Characters of Intelligence.
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United States Cyber Command
Gabriel Vaughn
Played by: Josh Holloway
A former Delta Force Tier 1 operator now working for US Cyber Command. Gabriel possesses a rare genetic mutation that allowed Cybercom to implant a computer chip in his head that allows him to organically access any computerized system featuring wireless I/O.
- Code Name: "Clockwork", the codename for the chip-enhanced intelligence officer project, is used both to refer to the project and to Gabriel himself.
- Cyborg: Has a chip in his head that allows him to access pretty much anything cybernetic, especially the internet.
- Deadpan Snarker: The season finale shows that he inherited this from his mother.
- Empowered Badass Normal: Chip aside, Gabriel is wholly human. The rest of his skills and abilities are from being a former Delta Force operator.
- Establishing Character Moment: The Action Prologue of the pilot. Gabriel busts into an Indian military compound in the Himalayas by letting himself get captured, then plants a computer virus and busts back out.
- Experienced Protagonist: As mentioned in the show, he used to be with Delta Force prior to working with Cyber Command.
- Genius Bruiser: You don't get into Delta Force without good test scores. In college, Gabriel had a 3.8 GPA and played three sports in addition to his experience in the military.
- Jumped at the Call: He volunteered for Clockwork.
- Manchild: For a former Delta Force operator he can be quite cockily silly at times. Among other things, reference him pranking Riley by chipping an EKG machine to fake a flatline in "Patient Zero".
- Military Brat: Mentions in an early episode that he's the fifth generation of Vaughns to go off to war, but the first one to come back.
- The season finale reveals his mother was very much against him joining the military, following in the footsteps of his father and brother, both of whom died in combat.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Him and his mother.
- X-Ray Vision: Among the abilities the chip gives him. As long as he's got access to satellite coverage or security cameras, he can see through walls.
Riley Neil
Played by: Meghan Ory
A former US Secret Service agent who was permanently transferred to Cyber Command under orders from Lillian, who was then assigned to protect Gabriel and the very expensive hardware in his head.
- Action Girl: Requirement of a woman in the Secret Service.
- Badass Normal: Riley is just a Secret Service agent, has no chip, and hasn't had the same training and conditioning Gabriel has. But she's no less badass, as "Secrets of the Secret Service" shows.
- Berserk Button: Referring to Gabriel as a robot, especially when he himself occasionally slips into the same mindset.
- Betty and Veronica: She's the Betty to Mei Chen's Veronica. It's implied in several episodes that there's an attraction between Riley and Gabriel, but she's solidly one of the good guys.
- Bodyguarding a Badass: Riley, a Secret Service agent on the President's detail, is reassigned to bodyguard Gabriel, who is a former Delta Force operator. This doesn't always work smoothly - in Episode 1 she takes a bullet for him by bodychecking him out of the line of fire, just before he was going to shoot, and in Episode 2 she tackles him out a window, just before Amelia blows up. Lillian implies that it's not so much as protecting Gabriel from physical threats, but from himself. By episode 6, though, Gabriel starts to get a bit of a complex.Gabriel: Do you know how emasculating that is when you tackle me like that?
Riley: Are you saying you feel like a girl?
Gabriel: That's not what I'm saying!
Riley: 'Cause you look pretty today. - Cunning Linguist: Mandarin and Arabic, so far.
- Experienced Protagonist: As mentioned in the show, she used to be part of the US President's protection detail with the US Secret Service prior to working with Cyber Command.
- Former Teen Rebel: Used to be this before she reformed herself.
- The Heart: Among the members of Cyber Command, she makes it a point to see Gabriel as a human, and as her partner; not a machine, or a tool of the US government and sometimes against Gabriel's own skewed perspective of his "normality".
- Mysterious Past: Agent Riley Neal has a sealed juvenile file. It turns out she wasn't actually convicted of anything - only investigated and charged when she killed her abusive stepfather in self-defense after five years of abuse. The file was sealed by request - not because she was convicted, but to keep it off her record so it wouldn't affect her future. Ironically, because Gabriel's been forbidden to open said file, Gabriel takes every slightly illegal action she takes as part of a Former Teen Rebel phase, including auto theft, when she manages to break into a van using a screwdriver.
Lillian Strand
Played by: Marg Helgenberger
The head of Cybercom and Gabriel and Riley's direct superior.
- Berserk Button: She doesn't like to be called "Rooster", a name placed on her by her father.
- Combat Pragmatist: In "Athens" Jin Cong has Gabriel on the ropes. Lillian walks in quietly, waits for a clear shot, and puts one in his chest.
- Da Chief: She runs an intelligence agency rather than a police precinct but has much the same relationship with Vaughn and Neil.
- Generation Xerox: She's like her father, Leland, who works for the government.
- Hyper-Awareness: In "Secrets of the Secret Service", she was able to detect two CIA agents tailing her before she met with Tetazoo.
- It's Personal: Her emotions are sent out of whack when San Francisco is threatened with a dirty bomb due to the fact that her daughter lives there. It takes the encouragement of all of the main cast just to get her to take steps to reach out and protect her daughter.
- Missing Mom: Due to the secretive nature of her work, she felt that she had to distance herself from her daughter.
- A Mother to Her Men/Reasonable Authority Figure: Towards Cyber Command. She's protective of all under her employ, pays attention to their input, will go to bat for them with her superiors if she has to, and does not appreciate political maneuverings (whether office or international) that put them in jeopardy.
