"entertainment monthly" jacqueline gualteri had a mixed response, writing, "many of the main characters this season are somewhat stale and just there for a shock. finally, lady gaga has given a bit of life to the blood-thirsty, drug-using, orgy-loving countess. she has started to develop more of a personality. but the major lesson the evening is that denis o'hare has so far been short-changed by "american horror story". he is one of the most talented actors on the show and deserves far more screen time. right now, just standing around to be a voice of reason every now and again is wasting his incredible ability." newnownext's erin shorey complimented the connection to "murder house", while criticizing the character of john lowe as well as bentley's acting. a similar thought was shared by brian moylan from "vulture", saying, "there is nothing at all i find interesting about john lowe. not one single thing. if you took all of his parts out of this season i think it would be absolutely perfect". he added in the end of the review that "as a whole, this season is continuing to shape up nicely. even the seemingly random bits are serving a larger whole. think of the swedes, who were brought back not just to show that they were trapped in the hotel, but also to drive the main story between john and chloë sevigny." writing for "the new york times", e.a. hanks criticized the gore and violence portrayal without any context, as well as liz taylor and tristan's love story, feeling that it was inadequate and compared it unfavorably to previous season's love stories. he asked, "what is "hotel" really about? for a show with a whole lot of innards, this one has yet to show its guts".