History Characters / DefianceMainCharacters

* PromotedToParent: She had to step up and raise Kenya after losing their mother, to the point that she slaps a woman for insulting Kenya's mother, claiming it was an insult to her. [[spoiler:It turns out that their mother was unwilling to go back into danger for Kenya, so Amanda did so alone]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nolan_joshua_5512.jpg]]

** [[spoiler:He's also one of the people responsible the Arkfall, due to using a copy of the Arc Core to stop a Votan attack on civilians]].

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* BrokenBird: Due to the above mentioned AbusiveParents.

* MsFanservice: With her midriff baring and her relatively explicit sex scene with Tommy, she's certainly heading this way very quickly.

* PintsizedPowerhouse: She's quite short short compared to most of the main cast, but still able to put up a hell of a fight.

* TraumaButton: Averted; In the first episode, Tommy tries to put handcuffs on her, but Nolan convinces him that Irisa, who had a traumatic experience with being chained up, might flip out and kill him.

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* BrutalHonesty: As opposed to inspiring speeches that were seemingly a hallmark of the previous Mayor, Amanda has started her career by being utterly honest in horrible situations. One such example is flat-out telling the townspeople that they're going to die in the Volge attack.
** Then there's this exchange in Season 2:
-->'''Nolan:''' Am I a bad father?
-->'''Amanda:''' Well since you asked... kind of, yeah.

* FanservicePack: In Season 2, she now manages the [=Need/Want=] and has a CleavageWindow in her outfit.

* ParentalSubstitute: To Kenya after losing their mother, to the point that she slaps a woman for insulting Kenya's mother, claiming it was an insult to her. [[spoiler:It turns out that their mother was unwilling to go back into danger for Kenya, so Amanda did so alone]].
** MamaBear: When the body of Kenya's abusive missing husband is found bricked up inside of a wall, Tommy and Nolan's first suspect is Amanda, and both privately admit that she'd definitely be capable of murder to protect her sister. She's innocent, however.
** From when Stahma told her that [[spoiler:the newly rescued Kenya is a fake.]]
-->'''Amanda:''' If you repeat that lie anywhere, to anyone, I will hurt you. It will be painful, and it will be permanent.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Rosewater_Kenya_775.jpg]]

* EthicalSlut: Both in how she runs her business and in her personal relationships.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: She's a prostitute and madame. She also deeply loves her sister and runs a clean establishment.

* RavenHairIvorySkin: Contrasting [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold her sister]].

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* BullyingADragon: After learning the details of what Nolan [[BloodKnight was like]] during the Pale Wars, he decides to reveal this publicly on the radio to everyone in Defiance. A supremely pissed off Nolan nearly beats him to death with his bare hands. And after Irisa gets Nolan to stop, Datak ''laughs at Nolan for not following through'', which borders on TooDumbToLive.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: He looks exactly like his father, who is also played by Creator/TonyCurran. The only different is their haircuts.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tarr_stahma_1433.jpg]]

* CradlingYourKill: [[spoiler:Done by Stahma to Kenya, after she poisons and kills Kenya in Season One.]]

* LadyMacbeth: Seems to be quite a bit more cunning than her husband, and even talks some sense into him when his approach is too unsubtle.
** Also a subverted MoralityPet. While at first she appears to be kind, see PragmaticVillainy below.

* MsFanservice: Played with. In public she wears concealing robes but at home is a ''very'' different story where she frequently wears little more than strategically placed jewelry.

* YamatoNadeshiko: She's probably one of the few examples in Western media, and of those, probably one of the few that have done it well.

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* NobleBigot: Despite his prejudices he's mostly one of the good guys.

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* [[NiceGuy Nice Girl]]: Christie is kind, considerate, loving and protective.

* WomanScorned: She lets Alak rot in jail when she finds he's cheated on her. [[spoiler:Turns out she's a very consummate actor playing this part to a T, knows fuly well that Alak will be released from jail and is very understanding about his affair. She just warns him to be more careful in the future.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pottinger_niles_7052.jpg]]

->'''Played By:''' Jim Murray

The Earth Republic appointed Mayor of Defiance, Niles Pottinger is shrewd, calculating and charming. He's also power hungry. He does have a soft spot, though. Deep, deep down.

