A list of the main characters in 1899. Spoilers are uncovered.
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Main Cast
Maura Franklin (née Singleton)
Origin: United Kingdom
Status: Passenger (1st Class)
Played by: Emily Beecham
"Our brain isn’t always entirely reliable. Everything that we see and feel and hear are the result of electrical impulses. And sometimes we misinterpret those impulses. It’s what makes people go mad."
A neurologist, and one of the first female doctors in the United Kingdom. She travels to America in the hope of finding her missing brother, and due to a mysterious letter she received, she thinks he may have been onboard a missing ship, the Prometheus. Maura is a mysterious character who draws attention to herself as a young woman traveling alone, and some parts of her past are unclear even to her.
- Action Girl: Despite her composed demeanour and scientifically-minded pursuits, Maura is physically very capable and readily flings herself headlong into the increasingly strange circumstances she finds herself in showing little to no caution; climbing down mysterious tunnels, tearing off sections of wall with her bare hands to uncover what lies behind, and confronting fully armed mutineers without hesitation.
- Adventures in Comaland: As the series builds to its climax, we learn that all of the events depicted, and all those involved, are trapped within a simulation projected by a Lotus-Eater Machine built by Maura, but ultimately controlled by her missing brother, Ciaran. Episode 8 reveals that Maura is jacked into said machine onboard a Sleeper Ship — the Prometheus— in the year 2099, and that unless Maura can remember, wake up, and stop Ciaran, she and all of the other characters are doomed to repeat the cycle of the simulation over and over.
- Amnesiac Hero: Who is Maura Franklin? Is she a mental patient, as was shown in the opening, or was that just a nightmare of hers? And why is her memory spotty, to the point that she needs to affirm her name and purpose on this ship to herself? The vagueness is kept up until the finale, where it's revealed that the events depicted in the series occur within a simulation Maura is jacked in to (ostensibly controlled by her brother for reasons as-yet unknown) 200 years in the future.
- Amnesiac Protagonist Catalyst: When first introduced, Maura awakens on the Kerberos after having a dream in which she confronts her father over the disappearance of her brother, who went missing four months ago — the same time the Prometheus was lost at sea. Disorientated, she rehearses her persona, reciting her name and place of birth, seemingly unable to remember anything much before arriving on the ship. As it turns out, all of the events which subsequently occur are created in a Lotus-Eater Machine she's jacked into aboard a Sleeper Ship 200 years in the future. All of the series' other characters are trapped within her mental simulation, controlled by her brother Ciaran, and Maura must wake up to rescue them from their Time Loop Trap.
- Ancestral Name: Her middle name is ‘Henriette’ — presumably after her father, Henry.
- Connected All Along: By the finale, Maura is revealed to be Daniel's wife of 12 years and Elliot's mother. She and her husband originally created the simulation (implied to be a means of keeping their dying son Elliot alive), but it has apparently fallen into her brother Ciaran's control.
- Determinator: Nothing will stop her from finding out what's happened to her brother, and she very rarely experiences any moment of weakness or lack of proaction.
- English Rose: Maura sports tumbling red hair, porcelain-pale skin and pretty facial features. In character, she is a composed, forthright woman with strong morals and a sense of duty in her capacity as a doctor.
- Fiery Redhead: Maura sports bright red hair and is forthright, no-nonsense and intensely determined.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Maura first properly meets Eyk when the Kerberos comes across the seemingly abandoned Prometheus, with Eyk requesting that she accompany his boarding party in her capacity as The Medic. The pair form a strong bond, and despite his initial disbelief, they work together to try to uncover the mystery behind their increasingly unreal circumstances.
- Mama Bear: She protects The Boy (Elliot), even before she remembers that he’s her son, with gutsy determination, and if her father Henry is to be believed, Maura originally created the simulation as an Immortality Field after Elliot was diagnosed with an incurable illness.
- The Medic: Despite there being a noted doctor aboard the Kerberos, he's a useless bigot, and Maura is called upon to help with any medical emergencies — most notably turning Tove's baby inside her pregnant belly when it becomes dangerously trapped.
- Nom de Mom: ‘Franklin’, she tells Eyk, is her mother’s maiden name, which she’s using while travelling incognito.
- Oh, Crap!: In episode 8, Daniel finally manages to convince her that she is his wife and that they are trapped in a virtual reality simulator — apparently of her own design. After Daniel recodes 'the key' (essentially a MacGuffin fail-safe for switching off the simulation) to the form of her wedding ring, she uses it to activate the mysterious 'wake up!' pyramid, shutting down the system. Opening her eyes, she detaches herself from a Lotus-Eater Machine and finds herself on board a Sleeper Ship, 200 years in the future, where a message from her disappeared brother Ciaran — the apparent mastermind behind all of the events — welcomes her to reality.
- The Protagonist: The series features an ensemble cast of varying nationalities and accompanying storylines, though Maura, via her quest for her brother and the gaps missing from her memory, is the focal point around which the series' wider story arc is formed.
- Searching for the Lost Relative: Maura's brother, Ciaran, disappeared 4 months prior, and having received a mysterious letter from him, she travels aboard the Kerberos to New York.
- Spirited Young Lady: She's a doctor who specialises in the human brain and is one of the first women in England to study medicine at a time (late Victorian Britain) where an upper-middle class woman like her would have been expected to marry well, oversee a household, and crack on with some needlepoint.
- Survival Mantra: Maura repeats her name, occupation, and reason for being on the Kerberos when she wakes up from her nightmare. It's implied that this is something she does regularly in order to keep herself grounded in reality.
Captain Eyk Larsen
Origin: German Empire
Status: Crew (Captain)
Played by: Andreas Pietschmann
"Hast du jemals jemanden verloren? Es ist, als würdest du mit ihnen sterben. Sie können weitermachen. Du steckst fest." note
The ship's weather-beaten German captain, he always tries to do what's right, regardless of what other people think. Larsen isn't fully trusted by the rest of his crew, due to him still dealing with a family tragedy that occurred a few years prior. He and Maura form an ever-closer bond as the events of the series unravel.
