| 1 | Characters appearing in ''Series/{{Utopia}}''. Due to the series' BlackAndGreyMorality and many characters' ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, folder "alignment" groupings are fluid and perusal is at the reader's own risk. |
| 2 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | !The Heroes |
| 5 | An unfortunate group of people who have ended up as targets of The Network due to their interest in a graphic novel called ''The Utopia Experiments'', as well as the allies they meet during their attempts to survive. These are the protagonists of Series/{{Utopia}}. |
| 6 | [[folder:General Tropes]] |
| 7 | * AntiHeroTeam: Some of the things they'll do to uncover the truth and combat the Network can make them no better than who they're fighting against, but it's still very clear which one is the worst of the two. |
| 8 | * CovertGroup: An anti-heroic slant, of very disorganized and secretive figures bent on uncovering the truth of the Manuscript, and later, attempting to stop a much more nebulous conspiracy. |
| 9 | * DavidVersusGoliath: A handful of everyday people working closely against an agency that has far more reach and history they can ever imagine. |
| 10 | * DoomMagnet: The lives of their loved ones are threatened, either because they've chosen to become involved with the Network's machinations or because ''the Network'' needs ''them''. Anyone who decides to get involved with the cast, even unwittingly in passing like Alice, are subsequently put in danger. |
| 11 | * FireForgedFriends: They all bond over discussion and theorization of a graphic novel online, but as the dangers to their searching for the answers make themselves apparent over the course of the series, they find themselves much closer than they were before. Then [[spoiler:Wilson defects.]] |
| 12 | * HeKnowsTooMuch: They were tasked with analyzing Part 2 of ''The Utopia Experiments'', which sends the Network and their goons after the group. |
| 13 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: Courtesy of Becky. They eventually stage break-ins, wield weapons and engage in deceitful practices in order to keep themselves safe and to further their goals -- much like the Network has. |
| 14 | * RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Start out as bunch of comic book fans each leading their own mundane lives, with their own personality quirks and ideals. |
| 15 | * GuileHero: They all rely on improvisation and cunning to hide well from the Network and keep their operations under the notice of the public. |
| 16 | * UnscrupulousHero: Their intentions are good, but they have to resort to various brutal and questionable actions to fight and cover their tracks thanks to what their opposition is capable of. It all mainly comes at the behest of Jessica, who embodies this archetype. |
| 17 | * VillainHasAPoint: They come at a moral impasse when they learn the motivations of the Network, which is [[spoiler:to control the human population, fearing the ensuing conflict from overpopulation. It's enough to convince Wilson to switch sides]]. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | [[/folder]] |
| 20 | |
| 21 | !!Original Members |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[folder:Ian Johnson]] |
| 24 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Nathan Stewart-Jarrett |
| 25 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ian_1.jpg]] |
| 26 | |
| 27 | An IT employee living with his mum. |
| 28 | ---- |
| 29 | * BlackAndNerdy: A humble IT worker sporting NerdGlasses. |
| 30 | * DatingCatwoman: A kind of eternal flaw for Ian -- he's attractive to Becky, who isn't bad, just much darker than Ian is used to. Then there's Jessica... who definitely is. |
| 31 | * TheEveryman: He has truly no idea what he's gotten himself into and just wants to survive. |
| 32 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Says more than a few mean things about those around him, but he clearly means well and it's mostly in jest. ''Mostly''. |
| 33 | * JumpedAtTheCall: By Season 2, he's grown tired of his IT job and is recounting his adventures in being chased by a nebulous shadow organization, and is waiting to [[spoiler:get a call from Milner at any time]] or [[spoiler:a chance to locate Becky]]. When there's sign of the latter, he quickly takes off with Grant. |
| 34 | * NerdsAreSexy: As even ''Jessica'' would agree. |
| 35 | * ResignedToTheCall: He has no interest in being special and is forced on the run by circumstances. |
| 36 | * TeamDad: Again somewhat reluctantly, but clearly feels responsible for and protective of Alice and Grant. Especially when [[spoiler:he's had to look over Grant]] in Season 2. |
| 37 | * VictoryIsBoring: In Season 2, [[spoiler:after seemingly crippling the Network and handing the Manuscript and Jessica to Milner]], Ian is able to return to his normal office life. He finds the mundanity to be monotonous and [[ItMakesSenseInContext is ready to staple his own tongue]] to alleviate himself from the boredom. |
| 38 | [[/folder]] |
| 39 | |
| 40 | [[folder:Becky]] |
| 41 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Alexandra Roach |
| 42 | [[quoteright:286:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/becky.jpg]] |
| 43 | |
| 44 | A grad student who is convinced her father's mysterious death from a terminal illness is connected to ''The Utopia Experiments''. |
| 45 | ---- |
| 46 | * BettyAndVeronica: The "Betty" to Jessica's "Veronica" and Ian's "Archie." |
| 47 | * BrokenBird: Her [[spoiler:impending death from Deel's syndrome]] leads her into depression, especially [[spoiler:near the end of Season 2]]. |
| 48 | * CoolBigSis: Is this to Grant and Alice. |
| 49 | * DeadpanSnarker: Mixes it with ClusterFBomb. |
| 50 | * DrivenToSuicide: To escape a painful death from [[spoiler: Deel's syndrome. Turns out she's actually healthy; Ian barely saves her from overdosing.]] |
| 51 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She can be pretty sharp and rude even to people who are trying to help her, but what with her [[DarkAndTroubledPast dead father]] and oncoming terminal illness, nobody can blame her. |
| 52 | * PsychoticLoveTriangle: In a reluctant one with Ian, who the psychotic Jessica wants for herself. |
| 53 | * SirSwearsALot: A female version, at points spouting a ClusterFBomb. |
| 54 | * SourOutsideSadInside: As a result of her father's, and what she assumes to be her own, illness. |
| 55 | * StepfordSnarker: Her extremely sharp snarkiness is one of the ways she copes with what she assumes to be her terminal illness and difficult circumstances. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Wilson Wilson]] |
| 59 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/AdeelAkhtar |
| 60 | [[quoteright:319:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wilson.jpg]] |
| 61 | |
| 62 | A survivalist and conspiracy theorist. |
| 63 | ---- |
| 64 | * BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Subverted. [[spoiler:It's not the torture itself that turns him into the dark side, ironically, it's when he hears the reason ''why'' it happened and why his father is killed from the organisation that did it, that he switches sides. Ian even points out to him when they spell out their agenda those very same incidents to dissuade him from considering their viewpoint. It doesn't work]]. |
| 65 | * BigBad: [[spoiler:Takes over where Milner left off in this position.]] |
| 66 | * ConflictingLoyalty: By the later half of Season 1, [[spoiler:he's very much torn up about his friends lying to him about the status of his father, and when they listen to the Network's plan to stop overpopulation, he finds it preferable to actually stopping them]]. In Season 2, [[spoiler:even though he's part of the Network and is under Milner, he initially can't find it in himself to see Lee kill his former friends and struggles with killing Ian's brother]]. |
| 67 | * ConspiracyTheorist: [[ProperlyParanoid Who happens to be correct]]. |
| 68 | * EasilyForgiven: |
| 69 | ** Not himself, but his reaction towards [[spoiler:the Network. Milner ponders this herself in Season 2, recounting their torture of Wilson and the killing of his father to further their goals. Instead of carrying a grudge, Wilson justifies it all as the costs of furthering the ultimate goal of the Network. The dedication earns him a spot in their ranks.]] |
| 70 | ** Notably, this isn't exactly the case with [[spoiler:Lee, at one point pulling a gun on him when he becomes conflicted over how Lee was his father's killer and will be hunting his former friends down]]. |
| 71 | * EvilFormerFriend: Played with. He comes to believe [[spoiler:that the ''villains'' are right, but he maintains a soft spot for his former friends, even as he continues to work against them]]. |
