Characters / Revolution Main Cast

Main Cast

Matheson-Porter Family

Charlie

Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Matheson

"For so long all I wanted was to get Danny back...and now I never will."

Played by: Tracy Spiridakos, Morgan Hinkleman & Jade Pettyjohn

The eldest child of Ben and Rachel Matheson. She sets out to find her uncle and rescue her brother after the latter is taken captive by the Monroe Republic. She is caring and determined, but her idealism often leads to her clashing with others.

• Action Girl: Starts out as a Faux Action Girl, but improves as the show progresses.
• Bathtub Scene: In, appropriately enough the episode "Sex and Drugs"
• Break the Cutie: It starts with her father dying suddenly, and Danny getting kidnapped. She spends a long time trying to find him, going betrayal and losing Maggie...only for Danny to die when she finds him.
• Calling The Old Lady Out: She calls out Rachel on her refusal to see things any way but hers.
• The Caretaker: Of Danny, hence why she's so set on getting him back.
• The Conscience: You can almost see her dancing on Miles' shoulder, telling him to be a good boy.
• Culture Blind: Granted, she's been purposefully kept sheltered for most of her life and their settlement is supposedly out of the way... but how does someone spend 15 years growing up in a post-Blackout world and still not fully grasp how things work there?
• Determined Defeatist: In the second half of season 2, she’s evolved into this, once again taking the wrong cues from Miles. She states multiple times that she believes they won’t survive the year, but she’ll keep on fighting the Patriots.
• Enemy Mine: With Monroe in Season 2, against the Patriot-employed bounty hunters hounding both of them.
• The Heart: She's usually in favour of taking the moral route, which puts her at odds with Miles and others.
• Hope Bringer: Her actions lead to the slaves being freed in Episode 2, and La Résistance getting an advanced weapon. In another episode a ship full of conscripted recruits are freed because of her insistance on helping one of them.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Most of what she does in the hopes of finding Danny.
• Idiot Hero: To the point of irritating Miles a lot, though she is slowly getting better. This is lampshaded in season 2 when Miles acknowledges that he can't stop her from doing anything and instead pleads with her to "keep the stupid to the minimum".
• Impractically Fancy Outfit: Her trademark brown leather jacket is exactly the kind of light-reflecting clothing that a hunter would not wear.
• Informed Attribute: She's supposedly a hunter but we never see her actually do any.
  • In "Everyone Says 'I Love You'" she is able to track Aaron using his bootprints, making this the first time in the season and a half since the series premiered that Charlie has put her supposed top-level skill to use.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Her big blue eyes highlight her role as a naive newcomer to the savage world around her.
• The Lad-ette: Very much so in Season 2
• Ms. Fanservice: The Bathtub Scene in Season 1, a Lingerie Scene in Season 2, and how she looks in a fancy dress confirm this.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In "Chained Heat", she persuades Miles not to kill a bounty hunter that has attacked the group. A few scenes later, said bounty hunter sics the Monroe militia on them.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Against Monroe. She's now tracking him with the very real intention of killing him.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Also in the episode "Sex and Drugs".
• Took a Level in Badass: Between the first and second seasons, making her far less The Load, and more The Lad-ette.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In Season 1, seems to be heading down this road, contrast to Miles taking levels in kindness.

Miles

Miles Matheson

"It's irritating when a dumb kid tells you what to do, isn't it?"

Played by: Billy Burke

"That uncle you knew when you were little? Not dead. I just, I can't be him right now."

A former U.S. Marine Corps sergeant-turned-tavern owner, pursued by the Monroe Republic Militia. As Ben Matheson's brother, he is later revealed to be one of the founding fathers of the Monroe Republic, having established it with Sebastian Monroe after the collapse of the United States. He is also the former commanding general of it's militia, and is responsible for making them as brutally efficient as they are now. However, he later became disillusioned with the Republic, unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Monroe; and deserted, becoming dependent on alcohol over guilt of the Republic's atrocities against civilians. The militia now considers Miles a traitor, and seeks to capture him as well as the rest of the Matheson family.

• The Atoner: Miles did some pretty brutal stuff and was probably more brutal than Monroe at first. He did some very bad things while trying to keep the Monroe Republic going and blames himself for what Monroe and the Republic have become. He also blames himself for not being able to kill Monroe years ago and thus allowing Monroe's reign to continue. He is trying to atone for all of this by helping Charlie rescue Danny and later by leading the rebellion against Monroe.

