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Main Characters
Wayne Hays
Det. Wayne "Purple" Hays
What you don't remember, you don't know you don't remember.
Played By: Mahershala Ali
One of two detectives working on the Purcell case in Arkansas in 1980, he has left the force by 1990 and in 2015 seems to be exhibiting memory loss problems- Ambiguous Situation: Did he really forget that he found Julie right as he went to see her, or was he feigning it, as he got the closure he wanted, and wanted to leave her in peace? Ultimately it's left up to the viewer to decide.
- Amnesiac Hero: Due to having Alzheimer's.
- Book Dumb: He's far from dumb, but his self-admitted knowledge of literature ranges somewhere between Batman and Silver Surfer.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: The "captain smooth" at first, but this gets flipped later in the season when he gets demoted and Roland gets promoted.
- Cowboy Cop: Played with before being unfortunately played straight. He refuses to agree with the amount of lies and easy scapegoats the Purcell case has, but his aggressive techniques and habit of abducting suspects leads he and Roland to accidentally kill one, resulting in them both having to leave the Purcell case.
- Dead Person Conversation: In episode 3 Wayne begins hallucinating Amelia in 2015, who is more mocking and foreboding than a Helpful Hallucination.
- The Determinator: Once Wayne gets a case, he will solve it, no matter what. He'll even bend or outright break the rules in order to get what he wants.
- Dirty Cop: Also played with. He's more or less the only cop who refuses to believe the stated truth about the Purcell case, but he is extremely aggressive with his techniques, killing Harris Purcell and covering it up with Roland.
- Doesn't Know Their Own Child: Due to his problems with memory. Seems to have forgotten about rifts between himself and his children, thus invoking the trope.
- In episode 2, we learn Wayne’s daughter Rebecca “doesn’t like it [at Wayne’s home]” but it isn’t explained and Wayne doesn’t understand why. He asks again, to tragic effect, if she can come over and visit him.
- In episode 5, when Roland expresses anger at Wayne for past events, Wayne’s son tells him not to bring it up, but also that he knows how it feels.
- In episode 7, Wayne's dementia causes him to mistake a woman's child for his own daughter Rebecca. Roland has to pull him out of it to prevent things from getting awkward.*
- Family Man: Zig-zagged. True later on, when he relies on his son. He faltered when the case took over.
- Hidden Depths: Hays is shown to clearly be more affected by his time in Vietnam and the horrible things he sees at his job than he lets on. While he hardly wears this on his sleeve, it is there and his inability to talk about it strains his relationships with those that he loves.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is genuinely devoted to finding Julie's killer, he loved Amelia forever, but he'll still be pretty dickish to his whole family, and he also manipulated Roland into killing Harris James.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Up to 1990, anyway. Putting aside he and Roland's comfort with beating a confession out of a suspect, he gets rather up in arms when finally faced the backlash over his habitual "guaranteed rape in prison" threats, and seems to think a teenage Freddy Burns should've thanked him for not not going further during their interrogation.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Wayne's doctor is unable to diagnose his memory loss as either dementia or Alzheimer's. As detailed in the Time Travel example below, his past selves seem to have an effect on future phenomena, and his last conversation with the hallucinatory Amelia allows him to put together Julie Purcell's true fate.
- Minority Police Officer: As a black cop who's had to put up with a lot of racism, Wayne sees a lot of himself in Brett Woodard, the Native-American falsely suspected of being the child killer.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Had he and West continued their investigation of Harris James by the book, they may have found out the truth in time and been able to prosecute him for murder and obstruction of justice. Instead, he and West abduct and viciously interrogate Harris, creating a situation that leaves their chief suspect dead and robbing them of the chance to legally bring anybody to justice.
- Noble Bigot with a Badge: Played with. Wayne is understandably not this about race (which makes sense), but he is when he learns that Tom Purcell is gay. He immediately suspects him and calls him a "pervert", although Roland manages to talk him down.
- One-Man Army: His role in Vietnam, operating deep inside enemy lines for long periods, alone and outstandingly.
