But arguably its greatest contribution to television since its debut in 2011 is its characters, an ever-expanding company of ill-fated spooks and kooks who rarely find a happy ending, and yet we relish in watching their descent into whatever brand of hell the series is conjuring that season. The citizens of this connected universe of horror storytelling, from creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Fulchuk, are ultimately what stitch it all together, and have proven to be the enduring draw for audiences left wanting more from their favorites. For its 13th season, “AHS” has banked on the bedrock of those characters by dipping back into its stable of actors and their alter egos for a mashup season.
The satanic-centric story has been a chaotic exercise in fan service, with varying degrees of success. When it works, there are undeniable pleasures in seeing characters thought to be done and dusted come back for one more shot at a good line reading or an uncanny interaction with someone who shares their face. Many of those characters are on this list, some elevated by the extra screen time and some demoted for disrupting a previously perfect storyline.
As “AHS” plays the hits for 13, let’s rank the best characters from the series. The following list isn’t necessarily a grading of performance, but rather character arc, impact and sheer entertainment value. It should also be noted that “AHS13” focuses almost exclusively on characters from the first eight seasons, with good reason.
Even for their flaws, those characters are the series’ best work. More recent seasons were considered for this list, but frankly, “AHS” hasn’t aged all that well –– even though some of its characters have. Grossman has been making a meal out of Murphy-scripted roles since she appeared on “Popular,” his first series, as Mary Cherry, so “AHS” is better off with her among its ranks.
But she doesn’t get enough credit for taking so-so characters within this world and really making them sing — or scream. Pierre, a Beverly Hills-bred socialite who thinks she has survived the “Apocalypse” only to learn she is really a mind-wiped witch hidden right under the nose of the Antichrist. But her power is the ability to detect gluten, and that’s not a joke.
She’s a witch who believes she has nothing to provide her coven. Rather, she functions as a supportive sister who contributes to morale as much as magic, until her time comes. Stay with us here, because in “AHS13,” Coco uses her gluten spidey sense to take down the Zodiac killer by inducing diabetic shock.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