• The Bartender: Originally, until Charlie came looking for him.
• Berserk Button: Don't call his brother a coward. Even if you're said brother's daughter.
• Breakout Character: Originally, he was just a sidekick to Charlie but audiences liked him better, so Miles' role was gradually increased. By season 2, Billy Burke got top billing in the opening credits.

• The Butcher: In a flashback he is referred to as the Butcher of Baltimore.
• Create Your Own Villain: For many of the militia soldiers, including Baker and to an extent, Monroe.
• Combat Pragmatist: He prefers to just kill his enemies, so they don't bother him later.
• Deadpan Snarker: He's very quick with a cynical quip.
• The Dreaded: "I'm Miles Matheson, and yes, all the stories you've heard are true." Cue terrified Eye Take from a Mook.
• Dual Wielding: With swords.
• Four-Star Badass: He used to be General Matheson.

• I Have Your Wife: First to Ben, then to Titus Andover.

• Jerkass Has a Point: Zig-Zagged. He often calls out Charlie for her attitude problems/questionable decisions. While these are generally accurate assessments from a viewer standpoint, no one in-story seems to agree with them.
• Meaningful Name: 'Miles' is Latin for 'soldier'.
• The Mentor: Was one to Jeremy Baker.
• Only Sane Man: Listen to any conversation where the group is discussing what to do next and you'll find that he's probably the one making the most sense. Now, if only Charlie would just listen to him.
• Papa Wolf: If you ever physically threaten, attack, or hurt his niece, expect to get shot, stabbed, or just plain knocked out for your trouble.

• Semper Fi: He was a Marine before the Blackout.

• That Man Is Dead: Says this in one episode in reference to his pre-catastrophe nicer self. Then at the end of the episode admits that he isn't dead, he just can't be him under the present circumstances.
• Token Evil Teammate: While not evil per se but he certainly is a Jerkass and an Anti-Hero.

Rachel

Rachel Matheson

"Well, I haven't really kept in touch. I've been out of the loop for some reason."

Played by: Elizabeth Mitchell

The Matheson family matriarch presumed dead by her husband and children. She's actually been held captive by General Monroe for many years, who hopes she'll eventually break and tell him why the lights went out. When Charlie rescues Danny, Rachel is found and finally freed.

• Actor Allusion: Elizabeth Mitchell and Zeljko Ivanek were married in Lost, and when they meet for the first time in the show, Horn asks if she remembers him.
• Apologetic Attacker: When she stabs Jaffe to save herself and Danny from being killed.
  Rachel: I'm sorry.

• Combat Pragmatist: You don't want to leave anything within her reach that might be usable as a weapon.

• Deal with the Devil: She bargains with Flynn. And finds out she's getting into one with Bass as he starts to deduce that she's been purposely stalling him.
• Determinator: After Danny dies, she sets out to turn the power back on and kill Monroe, no matter what, and God help you if you get in her way.
• Good Is Not Nice: She points out to Aaron she is not turning the power back on to help people. She's doing it so the other republics will kill Monroe.
• Heroic BSoD: After failing to prevent the nuking of Philadelphia and Atlanta
• I Did What I Had to Do: Both for her own survival and Danny's. See You Have Outlived Your Usefulness for a prime example.
• Legally Dead: And in Monroe's custody.
• Mama Bear: Seems more willing to kill than Ben from an earlier time post-Blackout.

• Sanity Slippage: Rachel's mental state has always been a fragile thing and she attempts suicide more than once
  • In Season 1, Rachel becomes obsessed with killing Monroe to the point that she walks into his tent and tries to set off a grenade with the intent of killing them both
  • In Season 2, early episodes show her writing manically in a journal and compulsively twisting her hair; later episodes show she suffered a mental breakdown after failing to stop bombs from destroying Atlanta and Philadelphia
  Gene: When they brought you here! You opened your wrist! I had to feed you with...a damn spoon.
• She Who Fights Monsters
• Took a Level in Badass: At the start of the blackout, when she shoots a man who tries to steal food and threatens Charlie. Later on, she murders Jaffe to save her own skin. In the midseason finale, she stabs Strausser through the heart!
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: One of the main reasons she allowed the blackout to happen was that the nanites helped save Danny's life. This is portrayed as a cool Mama Bear moment showing how much she loves her son rather than her being a selfish bitch who sent the entire world back to the fucking middle ages and killed millions of people all to save one person. She only starts doing the right thing after Danny dies, showing she was completely willing to let the world just continue to burn so long as her children were fine.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Defied. When Jaffe proves more useful and more cooperative than her, Monroe decides to use him instead, and have Rachel and Danny killed. She responds by killing Jaffe.
  Rachel: Now you need me.