- Papa Wolf: Especially as a young man, he was very devoted to the welfare of his children.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: He used to be a member of the LRRP during his service in Vietnam, and was noted to be very good at it. Following, the war he continued to hone his skills by tracking and hunting boars in the forests near his home in his free time. He proves quickly able to find Will Purcell's body before anybody else by relying on his war-hardened instincts.
- Scary Black Man: Played with. He is clearly not this to Amelia or his children, but he has no qualms about threathening people he's interrogating with explicit descriptions of prison rape or beating information out of people if necessary.
- Scatterbrained Senior: By 2015 he's suffering from memory problems in his old age, forgetting answers he just heard, details of his life, and suddenly realising he doesn't know why he's in a place or how he got there. His doctor isn't sure why. Studying over the Purcell case prompts long-forgotten memories though.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Played With as Wayne isn't one who likes to talk about his emotions, but it's clear that his time in Vietnam affected him more than he'd like to admit. The implication at the end is clear that in some ways, he never truly left the jungles of Vietnam.
- Stiff Upper Lip: In 1980 and 1990, but firmly subverted due to the traumas of aging and having Alzheimer's (or whatever it is that's causing his memory lapses).
- The Stoic: An interesting case that becomes more subverted over time. The Wayne Hays of 1980 could give Spock a run for his money, being as buttoned-up in his personal life as he is working cases. Downplayed in 1990, when cracks begin to appear in his demeanor, losing his temper with Amelia and his children and goading West into helping him kidnap and interrogate Harris James. His stoicism is almost completely gone by 2015, with memory loss leaving him confused, anxious and depressed.
- That One Case: The Purcell case is the defining event of Hays' life, more than fighting in Vietnam or any point in his family. In 1990 and 2015, he's still obsessed with it.
- Time Travel: In 2015 Hays pushes a door in his home open while searching for his family in a dementia-caused panic. In 1990 Hays sees the door push open in the exact same way with no apparent cause, while 2015 Hays hallucinates the scene from 1990.
- Tsundere: A Rare Male Example. He genuinely adored Amelia, but the ongoing trauma of the Purcell case and his memories from Vietnam - alongside a lot of other issues - meant that he pushed her away and often caused her a great deal of pain, during which she nearly left him.
- The Vietnam Vet: While a more stable example than most, Hays was evidently marked in some way by his experiences in Vietnam. He is notably nervous about heading into the tunnel where he finds Will Purcell's body, and makes reference to some "tunnel work" he did in the war as the reason for why he was apprehensive about going inside. A later episode also sees him hallucinating several Vietcong soldiers hovering over his shoulder. But he later admits that from his point of view, the Purcell case ultimately left a bigger emotional scar on him than the war ever did.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He abducted potential child murderers. This ultimately backfired on him when he and Roland accidentally killed one.
- Went Crazy When They Left: Older Hays in 2015 seems to be unable to move past Amelia's loss, which is implied to have started his long downward spiral with dementia. Or something.
- We Used to Be Friends: Hays did something terrible in 1990 which pushed away Roland. It's revealed that he emotionally manipulated Roland into helping him kidnap and torture a man who was almost certainly tied to deaths around the Purcell case using the memory of Tom Purcell who had been found dead the day before, who Roland considered a good friend. After the kidnapping goes south and Roland is forced to shoot the man to save Hays, he is infuriated that he let Hays convince him to do it, that their only information lead is dead, and that Hays doesn't seem sorry at all. By the end of the 2015 investigation, however, they've patched things up and arguably become even stronger friends than they were before.
Amelia Reardon
Amelia Reardon
" It's almost as if there was an element of affection in it, don't you think?"
Played By: Carmen Ejogo
An Arkansas schoolteacher who later becomes Wayne's wife, she seems to have her own investigation into the Purcell case, relating to her book on the case.- Amateur Sleuth: In comparison to Wayne who is a police officer, Amelia plays this role.
- Cool Teacher: Although she quits working as a teacher when her book becomes a success.
- Deuteragonist: Equally important to the story as Wayne.
- Friend on the Force: Uses the police connection her husband provides in the process of writing her book.
