History Characters / Them2021

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Literally. When Marty calls him a fag, he kicks him over and stamps on his leg hard enough to break it, then spits on him as a final gesture of disrespect before leaving.

* MeaningfulName: Berks is the name of the directory used to list members of the peerage in Great Britain and Berks holds a lordly position over Henry Emory as his employer and likes to "lord it over" him. A berk is also a mild pejorative for a stupid or badly person in Britain, similar to "wanker" or "twat", but much less profane. Downplayed in that Berks is not British.

''For tropes about Doris, see under [[spoiler: Paranormal Horrors.'']]

* {{Catchphrase}}: "''Whatcha gon do''?"

[[folder: [[spoiler: Doris]]]]

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: It becomes increasingly clear that her standing in the community is based on her harassment against the Emorys, and that absolutely nobody likes her besides that. Her parents are dismissive, her husband is only with her [[TheBeard for appearances]] and her family's money, one of her own "friends" admits to hating her after she goes missing, and [[spoiler: even her StalkerWithACrush George is willing to shoot her to hide the fact that he kidnapped her]]. In the finale, the white men who attack Henry not so much because they think he kidnapped Betty, but because [[MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome they think he kidnapped ''a'' white woman]].

* {{Expy}}: Being a bespectacled, nasty little man who is the employer of the male protagonist and enjoys exercising power of him, he could be one of Mr. Huph from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Her behaviour at times suggests she may be suffering from PTSD as a result of the home invasion. Some examples are when she waves a gun around and starts screaming at the neighbours to leave her family alone because she feels threatened or becomes very frightened at the sound of the song "Old Black Joe," both of which could arguably be interpreted as a PTSD flashback.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Between her awkward smiles, stuttering, and irrational fear of black people, viewers can be left thinking that even beyond her racism, there are a few screws loose in her head, most likely a case of Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

* YouGoGirl: Has this reaction when [[spoiler:her mom [[TheDogBitesBack finally]] [[ArmorPiercingSlap slaps]] [[AlphaBitch Betty]] in the face.]]

-> Played By: Abbie Cobb

* DarthVaderClone: A formerly decent person who due to a tragic loss was tempted by a SatanicArchetype, was corrupted by his {{Pride}} and became a soldier of darkness. Yeah, he fits.

* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler:Has Martha and Grafton burned alive and when Lucky defies him, breaking his power and leaves him in the darkness of the basement, he's consumed by hellfire. There's even a flashback to Martha and Grafton burning, to heighten the [[LaserGuidedKarma effect]].

* MadnessMantra: In the last episode, when the house is surrounded by fire with the neighbours outside crying for their blood, as Da Tap-Dance Man torments Henry, he tells him to give into his rage, go outside and show the neighbours what they came to see: "A beast to fear". Henry begins repeating these words whilst beating his chest until Lucky turns up and pulls him back to sanity.

->Played by:

[[folder:Wheatley]]
->Played by:

->Played by:

->Played by: Ryan Kwanten

->Played by:

* {{Expy}}: Being a bespectacled, nasty little man who is the employer of the male protagonist and enjoys exercising power of him, he could be one of Mr. Huph from TheIncredibles.

* ThinkOfTheChildren: He's motivated to drive the Emorys out of town because he thinks they're a threat to his family.

* WouldHurtAChild: He and Marty threaten to shoot Ruby and Gracie while torturing Henry for Betty's whereabouts.

* AllegoricalCharacter: It's implied Doris is meant to represent what Ruby ''wishes'' she was; a pretty white girl who doesn't have to deal with the baggage, ridicule and trauma that comes with being black, as her family's dysfunctionality mostly stem from this trauma and discrimination. [[Doris' true colors are revealed when its shown she is merely a spirit trying to drive Ruby mad, and she disappears when Ruby accepts her mother.]]

* ObsoleteMentor: Even by the 1940s standards, she looks and thinks in a very archaic way. Her style of outfit is more similiar to ''colonial'' American schoolteachers, she believes in CorporalPunishment, and she thinks black children should not learn how to read, a line of thinking that was mostly common in the 1800s. By comparison, Gracie's ''actual'' teacher, while still mildly racist, wears much more 1940s style clothing and teaches Gracie like the other kids up until she gets in trouble, and there's no implication that she's allowed to hit them.

