‘Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult’ recap: Part 2, ‘Indoctrinated’

The second part of Starz’s new stirring docuseries Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult discusses India’s indoctrination into DOS, S.O.P. courses and beyond.

In Part 2 of Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult, “Indoctrinated,” we begin with India chatting with her therapist, Rachel Bernstein. This episode recounts exactly how India became so deeply entrenched into NXIVM, and eventually, into DOS.

The path to ascension in NXIVM primarily revolved around a ranking system called the Stripe Path, which was similar to a martial arts studio in terms of multi-colored sashes coordinating with your level in the group. Higher-ranking members of NXIVM lived at the group’s headquarters in Albany, New York, a place with which India would eventually become intimately familiar.

Content warning: The following recap/episode contains disturbing content that might be triggering to some readers.

Only those who made it to the orange sash, or proctor ranking, could make money by working at NXIVM. Mark Vicente and Sarah Edmondson made good money as senior proctors/green sashes because not only would they make a commission from recruiting, but they would also make money from the people their recruits recruited.

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The process of moving up from one sash to the next is meant to be a merit-based system, but Keith was the one who really pulled the strings. India eventually began dating another member of NXIVM, a proctor named Michel Chernitzky.

“When we first started dating, Nancy Salzman was super opposed because he was a higher ranking coach, and I was not. So she kind of inserted herself in our relationship and put all these parameters in place in order for him to date me.”

As India became more deeply involved with NXIVM, Catherine attempted to offer her an outlet for some of her other interests. She secured her a job as Pierce Brosnan’s assistant on a film shooting in Belgrade, Serbia. India accepted, but the entire time she was gone she received inflammatory texts accusing her of being a s—-y coach and “bailing” on her ESP team.

It would up resulting in an ultimatum. “They said I could continue to placate my family or commit to NXIVM and achieve my full potential.”

When she returned, she was sent to a second V-Week and sentenced to spending several weeks in Albany.

Thought Reform: The Jness Tracks

Jness was briefly mentioned in the first episode, and Part 2 of Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult explains how it differed from the traditional NXIVM curriculum. The purpose of the Jness tracks, which were designed specifically for women, was to improve relationships and study gender roles.

A large portion of the teachings focused on men and their supposed inability to be monogamous.  The women were told that it was normal for men to want to sleep around and that women shouldn’t question their husbands’ choices. If you had an adverse reaction to the open-relationship concept, they’d tell you to get an EM (Explorations of Meaning). Many of the NXIVM and ESP couples would swap partners.

Perhaps the most problematic element of the Jness tracks was the way they discussed rape and rape culture. Keith would frequently blur the lines between rape and consent. The curriculum would teach that rape wasn’t necessarily rape if the victim chose not to see it that way.

Radicalization: The S.O.P. Courses

S.O.P. was the male counterpart of Jness. It stood for the Society of Protectors. Eventually, a course called S.O.P. Complete was developed, and it invited women to participate alongside men. The point of S.O.P. Complete was for women to learn what it was like to be treated like little boys,  including being disciplined like them.

The women were instructed to wear baggy clothes so as not to draw attention to their bodies. They would participate in intense exercises like push-ups and planks, not allowed to eat, drink, or pee without asking permission.

According to India, S.O.P. mentors would make fun of you and demean you. If you talked back, you had to wear a crown or a mask, and at one point, even Clare Bronfman had to wear a jockstrap. They would give each woman a mantra to repeat. India’s mantra was “I am nothing, and I have no real emotions.” She had to say that to be allowed to speak, sometimes even scream it.

India said the most frightening thing to her was that, by the end, she loved her male mentors. India didn’t know how they could make you feel grateful for experiencing that abuse.

At the end of S.O.P. Complete, they wanted everyone to sign up to be part of a team for “readiness drills” for $50 a month. Every day, someone in the chain of command would send the word “Ready” to every team member.

If one member didn’t respond in time, the team would fail, and they would get a “penance,” a punishment like taking a 1-minute cold shower or waking up at 4 am and standing for half an hour. It kept everyone on edge because they could be tested at any time, day or night.

Later, in Part 2 of Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult, India and some of the former group members discussed horrifying experiments and “Fright Studies” conducted by Doctor Brandon Porter. The cult experts refer to what Dr. Porter did was “pseudoscience.”

One of the disturbing experiments he did while working with the group was encouraging women to participate in a study where they would wear a cap covered in electrodes to “monitor brain waves” while being forced to view abhorrent scenes of violence. The very last scene they would have to watch was live footage of a drug cartel dismembering five live women.

“There were no boundaries as to what the group would subject you to.”

As one might expect, many former NXIVM members had legitimate breakdowns or psychotic episodes during their time in the group. But anytime it happened, it was kept very hush-hush. Keith and Nancy were adept at using hypnosis and neurolinguistic programming to manipulate people.

In one particularly sinister case, a woman named Kristin Snyder started having psychotic issues in NXIVM and then subsequently disappeared. Police think she took a kayak into Alaska Bay and turned it over, killing herself. They found a devastating suicide note in her truck that said she was brainwashed by NXIVM. Her body was never recovered.

Raniere told his followers the Snyder story was a hoax and that Kristin Snyder was alive and living in Mexico.

Blackmail: The Dos Collateral

By the end of 2015, India was traveling to Albany constantly. She claims she frequently stayed with Mark and his wife, Bonnie. Sometimes Allison Mack would be there too. India looked up to Allison because she progressed so fast through the Stripes Path and taught tons of advanced classes.

India says that Allison offered her something special that would drastically change her life and elevate her position within NXIVM. Still, she had to give her collateral in exchange for the invitation. As collateral, India offered to give Allison deeply personal and damaging information on her family. Allison reportedly told India to type it up in a letter addressed to the media, like CNN, and get it notarized. If India ever told anyone what Allison was going to tell her, then that letter would be immediately sent to the press.

India then says it was Allison that told her about a group called DOS. DOS was supposedly a special group outside of NXIVM, which Keith had no part in. It was an intensely deep and personal program about women mentoring women to push and empower India beyond anything else available in NXIVM.

Allison started calling India and asking her to make a lifetime commitment to DOS and pledging ultimate obedience to her. It meant India would have to ask Allison for permission to do anything in her life and have a master-slave dynamic.

DOS: Dominus Obsequious Sororium

It basically means “master-slave sorority.” India said Allison started her on little activities that began to make DOS increasingly real.

“My role was the student who had to humble myself in order to learn and to grow.”

Allison would send her articles that Keith had written, and she would have to journal about how she felt. India would have to tell Allison things that made her feel uncomfortable, and she was particularly interested in things that were sexual or intimate in nature.

One of Allison’s instructions even included losing weight as a “character-building practice.” India also had to text “Good night, Master,” and “Good Morning, Master,” to Allison every day.

She was living with Michel at the time, and Allison encouraged her to end that relationship, and India did. It was implied that you would become celibate in the group, which was a major focus for Allison.

“Everything I have you do is for your own good.”

In the final moments of the episode, India reveals that Allison eventually gave her a new assignment: seduce Keith.

What did you think about Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult, Part 2? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult, Part 3 airs Sunday night at 9/8c on Starz.