Thoughts on Jessica Lange in 'American Horror Story'?

I finished the fourth season eventually, and I also saw season 8's "Return to Murder House", which earned Lange an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

My thoughts aren't much different from the ones already posted here, except I really liked Lange as Elsa Mars in season 4. The season itself is easily the worst of the 4 (Coven wasn't that great either, but it's much more tolerable than Freak Show, which can be too heavy-handed and hard to digest), but Lange made that character believable and compelling to watch. Even at her lowest point, she was never bad; that accent was weird at first, but after two or three episodes, I didn't even notice it.

I liked her as Fiona in Coven, but I agree with stephen when he says that it might be the most uninteresting character; she does a very good job with what she's given, but she's not given much. She's great in her and then, it's only in the last episode that she reaches those heights again. Most of the time, she seems to be just... there.

I really liked her as Sister Jude, and I might agree that it's the richest and more layered of the four characters. She played her despotic side, her internal conflict and finally her descent into madness like perhaps no one could. It's a tour-de-force, and she's at the top of her game. I found myself, on several occasions, rewinding to see some of her scenes again. The season itself is also excellent, easily my favorite of the four, which might lead me to believe that psychological horror might be my favorite kind of horror (it was also the only season where I ever felt compelled to watch one episode right after the other). Lily Rabe started very promising in the first four episodes, and seemed to be on her way to become the season's MVP, but at some point, became increasingly stiff and uninteresting. James Cromwell was consistently great, very intimidating and even scary in his unpredictability, and he deserved every bit of that Emmy. And - it needs to be said - Sarah Paulson, who often does not get the credit she deserves (at least here) and whose character initially seemed to be going nowhere, became more and more vital to the story, and Paulson was nothing short of amazing in this season. Her scenes with Threadson are among the best acted scenes of Asylum.

I might also see Hotel, just out of curiosity, to see how Lady Gaga was, and then I'll stop. I suspect the other seasons just aren't on the level of the first four, and as much as I like the cast, I'm not keen on wasting my time with bad/forgettable TV. Unless any of you convinces me otherwise