* EvilBrit

* JumpedOffTheSlipperySlope: Boy HOWDY. He was hardly stable before, but his appearance in season 3 really shows how far he's fallen. [[spoiler:During a rescue mission to New York, he kills his commanding officer and takes over the unit, takes over an E-Rep bunker, systematically kills off every other human save one (he probably just hadn't gotten to him yet), and when reunited with Amanda, immediately makes moves to basically make her his SexSlave. His [[KilledOffForReal death]] is really cathartic by that point.]]

-->'''Mercado:''' You're a show-off, Pottinger, with your big words, your hand lotion, your TV screens. But I tell you something, I never met a show-off who was quite as smart as he thought he was.
-->'''Pottinger:''' Well, now that you finally have, you can tell your grandkids all about it.

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* TheDragon: For Pottinger.

* WideEyedIdealist: She honestly believes that the Earth Republic is a force for good, since their presence means people can walk the streets safely.
** This attitude gets Deconstructed come Season 3. She feels no obligation to anyone who can't guarantee her safety. With the E-Rep gone and Votanis Collective troops are about to invade Defiance, she decides to pack up and leave with Conrad von Bach, who can offer her a more secure life than Defiance can. Nolan is angry but understanding. Amanda outright calls her a coward.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laselle_tommy_3233.jpg]]

->'''Played By:''' Dewshane Williams

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: How Nolan views him in Season 2, when he's willingly working for the Earth Republic and is very bitter about Irisa leaving without goodbye. In ''Dollparts'' he amends that view that perhaps it's not all Tommy's fault and apologises. He also highlights that their main conflict comes over Tommy adherence to following the Law and Nolan belief that what ever works as long as Justice is served.

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* WeUsedToBeFriends: With Nicky.

->'''Played By:''' Trenna Keating

->'''Played By:''' Anna Hopkins

->'''Played By:''' Jesse Rath

->'''Played By:''' Nicole Muñoz

* YourCheatingHeart: Stahma mentions, off-handedly, how he sometimes visits the Need-Want for Kenya and others. It's seemingly something that Castithan men are expected to do.

* YourCheatingHeart: She sleeps with [[spoiler:Kenya]] while married to Datak. Note that while Datak is guilty of the same, it's culturally-acceptable for him.

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:He sleeps with Deidre despite being married to Christie.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Had an affair with Nicky Riordan before his wife, Pilar, was institutionalized.

* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler:He was raped by a group of Votan soldiers during the war, as a young man, after they took him and his boarding school classmates in the local church prisoner.]]

* BiTheWay: [[spoiler:She sleeps with Stahma.]]

* BiTheWay: [[spoiler:She has sex with Kenya, although it's unclear if Castithans have the same labels as humans do.]]

* VillainousBSOD: After [[spoiler:murdering Colonel Marsh]], he just stands there, waiting for the inevitable, and even confides in his wife that he misses home (mind you, he was nobody there). It's a very different attitude for the otherwise outspoken Datak.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Hinted at with his apprehension to speak of his wartime past. [[spoiler: His sister was killed in front of him during a battle, and he was later involved in the Yosemite massacre, where over 200 Human and Votan civilians were killed.]]

* BiTheWay: [[spoiler:Sleeps with Stahma.]]

* EthicalSlut: Both in how she runs her business and in her personal relationships

* PutOnABus: Amanda thinks this is the case in season 2, which Stahma gently tries to dissuade her of. [[spoiler:Stahma actually killed her and hid the body.]]
** TheBusCameBack: She returns in "Slouching Towards Bethlehem", [[spoiler: cruelly subverted, she hasn't comeback. The person who returns is actually a modified Indogene made to look like Kenya]].

* CultureJustifiesAnything: Occasionally tries to use old Castithan traditions to get his way, which includes threatening to murder his son for disobeying him. This doesn't earn much points for him, since many of the people of Defiance, both Human and Votan, tend to disagree with their views.

* YamatoNadeshiko: She's probably one of the few examples in Western media and of those, probably one of the few that have done it well.

* MafiaPrincess: Rare male example. The typically naive/non-villainous version, although Datak doesn't want him to follow in the family business.

* ScyllaAndCharybdis: Because of Rafe, Datak canceled the wedding and fully expects Alak to listen. This trope is in play because Alak genuinely loves Christie and wants to marry her, but he has rarely stood up to his father all his life. So now, he must choose between honoring his father verses the woman he genuinely loves. Rafe, seeing his genuine turmoil, helps him select Christie.