| 72 | * EyeScream: His first encounter with the Network ends with his right eye been scooped out with a spoon. |
| 73 | * FaceHeelTurn: By the end of Season 1, [[spoiler:he converts to the Network's philosophy. By the end of Season 2, he has become the new Mr. Rabbit.]] |
| 74 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: Begins as little more than a nerdy guy poking his nose dangerously deeply into conspiracy theories. [[spoiler: He eventually attempts to join and assist in a genocidal plot, and ends up as the mastermind of it.]] |
| 75 | * HeroicBSOD: Experiences one after Conran Letts lays out the Network's plan and the reasoning behind it, as Wilson comes to realize [[spoiler: they're justifiable in their motivations.]] |
| 76 | * {{Irony}}: The ConspiracyTheorist of the group, the one most worried about what will happen when they chase after the truth, [[spoiler:ends up joining the conspiracy himself when he finds them agreeable]]. |
| 77 | * ItGetsEasier: He manages to shoot Lee, although it was in a panic and a life-or-death situation, when the latter clearly demonstrated that ColdBloodedTorture was not an issue for him. [[spoiler:The next time, he threw up before getting the stomach to kill Ian's brother and two MI-5 agents. By the finale, he's more than confident enough to eliminate two {{Sleeper Agent}}s still at their cover job, and kills Lee without batting an eye]]. |
| 78 | * NotQuiteDead: Stabbed and left for dead by [[spoiler:Jessica at the end of Season 1, but survives into Season 2.]] |
| 79 | * ProperlyParanoid: Even ''before'' entering the premise of the show, Wilson redacted records of himself using every resource the average person could get, masked his IP addresses on individual devices, and went by different protective software to hide his search history. He also trained himself to use the joints of his thumbs to get out of handcuffs, which comes ''very'' useful later on. |
| 80 | * RepetitiveName: His name really is Wilson ''Wilson''. He and the others Lampshade this, and he finds no problem using it on public platforms since people would automatically doubt it as a real name. |
| 81 | * RuleOfSymbolism: The spoon he carries (or is given, rather) is a reminder of the trauma he received from the Network and his limitations. [[spoiler:When he kills Lee, he looks at it more confidently, signifying his shift into ruthlessness]]. |
| 82 | * SharpDressedMan: In Season 2, he gains a suit to compliment his fedora. |
| 83 | * TeethClenchedTeamwork: |
| 84 | ** After his trust in his friends is shot later into Season 1, he finds his cooperation with them becoming conflicting. [[spoiler:It culminates into him tricking them into thinking he sent the incriminating e-mail out to the public, as he makes his intentions to halt their progress against the Network clear to Jessica.]] |
| 85 | ** By Season 2, [[spoiler:he's not exactly pleased to be working with Lee, the man who tortured him and tore his eye out]]. |
| 86 | * TraumaButton: The sight of a spoon [[spoiler:and Lee's return in Season 2]] both unnerve him, with [[spoiler:how the latter tortured him using the former. It then becomes an Inverted case, where looking at the spoon after killing Lee becomes a motivator for him]]. |
| 87 | * TheUnfettered: Eventually dives into this by Season 2, now that he's [[spoiler:working for the Network]]. |
| 88 | * WalkingSpoiler: Possibly the biggest in the series, following his change in behavior during the later half of Season 1. |
| 89 | [[/folder]] |
| 90 | |
| 91 | [[folder:Grant Leetham]] |
| 92 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Oliver Woollford |
| 93 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grant.jpg]] |
| 94 | |
| 95 | A troubled 11-year-old who comes into possession of ''The Utopia Experiments'' after its owner is murdered by the Network's assassins. |
| 96 | ---- |
| 97 | * BadassAdorable: Took out [[spoiler:two of the top brass of the Network]] all by himself. |
| 98 | * BadassAndChildDuo: The "child" in the duo mostly with Jessica, but also with [[spoiler:Pietre]] come Series 2. |
| 99 | * BrattyHalfPint: He likes to think he's a badass tough guy, but he ends up more or less broken by the immense trauma he's been through before he's even in his teens. |
| 100 | * {{Catfishing}}: Not to rope someone else into romance, mainly just to hide his identity and as a bit of a coping method. Online, he pretends to be a successful city trader with a [[CoolCar Porsche]] and several one night stands under his belt, when he's really just an eleven-year-old boy living in poverty with an abusive father. |
| 101 | -->'''Wilson:''' You said you owned a Porsche and your girlfriend was a supermodel! |
| 102 | -->'''Grant:''' Yeah, I've got ambitions. |
| 103 | * DeathFakedForYou: Before Series 2 begins. It further affirms his disdain for what his life has become. |
| 104 | * EmoTeen: Jessica dresses him up as one as a disguise. He's annoyed, to say the least. |
| 105 | * EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Boy, but still. He's aggressive, nasty to just about everyone, picks fights...but he's also completely devastated when the Network even ''threatens'' his mother and agrees to go along with whatever they want just to help her. |
| 106 | * HadToBeSharp: Broken home, abused mother, and living in poverty, he developed a knack for quick resourceful thinking and an abrasive personality. |
| 107 | * ObfuscatingStupidity: He is well aware of how people have a tendency to consider a child his age to be innocent, harmless and likely in need of help from an adult. And he has learned to take advantage of it. |
| 108 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In addition to specific cases like leading Arby to kill Alice's mother, Grant also [[spoiler: might have caused the death of almost all of humanity by shooting Milner at the end of series 2.]] |
| 109 | [[/folder]] |
| 110 | |
| 111 | !!Later Members |
| 112 | |
| 113 | [[folder:Michael Dugdale]] |
| 114 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' [[Creator/PaulHiggins Paul Higgins]] |
| 115 | [[quoteright:255:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dugdale_8.jpg]] |
| 116 | |
| 117 | A put-upon civil servant who becomes embroiled in the conspiracy after the Network begins blackmailing him about an affair in which he impregnated a Russian prostitute. |
| 118 | ---- |
| 119 | * TheAtoner: To some extent. His heroism, if it can be called that, comes not as much from trying to improve himself as from fearing for his life and trying to save face after being humiliated repeatedly. By the end of series 2, however, it's clear that he's genuinely improved relations with his wife and has become much braver and more selfless. |
| 120 | * BadassBureaucrat: Downplayed, but he's a civil servant in the UK's Health Department made to work for the Network. [[spoiler:He finds himself joining the main group nearing the end of Season 1]]. |
| 121 | * TheChewToy: Michael is immensely flawed, a walkover, cheated on his wife, and more... but he's also ''so'' mistreated and disrespected at every part of his life that it's hard not to root for him. |
| 122 | * ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: When it comes to his family, he'll throw anyone under the bus to save them. He tips the police off to Grant arriving at his house, [[spoiler:after he's falsely accused of a school shooting, and has a female scientist killed by Network thugs [[SheKnowsTooMuch when she gets a little too close to uncovering Russian flu and tells him]]]]. |
| 123 | * ClassicalAntiHero: Though definitely a bit of an asshole, he's mostly just cowardly and incompetent rather than immoral. |
| 124 | * TheDogBitesBack: He tries to stand up to the Network more than once. |
| 125 | ** He tends to find blackmail to leverage against Geoff and the Network, hoping to get the safety of his family in exchange. [[spoiler:He first gets a sample of one of the Russian virus victims, then gets his hands on Donaldson's documents. Neither end up doing much.]] |
| 126 | ** After long enough, he stands up to Geoff and [[spoiler: kills Anya in self-defense seemingly as an impulse. Too little, too late, however; Wilson is still able to keep him under control by threatening his family]]. |
| 127 | * DrivenToSuicide: At the start of the show. He's cheated on his wife, who is infertile, and gotten a prostitute pregnant, which has made him indebted to her Russian pimp under threat of blackmail. He's prepared a drink and pills to overdose on, but he decides to listen to the pimp. |
| 128 | * ExtremeDoormat: His whole problem and personality, at the mercy of the Network and the consequences he'll face if he doesn't do what they say. They not only put the safety of himself and his family at risk constantly, but also [[KickTheDog taunt him at every opportunity]] to make sure he knows he's a puppet of theirs. His public appearances also tend to be humiliating. |
