Line #73 Characters/OrphanBlackTheProletheans


1	[[WMG:[[center:[-''Series/OrphanBlack'' '''[[Characters/OrphanBlack Main Character Index]]'''\
2	[[Characters/OrphanBlackProjectLeda The Clones of Project LEDA]] \| [[Characters/OrphanBlackAssociates Associates of the Clones]] \| '''The Proletheans''' \| [[Characters/OrphanBlackTheNeolutionists The Neolutionists]] \| [[Characters/OrphanBlackDyadAssociates Dyad Associates]] \| [[Characters/OrphanBlackProjectCastor The Clones of Project CASTOR]] \| [[Characters/OrphanBlackMiscellaneousCharacters Miscellaneous Characters]]]]-]]]
3
4	!!The Proletheans
5
6	[[foldercontrol]]
7
8	[[folder:In General]]
9
10	A group of religious fanatics have divided in several factions, two of whom have different intentions toward the clones.
11	----
12	* AbusiveParents: Not a single decent parent or parental figure among them. From a conversation between [[spoiler: Helena]] and Gracie, it can be inferred that [[MouthStitchedShut sewing their children's lips together]] for disobedience is a standard practice.
13	* AnimalMotifs: Their symbol is a winged fish. It's carved on Helena's knife, tattooed on Maggie Chen's neck, and it is the design of Mark Rollins' buckle.
14	* BigBadEnsemble: They're a secondary threat to the Leda clone sisters in the first two seasons along with Neolution (Season 1) and DYAD (Season 2).
15	* ChurchMilitant: Very much so. In fact, they're the most violent faction so far. Art even refers to them as terrorists.
16	* CrapsaccharineWorld: The Johanssen ranch. Bonnie takes care of [[spoiler: Helena]] in a heartwarmingly maternal way one minute, then the next minute she [[spoiler: helps Hank force Helena to marry him and bear his children]]. We're treated to an adorable scene of Hank reading to his children before it turns out that their nurse is openly abusive.
17	* {{Cult}}: The whole organization checks off so many boxes.
18	** BreedingCult: Hank Johanssen's branch specifically [[spoiler: wants to make a population of "miracle" babies, a merger of science and religion, born of Helena's eggs and Hank's sperm using several different women as surrogates. Not even Hank's own daughter is safe from this plot. There's also a nursery with at least a dozen young children that WordOfGod confirms are all Hank's]].
19	* DemotedToExtra: They're a [[BigBadEnsemble huge threat to the Leda clone sisters along with Neolution and DYAD]] in the first two seasons. By Season 3, their only major arc is hunting down traitors/deserters such as [[spoiler:Mark and Gracie]], then becoming [[OutOfFocus completely irrelevant]] to the MythArc from there on.
20	* EnemyCivilWar: The group are divided into two factions. The "Old Order" who clings to traditions and customs, and the "New Order" led by Henrik who is open to modernization.
21	* EvilLuddite: Tie-in guidebooks reveal this as the the core of their doctrine. Henrik's branch is the exception, and he is considered an outlier because of his willing use of technology.
22	* EvilVersusEvil: Against the Neolutionists.
23	* FarmBoy: The headquarters of Henrik and his New Order is a farm village.
24	* {{Foil}}: In a case of "science vs. religion", they're the "religion" to the Neolutionists' "science". However, they're MirroringFactions in their shared view of the clones as objects to exploit and control rather than real people.
25	* TheFundamentalist: They're religious extremists.
26	* GoodOldWays: Played with. Tomas and his company follow an older form of Prolethean doctrine that is more harsh than what the Johanssens follow. Bonnie and Hank are concerned when Gracie shows signs of following the old traditions more strongly than the revised doctrine that Hank endorses.
27	* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler: Helena burns down the Johanseen ranch in season 2]].
28	* MedicalRapeAndImpregnate: [[spoiler: A large portion of the Johanssen arc in season 2. Hank extracts Helena's eggs and fertilizes them with his sperm. Then he artificially inseminates Helena and Gracie, with the plan to do so to more women. All the children on his farm were conceived this way albeit with different genetic mothers. It's also likely that they planned to involve Sarah and Kira in this plot.]]
29	* OneTrueFaith: Subverted. There are multiple versions of their doctrine, as Tomas and the Johanssens don't see eye-to-eye on several points.
