The 'AHS: Cult' Finale Proved That The Future Is Female

This season of American Horror Story was inspired by the scariest story of all: the 2016 presidential election. While that was the jumping off point, there were so many other elements that went into this season. For one, Ryan Murphy was inspired by real-life cult members, including Andy Warhol, who was almost assassinated by Valerie Solanas. She was the founder of S.C.U.M. — an organization that still lives on in the present day (at least in the AHS world). And based on the finale, Ally may have joined S.C.U.M. on AHS: Cult. The final few moments of the season hinted that she is a new member among their ranks.

Solanas rose to fame when she shot Andy Warhol in 1968. But before she resorted to such drastic measures, she created the S.C.U.M. (Society for Cutting Up Men) Manifesto. She founded S.C.U.M. in 1967 in pursuit of "eliminating the male sex." Scholars debate whether Solanas' manifesto was satire or not, but it definitely got a powerful message across: women are not to be trifled with.

On American Horror Story, Solanas was played by Lena Dunham. Her portrayal started out based in reality: Solanas wrote the manifesto, founded S.C.U.M., and shot Warhol. From there, it went a little off the rails. S.C.U.M. became a cult, with Solanas as its leader. The ultimate goal became to kill all men and overthrow the patriarchy. This resulted in a number of deaths, which were attributed to the Zodiac killer. That's right: in the AHS universe, Valerie Solanas and her misandrist gang were credited as being the Zodiac killer(s).

Even after Solanas passed away, her mission lived on in her lover, Bebe Babbitt played by the flawless Frances Conroy. In the penultimate episode, "Charles (Manson) in Charge," viewers learned that Bebe was behind a lot of Kai's actions. Bebe orchestrated Harrison's death by the cult women, wanting to incite female rage. It was clear, though, that he didn't believe he was "scum" and went against her wishes.

In the episode, Ally killed Bebe to save Kai. I already knew her adoration of Kai was a front; I thought Bebe was just a casualty of Ally in order to get what she wanted (freedom, power, and her son, Oz). The final scene of the finale, though, proved me wrong.

In "Great Again," Ally managed to unseat the incumbent and win a place in the Senate. As she tucked Oz into bed, she said she had to attend an important meeting with a group of powerful women. Oz asked if these people are like Kai. Nope, they're the opposite.. As Ally put her makeup on, she donned the same green robe and hood that S.C.U.M. members did in flashbacks and Bebe did when she was alive. Once she was properly hooded, she set off to the meeting, and the episode cut to black.

While it's not explicitly said, I'd wager that Ally joined S.C.U.M. What other group of empowered women gather while wearing velvet green capes? None that I know of (though I would love to join). Furthermore, Ally has made similar remarks as Valerie and Bebe: she wants women in charge, and she doesn't care if she has to destroy men to do it. Ally may have killed Bebe in order to earn Kai's trust, but it also could've been with Bebe's permission. Perhaps she gave her life to the cause, because she knew in the end that Kai would be taken down. I'm sad this season of AHS is over, but it ended on a pretty fierce note. In this world (and in ours), the future is definitely female.

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