- Sleuth Dates Cop: The particular subtrope. Usually the sleuth is the main character, with the cop as a love interest. Here, the cop is the protagonist, and the sleuth is the deuteragonist. Eventually, they get married.
- Good Parents: She loves her children very much and takes care of them.
- Helpful Hallucination: Subverted. Until her final appearance.
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: Amelia makes it clear to Wayne early that she wants to get out of being a teacher and write her own book. She eventually does, about the case, but Wayne thinks she was just using it.
- Intrepid Reporter: A variation of this — an investigative non-fiction writer.
- The Lost Lenore: For Wayne. He never recovered from her death.
- Most Writers Are Writers: She's an aspiring author who becomes a huge success with her nonfiction account of the Purcell case.
- Malcolm Xerox: Downplayed. Got into "a scene" with the Black Panthers and radical anti-war movements in San Francisco in her youth, before she meets Wayne.
- Nightmare Fetishist: A source of tension in the 90s between Amelia and Wayne is how she breezily investigates the Purcell case, considering it a puzzle that is inspiring her professionally and will bring her literary success. For Wayne however it is a dark cloud over his life, which also paralyzed his career.
- Hays explicitly calls her a "ghoul" during an argument, accusing her of feeding off the misery of others in order to feel more important. It's an overly harsh interpretation, but she does have a morbid fascination with the Purcell case, and insensitively probes Hays (even when he's clearly traumatised after shooting Woodward).
- Posthumous Character: Dies at some point between 90 and the present.
- Working the Same Case: As Wayne and Roland.
Roland West
Det. Roland West
"I know what you did... What I did."
Played By: Stephen Dorff
Together with Hays, the other detective working on the Purcell case in Arkansas in 1980, he later becomes an Arkansas State Investigator, ostenisbly his career boosted by said case.- The Alcoholic: Roland already drinks quite a bit in the 1980 and 1990 scenes, and by the time he's an old man it's become a fixture of his daily routine. He reasons that it doesn't matter how much he drinks given that he's a bachelor with no loved ones to look after, so he's not hurting anyone but himself.
- Ambiguously Bi: While he is clearly attracted to women, he becomes very close to the closeted gay Tom and defends him passionately and open-mindedly to Roland when his sexuality is revealed.
- Animal Motifs: Dogs, as both his best and worst traits match up them. He's firecely loyal, friendly, and playful, but can also be aggressive, violent, and subservient. He's only successful when someone else is at the other end of his leash, whether that's the PD bosses or his partner Wayne, and he very much looks up to Wayne as not only a colleague but a companion. When Wayne elects not to be his partner anymore, in order to avoid submitting to the bosses who are trying to have him burn down Amelia's expose, Roland is absolutely heartbroken, starts a fight in a bar, and breaks down crying outside afterwards. A stray dog comes up to him, and Roland empathizes with the dog, beginning to say that he and the dog are the same before blubbering into tears.
- Deadpan Snarker: Big time.
- Foil: Of Rust Cohle from Season 1. Both are heroic, but antisocial characters who end up having no family of their own due to their loner behavior and personality. Where things change is their attitude towards their cases. Rust, despite a long Time Skip in between, is ultimately determined to solve the mystery of the Yellow King cult, due to the horrific deeds they committed. Roland, on the other hand, wants absolutely nothing to do with the case following the Time Skip, even getting mad at Hays when he brings it up. Not to mention, the relationship between him and Wayne is different to Rust and Marty's. Roland and Wayne are already the best of friends that are driven apart by the case, whilst Rust and Marty are partners pushed to being friends because of their shared experiences. Even when Marty and Rust split up, it wasn't nearly as damaging to either of them as it was to Roland. Finally, Roland is a character emphasised by his loyalty and companionship towards others, whilst Rust is emphasised by his single-mindedness and personal experiences.
- Hidden Depths: Beneath his cool demeanor and sarcastic quips, Roland is much more thoughtful and conflicted than he lets on. The 2015 segments are good indicators of this, as he has a melancholy outlook on the direction his life has taken, as well as his and Wayne's failure to bring the true culprit to justice.
