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Narwhal

Leadership

    Rick Ehrmantraut 

Rick Ehrmantraut

Played By: N/A

The mysterious leader of Narwhal.


  • The Ghost: He hasn't yet been seen onscreen, with Varga acting as his mouthpiece. That's because he doesn't really exist; Varga made him up so that he himself can fly under the radar as a middleman.
  • Invented Individual: Nikki deduces that Ehrmantraut is a fake figurehead for Narwhal made up by Varga, so authorities will assume Varga is middle management and look past him to find his boss.
  • No One Sees the Boss: Because "Rick Ehrmantraut" doesn't exist, and Varga himself is the real boss.
  • Shout-Out: He shares his name with Mike Ehrmantraut of Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul; a highly competent hitman often exasperated by amateur criminals.

    V.M. Varga 

V.M. Varga

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/varga_vm.jpg
"The problem, I think, is you're confusing the word "singularity" with the word "continuity"."

Played By: David Thewlis

"The problem is not that there is evil in the world, but that there is good. Otherwise, who would care?"

A mysterious loner and true capitalist who delivers Emmit, the Parking Lot King of Minnesota, the bad news that he has just become partners with his employers, whose business interests lay outside the law.


  • Affluent Ascetic: Despite his very lucrative crimes, Varga makes every attempt to appear as an unassuming middle manager. Half of this is to make himself less conspicuous. The other half is that he just wants to have as much money as possible, not to spend it.
  • Animal Motif: The Wolf, alluding to the antagonist of Peter and the Wolf.
  • Bad Boss: Played with in that he actually seems to get along quite well with most of his men; however, this doesn't stop him from leaving all of them to die at Wrench's hand when things go south.
  • Beauty Inversion: Not to the extent of Ewan McGregor but Varga's disgusting rotted teeth are fake.
  • Big Bad: Definitely fits the bill for Season 3. He's the most threatening and malevolent character in the season.
  • Big Eater: Varga has a voracious appetite and often stress-eats. It's the only time he actually indulges in his otherwise very frugal way of life.
  • Big Brother Is Watching: Varga is terrifyingly capable at spying on other people. He's read Emmit's emails, listened in on his phone calls, and can take pictures of people through their computers if they try to research him.
  • British Teeth: He's got very ugly discolored and rotten teeth that flash the audience every time he opens his mouth. Apparently, they're a result of bulimia and poking at his teeth with a metal pick. It's achieved by (the appropriately British) David Thewlis wearing a prosthetic.
  • Card-Carrying Villain: It's not so much that he revels in being evil, it's just that he knows he is and doesn't care.
  • The Chessmaster: He's been manipulating the variables that have kept the season's conflict going forward. Until he faces Nikki.
  • Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: He's radically different from Lorne Malvo and Mike Milligan, the previous season's two most prominent villains.
    • Malvo was an independent figure who worked solely for his own benefit and led a fairly nomadic existence otherwise while Mike was a mid-level enforcer at a large company with aims on a higher position. And while Malvo never benefitted financially or have any interest in doing so and Mike was well-off but not exceptionally so, Varga is extremely rich, even if he still lives as cheaply as possible, and has very powerful connections, both in the US and Europe that he believes can even influence the department of Homeland Security to get him out of jail.
    • Mike and Malvo were both very physically capable and imposing and faced down threats with no hint of fear. Varga is not a combatant at all and the one time he faces a genuine threat to his life, he is terrified and flees in fear.
    • Malvo was excellent at pretending to be trustworthy and a reliable friend to cover his true nature while Mike was genuinely likable and charismatic. Varga doesn't even pretend to be anything more than a petty, condescending jerk most of the time.