| 129 | * KickedUpstairs: Downplayed since he's not completely out of the picture, but by Season 2, [[spoiler:he's been promoted to Acting CEO of Corvadt following the death of Letts and the Assistant, while kept under the Network's thumb and with his family still in danger.]] |
| 130 | * TheMobBossIsScarier: |
| 131 | ** He's introduced as struggling to choose whether to overdose in a motel following the consequences of his cheating, or to take the instructions of a pimp he's now blackmailed by. He ultimately chooses the latter. |
| 132 | ** When confronted by [[spoiler:the main group with the opportunity to stop the Network's plans with the knowledge that he has]], he elects to call the police on them. As this is after [[spoiler: he's seemingly given the chance to reconcile with the Network and his wife over their situation]], Geoff knows it was because Michael wouldn't dare take risks. |
| 133 | * NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: Ultimately overcomes his submission to Geoff. |
| 134 | * PapaWolf: About the only thing that can get to him -- though it always works -- is any threat of "[[IHaveYourWife I Have Your Family]]". |
| 135 | * SixthRanger: His arc eventually collides with the main group's plot, and Milner sends them to ask that he provide the medical information they'll need to halt the Network. He then [[spoiler:[[SixthRangerTraitor sends the authorities after them]] to keep the Network's wrath at bay.]] However, [[spoiler:after Anya makes it clear that she's an undercover agent for them and that there is no baby, Michael kills her and joins the group's efforts for real.]] |
| 136 | * SixthRangerTraitor: He detests the Network but [[spoiler:chooses to not take the risk to expose them in working with the main group, instead sending the authorities after Grant when they come to his home]]. As the circumstances change and make themselves more apparent, [[SubvertedTrope however]], [[spoiler:he comes to truly join them by the end of Season 1]]. |
| 137 | * SympatheticAdulterer: He cheated on his infertile wife with a Russian prostitute, who he got pregnant, but the circumstances surrounding him tend to draw sympathy towards his plight. Things only worsen for him when he's at the mercy of the Network and must follow demands threatening the safety of his wife, who he genuinely cares about. [[spoiler:It's then revealed that said prostitute is actually an agent working for the Network, there is no baby, and that he's been played a fool much more than he already thought he was.]] |
| 138 | [[/folder]] |
| 139 | |
| 140 | [[folder:Jessica Hyde]] |
| 141 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Aine Garvey (Young) |
| 142 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jessica_hyde_3.jpg]] |
| 143 | |
| 144 | The main target of the Network, Jessica Hyde is the daughter of Philip Carvel, the author of ''The Utopia Experiments''. |
| 145 | ---- |
| 146 | * AbusiveParents: Regards Phillip Carvel as one. [[GuineaPigFamily And rightfully]] [[LivingMacGuffin so]]. |
| 147 | * ActionGirl: Completely, using guns, traps and close-quarter combat. |
| 148 | * BettyAndVeronica: The "Veronica" to Becky's "Betty" in a love triangle with Ian. |
| 149 | * BlueAndOrangeMorality: She relies on pure pragmatism and views no moral sides to the world, only categorizing people as those who help you and those that don't. Jessica kills with little remorse as she believes there can be no risks with anyone connected to the Network, and is willing to lie to Wilson about the safety of his father or torture enemies in order to keep things stable. This unsettles and at times outrages the others, but they learn from her as things grow dire. |
| 150 | * BrokenBird: Her caretaker[=/=]trainer was killed [[HarmfulToMinors before her very eyes as a teenager]]. [[spoiler:By her big brother, no less]]. She still has nightmares about it in adulthood. |
| 151 | * CainAndAbel: The revelation that [[spoiler:she and "Arby" are siblings]] turns her into the Abel to [[spoiler:his]] Cain throughout Season 1. Certain developments stop this in Season 2. |
| 152 | * CrazySurvivalist: There's no denying that her spending every day of her life on the run from [[TheConspiracy The Network]] has made her a little unhinged. |
| 153 | * DaddysGirl: Her father loved her enough that [[spoiler:he's willing to wipe away everyone who isn't of Roma blood off the planet...]] just so she can be protected. |
| 154 | -->'''Milner:''' "Can't you feel ''Daddy's love'' inside you?" |
| 155 | * DaddysLittleVillain: Deconstruction. Philip Carvel was abusive as she recognises, and she mostly just wants to get away from his legacy. |
| 156 | * DarkActionGirl: Jessica is even more ruthless than she is skilled at physical combat. |
| 157 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Courtesy of [[AbusiveParents Phillip Carvel]] and his [[ResignationsNotAccepted disgruntled ex-coworkers]]. |
| 158 | * {{Determinator}}: Jessica will stop at nothing to achieve her goals, and even being trapped in a cage inside an [[BlackSite ominous pyramid of doom]] for five months can't cow her. |
| 159 | * GoodIsNotNice: Jessica exemplifies this by insisting that the other characters cut off all contact with their loved ones and berating them for their stupidity, but succeeding in keeping them alive. On a number of occasions, she threatens to kill or seriously injure the members of the group if they step out of line. |
| 160 | * HypocriticalHumour: When Ian gets a little apprehensive with her, she, the emotionally-stunted woman with NoSocialSkills, asks him: "Why are you being so ''odd?''" |
| 161 | * IDidWhatIHadToDo: Jessica kills anyone who could possibly be used by the Network to find her. Ian [[WhatTheHellHero calls her out on this]], and she coldly informs him that if they leave witnesses behind they'll be dead within the week. |
| 162 | * ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: [[spoiler:Carvel chose her to carry Janus, and it gets her into a lot of trouble.]] Although, to be fair, it's not great to be anyone in the Utopia-verse, so downplayed. |
| 163 | * LackOfEmpathy: [[DarkAndTroubledPast Her experiences with Carvel and his associates]], followed by a life of constantly being on the run from ruthless conspirators, has stunted her emotions and made it difficult for her to form connections and have deeper attachments. The torture and death of her caretaker was one such event that compounded this for her. |
| 164 | * LivingMacGuffin: The Network is looking for her, with it being Arby's stated mission. [[spoiler: It turns out to be because Carvel hid Janus within her blood]]. |
| 165 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 166 | ** "Jessica Hyde" bears a resemblance to "Jekyll and Hyde," foreshadowing her dual role of good and evil and of being [[spoiler: the carrier of Janus, the genetic trigger named after the two-faced god]]. |
| 167 | ** Not only does her last name reference the fact that she's "hiding" from the Network, but there's also how [[spoiler:Arby's real name is Pietre, a version of "Peter". As he's Jessica's brother, with both being used in the plans of their father's partner Mr. Rabbit, would that make them [[Literature/TheTaleOfPeterRabbit Peter]] and [[Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit Jessica]]... Rabbit?]] |
| 168 | * NoSocialSkills: She employs BrutalHonesty and often thinks MurderIsTheBestSolution for nearly everything. Including petty arguments. Even her expressing attraction comes off as incredibly disconcerting and unnatural. Given the life she had, you could hardly blame her. |
| 169 | * ParentalFavoritism: Carvel cherished Jessica immensely, in stark contrast to [[spoiler:the ruthless experimentation and disregard he had for her brother]]. |
| 170 | -->'''Carvel:''' My love for Jessica was like a physical thing... an organ that didn't exist until she was born. And then it controlled... everything. |
| 171 | * SociopathicHero: Has no qualms about using torture and murder quite liberally to get what she wants. |
| 172 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: She goes by Jessica Hyde, which as Season 2 shows, [[spoiler:was from her obscuring a page of the Manuscript that said "Jessica hides"]]. |
| 173 | * StalkerWithACrush: [[spoiler: Jessica for Ian. After they have sex, she slips a mobile phone inside his parka so she can track him down later on]]. |
| 174 | * ThereAreTwoKindsOfPeopleInTheWorld: How she views things, [[GreyAndGrayMorality and she's not necessarily wrong]]. |
| 175 | -->'''Jessica:''' There are no sides. Just people who help you and people who don't. |