* FantasticRacism: He's a bit virulent toward Castithans, especially the Tarrs.

*** Seems to get better, at least to the Irathients. [[spoiler:He left them his mines in his will, instead of, you know, the human population of Defiance.]]

* PapaWolf[=/=]OverprotectiveDad: He tried to ''kill'' Alak Tarr because a: he thought he had murdered his son and b: he found out that he was dating his daughter. Later, when Alak gets himself mixed up in his father's scheme to ruin Amanda's reputation, he has his miners give the kid a beating and warns him not to display such idiocy again.

->'''Played By:''' Graham Greene

* EvilAlbino: Pretty much goes with being a mafioso. He had a guy's hand broken in public because the guy had the gall to approach him directly rather than wait for his regular contact. That being said, he's not really an albino. Castithans are just naturally like that.

* EvilAlbino: Don't let the outward attitude fool you; she's more than willing to arrange a covert assassination if it's to her benefit.

* CowboyCop: Tends to act on what's right without considering the social or political implications. It earns him the enmity of Datak, who's used to a certain amount of leeway in such matters. He's called on this by Berlin, who says he is using the war as an excuse to act out his [[Film/StarWars Han Solo]] fantasies.

* NoNudityTaboo: Castithans consider bathing a family bonding ritual, and thus she has no problem hugging her teenage son while wearing... necklaces, mainly. Subverted in that publicly she wears flowing robes that cover everything but her head and hands.

Alak Tarr, the son of Defiance's subversive Castithan power couple, is a young man caught in the middle, chafing against tradition in a world full of new possibilities. Married to a human, Christie, Alak stands at odds with his family's conventional doctrines and the pressures they pose, and the entirely new realm of possibilites open to him as a citizen of Earth.

->'''Played By:''' Mia Kirshner

->'''Played By:''' Music/StephanieLeonidas

* CantLiveWithoutYou: In season 3, he and Irisa have to stay close to each other (around a mile at most) due to some Votan nanotech stuck in their brains after a shared stay in a stasis pod. [[spoiler: At least until Kindzi rips his tech out.]]

** In the season 2 finale, he gets shot in the chest with a taser. He drags himself over to the shooter and kicks his ass, then allows himself to fall only after everyone in the room is down.

* CantLiveWithoutYou: In season 3, she and Nolan have to stay close to each other (around a mile at most) due to some Votan nanotech stuck in their brains after a shared stay in a stasis pod.

* AmbiguouslyBi: He hires a male Nightporter at the Need/Want, and even passionately kisses them, but its just to get them alone so he can talk about their connections to the VC. However, Castithans, and the Votans in general, don't seem all too bothered by sexuality so its entirely possible he's not completely straight.

* ControlFreak: He has to be in control. He has to be in control of his wife, his son, his crime empire... everything. His life would be infinitely simpler if he was willing to let his wife take a more active role, and not force his son to take over the empire while he's in prison. As Alak notes, [[{{Irony}} he actually has very little self-control]], and quite a bit of the problems in season 2 can be laid directly at his feet, as the Earth Republic used [[spoiler:his murder of Colonel Marsh]] as an excuse to take over Defiance.

* TheResenter: Has shades of this once she marries into the Tarr household, and still isn't treated like a member of the family because she's not Castithan. Especially after Datak stars to try and make amends:

* GoingNative: Much to Datak's chagrin, his son is in love with a human and is prefers their culture to his own.

* [[spoiler: DyingMomentOfAwesome: He slaughters his way through a whole crew of Votan Collective soldiers after they kill Quentin. Then he gets killed.]]

* {{Badass}}: A tag naturally associated with being one of the Defiant Few.
** BadassBeard: Badass PermaStubble, but the point remains.
** BadassLongcoat: Takes to wearing one in the second season onward.

* {{Badass}}: Being the adopted daughter of one probably didn't hurt.
** BadassBoast: When the deputy claims they're both trapped in the jail, him due to duty and her due to being behind bars.

* {{Badass}}: Got into a swordfight with two Hellbugs and killed both without a scratch on him.

* {{Badass}}: He very rarely shows fear, helping fight the Volge, showing himself to be an experienced fighter and breaking up a fight between Datak Tarr and Hunter Bell. [[spoiler: He almost took out a whole army to get his daughter back. [[CharacterDeath Almost.]]]]

* {{Badass}}: Massive insects aptly called "Hellbugs" jump out at you? Better grab a torch and hold it off while your boyfriend freaks out.