Danny

Daniel 'Danny' Matheson

Played by: Graham Rogers, Cameron Morrison & McEwen Morrison

The asthmatic son of Ben and Rachel Matheson. He is captured by the Monroe Republic at the beginning of the series, prompting the events of the series. He dies in Episode 11.

• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's easily the frontrunner for The Scrappy, but in "No Quarter" he one-ups a vengeful militia soldier and almost kills him.

• Distressed Dude: In Militia custody since the pilot.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: When Miles is knocked out during the chopper attack on the rebel HQ, Danny picks up the rocket launcher and takes out the helo with the power amplifier - but is accidentally killed when enemy fire from a falling chopper nearly cuts him in half.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Attacking the Militia members who came to take his father ended up with said father's Death by Origin Story and his capture.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Gives a great one to Tom Neville in 'Soul Train'.
• Too Dumb to Live: Because obviously it's a good idea to point a crossbow at a large group of militia men armed with rifles, especially when you're a teenage boy with little or no fighting experience.
  • Even if the other villagers do back you up, it's not like any of them will die because of your stupidity, am I right?

Gene

Dr. Gene Porter

Played By: Stephen Collins

One of the leaders of the town of Willoughby, the town doctor and father of Rachel Matheson.

• Deadpan Snarker: With some frequency. Emphasis on 'deadpan'.
• Deal with the Devil: Made one with the Patriots in order first to procure much needed medicine for the town after his wife and others were killed in a plague and later to protect his daughter and Miles

• My God, What Have I Done?: He's coming to severely regret working for the Patriots as they show their true colours.
• Papa Wolf: He gives Miles a very stern talking-to regarding Rachel. Later delivers a very blunt warning to the Patriot representative in Willoughby regarding harm to either Rachel or Miles, despite not exactly being a member of the Miles Matheson Fan Club. Has the same attitude towards Charlie when she shows up.
• Wasteland Elder: Season two introduces Gene Porter, Ben's father-in-law, a Frontier Doctor and civic leader of a small, imperiled Texas community.

Ben

Benjamin 'Ben' Matheson

Played by: Tim Guinee

The father of Charlie and Danny, husband of Rachel and boyfriend of Maggie Foster. He was part of the initial development team for the technology that caused the blackout. In the first episode, he is killed during a stand-off with the Monroe Republic.

• Chew Toy: Starting with his Death by Origin Story, we subsequently learn that Rachel was cheating on Ben with Miles even before they were married with a strong implication that Charlie at least is not Ben's daughter. Consistently portrayed as weaker-willed than Rachel.

• Im Dying Please Take My Macguffin: The pendant that he gives to Aaron as he dies is quite important.

• Wasteland Elder:The pilot episode is set fifteen years after a seemingly permanent worldwide blackout. The Decoy Protagonist (he's killed when a Wasteland Warlord tries to arrest him and the community puts up a fight) is former scientist Ben Matheson, who isn't really old but has young adult children. Ben is the leader a burgeoning Wisconsin farming community with a teacher, a doctor, and a gun or two.

Neville Family

Tom

Maj. ^note formerly Captain Thomas 'Tom' Neville

"Well, sir, trade secret. I do have a few cards up my sleeve."

Played by: Giancarlo Esposito

"Me? I was an insurance adjuster. Most of my job was figuring out whether the things people said lined up with the truth. Lucky for me it's a skill that never goes out of style."

A high-ranking and feared member of the Monroe Republic, he is tasked with bringing Ben Matheson to General Monroe. When his mission goes awry, he settles for Danny instead, hoping to appease Monroe and continue climbing the ranks. He is revealed to be the father of Jason, with whom he has a strained relationship. He has since had to defect to the Georgia Federation, but has been granted a similar rank to what he had in the Monroe Republic.

