History Characters / MidnightMass2021

* DentedIron: Decades of hard work on a fishing boat has done a number on Ed's body by the start of the series, mostly in the form of a back injury that hasn't healed properly, which severely effects his mobility. The spontaneous healing of his back is one of the first signs that [[spoiler: the Angel's blood is beginning to effect the townspeople.]]

* ProHumanTranshuman: Though he initially assumes [[spoiler:he'll become a HorrorHunger-crazed monster [[NonMaliciousMonster who can't help himself]] if he's turned, when he is turned, he realizes he's perfectly capable of controlling his behavior, no matter how much it hurts, and refuses to join the mob of murderous vampires. It helps that Riley had postumously warned him what to expect, so he has enough understanding of what has happened to not lose himself to the hunger.]]

** [[spoiler:Out of the human survivors of the midnight mass, she's the lesast optimistic about their chance at making it through the night; she tries to make the best of their time by devising the plan to burn the boats so the vampires can't go to the mainland. She then proceeds to help burn down the vampires' only remaining refuge.]]

* BeliefMakesYouStupid: One of the biggest aversions in the show. Despite her fervent devotion, her trust and gratitude towards Father Paul, and her healing being the origin of the town's religious fervor, she is never blinded by it. [[spoiler:She is the only one in her family to refuse to commit suicide and be reborn as a vampire.]]

* LooksLikeOrlok: Except for the wings, the Angel is a classic example.

* TheVoiceless: [[spoiler: Doesn't say anything aside from a few snarls and growls. However, it is shown to be rather sapient at times.]]

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* FightingFromTheInside: Annie is able to fight [[spoiler:the HorrorHunger inflicted upon by the flock.]]

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* CanNotSpitItOut: Has to force himself to even ''try'' to apologise Riley for the build-up resentment toward him. It doesn't work quite well, but it's clear Ed is struggling to say even what he ends up saying and truly didn't mean to sound offensive.

* HappilyMarried: To Annie.

--> '''Played by:''' Igby Rigny

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* DomesticAbuse: Endured this during her marriage, and she only worked up the courage to leave when she learned of her pregnancy.

* MamaBear: The realization that [[spoiler:Father Paul caused her miscarriage with the Angel's blood makes her even more determined to foil whatever his plans are.]]
* MysticalPregnancy: Inverted. [[spoiler:Erin suffers a mystical ''miscarriage'' -- not only does she lose her daughter with no hint other then a very light episode of bleeding, even though miscarrying at several months would ''definitely'' be far more noticeable than that, but the baby simply disappears from her womb without a trace and a bemused doctor on the mainland tells her that from all medical observations and blood work, she was never even pregnant at all.]]

* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Out of the human survivors of the midnight mass, she's the lesast optimistic about their chance at making it through the night; she tries to make the best of their time by devising the plan to burn the boats so the vampires can't go to the mainland. She then proceeds to help burn down the vampires' only remaining refuge.]]

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* BeliefMakesYouStupid: One of the biggest aversions in the show. Despite her fervent devotion, and her trust and gratitude towards Father Paul, she is never blinded by it. [[spoiler:She is the only one in her family to refuse to commit suicide and be reborn as a vampire.]]

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* OnlySaneMan: He's the only person on the island who really has his shit together.
** Briefly shares this title with Erin when he tries (unsuccessfully) to remind Bev Keane that it's highly inappropriate (if not outright illegal) to hand out Christian Bibles and read from scripture in class in a public school.

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* AllTakeAndNoGive: Bev manipulates people into giving her things, which she masks as giving back to the Church, and puts on a show of helping the community, but it's clear that strings are definitely attached.
** It's implied by other characters that she manipulated the aging and senile Monsignor Pruitt.

** [[spoiler:In the final episode, when she realizes she's facing death by sunlight she kneels down on the beach as though to FaceDeathWithDignity... only to start frantically digging in the sand with her bare hands in a desperate and pathetic attempt to save her own skin. Her last act is screaming in terror and agony as the sunrise incinerates her.]]

* TheDragon: The most loyal follower of [[spoiler: Father Paul, even after his true nature and identity is revealed to her, fully supportive in his cause. However...]]

-->'''Played by:''' [[spoiler: Creator/HamishLinklater]]
The priest at St. Patrick's. After becoming unwell during his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he was temporarily replaced by Father Paul until he recovered.

