Shocking HBO Max Docuseries Will Leave You “Completely dumbstruck with disgust”
Sometime in 2021, I came across a news story that seemed too bizarre, too disturbing to be true. The headline in The New York Times read, “7 Arrested After Police Find Mummified Body in Colorado Home,” accompanied by a blurry photo of a woman with what appeared to be a red poncho or blanket draped around her shoulders. Each detail in the article was more shocking than the next. The body was wrapped in Christmas lights, its eyes were missing, and it had been transported across state lines. I asked my friend from Colorado if he knew anything about this story. He shrugged and said something to the effect of, “Seems like something that would happen here.”
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you need to watch the HBO Max docuseries, Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. This is one of the best docuseries the streaming service has to offer (next to The Jinx, a docuseries we called “one of the creepiest and most bizarre true crime series to hit the internet”). Despite the shocking subject matter, this series isn’t talked about nearly enough.
What the Internet Has to Say
The three-part series traces the rise and fall of Love Has Won, a New Age cult founded by Amy Carlson, better known as “Mother God.” A former McDonald’s manager, Carlson managed to become a powerful cult leader. Her followers believed that she was the creator of the universe and the reincarnation of Cleopatra and Jesus Christ. But like most cults, things don’t start at 100 immediately. This docuseries does a great job examining how someone ends up in this situation in the first place.
Yes, the details are outrageous. Carlson believes she can communicate with Robin Williams’s spirit, but the series never loses sight of the people swept up in the cult. They talk about their loneliness, grief, and what they were searching for when they found Carlson online. The docuseries also gives Carlson herself a complexity that mainstream coverage rarely attempted. The filmmakers do some truly fantastic reporting on her background and upbringing.
Watch the Trailer Below
But Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God has its disturbing moments, especially in the final episode. As one Letterboxd user put it, “There were many times where I was laughing until I almost cried and then within a minute was completely dumbstruck with disgust.” It’s not an easy watch, but I think it’s worth it if you’re interested in understanding how groups like Love Has Won operate and attract members.
So if you’re anything like me and you’re fascinated by cult psychology, or you simply want to understand how that shocking 2021 headline came to be, then you need to add Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God to your watchlist. And if you found it as fascinating as I did, or if you have other cult docs you want me to cover, let me know: @ashjenexi on Instagram and X.
Categorized: Streaming News