- Addled Addict: Eyk is an alcoholic, and relies on big swigs of whiskey to get him through his duties and suppress the memories of his dead wife and children. His crew are increasingly less inclined to trust him to effectively lead as his dependency becomes more overt.
- The Captain: Eyk is the Captain of the passenger liner Kerberos, bound for New York, and is in charge of every aspect (bar medical emergency) of the the ship's running. He's composed, stern, softly-spoken and no-nonsense.
- Dark and Troubled Past: As the series progresses, Eyk finds himself confronted with memories of the deaths of his wife and children, who burned to death in a house-fire a few years prior.
- Death Of Achild: As events grow ever more stranger, and the simulation becomes less reality-based, Eyk begins to see visions of his dead daughter, Nina, who burned to death in a house-fire prior to the events of the series.
- Determinator: Despite the entire crew and every passenger onboard attempting to veto his decision, Eyk resolutely turns the Kerberos around when a mysterious signal from the lost ship Prometheus is picked up by his ship's radar.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Eyk frequently turns to the bottle as a way to cope with the deaths of his family.
- Fire-Forged Friends: He first meets Maura when the Kerberos comes across the seemingly abandoned Prometheus, requesting that she accompany his boarding party in her capacity as The Medic. The pair form a strong bond, and despite his initial disbelief, he works with her to try to uncover the mystery behind their increasingly unreal circumstances.
- Manly Facial Hair: He sports a mid-length Sea Dog Beard in keeping with his role as a ship's captain and is gruff and stern in character.
- Supporting Protagonist: Eyk is ostensibly Maura's closest companion in the series, and is therefore drawn into uncovering the mystery of the series' wider story arc.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He’s craggily handsome in a weathered way, sports dark hair and eyes, and is a world-weary, imposing presence.
Daniel Solace
Origin: United Kingdom
Status: Outsider
Played by: Aneurin Barnard
"Reality is more than neurons firing around in your brain. Reality is not what’s on the inside. It’s what’s happening on the outside."
A mysterious man who boards the Kerberos late at night, seemingly out of nowhere. He begins quietly observing Maura, but over time, he gradually reveals more and more of a connection to her, as well as knowledge of the circumstances everyone onboard the Kerberos finds themselves in.
- Connected All Along: Daniel is also trapped in the simulation, but he is not subject to its amnesia-inducing influence, and knows that he's Maura's husband and Elliot's (The Boy) father — something he reveals to her in the finale.
- Cryptic Conversation: When he first appears onboard, he makes a few attempts to engage with Maura but declines to fully explain who he is, preferring to ask her a few oblique questions — "You really don't remember me, do you?" and such — in a manner that just confuses her further.
- Dark Is Not Evil: He sports a long black jacket, has dark hair, and intense, dark brown eyes. Whilst initially an eerie presence on the ship, Daniel is revealed to have heroic intentions, and uses his otherworldly tech ‘device’ on the Kerberos’ coal burners to stop the hypnotic ticking noise that’s causing mass suicide amongst all those on the ship.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: He sports glossy black hair, very pale skin and has very large, intense eyes — all of which makes him no less attractive, but does enhance his initially creepy presence aboard the ship.
- Mysterious Stranger: Daniel sneaks onboard the Kerberos after luring the ship to the Prometheus with a radar distress signal. In his first scenes, he clambers onboard the ship in a manner that's initially sinister, and lurks about among the passengers in an observant, eerie manner.
- You Have to Believe Me!: Daniel is eventually revealed to be Maura's husband who, whilst also trapped in the simulation with her, is the only person aboard the ship, apart from The Boy, who has any Medium Awareness of the situation. Over the course of several episodes, he tries to help Maura remember who she is, as she's the only person who knows of the location of 'the key', the MacGuffin needed to wake her up and end the simulation everyone is trapped within.
Ángel
Origin: Kingdom of Spain
Status: Passenger (1st Class)
Played by: Miguel Bernardeau
"No se puede cambiar la naturaleza de las cosas. Soy quien soy. Y eres quien eres. Nada cambiará eso." note
A wealthy Spaniard traveling with Ramiro. He's haughty and arrogant, loves drawing attention to himself, and is always immaculately turned out.
- Break the Haughty: After the first half of the season shows him being smug, elitist, hedonistic, and dismissive of consequences, in episode 5 Angél is shown sitting in a fetal position, rocking himself back and forth in a terrified stupor while singing a lullaby to soothe himself — no doubt due to being locked in his own room for a whole day or more, and the terror of seeing passengers inexplicably tossing themselves overboard.
- Covered with Scars: When he and Ramiro strip off to make love, his back is seen to be covered with a criss-cross of angry-looking scars, and though it's never fully explained why, being punished at some point for his sexuality may have had something to do with it. Tellingly, he forms a Commonality Connection with Krester, as he is initially intrigued by his own facial scarring.
- Domestic Abuse: Ángel and Ramiro are in a secret gay relationship, but it's very one-sided and Ángel treats Ramiro with sneering contempt and neglect on occasion, primarily due to him being of a far more humble, Portuguese background.
- Dying Declaration of Love: In the penultimate episode, he's crushed under a fallen girder in the ship's engine room, and prior to his death (in the simulation, in any case), he declares his love for Ramiro, noting he can't believe a nice guy like that would be in love with someone like him.
- Fugitive Arc: He and Ramiro are revealed to be on the run from Spain, not only because of their sexuality, but also because Ramiro apparently killed a priest and took his clothes and identity — all because Ángel was unable to control his urges. The priest was presumably going to out them both, and was necessarily silenced before the pair fled for America.
- I Am What I Am: Being openly gay in 1890s Spain would have been a prison offence (or far worse) and yet he's proudly comfortable with who he is, exhibiting no Gayngst, and only hides his sexuality so as not to get in trouble with the authorities.