- Loners Are Freaks: By the time 2015 rolls around, Roland has come to live in the woods with no family. At least he still has his dogs.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The killing of Harris James prompts this in Roland. The guilt weighs on him hard enough that he goes from a respected state police lieutenant with a loving girlfriend and nice house in 1990 to a depressed, alcoholic loner in 2015.
- Noble Bigot with a Badge: Nearly calls Hays a racial slur after a very heated incident and isn't above insulting a female biker's appearance to start a fight when off-duty. However he doesn't allow his hang-ups to interfere with his police work. However, this is subverted later on after the discovery that Tom is a closeted homosexual. Wayne is immediately suspicious that Tom may have had a hand in the disappearances due to being a "pervert." Roland passionately defends Tom and insists that his being gay doesn't have anything to do with the case, reasoning that alone doesn't make him a bad person.
- Rank Up: By 1990, he's become a Lieutenant and his career is going well.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: He's very brusque and almost rude to everyone, and he eventually loses his girlfriend and big house, but this is implied to be because of losing Tom, as well as losing his friendship with Wayne.
- Time Skip: By 1990 West is a State cop and promoted to Lieutenant, while being more mellow and thoughtful. He also has a considerable limp later revealed to be caused by a redneck during the Woodward shootout.
- By 2015 Roland is an alcoholic living in a solitary cabin with only his dogs for company.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The breaking point in his and Hayes's relationship comes when Hays emotionally manipulates Roland into kidnapping and torturing Harris for information, using a recently dead Tom as leverage. After Roland is forced to shoot Harris dead, he tells Hays to fuck off for manipulating him like that, as now they have an illegal killing on their hand, and their one potential source for information to find Tom's daughter is pointlessly dead. This break in their relationship lasts all the way til 2015.
- He also gives a big one to Hays in 2015 when Hays shows up for the first time in 25 years and only wants to talk about the case, never coming by to talk with Roland or even apologizing for the above instance. Hays can only say that he's sorry as he doesn't even remember why they fought anyone.
Henry Hays
Henry Hays
Played By: Ray Fisher
Wayne Hays' son. He helps his father set up an interview with a documentary crew interested in revisiting the Purcell case, but seems to have his own reservations about his father's relationship with it- The Dutiful Son: Henry cares for Wayne in his dementia-affected old age, despite clearly suffering through it.
- Extremely Protective Child: He is very worried about his father's involvement in Elisa's documentary and will not let her push him one step further than he allows, although they're sleeping together.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: To his sister, Rebecca; it's him who takes care of Wayne in his old age, while Rebecca is nowhere to be seen, although she has her own reasons.
- Like Father, Like Son: Like his father, he is a police officer.
Purcell Family
Tom Purcell
Tom Purcell
Played By: Scoot McNairy
The father of the missing Purcell children.- The Alcoholic: He spends the vast majority of his screen time during the 80s deep in the bottle.
- Armored Closet Gay: His repressed sexuality is one of the many factors in his life that alienates him from everyone else.
- Awful Wedded Life: He and his wife loathe each other for a variety of reasons. At the core of it is that Tom is gay (and in denial over it) and Lucy is openly sleeping around with other men.
- Butt-Monkey: Tom's life sucks. He works a dead-end job, his marriage is in shambles, he's a closeted gay man in the South during the '80s, and he doesn't really have any friends. Then his son is killed and his daughter vanishes, he hits the bottle hard, loses his job, and gets his ass kicked in a bar fight. Ten years later, he's accused of being responsible for his daughter's kidnapping by his only friend, he starts drinking again, is executed by Harris James, and posthumously blamed for everything.
- Despair Event Horizon: He crosses it first when his son dies and his daughter is kidnapped, but he crosses it again, and even more intensely, when Roland accuses him of having something to do with the crime.
- Howl of Sorrow: When he hears the accusatory message left by older Julie, Tom lets out a primal and even terrifying scream
. - Failed a Spot Check: Is so taken aback by the sight of the Pink Room in the Hoyt mansion basement that he neglects to notice Harris James sneaking up behind him.
