AHS: A Huge Clue About Ivy's Involvement in the Cult Was Hidden in the First Episode

When it comes to American Horror Story, I'm a firm believer in the fact that you can never read too far into something. If AHS fans have learned anything about ol' Ryan Murphy over the last seven seasons of the horror anthology series, it's that he's a veritable master of scattering subtle breadcrumbs about the true natures of his twisted characters throughout each episode. The same can be said of the most recent season, Cult, now that we know who is definitely under Kai's psychotic, charismatic influence. In fact, if you go all the way back to the first episode of this season, there's a clue about Ivy's involvement in the cult hidden in plain sight.

While Ivy (Alison Pill) is comforting Ally (Sarah Paulson) on the night Donald Trump won the 2016 election, a panicked Oz (Cooper Dodson) retreats to the kitchen with the Mayfair-Richards's housekeeper and also his beloved stuffed animal. He sits on a stool looking anxious and clutches the plush elephant to his chest (which you can see above, as pointed out by Reddit user jdeadmeatsloanz). Yes, the elephant is cute and cuddly, but the animal has also been the symbol of the Republican party since appearing in a cartoon in Harper's Weekly in 1874. And you know where else we've seen an elephant lately? On Ivy's face.

In season seven's fifth episode, almost all of the clowns in Kai's cult are finally unmasked. Ivy is among them, and her clown persona involves wearing a red and white striped suit and a grimacing elephant mask.

Only a psychic could have seen Oz's stuffed animal in episode one and put two and two together, but it's kind of fun to look back on that episode one scene now and pick up on Murphy's presumed attempt to hint at Ivy's true motives. It makes even more sense when you remember that of Ally and Ivy, the latter is clearly closer to Oz.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go obsessively comb through every scene of the premiere until I erase the image of that gimp from my mind. See you in about 20 years.