• Affably Evil: He can be very intimidating when he wants to be, but he prefers to use diplomacy and shows genuine respect for the heroes. This is in sharp contrast to the other Monroe characters, who are Faux Affably Evil.

• Because I'm Good At It: Implied to be the reason why he was personally assigned by Monroe to find the Matheson brothers.
• Blood Knight: He really enjoys the bare knuckle boxing match he sets up, which he uses to torture Danny.
• Break the Cutie: "Soul Train" reveals Neville's origins as a kindly, mild-mannered family man who would go the extra mile for one of his clients. Then the blackout happens...
• Break the Haughty: The events of the season one finale bring him to the height of power and then his ambition is quashed when Philadelphia and Atlanta are nuked and his wife is presumed dead. When season 2 starts, he is a shell of a man. He does get better for several episodes, but then Jason is killed and when Charlie has to tell him, it shatters him so much he can barely hold his gun.
• The Chessmaster: In the second season, tries his best to be this. He's successful only half the time.

• Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: has held high-ranking positions in the Monroe Republic, Georgia Federation, and now with the Patriots, without showing a shred of genuine loyalty to any of them.
• The Dragon: To Monroe.
  • Not anymore as of "The Song Remains the Same".
• Dragon Ascendant: He's beginning to oust Monroe from his position.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He adores his wife and son.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He takes care of and defends Jason who has been injured, remarking that he draws the line at leaving his only son to die helpless and alone.
  • when the representative of the US Government in Exile public claims to have 'incontrovertible proof' that the Monroe Republic and Georgia nuked each other, Neville is stirred from his despondency and appears to have found a new purpose in life in subverting the new government. He may yet pull off a full Heel–Face Turn as a result.
  • He also shows genuine disgust towards Will Strausser and makes it clear he doesn't trust him.
• Evil Is Hammy: At times. The ability to engage in Ham-to-Ham Combat appears to be a prerequisite for any leadership position in the Monroe Republic.
  • The TV ad Neville airs for his insurance agency in "Dreamcatchers" is a particularly juicy slice of ham.
• Family-Values Villain: In addition to being very devoted to his own family, is not afraid to call Miles out on his affair with Rachel.
• A Father to His Men: Is very kind to one of his dying men, offering to give him a Mercy Kill and then giving him a solemn funeral.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He was fired from his job on the day of blackout. While that wasn't the only thing that set him off, it was just the first spark.
• I Did What I Had to Do: His justification for his actions concerning the Matheson family.
• I Have No Son!: His response after Jason refuses to cooperate in calling in the airstrike on the rebel headquarters.
• Knight Templar: Played with; Neville is very religious (possibly to the point of being The Fundamentalist) and sees his work for the Monroe Republic as part of a holy mission. Only his penchant for Pragmatic Villainy keeps him from landing completely in this trope.

• Nice Guy: Believe or not, he was this before the blackout. Sadly, 6 weeks afterwards, Beware the Nice Ones kicked in when he had to make an Asshole Victim out of his neighbour, and he dropped this trope.
• Noble Demon: Compared to his comrades, who will Kick the Dog for the vaguest of reasons, he refuses to engage in violence for its own sake and only turns to force as a last resort.
• Papa Wolf: He takes out at least four soldiers who had the drop on him and comes away with nothing more than a wound to the shoulder. The reason? He was defending his badly-injured son.
• Pet The Horse
• Pragmatic Villainy: For all his Knight Templar status, and his rather extreme actions on behalf of the Republic, he's willing to listen to reason, even if it comes from enemies.

• Religious Bruiser: He's a very religious man, and can handle himself in a fight.

• The Starscream: As of "Children of Men", he apparently has designs on supplanting Monroe as leader of the Monroe Republic. Is seeking to become the same to the Patriots in Season 2. Neville seems to be a professional Starscream.
• Start of Darkness: Actually occurred a few hours before the blackout, when Tom's Bad Boss terminated him for actually trying to help one of his clients.

• Took a Level in Jerkass: He's noticeably ruder in "The Love Boat".
• Trash Talker: Especially in the second half of the first season.
• Wild Card: His only real loyalty is to his family.

Jason

Lt. Jason Neville

"What'd I do wrong? I did everything you asked me too. I hurt people. Killed people. For you."