30	* ReligionOfEvil: They are a fanatic {{Cult}}, and they are not really portrayed sympathetically. [[spoiler:Those who did are either TheMole or members who defected who later pull a HeelFaceTurn.]]
31	* SelfHarm: Both Tomas and [[spoiler: Helena]] hurt themselves to atone for their sins.
32	* VillainDecay: They're a legitimate threat to the Leda clone sisters in the first two seasons, especially in the first. From Season 3 onwards, the Leda sisters are more focused on Rachel, DYAD and Castor while the Proletheans became OutOfFocus.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	!!!Old Order
36
37	[[folder:Maggie Chen]]
38	!!Margaret "Maggie" Chen
39	-->'''Played by:''' Uni Park
40
41	A scientist who played a role in the cloning experiment, but saw "the error of her ways" and joined the Proletheans to get rid of the clones.
42	----
43	* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:What actually seems to have happened to her.]]
44	* AsianAndNerdy: Well, she ''is'' a scientist who was part of the project that created the Leda clones.
45	* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:She may have been a victim of an AccidentalMurder, but she also has no qualms with the killing of several people because they're not [[ClonesArePeopleToo "real humans"]]. Plus, it's heavily implied that she's just as abusive to Helena as Tomas.]]
46	* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Accidentally killed by a woman who is part of the people Maggie and her kin are trying to eradicate.]]
47	* KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade: [[spoiler:We are led to believe she was killed to protect the clones' secrets. However, the season four premiere certainly makes it look like a case of AccidentalMurder.]]
48	* TheMole: [[spoiler: She infiltrated the Neolutionists, then reported back to the others]].
49	* ParentalSubstitute: [[spoiler: Along with Tomas, she raised Helena to be a killer and is responsible for making her what she is today.]]
50	* PlotTriggeringDeath: She was fatally shot by Beth before Beth's own demise, giving Sarah problems when she takes over Beth's life. Her death was also part of the reason for Helena's initial antagonism against the Clone Club.
51	* PosthumousCharacter: She was killed by Beth [[spoiler: to protect the clones, supposedly, though it looks more like Beth killed her in a state of cocaine-induced paranoia]].
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Tomas]]
55	!!Tomas
56	-->'''Played by:''' Creator/DanielKash
57
58	-->''"Abominations have no souls."''
59
60	A mysterious fanatic who acts as a pseudo-father figure to [[spoiler: Helena]]. It's implied he took her from the Ukrainian convent where she grew up.
61	----
62	* AbusiveParents: He acts as a parental figure to [[spoiler: Helena]], but he's anything but loving.
63	* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: He's killed by Mark on Hank's orders]].
64	* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:Disappears for about three episodes and is then killed after reappearing]].
65	* BadBoss[=/=]WouldHitAGirl: He's physically abusive to [[spoiler: Helena]]. She's too far under his control to fight back [[spoiler: until he threatens [[{{Protectorate}} Kira]]]].
66	* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler: In 2.02, he's shot by Mark with a bolt gun]].
67	* BreakThemByTalking: Because [[spoiler: Helena]] is very capable of kicking his ass, Tomas controls her through verbal and emotional abuse that borders on brainwashing.
68	* TheCaretaker: Subverted. He nursed [[spoiler: Helena]] back to health after the events of episode 5, but is verbally and emotionally abusive to her. Once she recovers, he starts beating her into obedience.
69	* TheFundamentalist: At first, he appears to represent the belief system of the Proletheans, since he's the only such character onscreen aside from the less-reliable Helena. The second episode of season 2 reveals he was an aberration, and that other Proletheans are more accepting of science than he was.
70	* GoodScarsEvilScars: 2.02 reveals that he scars himself in a similar method to Helena's.
71	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:After cruelly locking Helena inside a small cage, Sarah finds her and, rather than kill him outright, decides to imprison him in the very same cage.]]
72	* ItIsDehumanizing: Tomas refers to "The Imposter" (i.e. Sarah) as "it" in his conversation with [[spoiler: Helena]].
73	* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:A major antagonist in the first season, he's unceremoniously killed-off in the second episode of Season 2.]]
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Helena]]
77	-> see the Characters/OrphanBlackProjectLeda page.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	!!!New Order
81
82	[[folder:Hank Johanssen]]
83	!!Henrik "Hank" Johanssen
84	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d559b9a5b40fd78bc2b2fe715519cf1c.jpg]]
85	[[caption-width-right:300:''What I see here is God opening a whole new door.'']]