- Frame-Up: The victim of one by Harris.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's extremely hostile to just about everyone, but it's clearly a result of drunkenness and grief. He still loves his kids, and tearfully apologizes when he goes over the line and uses a racial slur while referring to Hayes.
- Papa Wolf: He is understandably obsessed for decades over finding his kids' murderer and kidnapper, and it leads to his death. He goes to investigate the Hoyts on his own and gets killed for it. He also seems to be the only person who took care of his kids in life.
- Pervert Dad: Suspected, but subverted. He is genuinely horrified by Roland and Wayne's accusations and goes to his grave devastated by it.
- Recovered Addict: In the 90s. Sadly, he relapses after being accused of involvement with his daughter's disappearance and the fracturing of his relationship with Roland.
- Time Skip: By the 90s Tom has found God, gone sober and turned his life around, though still haunted by the loss of his kids.
- Token Good Teammate: Of the Purcells. Lucy and her brother both participated in Julie's abduction, but he didn't.
Lucy Purcell
Lucy Purcell
Played By: Mamie Gummer
The mother of the missing children, and Tom's wife.
- Addled Addict: All she cared about at the middle and end of life was drugs.
- Aimlessly Seeking Happiness: She is completely miserable and her only vague distractions from it seem to be cheating on Tom (which she barely even seems to enjoy), alcohol, and drugs.
- Half-Witted Hillbilly: The "inbred ignoramus" and "backwoods bigot", although it's worth saying that she isn't inbred. She is however extremely racist, stupid, and cruel.
- Hysterical Woman: Although at least in part because of her addictions, she is much, much louder and more demonstrative than Tom.
- Lower-Class Lout: Lucy is an archetypal white trash, being extremely rude, aggressive, and lower-class, and also basically drunk or high in most of her appearances.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Nobody is really surprised when she ODs in Vegas..except that was actually the doing of Harris James.
Hoyt Foods
Edward Hoyt
Edward Hoyt
Played By: Michael Rooker
The founder and CEO of factory farm Hoyt Foods, which Hays and West discover has several connections to the Purcell case.- The Alcoholic: A haggard-looking middle-aged man who takes several pulls from a bottle of whisky during his conversation with Hays. It's hardly surprising given the tragedies that have befallen the Hoyt family.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: A downplayed example. Hoyt had no role in Will Purcell's death, was not directly involved in Julie's kidnapping/confinement, and doesn't treat his employees more or less poorly than any run-of-the mill fictional executive. He did still cover up the incident for the sake of his daughter Isabel and presumably the reputation of Hoyt Foods—leading to a frame-up and several murders—but in his interrogation of Hays it's clear he views the entire chain of incidents as regrettable and avoidable.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Sharp-eyed viewers can spot him in a photograph with Harris James an episode before he actually appears.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The deaths of his granddaughter, son-in-law and most recently his daughter have left him an alcoholic wreck by 1990, and it's implied he considered his chief of security Harris James to be as much a close friend as a valuable asset.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He makes it clear that he had nothing to do with Will Purcell's death and it was simply a tragic accident and regrets both that and everything else which transpired.
- Evil Old Folks: In his later years and definitely not someone to trifle with.
- Evil Sounds Deep: As is standard for someone played by Michael Rooker, he has a raspy voice and a lack of morals.
- Faux Affably Evil: Is polite if intimidating in his phone call to Hays. He drops the act entirely once Hays steps into his limo.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Both his daughter and granddaughter passed away while he is still alive.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Once it's clear that Hays will not pursue the case further due to his own involvement in Harris James' death, Hoyt lets him go and presumably does not bother Hays or his family further.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Downplayed but he talks about his service in Korea with the implication that he struggles with PTSD.
- Useless Bystander Parent: He preferred not to deal with Isabel after her breakdown, which meant that he didn't do anything to prevent her catastrophic break with reality that led to her kidnapping Julie and accidentally killing Will. While he does make serious efforts to cover it up, it's heavily implied that he does this mostly for his company, and he still leaves caring for Isabel to Junius.
