The Hotel Cortez certainly shifts from the typical Best Western type of motel. It has brilliant lighting, dining, drinks, and vampiric blood lust. What more could one expect from the fifth season of “American Horror Story”?

For those who haven’t seen it, “American Horror Story” creates new disturbing and thought-provoking plot lines each season. Past seasons include: “Murder House,” “Asylum,” “Coven,” and “Freakshow.” “American Horror Story: Hotel” may be halfway through its season, but it is not too late to start watching now.

The show also shapes individual characters for each season, often portrayed by the same actor. However, “Hotel” is the age of new beginnings. Jessica Lange, famously known for her roles as the catty, self-absorbed leader of most seasons, decided to bow out of season five. No one can diminish the effect Lange has made on “Hotel.” Still, “Hotel” proves the show can still thrive heavily without her.

Since the loss of Lange, Lady Gaga has marched into her place. Now playing a depraved immortal, Gaga has grasped the sinister edge that the Countess (Gaga’s character) evokes. Not only is Gaga’s portrayal of malevolence perfect, but she also captures the complexity of the Countess’s loneliness after being doomed to eternal life.

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Evan Peters has also shifted away from his norm in the new season. Instead of portraying the insane but loveable guy with a sweet love interest, Peters roams the halls as the dead previous hotel owner, James Patrick March. Plus, he’s a serial killer with a sadistic accent. It’s nice to see Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy stray from their typical love-infused roles and showcase Peters’ talent.

Those who linger in the hotel fall into three categories: vampires, the dead, and the practically dead — they’ll all die eventually. Most everyone who steps into the Cortez dies or transforms into a vampire.

The vampires, a fresh addition to this season, are intense and frightening, but they do know how to love. Even the most cold-hearted (the Countess) has a child she cares deeply about.

This season has also hurled feelings at its audience from each direction. Sympathy is everywhere in this show — especially with Detective John Lowe. His son Holden (Lennon Henry) was kidnapped on his watch after unveiling a terrifying case. Now that he’s living in the Hotel Cortez, Lowe has to deal with the “hallucinations” he sees of his son, alongside his daughter Scarlett (Shree Crooks) who experiences the same “hallucinations.” However, Holden actually is alive — as a vampire.

Dr. Alex Lowe (Chloë Sevigny) is supposed to symbolize a mother lost without her child, but she only neglects her husband and first-born child. She knows her son is alive and “changes” just for him. Then she turns a sick boy into a vampire, which leads to an elementary school massacre. Alex Lowe is the worst.

Finally, this season connects to its roots of the first season “Murder House.” In “Murder House,” those who died in the house stayed there forever. Similarly, people who die in the Hotel Cortez never leave. Characters such as drug addict Sally (Sarah Paulson) are stuck in the hotel. The connections between seasons has added a thrilling touch to “Hotel.”

This season will only continue to defy the status quo and give the audience chills. The Cortez may not be a five-star, but it is definitely a site worth dying for.