86	-->'''Played by:''' Creator/PeterOuterbridge
87
88	-->''"You know, [[UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein a wise man]] once said, "science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind"."''
89
90	A Prolethean religious leader.
91	----
92	* AbusiveParents: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when we discover that he treats Helena much better than Tomas did. [[spoiler:And then [[DoubleSubversion Double Subverted]] when we see that he plans to have Helena impregnated whether she wants it or not, and ''especially'' [[MouthStitchedShut how he treats]] his natural daughter Gracie]].
93	* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: Courtesy of Helena.]]
94	* BigBad: For [[spoiler: Helena]]'s season two storyline, when he's established as the leader of the Proletheans.
95	* BullyingADragon: Whether through ignorance of what she's capable of, megalomania, or ideological inability to believe that a woman could be a threat to him, he spends the whole storyline behaving abusively to Helena and to other people in front of her. The sole question for the average viewer is just how long it'll take her to lose her patience and off him. [[spoiler: The answer is episode 2x09.]]
96	* {{Cult}}: He's the leader of one.
97	* EvilGenius: He's a MIT grad with a lab hidden on his compound.
98	* FauxAffablyEvil: He's generally quite polite, even when he's torturing his daughter.
99	* TheFundamentalist: Played with. He's a Prolethean, but studied at MIT and unlike Tomas, believes "religion without science is blind".
100	* GroinAttack[=/=]ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler: Helena stabs the embryo-implanting rod, with which he impregnated both Helena and Gracie (and likely many other women), either into his rectum or through his perineum, though thankfully we don't get to see much of it. If that didn't kill him, he probably died after Helena set the entire compound on fire]].
101	* ItsAllAboutMe[=/=]{{Narcissist}}: Heavily implied, as he believes he's entitled to [[spoiler: impregnate many women with Helena's eggs because she a "scientific impossibility". All of them were fertilized with his sperm because, in his mind, he's the only man worthy of being their father.]]
102	* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: Impregnating his own daughter with his and Helena's embryos was a ''baaaad'' idea and led to Gracie, Helena, and Mark betraying him, with fatal results. Specifically, Helena went for "poetic" death by impaling him pelvically with his own inseminating tool.]]
103	* TheLeader: He is the charismatic and intelligent leader of the Proletheans' New Order [[spoiler:until Helena kills him]].
104	* OldManMarryingAChild: He marries [[spoiler: Helena]] against her will. This is despite his already being married to Bonnie, who appears closer to his age.
105	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler:His son Abel died shortly after Bonnie gave birth.]]
106	* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: Introduced in the second episode of Season 2.
107	* UndignifiedDeath: [[spoiler:And holy shit how! Helena ''literally'' sticks him in either his rectum or his perineum using his embryo-implanting rod. And if that didn't killed him, the fire Helena set certainly did.]]
108	* VillainousCheekbones: He has a pronounced cheekbones, and he's TheLeader of an evil {{Cult}} and is FauxAffablyEvil to boot.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Bonnie Johanssen]]
112	!!Bonnie Johanssen
113	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/880dd0d29507ca8fc51d07650b4d885c.jpg]]
114	[[caption-width-right:300:''Hallelujah.'']]
115	-->'''Played by:''' Creator/KristinBooth
116
117	-->''"Just do as your father says."''
118
119	Hank's main wife, the mother of Gracie and the matriarch of the Johanssen ranch.
120	----
121	* AbusiveParents: Even her husband thinks she's over the top! And she makes no pretense of being AffablyEvil with it, either... [[spoiler: she stitches Gracie's mouth shut for lying, and tells her directly that if Helena is not recovered, [[MedicalRapeAndImpregnate Gracie will bear the child]].]] Later, after [[spoiler:Gracie miscarries, Bonnie kicks Gracie out, saying the baby was the only reason Bonnie even let Gracie back in.]]
122	* ActionMom: She's got a [[{{BFG}} huge rifle]] and knows how to use it.
123	* TheDragon: She's Hank's [[spoiler: main]] wife and apparent second-in-command.
124	** DragonAscendant: [[spoiler: She becomes the new leader of the Proletheans after Henrik is killed by Helena.]]
125	* EvilIsHammy: She's AffablyEvil and she ''loves'' showing it. She also had a memorable IncomingHam when she finds out that [[spoiler:Helena escaped]].
126	* EvilMatriarch: She's arguably even more vicious than her husband.