Harris James
Harris James
Played By: Scott Shepherd
A former Arkansas State Police officer turned chief of security for Harris Foods who went missing during the re-opening of the Purcell case in 1990.- Depraved Bisexual: Very downplayed, but he hits on Hayes and he only cared about money after Julie's kidnapping and Will's disappearing.
- Dirty Cop: Planted evidence framing Brett Woodard at Edward Hoyt's request. Was rewarded for his cooperation by being made chief of Hoyt Foods security.
- The Dragon: For Edward Hoyt. In covering up Isabel Hoyt's role in the Purcell case, James plants evidence and murders at least three people, including both Purcell parents.
- Hate Sink: In lieu of Season 3 having a central antagonist, Harris stands out as the only actual murderer involved in the Purcell case, as well as the only one with no remorse for all the lives ruined.
- Never Found the Body: Has been missing and presumed dead since 1990. We learn that Hays and West shot and buried him near an abandoned farm. Downplayed in that Edward Hoyt has a pretty clear idea of where Harris ended up due to some well-placed security cameras, but since Hays is unwilling to admit his culpability and direct Hoyt to the body, the man remains undiscovered..
- The Sociopath: A charming and glib security chief who shows no remorse for his murders of three people and framing of two innocent men, even when being tortured by Hays and West. He stands in sharp contrast to co-conspirators Hoyt, who views the crimes as regrettable but necessary, and Watts, who wishes to atone for his involvement by 2015.
- Too Dumb to Live: He tries to escape from Hays and West by simply overpowering them, in spite of the fact that they have guns, and he's already taken quite a bit of damage at their hands. He gets shot dead for his troubles.
- Walking Spoiler: The surrounding sea of spoiler tags will give you an idea of how key he is to the season's plot.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Fakes a punctured lung during his interrogation to get the drop on Hays and West. It works only briefly.
Junius "Mr. June" Watts
Junius "Mr. June" Watts
Played By: Steven Williams
A mysterious local man with a milky white eye and ambiguous ties to the Purcell case.- Affably Evil: A genuinely polite man with no ill intentions who knowingly and willingly participated in the forcible confinement of a young girl and cover-up of accidental manslaughter for nearly a decade. When Hays and West show up at his home in 2015 with their guns drawn, he calmly invites them so he can confess.
- Ambiguously Evil: It's unclear how earnest he really is about the things he says. He insists that his role in the kidnapping was well-intentioned, but it could just as well be that he's rationalizing the misdeeds he had a hand in.
- The Atoner: He genuinely meant Julie no harm and helped her to escape after he realized that he had mistaken her years of drugging for genuine happiness.
- Battle Butler: He did mostly everything for Isabel, up to and including covering up murder for her.
- Brutal Honesty: He pulls absolutely no punches when he accuses Amelia of "milking the pain" of everyone involved in the Purcell case, solely for her own career, morbid fascination and ego.
- Death Seeker: He recognizes that what he was involved in was wrong, and he desperately demands that Hays and West punish him in some capacity.
- The Heavy: He did most of the hard work for Isabel, but she did die years before.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: In 2015, he comes clean to West and Hays about the truth of Will Purcell's murder and Julie Purcell's disappearance and wishes to be held responsible for his role in the crime. Since both of them are retired, however, they're unable to arrest him and instead contemptuously suggest he kill himself if he wishes to be punished. It's uncertain if he does.
- Mr. Exposition: As soon as the protagonists meet him, he calmly explains everything about the case.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Mistress. He helped Isabel to do everything after her emotional breakdown.
- Promotion to Parent: For Hoyt's daughter, Isabel. He was also a serious Knight Templar Parent, if covering up the murder she committed is any indication.
- Scary Black Man: Invoked and subverted. His blind eye and enigmatic demeanor paired with his skin color would lead you to think he's this—and several characters in-universe do—but in the end he's just a weak old man who was acting on behalf of Hoyt Foods. He was also genuinely kind to Julie during her forcible confinement and helped her escape.
- Uncertain Doom: Legally unable to bring him to justice since they're both retired, Hays and West leave Watts alone with his gun collection and the insinuation that he should kill himself if he truly desires punishment. We're not given any indication if he goes through with it or not.