    • Malvo and Mike both had considerable charisma and an ability to seduce women, wheter for their schemes as with Malvo or genuine lust as with Mike. Varga never expresses any interest in the opposite sex nor would be likely have much success given his plain, off-putting appearance and loathsome personality.
    • Malvo, for all his evil, never expressed any bigotry while Mike was a black man in the 70's and expressed some fairly progressive attitudes. Varga is a middle-aged white man and expresses a low view of immigrants, the poor, the overweight and has a particularly low view of Jewish people while Mike worked in an organization with Jewish criminals.
    • Malvo never showed much aptitude nor interest in technology and neither did Mike, partially due to the time he was in. Varga however is terrifyingly skilled with computers, able to hack emails and spy on people and used a program for anyone that searched for him in google that takes a picture before destroying the laptop and sends his men to kill whoever tried to find him.
    • Mike had a love of the finer things and Malvo, while not normally interested, was capable of being dapper when he needed to be, buying a nice house and wardrobe as part of his act as a small-town dentist. Varga never indulges in any pleasures that he could easily afford and dresses exclusively in cheap, beige clothes that look overworn, both to hide his true nature and due to his cheapness, even with himself.
    • Mike and Malvo were both American natives who never went outside the country while Varga is a British immigrant with ties in Europe that allowed him to hide out for five years to escape from Nikki and the authorities.
    • While Malvo was a massive sadist, he had some level of self-control about it and Mike was a professional through and through. Varga meanwhile gets off on mistreating others with a particular cruel streak reserved for poor Sy who ends up in a coma and with severe brain damage due to Varga's actions.
    • In contrast to Malvo who ends up dead and Mike who gets the new management position he wanted, albeit finding it a disappointment, Varga's ultimate fate is left a mystery as he maintains his connections will get him out of Homeland Security's custody while Gloria believes his allies won't take the risk and would be only too happy to be rid of him and the season ends with neither outcome shown.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: One that starts off as a high-level criminal before officially forcing Emmit to make him a partner in his company.
  • The Corrupter: He uses Emmit's ego and greed to turn him little by little from victim to willing accomplice.
  • Crazy-Prepared: He's somehow arranged a virus that sends him all the information on anyone who tries to Google his name, before bricking their computer.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He takes some joy in smugly belittling those he has control over.
    Attendant: Are they with you?
    Varga: Surmise.
    Attendant: What?
    Varga: Because we arrived together, we are together. Surmise.
  • Deal with the Devil: Varga and the people he represents are the devil in his deal with Emmit Stussy. Emmit went to Varga's people for a loan, which they gave without any collateral, and now they don't want to be paid back... they want control over Stussy's empire. And with Varga at the helm, they're getting it.
    Varga: To be clear, you had a problem, as you said, last year. The real estate business, well, this is a bad business. So you tried the normal channels, the banks, but your company's still failing, so you come to us.
    Sy: For a loan.
    Varga: You never thought to ask why we might lend you one million dollars with no collateral required?
  • Didn't See That Coming: His entire organization gets completely destroyed because he seriously underestimated Nikki Swango as an opponent, and despite his near-omniscience, never even realized Mr. Wrench was a player in the game. While he did manage to slime away to Brussels for five years after escaping Wrench's ambush, he was eventually caught by the DHS - right into Gloria's hands.
  • Dirty Coward: Since he's usually in a situation where he's holding all the cards, he can get away with acting smug and cruel all he likes without fear. But when he realizes he's walked into an ambush and for the first time is in genuine fear for his life, he leaves his hired enforcers, including his right-hand, Meemo, to die without a second thought. When he hears gunfire feet away from him, he looks like he's about to wet himself.