Played by: J. D. Pardo

A soldier of the Monroe Republic, he first attempts to infiltrate Charlie's group but is quickly discovered by Miles. From then on, he pursues them with little success. He is later revealed to be Jason, the son of Tom and Julia Neville. He has a soft spot for Charlie and lacks the ruthless efficiency of his comrades.

• Ambiguously Brown: He's later revealed to have a (half) black father and a white mother.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: By the Patriots in one of their camps described by Neville as 'Hitler Youth on Meth'.
• Calling the Old Man Out: He does this often to Tom Neville in the later half of the first season. Tom is not entirely happy with this to say the least.

• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Multiple times in the first episode alone. He eventually quits the Republic officially and is reported dead by his father, but Charlie refuses to take him.
• Heel–Face Turn: For good, it seems. and then he gets brainwashed by the Patriots after which his father semi-cures him making him somthing of a Wild Card
• Important Haircut: He initially shows up as an ambiguous stranger with a buzz cut. After The Reveal as Tom's son and a member of the militia, he puts on a uniform, and suddenly sports boyish curls, making him much more innocent. Then, after he leaves the militia and joins the rebels, he's back to a sensible buzz cut.
• The Mole: Follows Charlie's group to find Miles before being outed as Militia.
  • In Season 2, is reprogrammed as a Manchurian Agent by the Patriots, but struggles against his programming until he's reactivated by a post-hypnotic suggestion to assassinate the President of Texas.
• The Reveal: Revealed to be Neville's son in "Soul Train".
• Romantic False Lead: Was being set up as Charlie's love interest up until "Austin City Limits" when Charlie was forced to kill him.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Refuses to cooperate with his father in calling in the airstrike on the rebel base in Annapolis. Although Tom claims that Jason is only doing so because he's smitten with Charlie, this is only part of the reason why Jason was reluctant: he was seen earlier showing extreme reluctance to attack noncombatants with overwhelming firepower.

• "Well Done, Son" Guy: His relationship with Neville appears to be along these lines (especially after he disobeys orders with regard to Charlie).

Other Characters

Aaron

Aaron Pittman

"80 million dollars in the bank and I would trade it all, right now, for a roll of Charmin."

Played by: Zak Orth

"And the punchline was the Blackout. When the world went back to being one giant schoolyard, and the Billy Underwood’s are in charge and I am weak and afraid."

Formerly a rich executive at Google, Aaron is a teacher in a small post-blackout village and friend of Ben Matheson. When Ben entrusts him with certain knowledge, Aaron sets out with Charlie and Maggie to rescue Danny.

• Heroic Sacrifice: He is fully prepared to make one to save Nora in "Sex and Drugs", but he doesn't die. See Pocket Protector below.
  • He makes one to protect his wife in a flashback from the same episode.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: In Season 2 after he starts getting powers from the nanites
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Why he leaves his wife. He feels she'll be better off without him.
• Informed Judaism: Refers to himself as 'an agnostic Jew from Minnesota' but other than that we see no other indicators of Jewish heritage. Justified in that the plot to this point has afforded few opportunities to delve into this aspect of Aaron's life, and that he placed the emphasis on agnostic.

• Not with Them for the Money: His wife stayed with him after the Blackout, even though he was next to useless in this new world.
• Only Sane Man: Attempts to talk Charlie out of cooperating with Drexel.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Until Season 1 episode "Sex and Drugs"; since then he's become increasingly more capable and dangerous.
• Pocket Protector: He pulls this with an alcohol canister in "Sex and Drugs", after the villain of the episode forces him to duel with Nora.

• The Smart Guy: Especially now that Maggie is dead.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Remarkably undamaged after fifteen years, too. In the "Sex and Drugs" flashbacks he is mostly without them so it's possible he got another pair later perhaps after he met Ben.
• Took a Level in Badass: He shoots Drexel in the chest after he forces him to duel with Nora.
  • In the subsequent episode, he effortlessly takes out two militia soldiers by whacking them with a pipe.
  • In the midseason finale, finally succeeds in using a flint and steel to set a fire, using it to light a fuse for a bomb to breach a fortified compound, allowing the rest of the group to escape.
  • In season 2 he seems to gain the ability to interact with the nanites and can unconsciously order them to set people on fire.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: He's overweight and his beard looks like a wild bush, but his wife was very slender and attractive. So is his second one.

Monroe

Gen. Sebastian 'Bass' Monroe

"By the time we're done here, North America's ours."