127	* TheFundamentalist: Like her husband.
128	* GenreBlindness: She has Mark crippled in a cornfield and has a rifle trained on him at close range. [[spoiler: Yet she shoots him in the gut and not his head. Naturally, Mark survives the episode.]]
129	* MamaBear: [[spoiler: After learning that Mark was TheMole, she hunts him down and shoots him for deceiving her family and running off with her daughter.]]
130	* OnlySaneMan: She's clearly not exactly ''sane'', but she recognizes that having an unstable [[spoiler: Helena]] in the same location as her [[spoiler: also unstable]] daughter might not be the best idea.
131	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler:Her son Abel died shortly after birth. Then, Gracie is killed near the end of the series.]]
132	* PetTheDog: [[spoiler: In season 3 she forgives Gracie for running away.]]
133	** KickTheDog: [[spoiler: But in the very next episode, she kicks Gracie out after her miscarriage, saying the only reason she had been invited back in the first place was for the sake of the child.]]
134	* PrimAndProperBun: Her default hairstyle, and she's a very strict, hard-nosed woman.
135	* PutOnABus: Hank sent her to [[spoiler: lure young women to the farm so he could use them as surrogates for Helena's children]]. She returns in season 3.
136	* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: Introduced in the second episode of Season 2.
137	* StepfordSmiler: She performs her duties, whether it be laundry or assisting in [[spoiler: Tomas's murder or Helena's impregnation]] with the same unperturbed air. Her one break has been when she discovered [[spoiler: her daughter strangled into unconsciousness]] and promptly screamed for her husband. Then again [[spoiler: when she realized that Gracie is having a miscarriage.]]
138	* VillainousCheekbones: She has more pronounced cheekbones than her husband, and has a much more aggressive approach than him.
139	* YouAreInCommandNow: [[spoiler:The Proletheans' New Order made her their leader following Henrik's death.]]
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Gracie Johanssen]]
143	!!Gracie Johanssen
144	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e3b55e3d03a901c83588e3f3400f05cc.jpg]]
145	[[caption-width-right:300:''You're barely even human.'']]
146	-->'''Played by:''' Zoé De Grand Maison
147
148	-->''"Go back to hell where you belong."''
149
150	Hank and Bonnie's young daughter. She grew up an ardent fundamentalist, but her deepening involvement with the clone conspiracy is forcing her to look at the world differently.
151	----
152	* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: Henrik and Bonnie ''stitch her mouth shut'' as punishment for refusing to tell them what happened between her and Helena, and there's a chance such a thing has happened to her before. Then her father forcibly impregnates her with embryos that were fertilized by him]].
153	* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:After disappearing with Mark after Season 3, she returns late into Season 5 only for her to get shot in the head in the following episode after her comeback]].
154	* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler: Killed with a bullet to the head courtesy of Engers.]]
155	* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler: In episode 2.09 she stands up to her father and tells him she hates him for the way he treated her]].
156	* CharacterDevelopment: She starts off a rabid fanatic who hates the very idea of clones, [[spoiler: but now she's breaking away from her cult's twisted teachings, becoming more independently minded, and learning to be more accepting of other lifestyles. She is also now friendly with Helena and respectful toward Cosima.]]
157	* ConvenientMiscarriage: [[spoiler: Gets impregnated at the end of season 2, but loses the baby early in season 3. She doesn't seem that upset about it, and later reveals that she never really wanted kids in the first place.]]
158	* CrisisOfFaith: [[spoiler: Though she first shows signs of this in season 2, Gracie really hits this in season 3 after she's banished. Felix, Mrs. S, and the others are helping her unlearn all the cult programming.]]
159	* EvilRedhead: Starts off this way, though she gets better.
160	* TheFundamentalist: Played straighter than her father. It's also the reason she despises [[spoiler: Helena. But later on she has a crisis of faith]].
161	* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler: She elopes with Mark in the season two finale, and although she has a few fights with him, they are generally happy]].
162	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: In season 3 she leaves the Proletheans and their ideology.]]
163	** HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Starts off mistreating [[spoiler:Helena]], then is shown to be abused by her parents, prompting her to [[spoiler:elope with Mark. When she miscarries Helena's baby and is turned away by her mother, she turns to Art for help, and is taken in by Mrs. S. Later, as everybody at Clone Club is desperately searching for the mole for Castor, Gracie only reveals herself after Cosima points out Shay to Delphine by mistake.]]