* ObseleteMentor: Even by the 1940s standards, she looks and thinks in a very archaic way. Her style of outfit is more similiar to ''colonial'' American schoolteachers, she believes in CorporalPunishment, and she thinks black children should not learn how to read, a line of thinking that was mostly common in the 1800s. By comparison, Gracie's ''actual'' teacher, while still mildly racist, wears much more 1940s style clothing and teaches Gracie like the other kids up until she gets in trouble, and there's no implication that she's allowed to hit them.

* EvilLair: The basement of the Emorys house, as it is the place where he made [[spoiler:his pact with Lucifer]].

* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Quite quickly actually.

[[folder:Doris (SPOILERS)]]

''For tropes about Doris, see under "Paranormal Horror."''

* SlasherSmile: Always wears one of these and his white painted lips emphasise the effect.
* SmugSmiler: Overlaps with this.

[[folder: spoiler: Doris]]

* YouAreACreditToYourRace: Her first scene is genuinely complimenting Ruby, saying that she has a pretty name and face... for a colored girl.

[[folder:Doris]]
* AmbiguouslyGay: She only interacts with Ruby, and openly comments on her attractiveness.
* CommonalityConnection: She befriends Ruby while they're waiting at the office, because she also did something to get in trouble. In her opinion, "[we] might as well give all these looky-loos something to stare at".
* ThePeepingTom: She takes Ruby to watch two of their classmates having sex in the school basement because she thinks it's funny.
* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler: It's heavily implied during the Season Finale that Doris is what Rudy dreams of looking like in order to be accepted by her white peers, revealing that recent traumas had her battling with self-hate issues and the demon was taking advantage of this to try and drive her crazy. She gets better.]]
* WhamShot: After the janitor finds her and Ruby in the closet, she's nowhere to be seen, implying there was a TimeSkip and Ruby dozed off. [[spoiler:Then as the janitor closes the door after Ruby leaves, we see a shot of Doris's ''corpse'' sitting where she was supposed to be.]]
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: Her first scene is genuinely complimenting Ruby, saying that she has a pretty name and face... for a colored girl.

* DarthVaderClone: A formerly good person who due to a tragic loss was tempted by a SatanicArchetype, was corrupted by his {{Pride}} and became a soldier of darkness. Yeah, he fits.

* NotSoSimilar: He relates to Lucky having failed their covenants — protecting their children. However, Lucky makes it clear that they ''aren't'' the same, because she chooses to move forward while Epps wallows in his grief.

[[/folder]]

* PapaWolf: [[spoiler:He beats the crap out of Marty for torturing him and threatening to kill his children.]]
* {{Trigger}} The sweet smell of mustard gas has left him with a serious trigger when it comes to sweet food of any kind.

* BrokenBird: She was badly traumatized by the home invasion, and moving into a white neighborhood makes it FromBadToWorse.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: She was home alone with Chester when an old white woman and three white men invaded her home and raped her and killed Chester.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: She was raped in a home invasion while they killed Chester.

* BigBrotherInstinct: She's protective of Gracie, best shown when she [[spoiler:axes Earl after he turns to attack Gracie]]

* MommyIssues: While she loves her mom, she's afraid that she'll end up like her — helpless when Chester was killed and hysterical after his death. Ruby's arc is about finding her identity as an African American teenager and being accepted.

* AbusiveParents: Her parents are manipulative and controlling given that her father is the head of an oil company & that Betty is envious of her lack of a financial resource and any power; it's implied they wish she was born a boy so that they would have an heir. She reaches out to them after years of estrangement to ask them for [[InsistentTerminology "a loan"]], which they laugh at her for.

Henry's boss.

* UnholyGround: East Compton was built on the ruins of Eidolon.

* BamHeadshot: [[spoiler:How Henry dispatches him]].

* SquealsLikeAGirl: Lets out an abrupt squeal [[spoiler:as he hits the wall after Henry shoots him]].

* DarthVaderClone: A formerly good person who due to a tragic loss was tempted by a SatanicFigure, was corrupted by his {{Pride}} and became a soldier of darkness. Yeah, he fits.

* EvilCounterpart: To Lucky,

* OnlyTheFirstCitizen: Serves the function of a reverend in the California community of Eidolon but none of the citizens have titles and simply refer to one another as "brother" and "sister" because they live by no law but "the Good Book". Notably, the others come to look upon him as their spiritual leader and eventually as the head of their community and a prophet.