--> '''Played by:''' Matt Biedel

--> '''Played by:''' Louis Oliver

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* MonsterProgenitor: His exact origin is unknown but he's seemingly the oldest vampire in existence, [[spoiler:responsible for turning Pruitt and subsequently most of the population of Crockett Island.]]

* NotUsingTheZWord: It is very clearly a vampire, but is only ever known as "the Angel" instead.
* StrongerWithAge: The implied reason why it is so inhuman and resistant to bullets compared to more recent vampires.

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Erin cuts his wings full of holes, and he's last seen weakly flying west in an attempt to outrun the sunrise with Warren observing that it likely has no chance of doing so. It's ambiguous whether he lived or not; on one hand, it's implied that Leeza lost the feeling in her legs due to [[NoOntologicalInertia the Angel's death]]; on the other, [[https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/midnight-mass-ending-explained/ Mike Flanagan suggests that the angel represents the corruption and/or fanaticism to be found in any belief system that can never truly be killed]], suggesting that he managed to survive.]]
* VillainousGlutton: Broke [[spoiler:Riley's]] neck in 3 places while feeding on him, and when [[spoiler:he resurrects it crunches painfully back into place requiring six hours to fully heal]]. Later, it ignores [[spoiler:Leeza]] shooting it in favor of feeding on a woman, and seems untroubled by [[spoiler:Erin cutting a dozen jagged holes in its wings as it feeds on her, ultimately dooming it.]]

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* ChekhovsGun: He tells Riley about how his sister had recently passed. [[spoiler:When Father Paul tries covering up Joe's murder to Riley, he claims he's visiting his sister, [[SpottingTheThread which is what tips Riley off that Father Paul is up to something]].]]

* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler:Decides to turn his life around and get off the bottle once he sees that Leeza has been healed, convinced that there are miracles in the world and he needs to change. Then he's seriously wounded by Father Paul, who feeds on his bleeding head wound. Made even worse by the fact that Joe was alive for quite a while after he was injured, meaning Father Paul could have saved his life rather than feed on his blood.]]

* YankTheDogsChain: [[spoiler: Killed by Paul righter after he's started to turn his life around and learn to forgive himself.]]

* KickTheDog: She tries to violently force Leeza to drink the communion wine [[spoiler:which would kill her]] and seems about to [[spoiler:drink her blood and/or attack her.]]

* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Although she helps Paul turn the congregation into vampires, she says it is to share the "gift" of eternal life, but any "good intentions" are thrown out the window, when she decides to free the vampires to start a massacre in the island, killing anyone who has not attended mass. And she wanted to repeat the process on Mainland. ]]

* DecoyProtagonist: Downplayed. He's by no means a minor character, but his introduction makes it seem like is going to be the series main focus, as appears to have the most emotional baggage out of the cast, with him reconnecting with the town, his family, and an old friend. However, in truth the show has a larger EnsembleCast where at best he has sightly more screentime than the rest, and [[spoiler:then he dies (truly, after being killed and revived as a vampire) with two episodes of the show left to go; Erin, Sarah, Mildred, and later Hassan pick up the reins after his death]].

* MyGreatestFailure: His DUI accident and resulting manslaughter (which he considers murder) of an innocent girl driving the other car. It makes him miserable and literally haunts him every time he goes to sleep - not in sense of a supernatural ghost, but simply his own guilt making him recall the massacred body of the girl.

* RichesToRags: By his own admission he made a very decent sum of money working in tech startups before his arrest. His legal defense fees bankrupted him, and his criminal record makes his reentering the field next to impossible. He's not particularly bitter about this, basically just wanting to make himself useful around the island.

* SpottingTheThread: Suspects Father Paul of misdoing after he [[spoiler:lies about Joe Collie visiting his sister, whom Riley [[ChekhovsGun knows is dead due to a previous conversation with Joe]].]]

* WalkingSpoiler: [[spoiler: As you can see in this entry, his death at the beginning of the final act, with 3 full episodes to go, is the main trigger for the start of the show's climax and has a drastic effect on all the other main characters making it a bit difficult to discuss Riley's role in the show without bumping into his death.]]

* PracticallyDifferentGenerations: Warren is an altar boy, while Riley has already left the island, attended college, had a career as a venture capitalist, and spent four years in prison.