| 176 | * UnflinchingWalk: After blowing up a car. |
| 177 | * UnscrupulousHero: Has no qualms about lying and using torture and murder quite liberally to get what she wants. |
| 178 | * WaifFu: She easily kills The Tramp, who's larger and stands at a head taller than her, by grabbing a cloth, tying it around his neck, bringing him to the ground, and choking him to death with it. |
| 179 | [[/folder]] |
| 180 | |
| 181 | [[folder:Milner '''(MASSIVE SPOILERS)''']] |
| 182 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Geraldine James |
| 183 | An [=MI5=] agent who aids the group throughout their journey, but in truth is the very mastermind behind the Network playing them for fools. |
| 184 | ---- |
| 185 | For tropes related to her, see the folder for "Mr. Rabbit". |
| 186 | [[/folder]] |
| 187 | !The Network |
| 188 | |
| 189 | The mysterious organization resides at the center of a massive, complex conspiracy, seemingly bent on human genocide, whose member are the antagonists of ''Series/{{Utopia}}''. |
| 190 | [[folder:General Tropes]] |
| 191 | * AntiVillain: Arguably, following TheReveal of their intentions for designing the Russian flu. |
| 192 | * BigBad: The massive organization with vast reach and intentions on a global scale. |
| 193 | * TheBadGuyWins: Almost always, [[spoiler: including in the endings of both series]]. |
| 194 | * BenevolentConspiracy: From their point of view. |
| 195 | * TheConspiracy: A highly secretive group of people, created during the Cold War to counter the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopreparat Soviet Union's secret biological weapons programs]] in the 1970s (although details in Season 2 revealed that the Network had precedents a decade before that) and founded by two mysterious figures, who later on have a grand goal that will change the world and humanity as we know it. |
| 196 | * ColdEquation: Their ultimate goal is [[spoiler: the mass sterilization of the human race, in semi-selective destruction to cull the overpopulation crisis and ensuing conflicts by leaving one-in-twenty people safe]]. Letts is willing to compare their actions to Genghis Khan and his destructive conquests (as well as claiming that Hitler did what he do not out of racial prejudices, but out of the need for survival), in how [[spoiler: such monstrous actions will benefit the planet far better than the alternatives offered]]. |
| 197 | * CollectiveIdentity: It slowly becomes the case for [[spoiler: Mr. Rabbit. The Assistant carved the Chinese symbol for "Rabbit" into his stomach to act as a DecoyLeader for Milner, and when Milner begins to falter in leadership, Wilson and Leah decide ''they'' "are Mr. Rabbit". Wilson completes his succession by carving the symbol into his stomach as well at the end of Season 2.]] |
| 198 | * ConspiracyKitchenSink: Numerous real-life historical events from the deaths of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine_Pecorelli Carmine Pecorelli]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airey_Neave Airey Neave]] to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident 1979 Three Mile Island incident]] are connected to the Network in one way or another. |
| 199 | * CorporateConspiracy: They have certain companies like Corvadt Industries cooperating with them. |
| 200 | * GovernmentConspiracy: Though not necessarily run by any government, they have various members among different governments. |
| 201 | * HiddenAgendaVillain: They're known to kill those who know about them or their plans, persuade people to work for them through blackmail or threats on their loved ones, can fake footage and incidents to incriminate and intimidate their targets, and as in Season 1 later shows, [[spoiler: seemingly have an interest in eugenics]] upon further reading of the Manuscript. Yet their true intentions remain unknown until much later. |
| 202 | * HumansAreBastards: The Network worries about people escalating conflict when [[spoiler: the resources are limited and there are always more mouths to feed]]. Some of them outright detest people for ''having families''. |
| 203 | * {{Hypocrite}}: They claim utmost dedication to [[spoiler: saving humanity from overpopulation [[ColdEquation by sterilizing and diminishing mankind's growth]]]], abhorring letting personal values get in the way of everything, yet many of their higher-up members get cold feet when their plans are nearing completion. Of note is [[spoiler: Philip coming to cherish the birth of his daughter and having second thoughts, Milner trying to keep said daughter alive a little bit longer for the sentimental connection it gives her to Philip, and Gorski wanting to keep his life and regretting the sleeper agents despite believing his isolated life has become meaningless]]. |
| 204 | * LackOfEmpathy: Many of their ranks are self-centered, sociopathic, or incapable of feeling emotions and sympathy for others. Some have been conditioned to be this way, granting them the mindset they need to accomplish their assignments. |
| 205 | * MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: How they tend to cover up certain deaths, some being small-scale, others reaching [[ConspiracyKitchenSink historical impact]]. |
| 206 | * MisanthropeSupreme: ZigZagged. They genuinely think they can help humanity with their intentions, which are [[spoiler: meant to reduce the populace significantly]] without any racial bias, but certain figures believe HumansAreBastards to varying degrees. This sentiment is best seen with their sleeper agents, who think they're saving the world with the [[spoiler: death and sterilizations they'll cause]]. Terrance deems ''the raising of a child'' a "selfish" and harmful act for what it does to the environment. |
| 207 | * ANaziByAnyOtherName: |
| 208 | ** When the heroes discover the Manuscript's focus on [[spoiler: races that can handle certain viruses and genetics, they fear selective destruction of humanity]]. Letts [[DefiedTrope swears]] the Network has no racial bias when trying to [[spoiler: cull the population, however]]. |
| 209 | ** Back when Mr. Rabbit and Carvel were founding the Network in its early stages, the Assistant noticed [[spoiler: Carvel's choice to adapt the virus so only a certain group of people would be immune, comparing it to the machinations of the Third Reich. Carvell's experience with the actual Nazis drove him to this.]] |
| 210 | * NebulousCriminalConspiracy: Their connections can go from legitimate enterprises and [[TheEveryman everyday people]] to criminals like pimps. |
| 211 | * NebulousEvilOrganisation: The Network's reach spans bodies, both lawful and unlawful, and transcends specific governments. |
| 212 | * NeverSuicide: Their tracks are covered with the murders of their targets made to look like suicide, if not accidents. |
| 213 | * NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: Occasional in Season 1, more noticeable by Season 2. |
| 214 | ** After Conran Letts is deemed [[spoiler:compromised for letting their plans be known]], the Assistant hands Geoff [[spoiler:a rope to strangle him with]]. Geoff is incredulous at being made to follow orders, and the Assistant simply says a few more words to urge him. |
| 215 | ** At the starting flashback episode of Season 2, Carvel is [[spoiler: far too conflicted with his plans following the birth of Jessica]], while Milner has trouble trying to convince him to follow their plans. In the next episode, Geoff tries to argue against announcing simultaneous vaccinations because he wants to keep his power, and Milner finds herself arguing with Leah after [[spoiler: Jessica is held within their facilities, unwilling to just bisect her to retrieve Janus in its entirety just because she is wrapped up in preserving the last connection she has to Carvel.]] |
| 216 | * TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: There were several founding members whose backgrounds are rather elusive. Scenes with their leadership leave them commenting on whether things are going according to their machinations or not, with certain figures turning out to have more or less power than initially perceived. |
| 217 | * ResignationsNotAccepted: Members of all ranks cannot leave or abandon their missions while knowing everything they have about the Network. They ''will'' find a way to get you back or to end your life if you will not cooperate. |
| 218 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: The Network's conspirators come from all sorts of backgrounds, for both legitimate and criminal enterprises, getting people to work in the favor of "[[KnowsAGuyWhoKnowsAGuy friends]]" one way or another. The Russian pimp that blackmails Dugdale is one example. |
