American Horror Story: 10 Worst Characters

This character has returned since her debut in Season 1, but those appearances have been few and far between. And while Ryan Murphy’s tried to interconnect the show’s mythology (most obviously in Apocalypse), it’s clear that as an anthology series with a returning cast, each season should be able to stand on its own.

Murder House, the season which birthed Billie Dean Howard, certainly does that. The first season is still the show’s strongest in many fans’ eyes, but unfortunately Paulson contributes little to that. Her role isn’t all that bad, it’s just fleeting. For fans who watched when it first aired that wouldn’t cause much of a stir, but for fans who picked up on the show as its popularity increased, it must have been strange to see one of the leading lights in a bit part role.

Billie Dean Howard is a fairly dull, two-dimensional mystic. When Madison calls her a ‘sh*tty Miss Cleo’ in Apocalypse’s Return To Murder House, she’s not exactly wrong. She advances the plot along tidbit at a time but doesn’t really do much else. Paulson is wonderful in AHS, but she doesn’t get the chance to show it here.