- Ironic Name: Ángel is definitely no angel.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: He takes a shine to steerage passenger Krester, who's locked behind a concertina-gate below decks. That doesn't stop him fondling Krester and then letting him fellate him through the bars in full view of any passersby.
- Privilege Makes You Evil: Ángel was born into a wealthy Spanish family and is pompous and arrogant, as seen in his introductory scenes where he's being a braying ass in the dining room of the ship. He also treats his lover Ramiro poorly due to the class gap between them and then, later on, the young Danish boy Krester with an Entitled to Have You predation.
- Proud Elite: Coming from a wealthy family, he’s spoiled, preening, entitled and arrogant.
- Secret Relationship: Ángel and Ramiro travel together as brothers, though a casual glance reveals that they don't look at all alike and are in fact lovers. During the time period the series is set (1899), homosexual relationships would result in imprisonment or even death in Restoration-era Spain.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He sports a fashionable lightweight linen suit, and with his slick hair, he always looks impeccably turned out.
- Slimeball: His flirtations with Krester are sleazy, even predatory, and despite Krester ultimately consenting to Ángel's come-on, it's presented as a risky, coercive experience for the young man.
Ramiro
Origin: Kingdom of Portugal
Status: Passenger (1st Class)
Played by: Jose Pimentao
"Se Deus existe e criou isso, eu juro que ele deve ser louco..." note
Ostensibly a priest, Ramiro is a nervous, quiet man who'd prefer if his traveling companion Ángel drew less attention to the pair with his braying outbursts.
- Accent Slip-Up: He accidently exclaims in Portuguese once on-board the Prometheus. He later drops the pretense altogether when everyone has bigger concerns than which language he exactly speaks.
- Bad Habits: Downplayed to a modern audiences' sensibilities, but as homosexuality was a criminal offense in Restoration-era Spain, Ramiro travels with his lover Ángel disguised as a Catholic priest, so as not to arouse suspicion.
- Fauxreigner: Despite speaking perfect Spanish, it's later revealed that Ramiro is only posing as Spanish, and is in fact Portuguese.
- Fugitive Arc: He and Ramiro are revealed to be on the run from Spain, not only because of their sexuality, but also because Ramiro apparently killed a priest and took his clothes and identity — all because Ángel was unable to control his urges. The priest was presumably going to out them both, and was necessarily silenced before the pair fled for America.
- Love Hurts: Ramiro is sweet, quiet, and beleaguered by Ángel's poor treatment of him, as well as the fact that he knows he cheated on him on board the ship with Krester, a Danish steerage passenger.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Back in Spain, Ramiro actually killed a man (a priest, no less) to prevent him outing Ángel and ruining his reputation. Assuming the priest’s identity, Ramiro joins Ángel on the run to America.
- Secret Relationship: Ramiro and Ángel travel together as brothers, though a casual glance reveals that they don't look at all alike and are in fact lovers. During the time period the series is set (1899), homosexual relationships would result in imprisonment or even death in Restoration-era Spain.
- Wig, Dress, Accent: Ramiro sports the full robes of a Catholic priest and (presumably) has learnt Spanish to high enough standard to be completely fluent and complete his disguise.
Ling Yi
Origin: Crown Colony of Hong Kong
Status: Passenger (2nd Class)
Played by: Isabella Wei
"我哋唔應該有夢想。 如果我哋攞走咗唔屬於我哋嘅嘢，我哋嘅夢想就會變成噩夢。" note
A mysterious young woman from Hong Kong, traveling with Yuk Je. She sports beautiful geisha robes and makeup at all times, creating intrigue amongst her fellow passengers.
- Dark Secret: After she drugged her friend Mei Mei and accidently killed her, Ling Yi and her mother hid her body in a bamboo trunk and hurled it over the side of their houseboat, with Ling Yi subsequently taking her place in madam Virginia Wilson's harem of "exotic" girls.
- Dead Person Impersonation: Looking for a better life in America, Ling Yi is revealed to have taken on the identity of her friend Mei Mei, who was originally meant to accompany the madam Virginia Wilson to New York. Ling Yi accidently killed Mei Mei with a drugged tea that was supposed to just knock her out, and took her place.
- Fauxreigner: Ling Yi is Chinese, not Japanese, but in 1890s London and New York, very few people would realise the difference, though Virginia firmly commands that neither she nor her mother Yuk Je must ever be overheard speaking their native Cantonese.
- Foreign Culture Fetish: Her assumed role as a geisha plays on this predilection, as in 1899 Japan was far more cloistered than in the modern era and an 'exotic little bird' (as Virginia puts it) like her would be a novelty many men would clamber to disrobe.
- Geisha: Her assumed identity is that of a Japanese geisha, an exotic figure bound to attract a lot of curious attention from the punters in New York, and a subject a world away from her humble background in rustic Hong Kong.
- Inscrutable Oriental: She must remain deliberately so to ensure that her deception as a Fauxreigner (and role as a sex-worker) isn't uncovered.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She's felt this way ever since she accidentally killed her friend Mei Mei via a drugged tea. She merely wanted to switch places with her to live (what she believed was) a better life, and to say that she feels guilty and devastated would be an understatement.
- Nature Adores a Virgin: After Virginia administers a degrading virginity test, she discovers that Ling Yi is a virgin — and certainly not Mei Mei, the girl she was expecting to escort to New York. Realising she's been deceived, Virginia is initially angry, but calms herself when she realises the increased monetary potential derived from Ling Yi's virginal status.
- Odd Friendship: Later in the series, as events become ever stranger, including the apparent suicide of her mother, and reality begins to fall apart, demure, quiet Ling Yi forms a bond with Olek, a humble stoker from the ship's engine rooms and someone she'd never likely have come across priorly. Whilst a Language Barrier is in play for many characters (German, English and Danish are at least of the same language family), Ling Yi's native Cantonese and Olek's native Polish are mutually entirely unintelligible, and the pair must rely on expression and emotional feeling to navigate their way together.
