Since its premiere in 2011, American Horror Story has been a much-awaited fall television show. In recent years, the seasons have started to connect to each other. However for the most part, each season has its own unique theme and storyline, and bounces back and forth between being set in the past and in the present with a recurring cast of actors.

This season (season 7) is set in post-2016 election Michigan and is called American Horror Story: Cult. We are nearing the halfway point through this season and the story is really starting to unfold.

I have been a fan of American Horror Story since it first aired and I have watched every single episode of every season (sometimes unfortunately so). If you’re considering watching a season, for the most part I’d say go for it, but there are a few to avoid.

**There are no significant spoilers within this article.

7. American Horror Story: Roanoke (Season 6)

This season was probably the largest let down that American Horror Story has given us so far. The theme was set to be rumored to be released in June, but the Pulse shootings occurred on the same night. The producers chose then to delay the announcement of the theme until the premiere night in September. With suspense built up like that, I was really expecting something earth-shaking. Disappointed hardly described my feelings when they finally revealed it.

The season was told in two parts: a show within the show of a documentary on a house in Roanoke with a haunted past and a reality show about the documentary. The first half was narrated by the real characters and reenacted by actors portraying the real characters. The season probably could have been saved if it stopped there, but yet they persisted. The second half was all of the actors in the reenactment and all of the real people going back into the haunted house.

All in all, it was an interesting experiment in format, but one that I really could have done without.

Watch this season only if you’re trying to watch ALL of them. Avoid it, if possible.

6. American Horror Story: Coven (Season 3)

I’ll probably catch some hate for this one, but I don’t particularly care. This was one of the present-day seasons set in New Orleans following a boarding school for young witches around the United States.

I enjoyed watching this season, but it kind of stepped out of American Horror Story’s typical course of action and almost made it a little too teeny for me. Sure, it had plenty of gore and your usual amounts of weird content, but it just didn’t do much for me.

Additionally, my main man, Evan Peters, had the crappiest role in this season and had far too much to do with Emma Roberts’s character. I was not down for it. I did not ship it. Additions of Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates to the regular cast following these season were a plus, but a very small one in the grand scheme of things. This was, however, Taissa Farmiga’s last season which is a real American horror story by itself. She was one of the best actresses on the show (maybe I’m a little biased by my love of Murder House, but whatever) and I can’t help but at least partially cast a disdainful glance at Coven for being her last season.

If you liked this season the most, I would recommend Scream Queens. It was a series along the same general lines that came out shortly after Coven that even had Emma Roberts in it. Coven should have honestly been Scream Queens all along, but sometimes producers make questionable decisions.

This season isn’t awful to watch by any means, but don’t use this as an accurate representation for your view of American Horror Story as a whole.

5. American Horror Story: Cult (Season 7-Current)

It’s hard to tell as the season is still ongoing, but I don’t think this season will be anything to write home about. This is another present-day season that is following the results of the 2016 election. A unique tidbit about this season is that there are no magical or supernatural elements at play. There is just the fear and sanity of your everyday Michiganders to question.

Another element that is vastly tarnishing the quality of this season is Sarah Paulson. Usually, she is my QUEEN, but the role she is playing in this season is just not working for me. She’s coming off as incredibly paranoid and whiny and not really someone that you want to root for. I think this could be a point that they’re trying to make with her character, but again, we are not yet far enough into the season to realize what’s completely going on yet.

In terms of whether or not you should watch this season, I’d say give it a try. It’s got a ton of incredibly relevant messages that it’s sending out about our current political climate that need to be heard even without the spook factor.

4. American Horror Story: Freak Show (Season 4)

Ah, Freak Show. This was a pretty good season all in all. I enjoyed this season, but it comes in at #4 because there really wasn’t anything wowing about it. This was one of the seasons that takes place in the past. To be more specific, this season took place in Jupiter, FL in 1952 in the middle of a literal freak show at a circus.

This season established a lot of ground for future connections. This was where the infamous Twisty The Clown got his start. This was also a really good season for interesting characters. Other than the writers getting creative with the types of freaks that they brought onto the show, they also really developed all of the characters and made sure that they established a solid ground for their motivations and desires. Psycho rich boy Dandy Mott, played by the LOML Finn Wittrock, was a personal favorite.

This season is enjoyable, but not very memorable. Give it a watch, if you have the time.

3. American Horror Story: Hotel (Season 5)

This season really got the seasons back into the original theme of things. This was also Lady Gaga’s first season which was spec-tac-u-lar. This season centered around the Hotel Cortez in downtown LA. There were a whole lot of storylines going on, but felt like it really returned American Horror Story to its former glory after two questionable seasons.

In terms of characters, this was a good one, aside for Jessica Lange’s almost complete absence. Evan Peters played the incredibly attractively screwed up hotel owner. This was not his best role, but it was not anywhere near as bad as his Coven role. Sarah Paulson also got a pretty unique role as Sally, the addict. This was one of my favorite roles for her. She got to exhibit some unique qualities that wouldn’t work in her usual normal-lady roles.

This one was a good season, but I think I liked it mostly for its return to the good ol’ days of American Horror Story past. It’s worth watching.

2. American Horror Story: Asylum (Season 2)

A lot of people think this is the best season and I can see why. This was a damn good season. It took place in an asylum run by sometimes somewhat insane nuns. The characters were all phenomenal and to be quite honest, my only criticism is that they started a lot of storylines that didn’t tie in and didn’t all finish. Evan Peters had an incredible role as Kit, and Sarah Paulson had a good one as well as Lana. This may have been Jessica Lang’s greatest role yet. It also had a lot of religious themes that were interesting to see play out.

Absolutely watch this one; it was one of the bests.

1. American Horror Story: Murder House (Season 1)

This was the first and best season of American Horror Story that ever will be. It got the ball rolling and really got the fan base started with an interesting modern day horror story. Violet and Tate were everything and there were a lot of complex issues that had been approached and that hadn’t been portrayed on T.V. yet in this way. It was also very enjoyable to watch. I will watch this season one million times over. I think they really started with their best season. Others to come can be enjoyable, but never will top this.

Watch this season before you watch any other season.