* MysticalPregnancy: Inverted. [[spoiler:Erin suffers a mystical ''miscarriage'' -- not only does she lose her daughter with no hint whatsoever, even though miscarrying at several months would ''definitely'' be noticeable, but the baby simply disappears from her womb without a trace and a bemused doctor on the mainland tells her that from all medical observations and blood work, she was never even pregnant at all.]]

* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Out of the human survivors of the midnight mass, she's the less optimistic about their chance at making it through the night; she tries to make the best of their time by devising the plan to burn the boats so the vampires can't go to the mainland. She then proceeds to help burn down the vampires' only remaining refuge.]]

* ByTheBookCop: Downplayed. He's pretty lenient and laid back, but compared with everyone else on the island, he's the only person that seems to follow any sort of protocol, rather than ignoring events around.

* NoRespectGuy: He is a decent, intelligent man, but the townsfolk have absolutely no respect for him because of his faith and ethnicity, repeatedly bulldozing and ignoring over whatever he says while passive-aggressively insisting that he should convert to Catholicism, while Bev flat-out hates him over it. His monologue shows that this is not a new thing; in fact, it was even ''worse'' for him on the mainland.

** [[spoiler:Bringing the "Angel" to the island causes more harm than good, and even with Leeza as one of the only survivors, the 'miracle' of her legs having healed is undone when the Angel is seemingly killed.]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler:By bringing the Angel to the island and starting to turn the town into vampires, as well as shake up the status quo violently he serves as the primary antagonist and threat over the show, being at odds (directly or indirectly) with Riley, Hassan and Erin. He snaps out of his villany only in the end and by the time he's seen the horrors he unleashed he turns against the very plan he started, but its too late for the town.]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler: Believes that converting his followers into beings just like him is the way to salvation, ignoring the fact that he was so bloodthirsty he drank the blood of the gravely injured Joe Collie rather than get him help, showing that not even he was above the base urges that come with his new state.]]

* DisappearedDad: Her father is only mentioned once, when fondly imagines her baby joining him in the afterlife, implying that he is dead and that they had a loving relationship, unlike her mother. More details about him, including how and when he died, are never mentioned.

* DisappearedDad: Her father is only mentioned once, when she speculates about what happens after death and fondly imagines her baby joining him in the afterlife, implying that he is dead. More details about him, including how and when he died, are never mentioned.

* AuthorAvatar: Mike Flannagan is also an Atheist, former alter boy, and recovering alcoholic. Per WordOfGod he was just as surprised as many viewers were to discover, while writing the show, that Riley is ''not'' the protagonist.

* ExtremeDoormat: Despite being the mayor of the Island, he allows himself to be bossed around by others, especially Bev Keane. [[spoiler: This includes going along with covering up the murder of Joe Collie by Father Paul.]]
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: [[spoiler: Ooh boy. He starts off as the compassionate mayor. Then is coerced by Bev into doing more and more immoral acts, completely buying into to her and Father Paul's insistence that vampirism is a gift from God, willing drinking poison to die and become one, while also trying to force Leeza to do the same. Then he and his wife go on a blood drinking spree, killing a fair number of people. However, once his faith in Bev is shattered by ''all'' the shelters being burned down, he and Dolly come to their senses and decide and peacefully sing with the Flynns.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: Probably the nicest thing that could be said about her. Even prior to [[spoiler: slip into outright villainy]], Bev is cold, judgemental, haughty, close-minded, bigoted, and clearly believes her faith makes her better than everyone else and has no issue letting others know it. Pretty much no one on the island likes her and with good reason. Sheriff Hassan even says that Joe is right to not like her and Father Hill mostly seems t just barely tolerate her.

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: It actually speaks a lot to his character that, [[spoiler:as someone who's been a vampire far longer than his congregation, he's still much, much better at keeping his vampiric urges in check. Compare that to the rest of the islanders, who upon being turned immediately went feral-mode and started chomping and chugging away on whatever poor blood-sack was nearby. Even with his mind and soul throughly corrupted, he's still ultimately driven by a powerful sense of self-control, his faith, and even a moral compass.]]

* SoProudOfYou: Upon first meeting Sarah when she tends to him after he fainted at mass, he says that he admires that she's a doctor and helps people and that he's proud of her for that. [[spoiler:It's a hint that he's actually her father. This is also one of the last thing he says to her, when he tells her he's sorry they couldn't be together for longer but that she's the best thing that ever happened to him.]]