- The Oldest Profession: Ling Yi took the place of her friend Mei Mei to work as a High-Class Call Girl in America, under the stern tutelage of madam Virginia Wilson. After Lucien solicits her services, she performs a traditional Japanese fan dance and expects to sleep with him, though he prefers to just sit there, Girl Watching.
- Racial Face Blindness: Ling Yi uses this to her advantage by posing as a Japanese geisha, despite being from Hong Kong.
Yuk Je
Origin: Crown Colony of Hong Kong
Status: Passenger (2nd Class)
Played by: Gabrielle Wong
"最後一切都會好起來的。 如果不好，那不是結束。" note
A taciturn, middle-aged woman from Hong Kong traveling with Ling Yi. She's ostensibly the former's maid, though their connection is revealed to be much closer.
- Driven to Suicide: Later in the series, the reality control of the simulation starts to turn against the Kerberos' occupants, and a rhythmic ticking sound forcibly compels almost all of the passengers and crew, including Yuk Je, to commit Suicide by Sea.
- Inscrutable Oriental: She maintains a pensive, composed facade — likely because she's terrified that her daughter's Dark Secret will come out, and the passengers on board will discover that she and her daughter aren't even Japanese.
- Jacob Marley Warning: She's desperately unhappy with Ling Yi's decision to replace Mei Mei, and work as a High-Class Call Girl for Virginia. She accompanies her on the voyage to New York nonetheless, acting as her maid and guardian, but in an emotionally-charged moment, she begs Ling Yi not to end up as "a whore" like she did.
- Maid and Maiden: She's Ling Yi's mother, but her role in that regard is kept secret, and she poses as her guardian and lady’s maid for the crossing to New York.
Jérôme
Origin: French Republic
Status: Stowaway
Played by: Yann Gael
"Je l'ai déjà vu. Des gens qui prennent le pouvoir et qui ne le méritent pas. Ça ne finit jamais bien." note
An Afro-French stowaway who holds a deep-seated grudge against Lucien derived from their shared past in the French Foreign Legion.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Lucien's betrayal by desertion in the Foreign Legion has left him cold, and hungry for revenge.
- One-Man Army: Due to his soldier training, Jérôme is a seriously impressive fighter, and it takes at least five or six of Franz' crewman to subdue him after he's discovered.
- Revenge: He and Lucien both served in the French Foreign Legion and were fighting a war (potentially in Tunisia or West Africa during the Mandingo Wars, from what we see in flashbacks). Lucien wanted to desert, and devised a plan to take on the identity of a dead commanding officer, but Jérôme wouldn't abandon their squadmates, so Lucien betrayed and imprisoned him, allowing him to be captured, while he went on to live a life of luxury. Jérôme sneaks on board the Kerberos to extract his revenge.
- Run Away Hide Away: Jérôme is first encountered emerging silently from the ship's coal-store, which is clearly where he stowed away after the Kerberos left England.
Clémence
Origin: French Republic
Status: Passenger (1st Class)
Played by: Mathilde Olivier
"On dites qu'il ne faut juger personne sur son apparence. Pourtant c'est impossible, non? Je suis sûr que tu t'es décidé à mon sujet dès que tu m'as vu." note
A beautiful young woman from the Paris elite, accompanied by her new husband, Lucien. The froideur between the pair makes their marriage problems immediately obvious to the other passengers.
- Awful Wedded Life: She and Lucien are supposed to be on their honeymoon yet have little in common, as theirs is an Arranged Marriage orchestrated by her parents. To compound matters further, their love-making is shown to be perfunctory and awkward, without any hint of passion.
- The Beautiful Elite: Clémence comes from a wealthy Parisian family, and was brought up to be the perfect Proper Lady in French society. She's also undoubtedly amongst the most beautiful women on board the ship.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: In the first episode, after Lucien storms away in humiliation over his failure to perform, Clémence's feigned concern twists into a triumphant smile, revealing her as a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing. However, while her marriage remains unhappy, she never expresses such overt schadenfreude ever again.
- Fire-Forged Friends: The increasingly chaotic events of the series, and her emotional distance from her husband, compel her to form a strong bond with Jérôme, who's actually aboard the Kerberos to extract revenge against her husband. It doubles up as an Interclass Friendship, due to their wildly differing backgrounds.
- Gorgeous Period Dress: She sports a selection of beautiful Belle Époque (Victorian France) gowns and a pair of earrings bearing the series' Arc Symbol of an inverted triangle.
- Spirited Young Lady: Despite her perfect facade, she's desperate to escape the constricts of life in upper-class Paris, and her ultimate goal is to travel to the New World and start a new life. In a more practical sense, when things on the ship start to go dangerously awry, she ditches her long Belle Époque dress in favour of a pair of men's trousers — which would be shocking for the time period.
- Was It All a Lie?: In the finale, Lucien admits that he stole the identity of a commanding officer during the Tunisian conflict, that he's not a gentleman, and that nothing he's told her about his past life is true. When Clémence asks Lucien if he was ever truly in love with her, he admits that every morning he wakes up wishing that he wasn't in love with her because she's a constant reminder of what he can't have.
- Uptown Girl: She's a member of the Parisian elite, and Lucien has falsified his background to enter high society, but the façade inevitably fails and he constantly feels inferior.
Lucien
Origin: French Republic
Status: Passenger (1st Class)
Played by: Jonas Bloquet
"La vie fait mal. Au moment où tu crois que tu as tout compris, cela te frappe au visage." note
On the surface, he's an upper-class Parisian and former Lieutenant of the French Foreign Legion, newly married to his beautiful wife Clémence, but Jérôme's arrival on the ship signals his past coming back to haunt him.
- Anyone Can Die: He succumbs to an epileptic fit in the series finale, though as the entire reality is a simulation, he only dies 'virtually'.
- Awful Wedded Life: He and Clémence are supposed to be on their honeymoon yet have little in common, as theirs is an Arranged Marriage orchestrated by her parents. To compound matters further, their love-making is shown to be perfunctory and awkward, without any hint of passion.