Played by: David Lyons

An old friend of Miles and the current leader of the Monroe Republic. He's grown steadily insane over the years, and is determined to bring back the power and keep it for himself.

• Bad Boss: He's a very tyrannical leader who views his men as expendable pawns.

• Being Evil Sucks: Despite being willing to resort to extreme methods to get his way, it's pretty clear that he doesn't enjoy it.

• Cry for the Devil: It's not hard to sympathize with the backstory of someone who lost his entire family, clung to his best friend because he was the only person he had left in the world, got betrayed by him, and then clung to the hope of reuniting with him so that things could go back to the way they were. When Miles tells him they are not family and he means nothing to him, the anguish on Monroe's face is heartrending.
  • It gets even worse when we discover he began his Start of Darkness began shortly after both his wife and unborn child died, due to complications during the birth. The look on his face as he stumbles out of the tent they were in, with there blood on his hands, before breaking down to tears before Miles, is heart breaking to say the least.
• Drowning My Sorrows: At the graves of his family.
• Dual Wielding: With his swords.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: His blue eyes tend to dim and become hooded when he's more upset than usual.
• Enemy Mine: With Charlie in Season 2
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Miles used to, and still does fulfill this role, to an extent. Emma as well. Then in the second season there's his son, Connor
• Even Evil Has Standards: In a Big Damn Heroes moment for the villain, comes out of nowhere to rescue Charlie from a bar full of thugs in North Texas who have drugged her with the intent of gang-raping her, then nurses her back to health. This despite the fact that Charlie means to kill him at the first opportunity she gets.
• Evil Overlord: Of the Monroe Republic and Militia.
• Evil Former Friend: Was once a friend of Miles, he now wants to hunt down Miles and Ben to find answers to the cause of the blackout.
• Fake American: David Lyons is a native Australian.
• Fallen Hero: He used to be more moral than Miles.
• Fan of the Past: Season 2 episode "Dreamcatchers" reveals that Monroe has an interest in the American Civil War, which may have led to his basing the Monroe Republic on The Theme Park Version of that conflict.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's very charming in his interactions with others, but it does little to hide his ruthlessness.

• From Nobody to Nightmare: He was, at one point, a 'womanizing drunk'.
  Rachel: I liked you better back then.
  Bass: Yeah...I think maybe I did too.
• Frozen Face: In the present, as the General, his expression rarely changes, creating an eerie, dull-eyed murderous mask. Flashbacks show he wasn't always this way.
• Joker Immunity: Miles has had at least three opportunities to kill Monroe (two of which we've seen onscreen) and Neville actually had him disarmed, handcuffed, and in custody in the season one finale—only to be rescued by Miles. In the second season Monroe survives a court-ordered lethal injection when Rachel pumps him full of barbituates to simulate death. Somehow the plot keeps coming up with reasons to keep Bass Monroe in the game.
  Blanchard: You're supposed to be dead!
  Bass: Back by popular demand!
• Nominal Hero: In season 2, he only sides with the heroes against the Patriots out of self-interest.
• Never Trust Those Guys: In Season 2 episode "Three Amigos" Miles, Rachel, and Monroe venture into Mexico for the first time. Monroe's remarks make it very clear he does not like Mexicans at all.
• Pragmatic Villainy: When an official from Texas is demanding proof that the Patriots do not intend to keep their end of a bargain, Bass kills the official, hoping to set up the Patriots and force Texas into a war with them. Subverted because it backfires and actually leads to an alliance between the two, not to mention his "execution".
• Psycho Supporter: The Monroe Republic was based on Miles's ideas of how to survive post-Blackout. Monroe ended up adopting that vision as his own and when Miles was not willing to amp the brutality even further, Monroe took that extra step on his own. A lot of Monroe's anger at Miles stems from the fact that Miles did not appreciate his friend's 'help'. This pops in season 2 when Monroe kills a Texan official in order to start a war between Texas and the Patriots since he sees it as a necessary action that Miles would be unwilling to take.

• Sanity Slippage: While he seems to have it together for the early episodes, after Miles declares they are no longer family, the cracks really begin to show. It comes to a head when he executes Jeremy, one of the oldest (and only) friends he had left.
• Semper Fi: He was a Marine sergeant before the Blackout.

