-dropping shock. Indeed, even Ally's psychiatrist, Dr. Vincent appears to be involved with the cult. Obviously AHS' executive producer Alexis Martin Woodall wasn't kidding when she told Deadline earlier this year,

[I]t’s not what you think it is — and I’m not trying to be cagey. It’s just with all good horror and suspense not knowing is going to be good for you.

With that in mind, who knows what other characters will be revealed as cult members in the coming episodes. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Ally herself ends up affiliated with Kai and his fellow ideologists.

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