For today’s post, I have decided to do a ranking of all of the characters portrayed by Jessica Lange on American Horror Story. This is the first of seven lists such as this, for Horror Week here at White Rose of Avalon. As with every other list, it is subjective and I know that many other people will disagree with rankings, so I hope everyone remembers that this is just my personal opinion. Also, with rewatching seasons, this actual ranking (and the other ranking posts I will do as well) may evolve (except for the number one slot, which I have always loved best). Without further ado, here’s the list!
Number 4: Constance Langdon (AHS: Murder House & Apocalypse)
~To be clear, none of her performances are anything less than stellar. But this first appearance as Constance Langdon is overshadowed by her subsequent performances for me. Constance is probably one of the worst television mothers of all time in my opinion! She treated her children with disdain much of the time, but she does get a bit of a redemption arc in Apocalypse where we see her attempts to raise the antichrist Michael Langdon and how this affected her. I did enjoy this added character depth.
Number 3: Elsa Mars (AHS: Freakshow)
~This was a stellar swan song performance for Jessica Lange as she was finishing her initial run on American Horror Story! I loved getting to see her sing and dance, and the character had a tragic and intriguing backstory before becoming the leader of a Freakshow.
Number 2: Sister Jude (AHS: Asylum)
~Sister Jude had one of my favorite redemption arcs in the whole series. She began as the hard-nosed head nun of the Asylum and went on to be a patient, we also get to learn of her backstory of substance abuse that lead her to the Church in the first place, which adds such depth to her character. You actually go from fearing what she may do to feeling horrible for what befalls her!
Number 1: Fiona Goode (AHS: Coven)
~Of course, no other performance would have ranked as number one for me! Regular readers here will know that I adore my witchy characters. Fiona Goode is the first character with the title of Supreme that we get to see in the series. She is selfish and cruel in equal measure, but she is also a badass who is able to protect the Coven. Of course, by the time she starts paying attention, it is nearly too late. At the end of the day, she was a powerful witch, but a really shitty leader! Who does not love a good bad character? As I continue this series of character countdowns this week, there will be many bad guys ranking high! Although there are plenty of great bad guys in American Horror Story, I doubt that’s a surprise!
~I hope that you have enjoyed this countdown. Where did your favorite Jessica Lange character rank? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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