164	* IconicSequelCharacter: Does not appear until Season 2.
165	* IJustWantToBeNormal: [[spoiler: After realizing how warped her family's doctrine is, Gracie laments all the normal teenage girl things she missed out on. Felix and Mrs. S help her out in that department.]]
166	* ItIsDehumanizing: She hardly considers [[spoiler: Helena]] human and refers to her as "It".
167	* LawOfInverseFertility: [[spoiler: Averted. After learning that the Castor pathogen sterilizes the women who contract it, Gracie admits that she never wanted kids anyway.]]
168	* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: By Enger in season 5.]]
169	* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Got herself shot in the head after her attempts to lure Neolution away from Helena fails.]]
170	* MeaningfulName: Grace, in Christian belief, is the free and unmerited favor of God. Makes sense that very religious people would name their daughter that.
171	* MedicalRapeAndImpregnate: [[spoiler:Bonnie threatens her with being forcibly impregnated with Helena's child in 2.05. Henrik eventually makes good on this threat]].
172	* TheMole: [[spoiler:She gave information about Ethan Duncan's book from Clone Club, who had been harboring her, to Castor so she could be with Mark again. Though she felt bad enough about the betrayal to call Cosima and apologize.]]
173	* MouthStitchedShut: [[spoiler: When she's being punished by her parents for not telling them what happened between her and Helena]].
174	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:After being introduced as an antagonist to Helena, Grace eventually becomes friends with her, then ultimately got herself killed because her attempts to misdirect her husband on handing Helena over to Neolution fails]].
175	* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: Introduced in the second episode of Season 2.
176	* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: [[spoiler: After leaving the Proletheans, she changes into Sarah's old clothes, which are tight and revealing. She intended to take advantage of her new found freedom by going out for a night on the town, but Felix and Mrs. S had her start embracing the wild side in a safer environment.]]
177	* TookALevelInKindness: She warms up to [[spoiler: Helena after realizing that they've both been used by her father]].
178	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: [[spoiler: She attempts to murder Helena by smothering her with a pillow]], despite only being a teenager.
179	* WickedStepmother: Inverted. Gracie is [[spoiler: Helena]]'s wicked step''daughter''. [[spoiler: She even tries to kill her]].
180	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness:
181	** A non-fatal version. [[spoiler: Once Gracie miscarries, the Proletheans exile her. They only wanted her for the baby.]]
182	** [[spoiler: Then she's executed by the Neolutionists after they use her to capture Helena in Season 5.]]
183	[[/folder]]
184
185	[[folder:Alexis]]
186	!!Alexis
187	-->'''Played by''': Kathryn Alexandre
188
189	--> "My only regret is breaking bread with abomination!"
190
191	A midwife and nurse at the Johanssen's ranch who's responsible for taking care of community's children.
192	----
193	* AloofDarkHairedGirl: While she projects herself as a sweet CoolTeacher, she's incredibly nasty. She also has the same physical features as the (non-dyed/bleached) Ledas.[[note]]Her actress, Kathryn Alexandre, is Creator/TatianaMaslany's main acting double[[/note]]
194	* BitchInSheepsClothing: She seems very sweet until you see the way she treats her charges.
195	* DisproportionateRetribution: Becomes very harsh to the children over the smallest things.
196	* EvilTeacher: Shakes and yells at a little girl for touching [[spoiler: Helena]]'s hair. She is also the kids' teacher, so God knows what she does to them...
197	* MsExposition: In season 3, she spends her two main scenes giving information to [[spoiler: Sarah]] and Bonnie.
198	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: It might have been assumed that she perished in [[spoiler:Helena's arson of the Prolethean compound in season 2]], but she shows up alive in season 3. She hasn't been seen since episode 3x04.[[note]]Since Kathryn Alexandre is heavily involved with the show's production as Creator/TatianaMaslany's main body double, she can presumably be brought any time the creators want her to be. To be fair, though, she's not a particularly major character.[[/note]]
199	* YouRemindMeOfX: When [[spoiler:Helena]] shoves her against the wall, she says that Alexis reminds her of a nun who had treated her poorly as a child.
200	[[/folder]]
201
202	[[folder:Mark Rollins]]
203	-> see the Characters/OrphanBlackProjectCastor page.
204	[[/folder]]
205

Context Characters / OrphanBlackTheProletheans