American Horror Story Cult: 10 Characters, Ranked By Bravery

American Horror Story: Cult is one of the most disturbing seasons of the series (though, at times, also one of the most nonsensical), given that it is based on events that are very much in the real world. It is also full of characters who are willing to do horrible things in the aftermath of the 2016 elections.

As with so many of the other seasons, it’s hard to say who, exactly, the hero is, since even the most heroic characters do things that are morally questionable. Nevertheless, there is no question that even the straight-up villains in AHS: Cult show that they are capable of bravery.

10 RJ

RJ is one of the first members of Kai’s cult, but it’s clear from the beginning that he hasn’t entirely bought into the mythology that the other man has begun to craft about who they are and what they do.

He’s also one of the first to begin to say that their murders might not be a good thing to do which, given how ruthless the rest of the cult members are, is a very brave (if foolish) thing to do. In fact, his bravery leads to his gruesome death.

9 Kai Anderson

Kai Anderson is one of Evan Peters’ best characters, but he’s also one of American Horror Story‘s scariest villains. And though he is clearly the season’s big villain, he shows an extraordinary amount of bravery during most of his time on the show.

Not only does he endure the horrible deaths of his father and mother, but he also stands up to all of the forces aligned against him, so convinced is he that he is the one born and destined to lead a new movement.

8 Tom Chang

When Kai first begins to raise eyebrows at city council meetings, he meets some opposition, including Tom Chang, who denounces him in no uncertain terms. Given how frightening 2016 was for so many people, and given how difficult it could be to stand up for what one believes in, his actions are even more extraordinary.

Unfortunately, as was the case with RJ, it turned out that his bravery would be the cause of his brutal death at the hands of Kai and his fellow cult members.

7 Pedro Morales

One of the more extraordinary things about this season was just how brave many of the secondary characters were, and that includes Pedro, one of the men that work at Ivy’s restaurant.

Like Tom, he dares to stand up to one of his racist co-workers, rather than simply sitting by and letting someone get away with saying something that was so clearly hurtful. However, although he wasn’t killed by the cult, he was still killed rather early in the season.

6 Harrison Wilton

Harrison is one of the season’s more outlandish characters. Played by Billy Eichner, his outward frivolity hid a rather ruthless personality.

Though he was, at first, easily pushed around by his boss at the gym, under Kai’s influence and domination he became a braver person, someone more willing to stand up for himself rather than becoming a punching bag for someone else. Admittedly, his bravery, like that of many of the others that Kai began to influence, involved murder, but he showed that he was capable of growth.

5 Rudy Vincent

Kai wasn’t the only member of his family that became involved in cult-like activities, because his elder brother, a noted psychologist, did as well. Like Kai, he endured the death of his parents but was brave enough to rebuild his life afterward.

Most importantly, perhaps, he was also brave to try to take on Kai, infiltrating his organization and planning on turning him into the police. Unfortunately, his bravery ended up being for nothing when his ruse was discovered.

4 Ivy Mayfair-Richards

This season of American Horror Story was known for its many characters who flirted with amorality, and few did it as flagrantly as Ivy Mayfair-Richards, who joined Kai because she wanted sole custody of her son. Despite the fact that she is a villain, she also showed significant bravery by being willing to go along with Kai and aiding him in his murders.

This reveals that villainous as she might be, she has a strong constitution and a willingness to do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

3 Winter Anderson

Winter Anderson, Kai’s younger sister, also occupies a rather vexed moral position, for while she originally goes along with his murderous plans, she slowly but surely and bravely starts to turn against him. While doing so reveals that she has a moral code that her brother lacks, as with so many of the other characters that turn against him, it costs her very dearly.

However, it’s hard not to admire her for, at the very least, drawing a line in the sand beyond which she wouldn’t go, making her one of the better characters of this season of American Horror Story.

2 Beverly Hope

Beverly Hope is one of this season’s most cynical characters, for she sees joining Kai’s cult as a means of attaining her career advancement (and it works).

Unlike so many others, however, she actually manages to survive until the end of the season, and she shows that she’s brave enough to take on Kai when push comes to shove (in fact, she’s the one responsible for killing him). She may not be the most ethical person, but she at least deserves some respect for her bravery.

1 Ally Mayfair-Richards

It’s unsurprising that Ally Mayfair-Richards, one of the best characters Sarah Paulson has played on the show, should also be one of the season’s bravest characters. She endures more than almost everyone else, and she comes very close to losing her own life.

However, she’s incredibly brave, choosing to infiltrate Kai’s cult so that she can get close enough to kill him. At the same time, she also demonstrates that she, like so many of the other people in this season, is capable of actions that are morally questionable and sometimes downright evil.

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