| 219 | * SuicideMission: Certain members know they won't survive their assignments, or accept certain roles they know will mean the end of their lives. Some do it willingly, while others don't realize this was the case for them [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness until it's too late]]. |
| 220 | * UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Everything they do, they claim is for a better world. Hence the name of the series. |
| 221 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: They want to address [[spoiler:humanity's overpopulation and the inevitable conflicts that will ensue over resources]], and they intend to [[spoiler: cull mankind with a spread of viruses]]. |
| 222 | [[/folder]] |
| 223 | |
| 224 | !!Founders and Leadership |
| 225 | Everyone in this section is a WalkingSpoiler, so all spoilers within this section are unmarked. Open the folders at your own risk. |
| 226 | [[folder:Mr. Rabbit]] |
| 227 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Geraldine James, Creator/RoseLeslie (as young Milner) |
| 228 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/milner.jpg]] |
| 229 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see a younger Milner]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/milneryoung.png[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 230 | |
| 231 | The mysterious leader of the Network, and one of its co-founders; masquerading as an [=MI5=] agent aiding the heroes on their journey. |
| 232 | ---- |
| 233 | * BigBad: Having masqueraded as the BigGood throughout Series 1, she's actually just manipulating the heroes so she can have what they want. |
| 234 | * BigGood: Only [[NominalHero nominally]]; it was all a facade to see the heroes do some of the dirty work for her. |
| 235 | * TheChessmaster: |
| 236 | ** Mr. Rabbit was said to have manipulated mob syndicates, the CIA, and the Russians during his time in China's criminal underworld, pitting them against each other. As head of the Network following Carvel's departure, he is responsible for the decisions the conspirators take to see their plans through. |
| 237 | ** She plays both sides multiple times and has spoken her way out of danger or to see the results she wants, playing the main cast for fools at the end of Season 1. |
| 238 | * ClingyJealousGirl: Concerning Jessica Hyde; from the moment she was born, Carvel loves Jessica enough for him to have doubts about his work, causing Milner to comment that she's "losing him". When she captures Jessica at the end of Series 1, Milner takes special delight in telling her that Janus was inside her ("Can't you feel ''Daddy's love'' inside you?"). And in Series 2, #5, when Carvel reveals that he altered Janus so that Jessica would survive and carry on humanity. |
| 239 | -->'''Milner:''' ...You did this for her? |
| 240 | * DeepCoverAgent: Appears to operate both as an actual government spy and as the head of the Network, simultaneously. |
| 241 | * DiedInYourArmsTonight: Dies while she's being cradled by Philip Carvel. |
| 242 | * DoubleAgent: Infiltrates the main group opposing the Network, while acting as the Network's leader. |
| 243 | * DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: Milner claims to be working for [=MI-5=] when she introduces herself as the main group's [[TheTeamBenefactor benefactor]], and they come into conflict when Ian and the others discover she's been working with the Network as well. She claims she's only working with them to infiltrate and intercept the conspiracy's plans and promises she has the heroes' interests in mind. When they're captured and stuck in bindings, she looks as though she's about to execute them, only to shoot the Network's agents and assist in their escape. Then at the end of Season 1, it's revealed that she not only willingly works with the Network to further their goals, but has also been ''their leader'' "Mr. Rabbit" this whole time. |
| 244 | * TheDreaded: Milner tells terrifying stories of Mr. Rabbit's history as an assassin and spy prior to the Network, which has established them as an unstoppable and all-pervasive force, an enemy virtually impossible to fight back against -- not least because nobody knows who they are. |
| 245 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: |
| 246 | ** She has a "higher form of love" for Philip Carvel and was more concerned about having lost him than his work when his split and escape from the Network happened. |
| 247 | ** Said love extends to his children, as she develops a warped sense of care for Jessica and hesitates to have her dissected for Janus since she's the last connection she has to Carvel. It even applies to Arby[=/=]Pietre, telling him about how "incredible" his father was and embracing him upon his return to the Network. |
| 248 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: In the Series 2 premiere, Milner is shocked when Philip tells her that Pietre's behavior -- which leads to Philip's wife had him arrested for child endangerment -- is due to experiments Philip performed on him. His excuse is that Pietre was the only human test subject he had on hand. |
| 249 | * EvilOldFolks: She's been working towards her ideal world for over 40 years. |
| 250 | * EvilRedhead: In the 70s. |
| 251 | * TheFaceless: Mr. Rabbit has gone to great lengths to shield his appearance from the public, making sure to kill every mobster and passerby that saw his face as he escaped Guangdong. He can only be identified by the carved Chinese character "Rabbit" on his stomach. It's eventually revealed that Milner was Mr. Rabbit this whole time, while the Assistant would throw others off by carving the symbol onto himself. |
| 252 | * GenderConcealingWriting: The alias "Mr. Rabbit" neatly deflects scrutiny off of her. |
| 253 | * LikeAGodToMe: Philip Carvel is this to her. |
| 254 | -->'''Milner:''' I said you were a god. And you were. |
| 255 | * LoveMakesYouDumb: Milner's love for Philip Carvel invokes this trope. He is forgiven by her for doing things (trying to leak Janus to the press on more than one occasion) that would have any other person killed by the Network. After Jessica is born, he's allowed to keep the baby. And when he reveals that his 'adjustment' to Janus nullifies the vaccine for Russian flu - meaning that 98% of humanity would be sterile and then die horribly and quickly, as opposed to the Network's original plan of 95% of humanity dying quietly over a generation or two - she ''still'' goes ahead with the plan. |
| 256 | * TheManBehindTheMan: She is the woman behind the Assistant, who was in turn behind Letts and Geoff. |
| 257 | * MobWar: According to Milner, Mr. Rabbit was embroiled in criminal feuds that pulled government agencies into the mix, playing every faction for fools, until [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs one Triad boss]] was tipped off to his identity and had him tortured. Mr. Rabbit gained his moniker when said boss carved his name into his stomach. |
| 258 | * MysteriousPast: An [=MI-5=] agent (or so she claims) that is, in truth, one of the two infamous founders of the Network, "Mr. Rabbit". While her time with Carvel and the Assistant during the conspiracy's early years are shown, other events, such as the MobWar in China and the carving of the Chinese symbol for "Rabbit", are not elaborated upon when she's asked about it--and [[UnreliableNarrator might not even be true]] due to Milner's penchant for deception. |
| 259 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Milner isn't actually her real name, but an alias, as no one knows her true name. However, it's implied that "Letan" is her actual name, as [[TheDragon The Assistant]] is the only person to refer to her as Letan. |
| 260 | * TheTeamBenefactor: She offers assistance and advice to the group after the Manuscript. [[DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent It's merely just to get the outcomes she wants]]. |
| 261 | * UnresolvedSexualTension: Between Milner and Philip Carvel. Milner's then-husband, Tom, calls what's going on between them a "higher" form of love. |
| 262 | * WideEyedIdealist: Deconstructed in her backstory. She's seen horrible things in her life even before her involvement with Carvel and the creation of the Network. So when Carvel presents a scheme to save the world, no matter the cost, Milner goes ahead with it, and ''still'' pushes forward with it even after her initial objections around what Carvel intended to do, and even beyond Carvel's own objections, no matter how many people she has to put in body bags. And it's thousands of them by the sound of it. |
| 263 | [[/folder]] |
| 264 | |
| 265 | [[folder:The Assistant]] |
| 266 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' James Fox, Ed Birch (as the young Assistant) |
| 267 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/assistant.jpg]] |