- Convulsive Seizures: Whilst enjoying a private dance, courtesy of Ling Yi, his body goes into spasm and he collapses to the floor. Lucien suffers from some form of epilepsy and has vials of medication onboard with him to manage the condition.
- Dead Person Impersonation: Doubling up with Fake Aristocrat. Prior to the voyage, he served in the French Foreign Legion during the Tunisian conflict and decided to desert. With his commanding officer dead, Lucien stole his medals and identity and walked to the nearest military post, posing as a wounded lieutenant and beginning a completely new life. In the finale, he admits to Clémence that his life story has all been a lie, that he's not a lieutenant, and that nothing he's told her about his family background was true.
- Destructive Romance: When Clémence asks Lucien if he was ever truly in love with her, fueled by his imposter syndrome, he replies that every morning he wakes up wishing that he wasn't in love with her because she's a constant reminder of what he can't have.
- Find the Cure!: Lucien's primary reason for heading to America is to meet with a doctor there who could potentially save his life, though said doctor has never done the procedure on a living patient, so it's a huge risk. Sadly, it's All for Nothing, as he dies from a seizure aboard the ship (virtually, anyway).
- French Jerk: Deconstructed. His moments of jerkiness aren’t because he feels culturally and intellectually superior, but because of the trauma from his recent past and feeling disillusioned by his transition into the Nouveau Riche life after marrying the upper-class Clémence.
- Girl Watching: When Virginia sidles up to him and asks if he'd like a private audience with Ling Yi, he obliges, but rather than make love to her, he'd rather be a voyeur and watch her dance.
- The Loins Sleep Tonight: The medication he takes for his seizures causes him erectile dysfunction, which only goes to compound his temper and Awful Wedded Life with Clémence.
- Treachery Is a Special Kind of Evil: He and Jérôme both served in the French Foreign Legion and were fighting a war (likely the French conquest of Tunisia). Lucien wanted to desert, and devised a plan to take on the identity of a dead commanding officer, but Jérôme wouldn't abandon their squadmates, so Lucien betrayed and imprisoned him, allowing him to be captured, while he went on to live a life of luxury. This prompts Jérôme to sneak on board the Kerberos to confront Lucien and extract his revenge.
Virginia Wilson
Origin: United Kingdom
Status: Passenger (1st Class)
Played by: Rosalie Craig
"Aren’t some things better left in the dark? I mean, look at them. Why do you think they’re all here? Nervous wreck of a priest and his horny-looking brother. That exotic little bird over there with her sheep of a servant. And those French honeymooners who clearly didn’t marry for the right reasons. All running away from something. Why else would someone ever want to go somewhere different?"
A wealthy British woman and social butterfly who is intrigued by the secrets that the other passengers have brought with them on the voyage. Outspoken and commanding, she appears to travel alone.
- Bad Boss: After it's revealed that Virginia is a madam and Ling Yi's new employer, she administers a degrading virginity test to her young constript. She also treats Ling Yi and her mother with stern caution, forbidding them to speak in public.
- Break the Haughty: Her confident tone is very quickly extinguished when she receives a Secret Stab Wound from the crystalline Alien Geometries forming onboard, and she becomes more and more panicked and desperate, looking for help from others in a manner utterly unlike her previous lone-wolf status.
- Commonality Connection: She takes care to explain to Maura that she respects her as a fellow independent, professional woman travelling solo, noting that others will judge them for it.
- Cunning Linguist: Apart from her native English, she's fluent in (at least) French and Cantonese.
- Gorgeous Period Dress: She sports some beautiful late Victorian-era gowns, including a black, high-necked number that lends her a Black Widow vibe and enhances her formidable manner.
- Gossipy Hens: She seems to know the private business of many of her fellow travellers, either via good social intuition or nosiness, and imparts her gossip to Maura over breakfast.
- Just in Time: She's the sole survivor of those possessed by the ticking, as she was just about to throw herself overboard when Daniel deactivated the sound.
- Miss Kitty: Ostensibly a well-bred British Socialite, Virginia is actually a high-class madam and is travelling to New York with the latest acquisition to her harem, an exotic Geisha and her minder.
- Proud Elite: She's a wealthy, haughty woman, and although she can display impeccable manners when needed, she's also imperious, demanding and outspoken in tone — something that would be untoward for a late Victorian Proper Lady and an initial hint of her licentious true role as a madam.
- Secret Stab Wound: After the reality of the simulation begins to collapse, the Kerberos becomes 'infected' with some form of crystalline Alien Geometries, one of which she accidently touches, causing a black substance to leach into her hand and begin to poison her as it creeps up her neck. She keeps it a secret from everyone, until finally breaking down and begging Tove for help as her hand begins to atomise.
- Sherlock Scan: She demonstrates her social smarts to Maura when she examines the other passengers during breakfast in the dining hall and draws (correct) conclusions about their backgrounds and the reasons they're on the ship.
- Smoking Is Glamorous: She smokes using a long, elegant cigarette holder, befitting her sophisticated, slightly dangerous vibe.
- Socialite: She's wealthy, immaculately dressed and British, speaking with a cut-glass RP accent — though this is merely how she presents herself; she's in fact a high class madam ferrying her exotic new charge (Ling Yi) to New York.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: Virginia was supposed to be bringing a totally different Chinese girl to New York (Mei Mei, Ling Yi's friend whose place she stole), but when Ling Yi shows up in her place, she goes ahead with her plan regardless.
- Wild Card: Virginia is highly confident, using her fluid position on the ship to suss out and solicit other passengers as potential clients for Ling Yi, but she doesn't form a bond with any of the other passengers, as many other characters do, remaining something of a solo faction, even when reality starts to break down.
Olek
Origin: Congress Kingdom of Poland
Status: Crew (Stoker)
Played by: Maciej Musial
"Nie umrzesz. Nie dzisiaj. Obiecuję." note
A Polish stoker on his way to New York to meet up with his brother and start a better life. Olek is amongst the lowliest on the crew pecking order, and is treated as something of a dogsbody by his fellow crew members.