  • The Dreaded: Emmitt and Sy are both terrified of him and with good reason given Varga's sadism and ruthlessness.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He speaks quite well of his mother, affectionately recounting the stories she told and the tea she used to make. Of course, this being Varga, he might just be lying to make himself look sympathetic to Sy and Emmit. Especially since the tea recipe he mentions his mother smuggled out is actually a story he uses to poison Sy and try to poison Nikki.
  • Evil Brit: Emmit's wife guesses he's from England and he's played by British actor David Thewlis, but Varga dodges the question of his exact nationality, claiming to view himself as a citizen of the world.
  • Evil Is Petty: He's not just a psychotic criminal, he's also a petty bully. He insults Sy's wife by calling her fat, insinuates she's unfaithful, then rubs his penis on the inside of Sy's "World's Best Boss" mug. Then he forces Sy to drink from it.
  • Expy: He carries himself similar to Tom Hanks' character in the Coens' The Ladykillers.
  • Faux Affably Evil: He can have a polite demeanor that is very transparent, though most of the time he's just a Jerkass.
  • Foreign Culture Fetish: Varga displays knowledge of many foreign cultures, but seems to have a special interest in Russia — particularly with regards to authoritarianism and manipulating public opinion. He praises Vladimir Putin's government and ironically, for all that he is portrayed as the ultimate capitalist, fondly quotes Lenin and has a picture of Josef Stalin next to his desk.
  • For the Evulz: Some of his actions, such as his mistreatment of Sy, have no motive beyond sheer cruelty.
  • Greed: Varga believes human life has no inherent value, and people are only worth the value of their possessions. Hence his goals focus purely on "the accumulation of wealth" — not using it for anything, just accumulating it.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Claims to be the son of a housemaid who grew up in humble surroundings but, like everything he says, it's impossible to know how much is true.
  • Hate Sink: Even for a sociopathic crime lord, Varga is a truly loathsome individual who never expresses any redeeming or sympathetic features. He's enormously arrogant, insulting, sadistic, racist, classist, antisemitic and a petty bully. He may very well be the most reprehensible character to appear on the show so far.
  • He Knows Too Much: Varga has Irv killed when he tries to do some digging on who Varga is. Though that was just a pretense, he really did it to prove a point to Emmit and Sy.
  • The Heavy: Varga may have superiors at 'Narwhal', but he's the one personally involved in moving the plot along. Nikki rightfully deduces that he only claims to be middle-management so people won't look closer and realize he's the boss of Narwhal.
  • Irony: Varga uses his computer skills and grasp of technology to gather information and gain leverage on those he's attempting to manipulate. Five years later, he's caught by Homeland Security because of high-tech Facial Recognition Software recognizing his face when he comes back to the States.
  • It Amused Me: Less so than Malvo, who was pretty much entirely motivated by this trope, but Varga loves to torment people for no reason other than that he knows he is powerful enough to get away with it.
  • Jabba Table Manners: He's shown eating messily from multiple plates at once... and then vomiting it all up due to his bulimia.
  • Jerkass: Varga isn't just an evil criminal, he's also just a dick. See any of his interactions with Sy for examples.
  • Karma Houdini: Played with. During their final confrontation, Gloria bets that Varga will be sent to Rikers and face his crimes. Varga bets that his connections will come through and allow him to walk scot-free. We're never shown who is proven right.
  • Kick the Dog: He really enjoys mistreating Sy simply because he can.
  • Know When to Fold 'Em: He leaves Minnesota after Nikki and Wrench massacre his men and give the IRS the incriminating tax information.
  • Large and in Charge: He's the head of a vast criminal organization and played by the 6'3 David Thewlis.
  • Lean and Mean: He's very tall and thin and a complete bastard.
  • Married to the Job: Varga's entire life revolves around his criminal financial activities. Other than gorging himself on junk food (and purging afterwards), he lives a completely ascetic life, not showing any interest in women, sex, or any other worldly pleasures that his wealth or power could easily afford him.