| 268 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see his younger self]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/assistantyoung.png[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 269 | |
| 270 | Letts' assistant, a high-ranking member of Corvadt Industries. Series 2 reveals that he was a spy in the Cold War and was a founding member of the Network as well as a close associate of Mr. Rabbit. |
| 271 | ---- |
| 272 | * BeardOfEvil: Ominous and commanding within the conspiracy, and has a soul patch. Season 2's flashback episode shows he sported the look when he was young as well. |
| 273 | * DecoyLeader: Such a devoted follower of Mr. Rabbit and the Network that he even carved the Rabbit symbol into his chest, so anybody who killed him would be completely convinced he was Mr. Rabbit. |
| 274 | * TheDragon: To Mr. Rabbit, aka Milner. |
| 275 | * DragonInChief: Has much greater authority than Letts, and before the finale of Season 1, was the most antagonistic to the main group compared to the real Mr. Rabbit. |
| 276 | * EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Only recognized as "The Assistant". |
| 277 | * EvilOldFolks: Very old, and one of the founding members of the Network. |
| 278 | * KickTheSonOfABitch: Orders Geoff around and forces him to kill Letts, the latter of which pretty much deserved his fate. |
| 279 | * NoNameGiven: His real name is never given out, and he's only referred to as "The Assistant" in the credits. |
| 280 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: Unknowingly does this to Philip. He compares Philip's favoring immunity to his disease for one race over others to "the Third fucking Reich", not knowing Philip experienced their concentration camps firsthand. |
| 281 | * SlashedThroat: Grant gives him one via a piece of plastic broken off of a laptop. |
| 282 | * SpellMyNameWithAThe: ''The'' Assistant. He may be mistaken to be the assistant to Letts, only to be seemingly portrayed as the true head of the Network, [[DecoyLeader until it's later shown]] he's subordinate to the ''actual'' Mr. Rabbit. |
| 283 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: His reason for ordering Letts' death. |
| 284 | [[/folder]] |
| 285 | |
| 286 | [[folder:Philip Carvel]] |
| 287 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/IanMcDiarmid, Tom Burke (as young Philip) |
| 288 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/philip_carvel.jpg]] |
| 289 | |
| 290 | A brilliant scientist, the other co-founder of the Network, and the author of ''The Utopia Experiments'' under the pseudonym Mark Dane. |
| 291 | ---- |
| 292 | * AbusiveParents: Used his own children for scientific experiments, resulting in one becoming an emotionless sociopath and the other socially stunted and largely unscrupulous. He insists that he loves Jessica, however, even though he plants a bioweapon inside of her, making her the target of a ruthless genocidal conspiracy. |
| 293 | * BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Was motivated to use his intellect for something greater after escaping the Nazis, but went on to engineer things at a much greater scale of genocide than they could ever hope to achieve. And despite his scathing remarks about humanity's desire to spread leading to overpopulation, his views changed significantly following the birth of his daughter. |
| 294 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: In the modern day, he seems like a confused elderly man and only rambles in Romani. But Donaldson discovers that he cracked Deel's syndrome, and how it works... only the surfaces of the basement. As he's actually Phillip Carvel, he may not only know about it, he could've been responsible for it. |
| 295 | * DeadpanSnarker: In his younger years. |
| 296 | * EvilutionaryBiologist: Downplayed. [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Traumatized]] [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII by man's brutality to man]], he went as far as to [[GuineaPigFamily experiment on his own children]], to diminish the impulse of violence -- [[GoneHorriblyWrong but it backfired horribly]]. He also wrote a paper on eugenics advocating a human cull and all but stated that during the creation of Janus, he wanted it adjusted to work on 95%-98% of the world's population, choosing one ethnic group to survive, to the shock of his colleagues. He later reveals that he went ahead with it anyway, but expresses deep regret over this, and can't even mention the adjustment without breaking down, and it is eventually discovered that the Roma people are immune to Janus. |
| 297 | -->'''Philip Carvel:''' I only wanted to help evolution... |
| 298 | * FakingTheDead: His death was falsely reported to get him away from the Network's trails, allowing him to survive to the present day. |
| 299 | * ForScience: Wanted to use his mind to help the world after his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, and it eventually brought him to his dangerous experimentation. |
| 300 | * HeelRealization: He came to regret starting the Network's near-genocidal mission, leading to a divide between himself and Mr. Rabbit. In the present, now a senile old man, he dreads seeing the agenda put into motion, and when reunited with Milner before he can recognize her, says they should kill themselves in cries of anguish. |
| 301 | * IHaveManyNames: Philip Carvel, Mark Dane, and Anton. |
| 302 | * InsufferableGenius: He's smart. And he knows it. This stops when his ideas start making headway in the Network, and he starts having second thoughts. [[SanitySlippage He eventually loses his marbles altogether]]. |
| 303 | * {{Jerkass}}: Let us put it as straightforward as possible: Carvel ''is not'' a good man. Not only was he extremely abrasive during his youth, but he also deliberately experimented on his children (he justified them by stating that he didn't have any other human subjects). Then there's that whole "let the human race die horribly, except for the Roma people" thing. But then, by the end, even he realized how fucked up that plan was. |
| 304 | * MadArtist: He's a talented artist as well, and created ''"The Utopia Experiments"'' in the form of a comic book/manuscript. However, he went insane shortly after completing them. |
| 305 | * MadScientist: By the end of his career. |
| 306 | * ANaziByAnyOtherName: His engineering of Janus is meant to only keep the Roma people safe, dooming the rest of the world, instead of the unbiased sterilization the Network was hoping for. He made this his plan following the experiences he and his people had during the Third Reich's reign, having escaped a concentration camp as a boy. |
| 307 | * ObfuscatingStupidity: Played with when he was younger. Not so much now, since he's genuinely mentally unstable. |
| 308 | * SanitySlippage: By the time he writes ''The Utopia Experiments''. |
| 309 | * TheUnfavorite: [[spoiler: Pietre[=/=]Arby]]. What makes it worse is that what makes [[spoiler: Pietre]] this to him, is something that was ''his own fault'' to begin with. |
| 310 | * TheUnfettered: Experimented on his own son, and developed ideas for mass sterilization of the human race to combat overpopulation. However, the birth of his beloved Jessica slowly turned him away from this motivation. |
| 311 | [[/folder]] |
| 312 | |
| 313 | !!Operatives |
| 314 | [[folder:Conran Letts]] |
| 315 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/StephenRea |
| 316 | [[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conran_letts.jpg]] |
| 317 | |
| 318 | A high-ranking member of Corvadt Industries. |
| 319 | ---- |
| 320 | * AlasPoorVillain: Though not much, he's a bit more sympathetic than the rest of the Network. |
| 321 | * AssholeVictim: Was abrasive and demeaning to Dugdale and is a corrupt CEO in league with the Network. Nobody in the cast misses him after [[spoiler: he's ordered to be strangled to death]]. |
| 322 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive: CEO of Corvadt Ltd., responsible for the vaccines the Network intends to manipulate. |
| 323 | * DecoyLeader: First appears to be the head of the Network. [[spoiler: Then it turns out The Assistant is really his master. ''Then'' it turns out the Assistant is a decoy of Mr. Rabbit]]. |
| 324 | * TheDragon: To [[spoiler: the Assistant]]. |
| 325 | * HannibalLecture: Speaks quite rationally and persuasively about his mass-murderous ideology. Ian isn't convinced, [[spoiler: but Wilson is]]. |
| 326 | * SlouchOfVillainy: Leans back and forth in his fancy leather chair when talking down to people like Dugdale. |
| 327 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: After being caught by the heroes, the Assistant orders his death]]. |
| 328 | [[/folder]] |
| 329 | |