- All of the Other Reindeer: He works in the bowels of the ship, shovelling coal into the enormous boilers, and both the German crew and his British co-workers treat him poorly, calling him "Polack" (an offensive slur for a Polish person), and getting him to do the most physically intensive work.
- An Immigrant's Tale: He presents the series' most clear-cut example in his capacity as a poor, downtrodden member of a subjugated people following The American Dream and looking to start a new life in the New World. He even has a picture of the Statue of Liberty on him at all times, which acts as a source of inspiration and encouragement to keep going.
- Cunning Linguist: Apart from his native Polish, he's also heard speaking German and a little English.
- Ethnic Menial Labor: Olek works on a British-owned ship crewed mostly by Germans and is treated less favourably because he's Eastern European, specifically Polish. He's seeking to meet up with his brother and start a new life in America.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He's killed (virtually, of course) trying to prevent Ling Yi from being swept overboard by a huge wave, which washes him off the deck of the ship.
- Mysterious Past: Compared to other characters, who either have their backstory fleshed out or omitted altogether, his is only hinted at — he says it's "a long story", but the memory flashback location which is apparently his contains a very suspicious blood smear... as if somebody was dragging off a corpse to dump into a tar pit.
- Nice Guy: Generally a somewhat bumbling guy who just tries to get along with others and is ready to offer help without expecting anything in return. Ling Yi says he's "not like other men"; it's rather clear what she means by "other men".
- Odd Friendship: Later in the series, as events become ever stranger, and reality begins to fall apart, humble stoker Olek forms a bond with the demure, quiet Ling Yi — someone he'd never likely have come across priorly. Whilst a Language Barrier is in play for many characters (German, English and Danish are at least of the same language family), his native Polish and Ling Yi's native Cantonese are mutually entirely unintelligible, and the pair must rely on expression and emotional feeling to navigate their way together.
- Precious Photo: Olek keeps a postcard of the Statue of Liberty about him as an inspiring talisman, keeping him going through the drudgery of his role below decks.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Spends a lot his time stripped to the waist in the engine rooms, shovelling coal with his impressive physique on full display.
- You Must Be Cold: When Olek discovers the distraught Ling Yi freezing on the deck of the ship, he immediately gives her his coat — a sign of the growing connection between the pair.
Tove
Origin: Kingdom of Denmark
Status: Passenger (Steerage)
Played by: Clara Rosager
"Gud vil ikke beskytte os. Vi er ikke blevet udvalgt til at følge ham. Vi ved begge forbandet godt, at jeg ikke bærer Guds barn. Og du hører ikke Guds stemme — du er skør." note
A young Danish woman traveling to New York with her very religious family, who are looking to build a new church once they arrive. Tove is 7 months pregnant when the voyage begins.
- Big Sister Instinct: She's enormously protective of her shy, quiet brother Krester, and when she suspects that Ángel has coerced him into sexual favours, she whirls on him like a guardian deity, threatening to cut his dick off if he comes near her brother.
- Child by Rape: In the absence of her having a husband, it’s horribly clear that the child she carries was conceived during her rape ordeal back in Denmark.
- Damsel out of Distress: In flashbacks to Denmark, a vile local landowner knocks Tove out cold while her parents and brother cower in terror. She wakes up to find him violating her, and with no help from her father (a big guy), mother, or her brother, she manages to fight him off, smash his face up with a rock, get hold of his gun, and blow him away.
- Imperiled in Pregnancy: Having your baby become excruciatingly trapped the wrong way inside you, whilst being shut away in the steerage compartment of a Victorian-era ship with only your insane mother and bewildered brother and father with you for support is the very definition of this. Luckily, Maura is on hand to administer first aid and turn the baby, relieving her situation immediately.
- Meaningful Name: 'Tove' is an old Norse name meaning 'beautiful', which despite being covered in soot and grime, she clearly is.
- Pregnant Badass: She's 7 months pregnant, though this doesn't stop her from being amongst the most badass characters in the series.
- After she finds out that Ángel has attempted to seduce her younger brother Krester, and given him an expensive cigarette case as a gift (and probably more besides), she barges her way up to the first-class deck, hurls the cigarette case back at him, and through gritted teeth threatens to cut his dick off if he comes anywhere near her brother again.
- When the ship’s Master-at-arms Franz has finally had enough of Eyk’s insistence that they must go back to Europe, he rouses a mutiny in steerage, and Tove is amongst the first to pick up a shotgun, march to Eyk’s cabin, and threaten to blow him away if he doesn’t comply.
- Rape as Backstory: In a Flashback to Denmark, a local landowner furiously berates her family after Krester apparently "stole his son's innocence". As he becomes increasingly aggressive, and threatens Tove’s parents and brother with a shotgun, she tries to intervene, but he knocks her out with the butt of his gun. When she wakes up to find the landowner violating her, Tove steels herself, grabs a rock, smashes him across the head, kicks him off her, grabs hold of his gun and shoots the bastard dead. It's implied the family had to leave Denmark for this very reason.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Tove is tough, confident and assertive, whereas Krester is timid, quiet and easily led.
- Unkempt Beauty: She's covered in soot and grime, and her hair falls about her face untidily, but it's clear she's still a beauty.
Krester
Origin: Kingdom of Denmark
Status: Passenger (Steerage)
Played by: Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen
"Jeg søger min søster. Vi ved ikke hvor hun er." note
The brother of Tove, a young Danish man with a mysterious scar on his face. He says very little and has a mournful, melancholic air around him at all times.
- Blemished Beauty: He bears a disfiguring scar next to his left eye from a where a bullet, originally aimed at his head, was sent off course by his sister after an outraged local landowner fired on him. He's still a sweet-looking Pretty Boy despite this, and Ángel finds him more attractive and intriguing because of his scar.
- Driven to Suicide: Later in the series, the reality control of the simulation starts to turn against the Kerberos' occupants, and a rhythmic ticking sound forcibly compels almost all of the passengers and crew, including Krester, to commit Suicide by Sea.
