Kai's Backstory Has Yet To Be Revealed On 'AHS: Cult'

Evan Peters' character, Kai Anderson, on this season of American Horror Story isn't a real person, but viewers have probably interacted with someone similar. I'm not saying everyone knows a murderous cult leader who dresses up as a clown to kill people; I am saying that, especially in the premiere episode, Kai acts like an internet troll whose computer died so he has to talk to people in the real world. It's already known that Winter is his sister, but what's up with the rest of his family? Where are Kai's parents on AHS: Cult? We don't know much about Kai's backstory, unfortunately.

Viewers first saw Kai and Winter in the opening scene this season, when they had the opposite reaction to Trump winning the presidency: Kai was overjoyed and Winter was devastated. They're seen living in the same house. Kai adorned himself in a Cheeto mask to celebrate, and went to Winter's room to see how she was feeling. It seemed like a huge house; were they the only two living there? Are they even related? Kai and Winter share a last name, so it makes the most sense that they are... but this is American Horror Story. Things are never as they seem.

It's established that both Kai and Winter are in the cult. Kai is the leader — but there is a theory that Winter is actually the one running the show. Regardless, they are in that "family," so to speak. I'm not sure, then, that they are actual siblings. Unlike other cult members, Winter's origins have not been shown yet. Viewers don't know what brought her to Kai, so it's entirely possible they grew up together. It would make sense, too, because they oppose each other politically. Winter may not tolerate Kai's beliefs if they weren't related.

According to Evan Peters, Kai wasn't always this way. In an interview with Thrillist, Peters said that Kai actually did want to make the world a better place when he was younger. Something happened, though, to change all of that. "Because of everything that happened to him, he lost his mind," Peters explained. "In a way, I think you'll maybe sympathize or at least understand why he becomes the way he becomes and does the horrific things he does." Apparently, what happened will be revealed in the fifth episode of this season.

Kai's backstory is already murky; Reddit user grandtheftavocado pointed out that he gave different stories to Harrison and Beverly. He told Harrison he was a computer programmer, while he told Beverly he was an Iraq veteran who majored in political science and gender studies. Both could be true, but the only constant Kai kept was that he has a high IQ. The next episode will supposedly reveal more, and Peters hints that Kai went through some childhood trauma. There's no way of knowing now if it was done at the hands of his parents, but if it was that could explain their absence.

Another Reddit user, sibshallward, theorized that Kai and Winter's mother could be living in their house. In the premiere, Kai passed by a locked door with a rose on it and smelled the rose. Could that be his mother's room? Or his parents room? This is AHS, so he wouldn't pay attention to the door if it wouldn't have significance later on. While not much is known as of Episode 4, I have a feeling the rest of the season will reveal why Kai is so hellbent on causing destruction. My theory is that it's due to something that happened in childhood, but I — and the rest of AHS' theorizing viewers — will have to keep watching to confirm suspicions.

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