| 330 | [[folder:Geoff Lawson]] |
| 331 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Alistair Petrie |
| 332 | [[quoteright:154:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_602.jpeg]] |
| 333 | |
| 334 | The Secretary of State for Health, secretly working for the Network. |
| 335 | ---- |
| 336 | * AssholeVictim: One of [[spoiler:the Network's]] least sympathetic victims. |
| 337 | * FauxAffablyEvil: He's able to be very charming when he wants to be, but drops the friendly facade when he gets down to business, especially to Dugdale. |
| 338 | * {{Jerkass}}: He's generally unpleasant in all scenes involving him. |
| 339 | * VillainsWantMercy: |
| 340 | ** He's told that the Network's plans for vaccination will be simultaneous administration, which will end his role in the conspiracy. He makes every bargain and threat he possibly can to keep his power for a bit longer. |
| 341 | ** Geoff resorts to [[spoiler: offering Dugdale a chance to leak information regarding the Network and to deal a blow to their operations. Dugdale has other plans and beats him down after all the years of being kept under his abusive thumb]]. |
| 342 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: The Network only needs him around to help distribute vaccines. Once that's out of the way, they'll stop helping him and his career. [[spoiler:They eventually make good on this intention.]] |
| 343 | [[/folder]] |
| 344 | |
| 345 | !!Assassins |
| 346 | [[folder:"Arby" / [[spoiler:Pietre]]]] |
| 347 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Neil Maskell |
| 348 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arby.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:"''Where is Jessica Hyde?''"]] |
| 349 | |
| 350 | An assassin employed by the Network, later discovers that he has a more personal connection to the organization than it first appeared. He eventually finds out that [[spoiler: his real name is Pietre, and he's really the son of one of the Network founders, Philip Carvel, as well as the brother of Jessica Hyde]]. |
| 351 | ---- |
| 352 | * AnimalMotifs: Rabbits, especially in Season 2. |
| 353 | * BigEater: Eats a full English breakfast at a diner quite often. |
| 354 | * CainAndAbel: The revelation that he's actually [[spoiler:Philip's son and Jessica's brother]] renders him as the Abel to [[spoiler:her]] Cain throughout Season 1. Certain developments stop this in Season 2. |
| 355 | * CatchPhrase: "[[ArcWords Where is Jessica Hyde?]]" It gets a brief CallBack in Season 2, where he's [[spoiler: not with the Network anymore]]. |
| 356 | * CharacterTics: When he shoots someone, he has a tendency to raise his free hand in front of his face, covering the gun and the target from his sight for a moment. Why exactly he does this is never explained. |
| 357 | * CreepyMonotone: He almost always speaks with the same dull effect, ''especially'' when it comes to horrible things. |
| 358 | * TheDreaded: The heroes come to fear his appearance, knowing how ruthless and effective of a killer he is. As we see in Season 2, [[spoiler: his father grew fearful of his behavior (ignoring how much his own experimentation helped cause this)]] and even [[spoiler:''Lee'' fears him and what he's capable of]]. |
| 359 | * EmbarrassingNickname: Arby turns out to mean "R.B." as initials. It's short for "Raisin Boy". |
| 360 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: |
| 361 | ** By the end of Season 1 and into Season 2, [[spoiler: he starts worrying about Jessica when they discover they're siblings, who return his care for her when they're reunited]]. He also grows to [[spoiler: steer Grant away from trying to be like him]]. |
| 362 | ** He's [[spoiler: started a family of his own at the start of Season 2, and when the Network comes around to take him back, he hesitates until Lee starts threatening them]]. He later takes an opportunity to [[spoiler: forge new identities for the three of them, but only to make sure his girlfriend and daughter escape to somewhere isolated]]. |
| 363 | * EvilCounterpart: To Jessica. Both are [[LonersAreFreaks loners]], [[CrazySurvivalist pragmatic survivalists]], and trained killers. [[spoiler:They're even siblings.]] But Jessica has always been on the run from the Network, while it's Arby's mission to get her for them. |
| 364 | * FreudianExcuse: His father killed his pet rabbit in front of him when he was just a baby and it was all downhill from there. [[spoiler:Carvel not only experimented on him beforehand, but also grew to favor his sister Jessica.]] |
| 365 | * HeelFaceTurn: After finding out who he really is, [[spoiler:he slowly turns away from the Network. By Season 2 he's actively helping Jessica and the group.]] |
| 366 | * InappropriateRoleModel: In Season 2, he finds himself becoming this to [[spoiler: Grant, who wants to become an emotionless killer like him]]. He refuses to see this happen. |
| 367 | * InsistentTerminology: After discovering [[spoiler:his real name, he refuses to be called Arby again]]. |
| 368 | * ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: He does this in Season 2, [[spoiler: telling his girlfriend and her daughter to escape and live a new life under new identities without him, so the Network and other affiliates can't go after them]]. |
| 369 | * LackOfEmpathy: He notes that he cannot feel remorse for killing and cannot sympathize with others easily. [[spoiler:It's mostly thanks to the experiments of his father.]] |
| 370 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 371 | ** "Arby" is actually initials, "R.B.", which stood for "Raisin Boy". Alternatively, due to his LackOfEmpathy and eventual [[spoiler: desire to gain the feeling of care for others]], it can be interpreted as "[[BecomeARealBoy Real Boy]]". |
| 372 | ** His real name turns out to be [[spoiler:"Pietre", a ''Romanian'' variant of "Peter". Knowing the rabbit motifs following him and his work for Mr. Rabbit's organization, his name might be construed as "[[Literature/TheTaleOfPeterRabbit Peter Rabbit]]"]]. |
| 373 | * PsychopathicManchild: He kills and causes pain without remorse at command, while at the same time he has extremely stunted emotional development. Once he actually tries to socialize with other people, his attempts are ''very'' clumsy. |
| 374 | * SkilledButNaive: He's an efficient agent for the Network and is successful in the missions set by them and himself, but he lacks social experience and empathy. |
| 375 | * TheSociopath: Kills with no remorse or hesitation whatsoever. Then it's revealed in season two that [[spoiler: he was experimented on by his father as a child,]] implying that he was made into one. |
| 376 | * TheUnfavourite: His father abandoned him without a second thought while being prepared to die for his daughter, [[spoiler: Jessica.]] |
| 377 | * TheUnsmile: He tries his hardest to put up a genuine smile, but his trouble with emotions is a detriment to it. |
| 378 | * WouldHurtAChild: Would kill one. That said, it seems to spark his eventual rebellion against the Network. |
| 379 | [[/folder]] |
| 380 | |
| 381 | [[folder:Lee]] |
| 382 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Paul Ready |
| 383 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lee_4.jpg]] |
| 384 | |
| 385 | * AffablyEvil: So affable, he can convince people to gas ''themselves'' to death. |
| 386 | * BoomHeadshot: How [[spoiler: Wilson kills him in Season 2]], for real this time since Lee is the only one left from the Network who is opposing [[spoiler: Wilson]] in so many ways. |
| 387 | * ColdBloodedTorture: Courtesy of his [[EyeScream spoon and various powders.]] |
| 388 | * EvilCripple: After being shot by Wilson, his left arm is completely paralyzed due to nerve damage. This doesn't make him any less dangerous or evil, however. |
| 389 | * {{Foil}}: To Arby. Whereas Arby is an assassin who had a serious case of [[LackOfEmpathy a lack of empathy]] towards human emotions, in general, which in turn causes him to have a hard time in expressing himself, Lee on the other hand seems to have a better grasp on human emotions (and [[AffablyEvil expressing himself]]), only to use it for his self-benefits. |
| 390 | * MustHaveNicotine: He's fond of smoking, to the point where he risks lighting a cigarette while he and Arby are staging a gas leak. This is a vulnerability for him, as he gets out of the room Wilson is tortured in to grab a smoke, giving Wilson a chance to escape. |
| 391 | * SmugSnake: Delivers his lines confidently and constantly sports a facial expression of self-assurance. |
| 392 | * SharpDressedMan: Sports a nice navy blue suit in season 1 and a canary yellow up for season 2. |
| 393 | * TortureTechnician: With a particular specialty for eyes, as poor Wilson found out. |
| 394 | [[/folder]] |
| 395 | |
