Every season of ‘American Horror Story,’ ranked

11. Season 7: Cult (2017)

Let’s be clear: Cult is utter chaos. It may be the best example of the trap Murphy-Falchuk collaborations too often fall into, being writers conjuring plot points like arbitrary numbers from a bingo machine (we’re looking at you, final seasons of Glee). Add in Cult‘s attempts at political satire that are about as articulate as your far-right uncle’s Facebook posts, and you’ve got an anthology deep in an identity crisis. 

Are we meant to focus on Sarah Paulson’s phobias being exacerbated by Hillary’s loss, the tribe of killer clowns running suburban Michigan like the mafia, or Evan Peters’ incel caricature rising to power in a local election? Paulson as the ever-paranoid Ally believes all of these headscratchers are part of a Trumpian conspiracy that’s out to get her, but audiences were left struggling to connect the dots.

In the grand scheme of artistic social criticism made during the Trump administration, Cult is at the very bottom of the bucket — and this list. If Paulson’s meltdown about Merrick Garland wasn’t cringey enough, Peters coating his face in Cheeto dust and rattling off the President’s worst one-liners sure was. A good rule of thumb for FX: stick to the horrors of worlds we’re not currently living in, and leave the political commentary to American Crime Story (the new Impeachment season far surpasses this one). That said, Cult’s chaos is somewhat enjoyable if you stop trying to understand it and simply indulge. But if you’re an AHS superfan (or just prefer shows that make sense), you’ll be sorely disappointed in Cult‘s clownery.