  • Misanthrope Supreme: Varga states that human beings have no intrinsic worth apart from how much wealth they have. He lives by this belief - those who stand in his way are killed, and even those who assist him are only valuable insofar as they are useful.
  • Mouth of Sauron: Varga speaks for his bosses, the mysterious investors of 'Narwhal'. Then he admits to Nikki that he is the boss when she says he only claims to believe he's middle-management so people won't dig deeper into him.
  • No Love for the Wicked: Varga shows no sexual, much less romantic, interest in anybody, even though with his wealth and power he'd have easy access to sexual partners (granted, it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to spend time with him or being attracted to him given his awful personality, no matter how much they were offered). Indeed, he lives a completely ascetic life apart from his bulimic binge-eating.
  • Non-Action Big Bad: He's not a physical threat, with his true strengths being his intelligence and connections. He has hired muscle for any dirty work that needs doing. When all of his enforcers are ambushed and killed, he decides to cut his losses and run.
  • Not Me This Time: When Gloria finally catches up to him, she tells him about Emmit's death, thinking he may had something to do with it. He points out that he couldn't have done it all the way from Brussels.
  • Oh, Crap!: After being supremely arrogant and virtually unstoppable the entire season, he finally starts to sweat a little when Nikki and Wrench prove they have the means to hurt him financially.
  • Oral Fixation: Frequently shown eating or picking at his teeth.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: Rambles about Mexicans coming to rape "our women", amongst other immigrant/refugee groups, during a monologue to Emmit Stussy in which he makes it quite clear that he views the poor as "peasants". He's also a rather open anti-semite, referring to Jews as "half animal". Oddly, he also hates fat people, considering them inherently hedonistic and therefore untrustworthy and impulsive. In the closing interrogation scene of season 3, he speaks very lowly of the poor.
    Human beings, you see, have no inherent value other than the money they earn. Cats have value, for example, because they provide pleasure to the humans. But a deadbeat on welfare? Well... they have negative value. So, ipso facto, Emmit's death is more tragic than the death of a wasteling.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Despite his intellect and power, Varga is most definitely this as his petty sadism shows. Almost all his interactions with Sy even come across as more like a schoolyard bully horribly mistreating a weaker kid for not other reason than that he can than the behavior of a middle-aged businessman.
  • Recurring Element: Like Malvo in the first season, he's a sinister oddball with a philosophic streak.
  • Red Right Hand: His disgusting teeth are frequently used as visual shorthand to symbolize both how rotten he is on the inside, and the rot he spreads to other characters through his sheer presence. He's apparently self-conscious about it, as he's frequently seen picking at his gums and sporting breath freshener.
  • Ridiculously Average Guy: He invokes this trope, dressing in shabby, drab clothes and living an unglamorous lifestyle so as to be Beneath Notice despite his presumably vast wealth. He's still pretty striking in appearance, however, if only for how grotesque he is and his height and slender frame would make him stand out in most places. Interesting to note that his working-class London accent would add to his "forgettable everyman" shtick in the UK, but makes him stand out in America.
  • Sadist: Really takes pleasure out of mocking others and causing them pain.
  • Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: He uses a number of academic or archaic terms in conversation, likely to belittle those he regards as intellectual inferiors.