- Walking Spoiler: A strange In-Universe example. Once he is finally found and confronted, he pretty much explains the entire case.
Others
Elisa Montgomery
Elisa Montgomery
Played By: Sarah Gadon
A documentary reporter who interviews Wayne about the aftermath of the Purcell case.- Audience Surrogate: Elisa embodies the views of the audience on certain theories on how the Purcell case could have happened and/or ideas (and events) that tie the 3rd season with other seasons.
Brett Woodard
Brett Woodard
Played By: Michael Greyeyes
A Native American Vietnam Veteran whose struggles adjusting back to civilian life led to his wife divorcing him and taking his children. He gets by selling scrap and recyclables, but his nomadic life makes him a suspect.- Badass Boast: Before his Sucide By Cop he tells Hays he had a clear shot to kill him but decided to kill one of the posse instead and that he only misses when he chooses too. Based on the sheer number of head shots he scores, it's not a lie.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Lives an isolated existence, but is friendly to everyone he interacts with. His combat experience means he is not be trifled with as the town of West Finger learns in the most tragic way.
- Cop Killer: He takes out two cops in addition to eight members of the town posse. He seems to have some regret for that before Hays kills him. See Didn't Think This Through below.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The armed posse made a grave mistake thinking they could push around a Vietnam Veteran with combat experience. He takes out every last one in a matter of minutes with guns and tripwire bombs.
- Crazy-Prepared: Knowing a showdown with the vigilante posse is inevitable, he readies his stock of AK-47s and prepares claymore traps for quick arming.
- Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit: His massacre of 10 people, including cops, makes him an easy scapegoat for the Purcell case. When Will Purcell's backpack is planted at his house, he is convicted in absentia as a double child killer, in addition to the 10 murders he did commit. In 1990, he is cleared and the children's father is wrongly blamed.
- Didn't Think This Through: Hays tries to get him to surrender, noting his war trauma and the fact he was provoked would work in his favor. Woodard remarks that killing innocent cops threw that away and expresses regret. However, it seems like he was preparing for a last stand, so the regret could be going to the grave with two innocent men's deaths on his soul.
- Friend to All Children: Gets along with the town children, even striking deals on getting materials he can re-sell from them. Has no sinister motives, but his race and nomadic routine make him a suspect to the police and the townsfolk.
- Meaningful Name: Shares his surname with the real life Isaac Woodard, also an Oppressed Minority Veteran (black in Isaac's case) who was the target of racist abuse.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: Played for Drama. The death of Will and disappearance of Julie leaves the town on edge, and Woodard's solitary lifestyle along with his friendliness to children makes him the obvious suspect for the townsfolk, even after being cleared by the police. He is specifically warned to stay away from the town's young people in his first confrontation with the posse, and his refusal to do so leads to the massacre.
- Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: He's rather odd and eccentric, but he's not a bad man at heart. Sadly, this disintegrates as his rage over the racist abuse and his trauma from Vietnam take over and he lashes out, killing several people before he dies himself.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: He was a Vietnam War veteran, and it's implied the trauma and mental scars from the war has caused him to become the man he is today. It is also discussed when Hays and West scout his house. The two detectives come across two framed pictures; the first are of him with his platoon in Vietnam, and the other are of what is clearly his wife and kids, despite him being noted to live alone. Both of them are quick to express sympathy for Woodard, noticing that the War might have something to do with why he no longer lives together with his family, with West bringing up the that some of his own buddies came back from overseas and have had severe difficulties with adjusting to civilian life again. As he is subjected to increasingly severe racist abuse by the paranoid community, Woodard eventually snaps, kills a racist vigilante group who was gunning for him, and is killed himself by Hayes.
- Suicide by Cop: Forces Hays to kill him after dispatching 10 people in the shootout. It's clear Woodard wanted to die for a long time and the firefight was the perfect excuse to end it. He sees Hays as something of a kindred spirit due to their shared Vietnam service and it's implied he doesn't kill Wayne when he had a clear shot out of respect. He also shows relief that Hays is the one to end it.