* {{Badass}}: She shows she's not just a propaganda machine when she fights Josef.

* {{Badass}}: He might be young, but he's good at stopping escalating situations with his shotgun.
** BadassBookworm: He's a fan of Moby Dick, quoting it to Nolan.

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: [[spoiler:When Datak found out about her relationship with Kenya, he demanded Stahma kill her. Kenya being DangerouslyGenreSavvy herself, she wasn't fooled by the poisoned flask trick. That's why Stahma covered the flask itself in poison. In turn killing Kenya, and leaving Stahma to dispose the body in the woods.]]

* ScyllaAndCharybdis: Because of Rafe's DangerouslyGenreSavvy above, Datak canceled the wedding and fully expects Alak to listen. This trope is in play because Alak genuinely loves Christie and wants to marry her, but he has rarely stood up to his father all his life. So now, he must choose between honoring his father verses the woman he genuinely loves. Rafe, seeing his genuine turmoil, helps him select Christie.

* TheAtoner: His claim for [[spoiler:rewriting his will so when he dies the lands the mines are on will be given to the Irathients of Defiance in a trust (since Irathient families originally claimed the land and were slaughtered by the men who sold it to Rafe, unknown to him at the time).]] See DangerouslyGenreSavvy for the other half of his reason.

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: [[spoiler:He gave the Irathients his mines in his will, Datak now has nothing to gain from killing him so that Christie and Alak can inherit them.]]

* MacGuffinGirl: [[spoiler:The cult implanted the white Kaziri in her, which has bonded with her entire system. This is probably the origin of her visions.]]

* GenreSavvy: Not much gets past him. He caught Rynn in the middle of her escape attempt, easily saw through Datak's GoodCopBadCop routine, and did a fair job predicting how the hijackers would react in "The Serpent's Egg". Also, he's noticed the increased amount of time that Tommy and Irisa were spending together and connected the dots as to what's probably happening, prompting him to [[TwerpSweating Twerp Sweat]] Tommy.

* TookALevelInBadass: She was always GenreSavvy and much tougher than she looks, but by Season 2 she's become even more so. So far we've seen her out-maneuver Pottinger politically and take down an abusive drunk twice her size.

* GenreSavvy: Kenya knew better than to [[spoiler:drink from a flask Stahma gave her, demanding that Stahma drink from it herself first. Unfortunately for Kenya, Stahma was DangerouslyGenreSavvy, having poisoned flask itself, rather than what was in it.]]

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: [[spoiler:When Datak found out about her relationship with Kenya, he demanded Stahma kill her. Kenya being GenreSavvy herself, she wasn't fooled by the poisoned flask trick. That's why Stahma covered the flask itself in poison. In turn killing Kenya, and leaving Stahma to dispose the body in the woods.]]

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Compared to her husband, most people seem to think of her as merely a soft spoken if occasionally firm wife who's nothing but kind and timid. Only Nolan [[spoiler:and arguably Kenya]] knows otherwise and that's primarily because his GenreSavvy is near supernatural. Even her husband seems only partially aware of how manipulative she can be since most of her efforts where Datak are involved revolve around Datak. A good example being in "The Bride Wore Black" where she briefly gets flustered while trying to wrangle in a pissed off Datak.

* GenreSavvy: Knowing the type of world he now lives in and what type of man Datak is, Rafe packs a pistol around for defense and, if need be, offense.

* GenreSavvy: Not much slips by him. He effortlessly deconstructs Datak's rescue gambit at the prison, making all of Datak's scheming for naught. He also realizes Nolan is lying to him about the hijackers in "Beasts of Burden", but allows it because Nolan brought back the stolen equipment. When Berlin gets kidnapped later on, he lets Nolan off with a warning since it wouldn't put him on Amanda's good side to imprison or kill him. He manages the E-Rep occupation of Defiance much better than what one would expect in a TyrantTakesTheHelm situation. While there is still repression, he tries to minimize it and easily figures which key figures in the town he can win over. He makes Tommy the new Lawgiver and seeks Amanda's help in running the town. He figures out that Stahma is the real power in the criminal underground and cuts a deal with her that keeps her in power and neutralizes any revenge plot from Datak. He operates the mines at a dangerously accelerated schedule but also pacifies the miners by paying them better than Rafe did. Thus when TheResistance emerges, it is minimal and not very effective.