American Horror Story: Best performances from 25 key AHS actors

What is Wes Bentley’s best American Horror Story role?

When we first meet Wes Bentley’s John Lowe in AHS: Hotel, we see him as a good guy. He is a detective trying to solve murders by a killer being called the Ten Commandments Killer. But that is not the only thing we need to know about John.

John Lowe is also a father and a husband. But there is a tragedy in his story. His son has been kidnapped, leaving his family fractured. In fact, at one point we realize that the loss of his son has led to him being an absent father to the daughter that is left behind.

But then we learn the truth. John Lowe is in fact the Ten Commandments Killer. He has become the living protégé to James March. And he is a mess.

The thing about John Lowe is that even as a killer, we actually like him and feel bad for him. Like we truly sympathize and empathize with everything that led to him being engulfed in the Hotel Cortez universe of horror and death. And that is made worse by the knowledge that the son that was lost to him and his family is actually living in the hotel, a vampire turned by the Countess (also known as James March’s estranged wife).

There is so much to John Lowe’s story and thanks to Wes Bentley, we got a character who was nuanced and well developed and just made us feel bad for a killer.