• Soft-Spoken Sadist: He always maintains a civil and even tone, even when he's threatening you and everyone you love.
• Survivor Guilt: After his family is wiped out by a drunk driver.
• Start of Darkness: Three years after the Blackout, the group of survivors led by Miles was running out of food. Miles suggested that they raid a neighboring camp and take what they need but Monroe vehemently refused. Then Monroe's wife and child died during childbirth and Monroe reached a Despair Event Horizon. He led the raid on the other camp and left no survivors.

• Villainous Breakdown: Gets one in "Kashmir" when he learns that the "amplifier" Rachel was making is really a Time Bomb to make an assassination attempt against him. This marks the first time that he screams at someone on screen.
  • When Miles confronts him, and basically disowns ever being "family" to him, his debatable grip on sanity seems to snap for good.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Miles, before Miles tried to assassinate him for Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: the precipitating incident is when Bass orders the rebel executed for bombing the cafe he was at, and orders that the rebel's family be taken and executed as well, just for being related to him.
• When He Smiles: He may be a villain and rarely change expression, but as flashbacks and Miles' hallucination show, he can look absolutely radiant when he dares to be happy.

Nora

Nora Clayton

Played by: Daniella Alonso

An old flame of Miles and current member of the rebellion against the Monroe Republic. Miles convinces her to join Charlie's group, but her desire to strike at the Monroe Republic sometimes conflicts with the main goal of saving Danny.

• Ambiguously Brown
  • Several people in "Sex and Drugs" refer to her as Latina, but those are probably all just educated guesses, as none of them know her personally. Alonso herself is of mixed Hispanic/Asian heritage.
    • Bass Monroe appears to have a dossier on her given that she's a known member of the resistance, so her ethnic background may be part of that. And Miles was in a relationship with her at one point, so of course he'd know. The others, not so much...

• Dying Moment of Awesome: In the season one finale, they make it inside the Tower, but need to get down to level twelve. They set up a trap for the men guarding the way, but their leader spots the tripwire and motions everyone to step over it. Nora grabs a fire extinguisher, jumps out into the main hallway full of men with automatic guns, and hurtles the fire extinguisher down the hall to trip the wire and send the whole place up in flames. Unfortunately, she takes a round to the liver for her trouble and soon bleeds out.

• Ms. Fanservice: She sure likes her low-cut, thin tops (and is seen removing them at least twice so far).

Grace

Grace Beaumont

Played by: Maria Howell

A member of Ben Matheson's original science team responsible for creating the technology that started the Blackout. She is found living alone and in hiding by Danny, before later being kidnapped by her old boss Randall Flynn. She has one of the pendants.

• Demoted to Extra: She was only credited as a main cast member in the pilot, her apperances thereafter being relucated to guest star status.

• Secret-Keeper: Has her own copy of the MacGuffin.

Maggie

Dr. Margaret 'Maggie' Foster

Played by: Anna Lise Phillips

Ben Matheson's girlfriend, an English doctor seperated by an ocean from her children. She joins Charlie and Aaron when they leave to rescue Danny.

• A Death in the Limelight: She dies in the episode that delves into her backstory.
• Crazy-Prepared: Had poisoned whiskey in her backpack, in case of robber-rapists.

• Determinator: Following the blackout, she was determined to get back to her children in England. So she walked to the coast. The East Coast. From the West Coast. Then she walked the length of the coast looking for a ship. That's three thousand miles across the country, followed by 1500 to 2000 up and down the coast.
• Despair Event Horizon: She eventually gave up, and just sort of wandered. She ended up in Wisconsin (back in the middle of the country) before she decided to commit suicide.
• Face Death with Dignity: She accepts that she's dying with grace.
• Fake Brit: Anna Lise Phillips is a native Australian.
• Fatal Family Photo: Her phone comes on just long enough for her to look at the pictures of her children on it. She's dead by the end of the next episode.
• Frontier Doctor: Maggie is the only doctor in Ben's little town.
• Hospital Hottie: She's a rather attractive English doctor.

• Replacement Goldfish: It's hard to miss the fact that she has the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Rachel.
• The Medic: Knows herb-lore well enough to be the town doctor.

• Tragic Keepsake: She caries around her iPhone, despite it being nonfunctional for the past fifteen years, because it contains the only photos she has of her children back in England - even though she admits that it's highly likely her children are dead, and they probably barely remember her at all if they're still alive.