‘American Horror Story: Cult’ Episode 5 Reveals Who’s Behind the Clown Masks and Kai’s Backstory

American Horror Story: Cult is finally getting somewhere interesting. The more the season veers away from its election premise and direct political commentary to explore the cult at its center, the more the FX series pulls me in. Luckily, the season continued down that path in Tuesday’s Episode 5, “Holes,” full of nasty body horror and gruesome torture.

(SPOILER alert for AHS: Cult Episode 5 “Holes.”)

Last week’s “11/9" showed the origins of Kai’s (Evan Peters) titular cult, but it also left us with a handful of lingering questions. Which members of Kai’s cult are behind which clown mask? Is Winter a part of her brother’s cult, or is she starting her own cult with Ivy? What exactly happened to Meadow? What’s Kai’s story and who’s behind that door with the rose? Theorize no more; Tuesday night’s “Holes” has all the answers. Here are the biggest reveals from the episode:

Here’s Who’s Behind the Clown Masks

Though last week’s episode made it pretty clear that the members of Kai’s cult were the killers clowns, it’s still been a mystery exactly who is behind each mask. Luckily a flashback episode to the coffin home invasion showed each of the members removing their masks. In case you didn’t quite catch it, here’s who’s who:

Kai’s Backstory Revealed

Previously we learned Kai is an Iraq war veteran and a computer programmer. This week revealed a little more about his past and who exactly is behind the bedroom door with the rose from the Season 7 premiere. In “Holes,” Kai told Beverly what happened to his and Winter’s parents. Turns out their mother shot and killed their disabled and abusive drunk father, then took her own life in a grisly murder-suicide. So why not call the cops and report it? In order to continue getting his father’s disability checks and not be forced to sell the house, Kai puts the dead bodies in bed, covers them in Lye, and locks to door.

It’s a bizarre and somewhat ridiculous explanation – how has no one noticed that either parent has gone missing in the past three years? Can you really just let bodies decay in a house like that? Think of the bugs! Another peculiar piece of information is that in a flashback, Kai’s father reveals his son actually studied religion at school, despite a previous episode where Kai said he had degrees in poli sci and feminist studies. It could be a minor plot hole, or it suggests Kai’s been lying all along. But the flashback did reveal one other crucial twist…

Dr. Rudy Vincent Is Kai and Winter’s Brother

There’s been something suspicious about Cheyenne Jackson’s therapist since the beginning of Cult – you don’t cast Jackson and his sinister good looks to play a good guy. Fans have theorized that he’s somehow connected to the clown cult, which would explain how the murderers know their victim’s deepest phobias, from Ally to the claustrophobic Rosie (Laura Allen) in Episode 3, both Rudy’s patients. While some fans assumed the therapist was one of the masked clown killers, “Holes” revealed Jackson’s Rudy is actually Kai and Winter’s older brother.

After their parents died, Rudy was the one who convinced Kai to lock up the bodies and pretend nothing happened. He may not be in the cult, or even know of its existence, but Kai is clearly getting information on the cult’s victims from Rudy, whether he’s aware of the murders or not.

Meadow Isn’t Dead, but She’s About To Be

In the third episode, Harrison claims to have woken up next to his wife’s bloody corpse. Is she dead, and if so, did he kill her? This week answered that: Meadow is definitely very alive, but Harrison and his new boy toy Jack attempt to bury her alive. Based on her confession to Ally, it seems Meadow might have had second thoughts about the cult and chose to back out, hence their getting rid of her. But why does Harrison keep it from the rest of the cult members, especially if Kai practically encouraged him to kill her? Next week’s episode will address those the Meadow mystery.