- Forced Out of the Closet: Whilst the nation was amongst the first to legalise homosexual relations (1933), Krester is gay at a time in Denmark when homosexuality would still be outlawed. His backstory is fleshed out in Tove's flashback sequences, which show that he was caught by a local landowner "stealing his son's innocence" and is threatened with death by shotgun, right in front of his cowering family.
- Gayngst: Very likely the reason for his forlorn, downbeat vibe. His sexual interactions with Ángel only seem to make him feel worse about himself, especially as they occur in seedy, coercive circumstances.
- It's All My Fault: Krester has an agonised emotional breakdown after his younger sister Ada’s sudden death, feeling he should have kept a closer eye on her instead of having a secret rendezvous with Ángel. He is of course completely unaware that it’s the simulation he’s trapped in that caused her death.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Ángel takes a shine to him, but Krester’s locked in steerage behind a concertina-gate below decks. That doesn't stop Ángel fondling Krester and then letting him fellate him through the bars in full view of any passersby.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Krester is timid, quiet and easily led, whereas Tove is tough, confident and assertive.
- Spiteful Spit: Krester spits in Angél’s face as a form of public rejection, though it’s likely he doesn’t really mean it, and it was just an act to prove his loyalty to his psychotic, religious-zealot mother.
- The Quiet One: He's very quiet, softly-spoken, and has an air of melancholy around him at all times.
- The Unfavorite: He's sandwiched between his confident older sister and perky, sweet younger sister, and his mother Iben makes it very clear she holds him in contempt — likely because of his sexuality — which becomes far more intense when she states that You Should Have Died Instead, after Ada's mysterious death.
- Weak-Willed: Krester is naive and easily controlled, both by his mother, whom he obeys without question no matter how insane the command, and also Ángel, who comes on to him in a manner presented as domineering and seedy, despite his reciprocation.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: He’s so desperate for his mother’s approval that he meekly goes along with her insane plan to murder The Boy when she becomes convinced that he’s the Devil.
Iben
Origin: Kingdom of Denmark
Status: Passenger (Steerage)
Played by: Maria Erwolter
"Retfærdigheden er altid på de overlevendes side. Lyset vil altid sejre. Vi vil ikke overgive. Også selvom det betyder flere ofre." note
A highly religious Danish woman traveling to America on a mission to build a new church with her husband Anker and her children, Tove, Krester and Ada, once they arrive. Iben supposedly hears the voice of God, which leads her to behave in an irrational, drastic manner.
- Abusive Mom: She treats all of her children poorly and with a stern coldness, yet her special venom is reserved for Krester, whom she tells (to his face, no less) You Should Have Died Instead, rather than his younger sister, Ada.
- Activist-Fundamentalist Antics: After designating The Boy to be the Devil incarnate, she rouses a mob to seek him out and ultimately murders him by throwing him overboard — undoubtedly making the situation onboard far worse, as The Boy is one of the very few people aboard the Kerberos with Medium Awareness, and can actually help to make sense of the ever-stranger situation everyone finds themselves in.
- Burn the Witch!: After The Boy is discovered onboard the Prometheus, and brought back to the Kerberos, Iben becomes convinced that he is the Devil in human form and responsible for her daughter Ada (and others) dropping mysteriously dead. Organising a mutiny, she grabs a shotgun and personally leads a squadron of outraged crew and passengers in search of The Boy and, upon finding him, hurls him overboard with terrifying simplicity.
- Death Glare: She sports a permanently furious, wide-eyed, pursed-lipped, crazed expression.
- Death Is the Only Option: After the Kerberos begins to break apart and the compartments flood, rather than try to escape, she stays put, resigned to her fate. Her husband, Anker, joins her, unable to leave her side.
- Egocentrically Religious: Her husband is a farmer-turned minister and Iben is convinced that she is personally in communication with God, and that He is instructing her every move.
- The Fundamentalist: She's the classic mad-eyed, scrubbed-faced, plaited-haired, puritanical religious zealot, and via her aggressively assertive, self-righteous personality, as well as her aforementioned appearance, she brings to mind another of her type from a different Netflix series — Bev Keane from Midnight Mass (2021).
- Hearing Voices: She claims to receives divine instruction, but as Tove relays to her brother, she's simply just unwell.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: In a series that features reality-warping technology becoming increasingly more dangerous, Iben's religious zeal and propensity to perform violent acts in the name of drawing out 'the Devil' presents her as one of the most (if not the most) threatening presences in the series, and certainly the most evil.
- Rabble Rouser: After she becomes convinced that The Boy is 'the Devil' in human form, she rouses the steerage passengers and many of the crew, flaring up the already tense situation on the ship.
- Would Hurt a Child: Having got her hands on The Boy, she hoists him up above her head with surprising, unsettling strength and hurls him overboard without a moment's pause.
Anker
Origin: Kingdom of Denmark
Status: Passenger (Steerage)
Played by: Alexandre Willaume
"Vær med os Herre. I en verden, hvor mørkets kræfter er stærke." note
A Dane travelling to New York with his wife Iben, his son Krester, and his daughters Tove and Ada. They hope to found a church when they arrive. When he isn't giving a passionate sermon, Anker is quiet and reserved.
- Dark Secret: Despite ostensibly being a minister, when the reality of his situation on board the ship begins to break apart in a way he can't comprehend, he confesses to Ramiro that he isn't even religious, and certainly doesn't believe in God.
- Gentle Giant: He's a largely-built, quiet, brooding man and nothing like his crazed, aggressive wife, staying out of conflict wherever he can.
- Henpecked Husband: A dark take potentially formed out of fear of Domestic Abuse; he allows his religiously-insane wife Iben to behave in unspeakable ways, and yet still sticks by her side, never once checking her.
- Manly Tears: He says very little, and is a big, gruff man, but the speech he gives to Ramiro about his secret lack of faith is accompanied by a flood of tears.
