Considered one of the best seasons of American Horror Story, Asylum takes us back to the 1960s to show us the questionable side of mental health treatments. We’re brought to Briarcliff, where an accused serial killer and a driven journalist end up trapped in against false accusations and the outdated values of the time.
Asylum also explores the topic of aliens briefly, but mostly focuses on the matter of mind and psyche, with a diverse cast of characters and a massive plot twist that no one could have properly predicted. Without further ado, let’s take a look at where each main character stands in the D&D alignment chart.
Shelley: Chaotic Neutral
Shelley is a tragic character if there’s ever been one. Admitted to the asylum under the diagnosis of being a nymphomaniac, she’s actually the victim of a cheating husband which drove her to cheat on him in turn. Shelley is captured by Arden, who attempts to assault her, but she mocks him instead which inspires him to perform a gruesome amputation on her legs.
Through his vile experiments, she’s turned into a monster of sorts. Shelley is much like any inmate in the asylum, mostly focused on surviving on her own. She only has herself to count on when faced against Arden’s cruelty, and after being betrayed by her husband, she’s careful not to trust anyone too quickly.
Frank McCann: Lawful Neutral
Working as a security guard at the asylum, Frank is devoted to upholding proper morality and security in the establishment. Although his appearance is brief in the series, he tries very hard to help Jude keep the place in order. He’s also openly distrusting of Doctor Arden and Timothy Howard, ready to get the police involved when an accidental shooting occurs in the asylum.
Frank is a man who’s simply following the orders and the laws of his superiors. His purpose isn’t to help those in need, but make sure that the rules are being adhered to, and that everything happens in a lawful, orderly manner, which is why he’s lawful neutral.
Monsignor Timothy Howard: Lawful Evil
Howard is, along with Jude, the leader of the asylum, with a dream of one day reaching the rank of bishop. Although a devout Christian, as he later finds out the extent of Dr. Arden’s experiments and kills Shelley in order to preserve the secrets of the asylum, he becomes entirely driven to protect his reputation and that of Briarcliff.
Howard is incredibly selfish despite his seemingly good exterior. He has no real reason to help the patients, nor do anything about Arden’s experiments, since he fears he would be considered an accomplice and lose his chance of ever becoming a bishop.
Grace Bertrand: Chaotic Neutral
Originally from France, Grace becomes one of Kit’s closest friends and eventually lover at Briarcliff. She initially lies about being innocent and having never killed her family. After she and Kit are caught together, Jude threatens to sterilize her, but she’s abducted by aliens before this can happen. In the end, she gives birth to Kit’s child but is killed by his former wife Alma.
Grace is similar to Shelley in the sense that she’s preoccupied with saving herself and protecting her own identity, even from Kit. She doesn’t make particularly good or evil decisions but seems to be mostly concerned with preserving herself and Kit on occasion.
Dr. Arthur Arden: Chaotic Evil
Formerly a war criminal of Nazi Germany, Arden is the primary doctor in Briarcliff, where he conducts experiments on the inmates. He claims he’s trying to ensure humanity can survive through nuclear war, but it’s clear he’s obsessed with sadism and violence through the horrific acts he commits in the name of science.
Arden is without a doubt a chaotic evil character, and one of the main antagonists of the season. He’s often at odds with Jude, who tries to use her power against him. The only thing he truly cares about is fulfilling his scientific experiments to satisfy his sadistic needs.
Sister Mary Eunice McKee: Lawful Good/Chaotic Evil
Mary Eunice is an interesting character since she captures two different personalities during the season. Initially, she’s known as a devout nun and a hard-working servant under Sister Jude. Her innocence is enough to even seduce a monster like Dr. Arden who admires her personality for what it is. However, she becomes possessed during Jed’s exorcism, and her personality completely changes.
She’s both lawful good, an innocent and kind woman who just wants to see people do well and find peace in religion. At the same time, she’s also pure evil when a demon takes control of her body and begins to manipulate everyone at Briarcliff, even managing to turn Sister Jude into a patient.
Sister Jude Martin: Lawful Evil
Jude is the head of Briarcliff along with Howard. Despite being a devout nun, it’s shown that she’s incredibly infatuated with Howard and dreams of having her way with him. Not just that, she plans to ride his success as a bishop to get a better position. Opportunistic and power-hungry, she rules with an iron grip.
Sister Jude allows many horrors to go on in her institute, including the torture of inmates and the brutal conversion therapy of Lana Winters. Her only motivation is to have dignity as a leader and to be seen as a successful nun and head of Briarcliff. She’ll stop at nothing to achieve this.
Kit Walker: Chaotic Good
After the strange disappearance of his wife Alma, who was abducted by aliens, Kit is admitted to Briarcliff when it’s believed he murdered her and is possibly even the famous serial killer Bloody Face. During his time at the asylum he meets Grace and the two begin a relationship before she’s abducted by aliens as well as giving birth to a child.
Kit is a victim above all, tossed around by the real Bloody Face killer as well as the aliens that came in contact with him and his wife Alma. After everything he goes through at Briarcliff, he still rescues Jude from the asylum to let her grow old in a real home, the sign of a truly good character.
Lana Winters: Chaotic Good
When the word gets out that Bloody Face has been captured in Briarcliff, Lana heads on over there to interview him. However, as she’s caught by Sister Jude, she’s forcefully imprisoned in the asylum under the pretense of her homosexual relationship with her girlfriend Wendy. After discovering Thredson’s true identity, she becomes pregnant with his son but escapes to write an exposé on Briarcliff.
Lana’s main motivation is to expose the horrors she goes through in Briarcliff, but also to find out the truth about Bloody Face. Her drive to find the truth and bring it to the people often goes past rules and laws.
Dr. Oliver Thredson: Chaotic Evil
At first appearing as one of the main protagonists of the show, Thredson is a psychiatrist working at Briarcliff who seems just as shocked as Lana and the rest at how the inmates are treated. Despite all the help he gives to Lana and the seemingly kind attitude he shows to Kit, most of his efforts go into disguising his true identity and framing Kit as Bloody Face.
Thredson is a serial killer with major mommy issues, a psychopath without a rival. He’s so talented at what he does he even charms Lana to trust him so he can lock her up in his basement, making him truly evil and sinister without parallel.