| 396 | [[folder:Terrence]] |
| 397 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Steven Robertson |
| 398 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terrence.jpg]] |
| 399 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Nothing produces carbon like a first-world human, yet you created one. Why would you do that?"'']] |
| 400 | |
| 401 | One of three Network sleeper agents responsible for executing their plan in series 2. |
| 402 | ---- |
| 403 | * BoomHeadshot: How [[spoiler:Ian deals with him]]. |
| 404 | * BrainwashedAndCrazy: Conditioned to fervently execute the Network's plans, like his fellow agents. |
| 405 | * BurgerFool: Works as a cashier at a [[BlandNameProduct Burger Station]]. |
| 406 | * DeadpanSnarker: Offers to kill a child right in front of his mother as a "favor" for the environment, and makes a snide comment about one of his targets' occupations as a fishmonger. |
| 407 | * DeepCoverAgent: Working for the Network and biding his time as a lowly fast food cashier until he's called. |
| 408 | * {{Determinator}}: He's [[spoiler:stabbed in the stomach by Ian and incapacitated to the point where he can't stand on his own]]. Still, he's so dedicated to seeing his mission through he resorts to crawling with the canister in his arms. |
| 409 | * TheDreaded: One of plenty of sleeper agents with the mission to spread a deadly disease, whose reputations put fear and regret into their creators. |
| 410 | * FauxAffablyEvil: He's polite, always calm, and smiling when working his day job at a fast food joint, even in the face of rude customers. It's all an act to hide the ruthless and robotic agent he really is, best seen when he belittles a mother for the "act" of having a son. |
| 411 | * HannibalLecture: Summarizes the Network's motives quite well in an iconic monologue in the final episode of Season 2, in which he argues the very act of childbirth is inherently selfish and enormously destructive for the planet. |
| 412 | * ManchurianAgent: His behavior shifts when he's contacted by [[spoiler: Milner]] and told the code words to unleash the virus. |
| 413 | * WouldHurtAChild: [[SarcasmMode Generously]] offers to murder a woman's child to remove the burden he'll put on the environment. He ends up not doing so, leaving it unclear if the suggestion was literal. |
| 414 | [[/folder]] |
| 415 | !Supporters |
| 416 | !!Grant Leetham's arc |
| 417 | [[folder:Alice Ward]] |
| 418 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Emilia Jones |
| 419 | |
| 420 | A schoolgirl Grant befriends. |
| 421 | |
| 422 | * BreakTheCutie: Her mother is shot dead in front of her, leading her to have a complete mental breakdown. |
| 423 | * HappilyAdopted: At the end of Series One by Dugdale. |
| 424 | [[/folder]] |
| 425 | |
| 426 | !!Michael Dugdale's arc |
| 427 | [[folder:Anya]] |
| 428 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Anna Madeley |
| 429 | |
| 430 | A Russian prostitute whom Dugdale unintentionally impregnates. |
| 431 | |
| 432 | * DeepCoverAgent: [[spoiler: So deep she even has sex with her target just to complete her disguise as a prostitute.]] |
| 433 | [[/folder]] |
| 434 | |
| 435 | [[folder:Jen Dugdale]] |
| 436 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/RuthGemmell |
| 437 | |
| 438 | Michael Dugdale's unfortunate wife. |
| 439 | |
| 440 | * BewareTheNiceOnes |
| 441 | * NiceGirl: She's such a kind-hearted woman that even she can't find herself hating Dugdale after realizing he's been sleeping with a prostitute. Even more so, she actually gets Grant (the main characters' resident BrattyHalfPint) into following her orders to be orderly in her home, something that Dugdale himself can't do. |
| 442 | [[/folder]] |
| 443 | |
| 444 | !!Becky's arc |
| 445 | [[folder:Christian Donaldson]] |
| 446 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Simon [=McBurney=] (Series One), Michael Maloney (Series Two) |
| 447 | |
| 448 | * AssholeVictim: Absolutely no one grieves for him when he's killed off by Lee in Series 2. |
| 449 | * HateSink: He is nothing short of irredeemable throughout the series, treating Becky like a plaything, and he actually occupies the spot for being the ''single most despicable'' character in the series even when compared to the likes of the Network's members. It says a lot when Arby, a man who literally [[WouldHurtAChild killed several innocent children]], has more humanity than him. |
| 450 | * ICouldaBeenAContender: He was a rising star in Corvadt Inc. until he discovered that the SARS virus was engineered, and sought to tell everyone. In response, Corvadt propped up [[HookersAndBlow a sex scandal involving him]], and he was subsequently demoted. He now wants the ''Utopia Experiments'' manuscript as leverage to strike a new deal with The Network. |
| 451 | * JerkAss |
| 452 | * JerkWithAHeartOfJerk |
| 453 | * ManipulativeBastard: Throughout the entire series, he's been manipulating Becky to get her the ''Utopia Experiments'' manuscript under the promise of treatment for her illness. [[spoiler: He's just been drugging her the whole time, and her symptoms were the body withdrawing from the opium she was actually given]]. |
| 454 | * MoneyDearBoy: Donaldson doesn't care about what The Network is planning to do, he even on some level agrees with them: He just wants the manuscript to cut a deal with The Network, and get rich, caustically noting that a mere pension plan will not save you from the global economic meltdown that will happen once The Network's plan goes into fruition. |
| 455 | * ReassignedToAntarctica: For claiming to his superiors that SARS wasn't a real epidemic, and hit with a sex scandal to boot. |
| 456 | * TheReveal: He turned out to be the mysterious contact Becky spoke to over the phone. |
| 457 | [[/folder]] |
| 458 | |
| 459 | [[folder:Marius]] |
| 460 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Emil Hostina |
| 461 | |
| 462 | A Romanian immigrant who Becky hires to translate Anton's ramblings. |
| 463 | |
| 464 | * EverybodyHasStandards: As JerkAss as he is, even he is shocked upon learning [[spoiler: Carvel's (Anton's) past as a Holocaust survivor from the Belzec extermination camp]], the third-deadliest extermination camp after Treblinka and Auschwitz. |
| 465 | * JerkAss: He may be invaluable to the group in learning Anton's past, but he proves to be a massive prick outside of that. |
| 466 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler: Is killed in the same episode he's introduced. Not that it stops Becky from having hallucinations of him taunting her.]] |
| 467 | |
| 468 | [[/folder]] |
| 469 | |
| 470 | !!Jessica Hyde's arc |
| 471 | [[folder:Christos]] |
| 472 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Simon Blackhall (Series One), William Belchambers (Series Two) |
| 473 | |
| 474 | A mysterious man who decades ago saved Philip Carvel from The Network and took Jessica Hyde under his wing. |
| 475 | |
| 476 | * DefiantToTheEnd: Arby says he did not say a single word while he was tortured to death. |
| 477 | * MysteriousPast: By the end of the series he is possibly the biggest mystery that remains. Who was Christos? Why did he come to save Carvel and adopt Jessica? How did he know about anything that was going on? Was he working alone or as part of some organization? All unknown. |
| 478 | * PosthumousCharacter: He is long dead when the series begins. He gets a brief appearance in the whole-episode flashback at the start of the second season. |
| 479 | |
| 480 | [[/folder]] |
| 481 | |
| 482 | !!Other Characters |
| 483 | [[folder:Bejan]] |
| 484 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/MarkStobbart |
| 485 | |
| 486 | The first member of the group to get a hold of ''The Utopia Experiments'', which he was killed soon afterward. |
| 487 | |
| 488 | * DecoyProtagonist: Unceremoniously killed in the very first episode. |
| 489 | * HeKnowsTooMuch: The Network shows him as little mercy as they do anyone else who endangers their plans. |
| 490 | * SacrificialLamb: You may think he becomes part of the Protagonists. Nope, doesn't even live through the first episode. |
| 491 | * TheTeamBenefactor: Was going to be this, as a wealthy man and the original owner of the manuscript. Unfortunately, the Network gets to him first. |
| 492 | [[/folder]] |
| 493 | |
| 494 | [[folder:Anton ('''UNMARKED SPOILERS''')]] |
| 495 | ->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/IanMcDiarmid |
| 496 | |
| 497 | An elderly, senile Romani man Becky meets through Donaldson, with a clear interest in science and the Janus formula. In truth, he is Philip Carvel himself - hiding from the Network under a new identity. |
| 498 | |
| 499 | For tropes related to him, see [[Characters/UtopiaTheNetwork here]]. |
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