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: When captured by Homeland Security, he says that his connections will get him out. The audience is never shown if he's proven right or not.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Once his men are gunned down by Wrench and he discovers the IRS have the incriminating information on Stussy Lots, he gets the hell out of dodge and leaves Minnesota for good.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: Inverted. He deliberately dresses in fairly cheap clothes that don't look fancy at all. He claims it helps him blend in.
  • Shrouded in Myth: Pretty much everything about Varga is a complete mystery, right down to wheter or not that's even his real name.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Not "small" since he is the head of a vast criminal enterprise but Varga carries himself as if he's completely invulnerable and no one he speaks to could ever come close to matching his intellect which allows Nikki to outsmart him and he is noticeably shaken when his usual intimidation doesn't work on her. He even ends the series certain that his connections will get him out of jail, not even considering that they might happily take the chance to be rid of him forever, if for no other reason than what a complete arsehole he is to everyone.
  • Smug Snake: He regards the vast majority of people he encounters as being like insects barely worthy of his contempt. Appropriately, when Nikki and Wrench breaks into the elevator he was hiding in while they killed all his men, they find his dirty overcoat discarded on the ground, sloughed off like a reptile's skin.
  • The Sociopath: Almost on par with Lorne Malvo. His only interest is expanding his reign of crime while in the meantime killing anyone who tries to expose him or for simply pettiness.
  • Spiteful Gluttony: So contemptuous to the human race that he eats himself sick for no reason other than keep anyone else from having it.
  • The Spook: When he first shows up, no one knows who he really is, where he's from, or who he works for. It's never stated what the V.M. in his name stands for, googling him only provides one result which is a trap that bricks the investigator's computer, and he dodges the question of where he's from by saying he's "a citizen of the world." After the five-year Time Skip in the season three finale, he's going under the name "Rand" and has fabricated an entirely new identity. About the only concrete fact learned about him is that he's really the boss of Narwhal and lying about being a middle-manager.
  • They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: He has a rather innocuous appearance. In fact, he doesn't look like much more than a put-upon businessman, but then he opens his mouth and turns out to be a confident, cunning criminal. He very deliberately cultivates this appearance, wearing working-class suits, flying coach, even making sure his teeth are just rotten enough to make him the right kind of inconspicuous.
  • Underestimating Badassery: He severely underestimates Nikki and Mr. Wrench, thinking they'll be easily dispatched when they try to blackmail him, only for them to turn the tables.
  • Villainous Glutton: He eats a lot, sometimes messily, but is still Lean and Mean because he's a bulimic. On a related note, he expresses disgust and hatred towards fat people.
  • Villain Has a Point: Emmit and Sy went to his employers for a loan, and didn't question anything about it until the time came to saddle up. It's not really Varga's fault when the two of them should have known trying to find a loan shark to keep their operation afloat could have serious implications. Their lawyer even points out how tremendously stupid that was of them.
  • Weight Woe: He's shown to be bulimic, implying he has a case of this trope.
  • What the Hell Is That Accent?: Both Sy and Emmit are confused by Varga's London accent, leading them to ask him where he's from. He simply replies "America". Grace Stussy guesses he is English in The Narrow Escape Problem and he doesn't deny it. However, he also dodges the question by replying that he thinks of himself as "a citizen of the world".
  • Wicked Cultured: Varga makes it a habit to show how sophisticated he in comparison to the locals by frequently speaking in different foreign languages, using academic or archaic words and remarking on how utterly bland Minnesota in comparison to other places in the world. It feels like overcompensation.
  • Would Hurt a Child: When an IRS agent meets with Emmit, Varga's first question to Emmit is if the man has a wedding ring, since threatening someone's wife and children is the easiest way to intimidate someone.

