FX's American Horror Story is unlike most television shows because of its stand-alone seasons and rotating cast that plays different characters each season. The ninth season, American Horror Story: 1984, might not have the scare-factor that other seasons have, but brings it back to the 1980s that were filled with short shorts, bright colors, and classic 1980s slasher/horror films that have stood the test of time. Like other seasons, each character has a backstory, along with unique personalities that may stray on the side of evil.
The main cast of American Horror Story: 1984 might not be the scariest or most likable at times, but their characters play into the 1980s era well and have recognizable traits that outnumber the good; because what fan watches American Horror Story for a happy ending?
Brooke Thompson: Bad Timing
Played by Emma Roberts, Brooke Thompson appears innocent, with an odd fascination for serial killers. She's traumatized by her fiance's outrage when he kills her father and his best man. What pushes her further is when Richard Ramirez, an infamous serial killer, breaks into her apartment, steals some of her belongings, and vows to come back to finish her off.
Brooke's initial experiences are sad and traumatic, and her worst trait is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She gets herself in a predicament that frames her for murders she did not commit while fighting off Montana in self-defense. Brooke ends up in prison but is given another chance for revenge when she's reduced by Donna. Brooke might be a "final girl" but it took a lot of wrong turns to get to her happy ending.
Montana Duke: Impulsive
Bad decisions and impulses are common around this cast, and Montana Duke, played by Billie Lourd, has her own demons...literally. Montana is ambitious and motivated when it comes to aerobics, but after her brother is killed by Brooke's fiance, she becomes impulsive and hell-bent on avenging her brother's life.
These traits resulted in Montana's death because she was obsessed with ending Brooke's life. Things only got worse when she became involved with the wrong crowd; see Richard Ramirez. Despite her looks, admirers, and strong personality, she ends up dying and is trapped as a ghost on campgrounds.
Margaret Booth: Trickery/Manipulation
Margaret Booth, played by Leslie Grossman, is the new owner of Camp Redwood, and even though she seems like a good person with her religious act, she's really not. A bump above Richard Rameriz, she's responsible for the massacre in 1970 but was cunning enough to pin it on someone else. She does this again in 1984 when Brooke is held responsible for the killings at Camp Redwood.
Her worst trait and her best villain trait is to convince people into doing things at their own expense while tricking others into believing she's innocent. Karma becomes of her though, and she's murdered at Camp Redoowd, where she did the same to others time and time again. Margaret is definitely one of the most sadistic characters of the season, and she won't be forgotten anytime soon.
Xavier Plympton: Follower
Much like Montana, Xavier Plympton, played by Cody Fern, is into aerobics but decides to take a job a Camp Redwood for the summer. He brings his friends along for the ride, which unknowingly sets them in harm's way.
Ultimately, Xavier is killed and remains as a ghost on the campgrounds, forever in purgatory. Unlike Cody Fern's character in the Apocalypse season, he's a decent guy with a rocky past filled with sex, drugs, and other iffy situations. Xavier's worst trait is that he gets swept up at the moment, and goes along with the crowd, even if it's the worst decision possible.
Trevor Kirchner: Greed
Trevor Kirchner, played by Matthew Morrison, is by no means the smartest cookie of the 1984 season, but he is pretty to look at and was most known for his feature in the original Jane Fonda workout video. He became entangled in Margaret's sadistic ways and thought he had an out when he marries her for her money, in exchange for his silence of her killing spree. His greed got to him though, and when he was lured back to Camp Redwood by Margaret for a festival, he meets his death by trying to do the right thing.
In the end, he's laid to rest on the campgrounds so he can be with his first love, Montana. While Trevor seemed to be a decent guy, his greed ultimately killed him, while also being at the wrong place at the right time.
Chet Clancy: Succumbed To Revenge
Chet Clancy, played by American-skier-turned-actor, Gus Kenworthy, is truly one of the good guys throughout the season. He's classified as the "dumb jock" type who relies on steroids but tries to do his best...while alive.
After he falls victim to Margaret's killing spree in 1984, he becomes trapped as a ghost on the campgrounds. If anything, his worst trait is that he succumbed to revenge and ended up helping the others with Margaret's death.
Benjamin Richter: Let Revenge Get Best Of Him
Benjamin Richter, played by John Carroll Lynch, was a former-vet-turned-janitor at Camp Redwood until Margaret targeted him for the 1970 massacre. As a patient at Redwood Meadows Asylum, he endured torture and abuse and ultimately was led to believe he really did kill all of those people. After he escapes, he returns to Camp Redwood for revenge.
Even though Benjamin tries to start his life over after all of this, he finds himself back at Camp Redwood where it all started. Benjamin has had a rough life, and even though he was a kind-hearted man before Margaret pinned all of the killings on him, he turned to the darkness, hailed Satan, and actually does end up killing several people. His worst trait is that he let revenge get the best of him because of his past. John Carroll Lynch's terrifying portrayal of Twisty the Clown is similar to Benjamin's because they were both misunderstood, even though they turned out to be killers.
Rita/Donna Chambers: Ignores Consequences For Purposes Of Work
Donna Chambers, played by Angelica Ross, is another character that has a fascination with serial killers. She happens to be a psychologist but stages herself as Rita, a nurse at Camp Redwood. After she finds out that her father was a serial killer himself, she does the unthinkable and frees Benjamin Richter from his torturous time at Red Meadows Asylum...because she wants to see him in his "natural habitat."
Donna's worst trait comes from the fact that she cares more about work studies, rather than the consequences of what Benjamin Richter will do once he's escaped from the asylum. Ultimately, she indirectly responsible for his rampage, and didn't think through her plan; but if Donna/Nurse Rita has one thing going for her in 1984, it's her impeccable 1980s fashion sense throughout the season.
Richard Ramirez: No Empathy
If fans know the backstory of this infamous serial killer, they'll know his worst trait already. In fact, it's hard to pinpoint his worst, because he has several under his belt. He lacks empathy, doesn't understand how evil his actions are, and has no guilt or remorse for his actions after-the-fact. Played by actor Zach Villa, that's the point of this character, because Richard isn't supposed to be likable, and honestly, no one is entirely likable on the show.
After Richard becomes involved with Montana, he is asked to kill Brooke, which also means he has no backbone when asked to do something this horrific. He causes pain to many other of the main characters' lives, which makes him the worst out of the bunch.
Ray Powell: Coward
Ray Powell, played by DeRon Horton, is Chet's best friend and is a little too eager to get out of town when Xavier invites the group to Camp Redwood for the summer. Even though he doesn't want to be around for the Summer Olympics, thinking this decision through could've saved his life.
Ray might have a decent moral compass, but when he reveals to Chet how he became an orderly after leaving college, his downfall is much more clear. While in a fraternity, he's a bully and a coward, and after too much hazing during a fraternity rush, he ultimately kills another man after trying to cover it up. His worst trait? Cowardness, which ends up getting him killed.