WARNING: The following contains spoilers for American Horror Story: Double Feature Episode 5, "Gaslight," which aired Wednesday on FX.

One of American Horror Story's unique features is its ensemble cast, who change characters every season to match the latest story arc. It’s a chance to display their range, and it’s become a staple of the show. While individual actors will move in and out based on content and other factors, the de facto theater ensemble remains.

For the first four seasons, Jessica Lange was the undisputed head of that company, bringing her Oscars and reputation as a living legend and walking off with multiple Emmys for her trophy case in the process. Lange moved on, and while the show has continued to thrive, it often felt more like an ensemble than it had with their reigning queen. Sarah Paulson has always remained a strong presence, but she often plays more sympathetic characters, and her sad, desperate Karen this season is no exception. In that regard, Frances Conroy has been the one to fill Lange’s shoes in the villain department.

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Jessica Lange in American Horror Story

Conroy plays Belle Noir, a bestselling romance novelist who owes her success to the black “Muse” pill delivered by the mysterious chemist. The pills turn creative people into geniuses at the expense of ongoing bloodlust, a price Belle is more than happy to pay. She kills without regard for her victims, even dining on babies, which -- as Alma assures her father in Season 10, Episode 5, “Gaslight” -- are almost as effective as the pills themselves for stimulating creativity. She rules this hidden side of Provincetown, MA, with an iron fist. While fellow blood-drinking writer Austin Sommers is a sometimes peer and confidante, he’s hardly a friend. Everyone else in her circle is either a useful asset or a potential victim -- and sometimes both.

It’s clearly the role that Lange would have held in an earlier incarnation, though not for the caliber of performance. Conroy’s parts in American Horror Story have traditionally been softer figures, and indeed her monster in Double Feature also began life as a faded, mousy woman reeking of pathos. That’s her wheelhouse, with characters like Moira O'Hara, Myrtle Snow and Gloria Mott. In fact, Kathy Bates was originally going to play the role but stepped down for health concerns over COVID.

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Instead, it’s Conroy, stepping up to the plate and relishing the chance to play a proper ghoul at last. The proof of it comes with “Gaslight,” where she has a comparatively small part. Yet she hangs ominously on every scene in which she doesn’t appear. Alma echoes her unfettered appetite when she complains about not being able to drink her brother’s blood, while Ursula’s machinations suggest she might be planning to take Belle out. Regardless, even when she’s not there, the other characters all act in relation to her.

And like Lange’s monsters, Conroy’s works so well because she shows the audience what twisted her. Here, the actor comes full circle, using her traditionally sympathetic façade to present a woman so beaten down by the world, she’d happily murder it on a whim. Lange’s characters were often examples of pride going before a fall. Before her transformation, Belle has nowhere left to fall: trapped in a marriage to a man who despises her and waiting for one or the other of them to die. Lange could have played the character, but no one could nail that side of her with Conroy’s verve.

Most importantly, it likely makes for a fantastic mid-season finale. Belle seems to hold all the cards, and if the other characters want to achieve their goals, they’re going to have to get through her. It’s a set-up for the kind of swan song that Lange won Emmys for. Conroy -- always one of the series stalwarts -- seems more than ready for the challenge.

To see Frances Conroy's villainous character, check out American Horror Story: Double Feature. New episode air each Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FX.

KEEP READING: AHS: Double Feature Episode 5, 'Gaslight,' Recap & Spoilers