Associates

    Emmit Stussy and Sy Feltz 

Enforcers

    Yuri Gurka 

Yuri Gurka

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuri_fargo.PNG
"That's why the snow falls white. To hide the blood."

Played By: Goran Bogdan

One of Varga's henchmen who is always seen with Meemo.


  • Artistic License – History: Loves to brag about his Russian heritage and his Cossack ancestors who murdered thousands of Jews during the Uman massacre. However, the actual Uman massacre was committed by Ukrainian Haidamaks with no Russian forces involved. That being said, the Russian Empire was at that time aligned with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian troops fought on its side against the Cossacks (which means that Russians and Jews were de facto on the same side).
    • Gurka also gives a... somewhat distorted description of Russian history:
      All of Russia, hundreds of years, millions the tsar killed, then it was Lenin, then Stalin. Ten thousand, twenty thousand, but here you have, like, what? Malls … few dead Indians. Twenty million Russian died fighting Hitler. Twenty million. I see from your face that you can’t even imagine that. The pogroms, the starvation, twenty million more. Mothers cooking and eating their babies. That’s why the snow falls white, to hide the blood.
  • Co-Dragons: Varga's top man alongside Meemo.
  • Ear Ache: He gets his ear hacked off when Mr. Wrench throws an ax at his head.
  • Expy: Of Gaer Grimsrud from the original film and Anton Chighurh from No Countryfor Old Men
    • Like Gaer, Yuri is a burly, intimidating European man with dead eyes, very little personality, a sadistic streak and impulse control problems, and is one half of a villainous big guy/little guy duo.
    • Yuri shares a similar hairstyle, facial features and penchant for philosophizing as Anton and is similarly terrifying and gifted as an enforcer and hit man. He also sports an iconic and unique if slightly offbeat weapon that reveals a lot about his character: Anton has his cattle air gun which reveals his cold and ruthless detachment from his fellow man, and Yuri has his Cossack whip which ties into his immense pride in his ethnic heritage and his people’s history of bloodshed.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Has a low, intimidating voice.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Whenever he acts polite or comforting, it's only because he's about to do something horrible to the person he's talking to. Like seeming polite to Irv only to throw him off a building, or offering Sy a drink out of a mug that Varga just rubbed his dick in, then forcing him to chug it.
  • Hidden Depths: He seems like a dumb brute, but he's actually prone to waxing poetic about Russian history.
  • Implacable Man: He simply just doesn't stop during his hunt for Nikki and Wrench in the woods, even after getting his ear cut off.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: He sadistically enjoys bragging about his Cossack heritage and their affinity to Rape, Pillage, and Burn to his victims. Paul later delivers him a 'message' from his murdered girlfriend and the thousands of Jews killed during the pogroms. After the time-skip, Emmit notes that Yuri mysteriously disappeared afterwards.
  • Loophole Abuse: He got away with killing his girlfriend in the '80s, as he'd recently moved and the Communist government refused to acknowledge they didn't have updated paperwork after arresting the man currently living in his old house.
  • Major Injury Underreaction: Yuri walks into a bowling alley while missing an ear and covered with blood, but just nonchalantly asks for napkins. And vodka.
  • Mother Russia Makes You Strong: He's from Siberia and speaks at lengths of the dark periods of Russian history with a rather prideful tone. Yuri even claims Cossack heritage, and brags about their reputation to Rape, Pillage, and Burn.
  • Nemean Skinning: Wears a wolf skin over his head during the prison bus assassination. Humorously, it nearly gets him killed when a father and son out hunting mistake him for a real wolf and shoot at him with a crossbow.
  • Nothing Is Scarier: What exactly happened to him during his confrontation with Paul?
  • Older Than They Look: He was 20 years old in 1988 when he murdered his girlfriend, making him 42 during the events of Season 3, but somehow he still looks like he's in his thirties. It might have something to do with the clothes he wears.
  • Pelts of the Barbarian: His wolf skin hood invokes this, considering his proud Cossack heritage.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: Although a violent man in general, he harbors a sadistic, sexually-charged hatred toward women.
  • Psycho for Hire: While Meemo comes across as more apathetic about their work, Yuri seems to revel in the pain he causes others. He waxes eloquent about the Rape, Pillage, and Burn aspects of his Cossack heritage, and generally takes more time to twist the knife to savor his victim's fear before striking.
  • Recurring Element: Yuri and Meemo are the quirky yet threatening pair of minions of Season 3. Their precursors are Mr. Wrench and Mr. Numbers and the Kitchen Brothers. He seems to be the half of the duo who doesn't make it out of the season… until Meemo kicks the bucket.
  • Ruthless Foreign Gangsters: He's Siberian and actually the most cruel and violent of all Varga's henchmen.
  • Sadist: He takes some joy out of mocking Irv before throwing him off a building.
  • Straw Misogynist: He has a particularly vile sexist and misogynistic streak, strangling his girlfriend and taking pleasure in beating Nikki. He even insults Nikki by saying pretty women should only open their mouths for a man's dick, and it's implied the reason he murdered his girlfriend is because she talked too much.
  • Uncertain Doom: The last we see of him, he's been confronted on his crimes by Paul Marrane, who has an almost supernatural knowledge of who Yuri is and what he's done. Yuri seems frightened, and that's the last we see of him, Emmit saying after the Time Skip that he disappeared. Whatever Paul did to him probably wasn't good.
  • Undying Loyalty: He will do anything for his boss, no matter how much punishment he takes in the process.
  • Villainous Friendship: He gets along well with Meemo. They playfully kick each other after throwing Irv off a building.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: The last we see of him is during his confrontation with Paul, after which Varga mentions that he mysteriously disappeared.
  • Wicked Cultured: Has a tendency to go off on monologues that showcase his surprising intelligence.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Seems to prefer it, in fact. The first thing we learn about him is that he strangled his girlfriend in East Germany and later he doesn't hesitate in the slightest before beating Nikki within an inch of her life.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Implied to murder a man and his middle school-aged son for accidentally shooting him in a forest.