- What Does He See in Her?: His wife is a cold, violent zealot, and yet he apparently still loves her, refusing to leave her side and follow his daughter Tove to safety when the Kerberos begins to flood with water.
Elliot a.k.a. "The Boy"
Origin: United Kingdom
Status: Outsider
Played by: Fflyn Edwards
"I can’t tell you. You’ll have to ask The Creator."
A mysterious mute boy found under unusual circumstances, his presence causes fear and alarm amongst those onboard the Kerberos, though he is integral to their very survival.
- Connected All Along: Despite his unsettling presence, later episodes reveal him to be the son of Maura and Daniel. He shares the same Medium Awareness with Daniel, and tries his best to help his mother remember who she is so she can shut off the simulation, freeing them all.
- Creepy Child: He is first discovered hiding in one of the Prometheus' dining room cabinets at the end of episode 1 and due to his perpetual silence, morose facial features, Eddie Munster wardrobe, the enigmatic stone pyramid he keeps with him, and his affiliation with Daniel, he's an unsettling presence aboard the ship.
- Death of a Child: Henry explains (truthfully or otherwise) that Maura and Daniel originally created the simulation as an Immortality Field after their son, Elliot, contracted an incurable illness. Elliott now inhabits the simulation, respawning each time it is reset whilst retaining his Medium Awareness of the situation and events, and each time getting closer to helping his mother remember who she is, ultimately hoping to break the Time Loop Trap everyone is stuck in.
- Only Mostly Dead: After Iben designates him to be 'the Devil', following deaths aboard the ship, she whips up an angry mob and comes after him, cornering him at the ship's stern and flinging him overboard. However, he promptly reappears again onboard the ship, completely unscathed, Foreshadowing the virtual reality of the situation the characters are experiencing.
Supporting Cast
Sebastian
Origin: German Empire
Status: Crew (First Mate)
Played by: Tino Mewes
"Ich glaube, die Firma wollte, dass wir das Schiff versenken, damit niemand lebend davon absteigen kann..." note
The first mate on the Kerberos, he finds himself increasingly opposed to Larsen's captainship.
- Cunning Linguist: Aside from his native German, he's extremely fluent in English to the point where he doesn't have a noticeable accent.
- The Mole: Sebastian is revealed to be working for Henry Singleton and sends him coded messages via a device hidden within the ship’s docking port. He’s one of the few characters to exhibit Medium Awareness, and knows that he’s trapped in a simulation.
Franz
Origin: German Empire
Status: Crew (Master-at-arms)
Played by: Isaak Dentler
"Ich sage, wir kämpfen. Und Kerberos wieder auf Kurs bringen. Wer ist mit mir?!" note
Captain Larsen’s right-hand muscle, Franz is easily spooked and his loyalty to Larsen is shaky.
- Dumb Muscle: He is the main enforcer of discipline on the ship, but is easily led and acts rashly, as seen when Iben’s zealotry causes him to mutiny.
- Heroic Sacrifice: As the ship begins to flood, he makes sure Tove gets to safety and locks the bulkhead doors from the flooding end, saving her but sealing himself in.
- The Mutiny: After bodies begin piling up and Eyk seems increasingly unable to effectively lead, Franz, egged on by Iben, stages a full scale mutiny and imprisons Eyk, taking control of the ship.
- Rabble Rouser: After the orders keep coming through from the mysterious ‘company’ to sink the Prometheus, and Eyk continues to defy said orders, insisting on towing the ship back to Europe, Franz’ loyalty snaps and he heads down to steerage to whip up a mob of angry passengers to take over the ship.
Henry Singleton
Origin: United Kingdom
Status: Outsider
Played by: Anton Lesser
"We’re born into this world either a seeker or an avoider. To be an avoider is pure bliss. To be a seeker, on the other hand, brings nothing but pain. You will open every door, step into the darkest voids, driven by the urge to gain more knowledge."
Maura and Ciaran's father. A wealthy investor in the mysterious company that owns the Kerberos and Prometheus ships. Once he's made his presence known, he's one of the very few people who appears knowledgeable about the mysterious circumstances the others find themselves in.
- Archnemesis Dad: Henry is ostensibly the main Big Bad of the series, and Maura is convinced that he is behind the simulation she and the passengers and crew of the Kerberos are trapped in. Whilst he is an antagonist, and has some sort of control over the simulation, he's not the actual Big Bad — that's his son, Ciaran.
- Disc-One Final Boss: After Maura learns from The Boy about "the Creator", both her and the viewers are initially led to believe that her father, Henry, is the creator of the simulation for reasons unknown. Later episodes reveal him to be watching the cast from a bank of analog televisions in some sort of mansion, and he is in communication with Sebastian, who works for him as The Mole. In actuality, Henry is just a Red Herring and is as trapped in the simulation as everyone else, albeit in different circumstances, and more determined than anyone to escape, setting out on a mission to recover the pyramid and 'the key' from Maura, his only hope of escaping.
- Parental Favoritism: According to Maura, he explicitly preferred her over her brother, Ciaran.
Ciaran Singleton
Origin: United Kingdom
Status: Unknown
Played by: N/A
Maura's brother, believed to be lost at sea. He makes his shocking presence known only in the series' final few moments.
- The Ghost: He's only referenced by Maura and is never seen on-screen. His only interaction with her occurs when she awakens from the simulation aboard a Sleeper Ship 200 years in the future to find a little "Welcome to reality" note from him on a console.
- Greater-Scope Villain: In the finale, Daniel reveals that the one who was truly behind the simulation was Maura's brother Ciaran, whom she had been searching for the entire time while she was on the ship. Ciaran has apparently been in the outside world the entire time, and taken control of the simulated world that Maura was originally responsible for creating.
- Outside-Context Problem: Nobody aboard the Kerberos could possibly comprehend that the bizarre situation they find themselves in is taking place in a sophisticated virtual reality simulator controlled by a man based on a Sleeper Ship 200 years in the future.