    Meemo 

Meemo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/meemie.PNG

Played By: Andy Yu

Varga's henchman who is always seen with Yuri.


  • Affably Evil: He doesn't seem nearly as malicious as Yuri, and has an almost jovial demeanor at times. Doesn't change the fact that he's a vicious killer.
  • Assassin Outclassin': As talented a killer as Meemo is, Mr. Wrench gets the drop on him twice. The first time, Wrench lets him live. The second time, Meemo isn't as lucky.
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: In contrast to the more talkative and outwardly cruel Yuri, Meemo is the quiet one of the duo. He also kills a lot more people on screen than Yuri.
  • Cheshire Cat Grin: At times. Particularly notable is the one he gives to Gloria when he picks up Emmit.
  • Co-Dragons: Varga's top henchman along with Yuri. Officially becomes The Dragon after Yuri disappears.
  • Dissonant Serenity: He's always smiling and dancing to music on his headphones, even when his friends are threatening or murdering people.
  • Gory Discretion Shot: Meemo's death is subjected to this. When Varga realizes they're in an ambush, he abandons his men, including Meemo. The elevator doors close right in Meemo's face, and a second later, Varga hears gunfire outside. Meemo's body is later seen being wheeled out on a gurney.
  • Headphones Equal Isolation: Usually seen wearing a pair of earbuds, and is the quiet one in his pairing with Yuri.
  • Hidden Depths:
    • He can play an absolutely convincing attorney and has enough knowledge of forensics to look for evidence that might place Emmit at the scene of his brother's death.
    • Likes to silently dance to the music he's playing on his earbuds.
  • The Quiet One: He goes about half the season without saying anything, and even then it's just one line. And the line was only translating something Yuri said. Averted by episode 6 when he starts to talk more, though only around Varga.
  • Recurring Element: He and Yuri are the quirky yet threatening pair of minions of Season 3. Their precursors are Mr. Wrench and Mr. Numbers and the Kitchen Brothers.
  • Smug Snake: Sometimes sports a self-satisfied grin, such as when answering the door for Emmit and slamming it in his face, or smirking when Sy is forced to drink Varga’s cup.
  • The Sociopath: Carries out reprehensible actions without a care.
  • Soft-Spoken Sadist: Suggests executing Ray and Nikki in the most casual way possible.
  • The Stoic: Shows no hint of emotion even when murdering people.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Varga. It's telling that the only person he speaks to is his boss. The look on his face when his boss leaves him to die can almost make one feel sorry for him.
  • Villainous Friendship: Has a good relationship with Yuri. They playfully kick at each other after throwing Irv off a building.
  • Wicked Cultured: "Aporia" reveals that he is listening to classic piano music on his headphones.

    Golem 

Golem

Played By: DJ Qualls

A hitman working for Varga who impersonates a police officer.


  • All There in the Script: His name is known from the script, but it is never mentioned on-screen.
  • Assassin Outclassin': He's good, but Wrench and Nikki are better.
  • Glass Cannon: When Yuri has Nikki and Mr. Wrench pinned down at the tree stumps with a crossbow, Golem runs at them from different angles from cover and slashing at them as he passes. When they manage to trip him with their chain, he is easily overpowered.
  • Impersonating an Officer: Does this to sneak inside the police station and try to kill Nikki.
  • Malevolent Masked Men: When trying to kill Nikki, he's wearing a pig's mask and the scene plays it in such a disturbing manner, especially with how he doesn't speak. It's especially notable in contrast to Yuri's pelt (which still lets you see his face) and Meemo's derpy-looking goat mask.
  • Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's subtle, but he has an almost undead appearance to him, and the fact that his name is Golem doesn't help. Pain makes him scream, though.
  • Meaningful Name: Given that most methods of deactivating a golem involve doing something to their head...
  • Mook Lieutenant: Varga trusts him enough to send him on a mission with Yuri and Meemo, his two top henchmen.
  • Off with His Head!: Nikki and Mr. Wrench wrap a chain around his neck and yank on it so hard that he is decapitated.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: Killed at the beginning of his second episode.

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