- Team Mom: She doesn't always show it, but she is very much emotionally invested in her team. The last two episodes of the first season display this prominently.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Her reaction whenever the CIA get involved, since they usually cause a lot more trouble than they actually help solve (whatever their intentions).
Dr. Shenandoah Cassidy
Played by: John Billingsley
The scientist who developed and maintains the chip, and Nelson's father.
- Cool Old Guy
- Expy: His personality is quite similar to Dr. Phlox from Star Trek: Enterprise, also played by John Billingsley.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Invented the chip that's in Vaughn's head, and improvised an electrical stun bomb in "Athens".
- In-Series Nickname: Lillian calls him "Shen" on occasion, although everyone else calls him Dr. Cassidy, mostly to distinguish him from his son Nelson.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Because the paper he wrote based on which Clockwork was conceived included a line hinting at the possibility of it being remotely controlled, when Gabriel gets framed for a murder he didn't commit, Lillian is forcibly replaced as CyberCom director.
- Noodle Incident: In "Athens" an amnesiac Gabriel accesses his personnel file while looking for Riley's and discovers he was once arrested for "public nudity and possession of a controlled substance".
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Neurosurgeon, computer scientist, electronics engineer, pathologist, and that's only the first six episodes.
- Papa Wolf: When Nelson is taken hostage in "Athens", he builds a stun bomb, straps on body armor and a helmet, and goes off to save his son. Mind, the rescue wasn't needed since Jameson took care of that, but it's the thought that counts.
Nelson Cassidy
Played by: P. J. Byrne
Son of Shenandoah and another scientist who works in Clockwork, helping out the team by providing equipment made by him in US Cyber Command.
- Manchild: Spends The Teaser of "Patient Zero" in the getup at right that allows him to remotely control a quadcopter with his mind.
- Non-Action Guy: Quite content to stay at Cybercom and mess about with tech. The one time he does get into a firefight, all he manages to shoot is an air duct.
- These Hands Have Killed: Subverted in "Athens" after he opens fire on Jin Cong's mooks. After the fight he's a little shocked, until Jameson points out all he managed to kill was an air duct.Nelson: I just killed people.
Jameson: No, you didn't. (points at the ceiling) - Voice with an Internet Connection: Provides tech help to Gabriel remotely when the latter is in the field.
Chris Jameson
Played by: Michael Rady
A Cyber Command agent responsible for liaising with Gabriel and Riley at the command center, though he helps out in other places too when needed.
- Badass Normal: Like everyone except Gabriel and Mei Chen, he's just an ordinary human with good training.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: He's a decent guy but he seems like a run-of-the-mill techie for the first few episodes. Then "Delta Force" comes along and he's assigned to bodyguard detail for a Bolivian presidential candidate. Jameson shoots it out with a guy from Gabriel's old Delta Force unit, holding him off long enough for Gabriel and Riley to get there and drive him off (though he's wounded in the process).
- Hidden Depths/Improbable Aiming Skills: While Riley and Gabriel are trying to one-up each other at the shooting range, Jameson simply walks up, raises his gun and shoots not the bullseye, not the head, but the supports holding up the paper targets. Suffice to say, Riley, Gabriel, and many a viewer began to see him differently after that.
- Voice with an Internet Connection: Usually his main job at Cyber Command when Gabriel and Riley need to be deployed in the field.
US Government
Jeffrey Tetazoo
Played by: Lance Reddick
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
- Dying Momentof Awesome: Shoots and kills the assassin before he could sent to Lillian data on the mole.
- Foreshadowing:Tetazoo: The president is concerned about the day when we're not gonna be able to control Gabriel at all.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: How Lillian sees him in Cyber Command-led ops.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's an Obstructive Bureaucrat because Washington fears the day that Gabriel could go off without orders from Cyber Command.
Adam Weatherly
Played by: Tomas Arana
The director of National Intelligence, who is familiar with Lillian due to his father from way back before she became head of Cyber Command. He's also the mole of VEVAK from within the American government.
- Berserk Button: He's angry at the CIA for abandoning his Iranian mother despite her loyalty to them when she helped made the 1953 coup a success.
- But Not Too Foreign: He's an Iranian-American.
- Character Death: Assassinated by Mei Chen under orders from Leland Strand.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Doesn't like the idea of offing Governor Cameron, his friend for many years. But his VEVAK handler insists to kill her so that they can easily plant an agent in Washington.
- Mole in Charge: As the head of National Intelligence on behalf of VEVAK.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Tries to moderate things between Cyber Command and the CIA.
- Walking Spoiler: Some of his background details will inevitably spoil his involvement with the entire show.
Leland Strand
Played by: Peter Coyote
Lillian's father who works in Washington. The show didn't point out what job he was doing.
- The Chessmaster/The Spymaster: Used to be back in the day.
- Hero of Another Story: Depending on how you view him in the show.
- The Man Behind the Man: Was responsible for hiring Mei Chen to assassinate Adam Weatherly.
Antagonists
Jin Cong
Played by: Will Yun Lee
A rogue Chinese Ministry of State Security agent based in Virginia (according to an MSS officer in Washington D.C.) who masterminded the abduction of Dr. Shenandoah in order to use his next generation microchip into the brain of Mei Chen.
- Badass Normal: An even match or better for Gabriel in hand-to-hand combat.
- Combat Pragmatist: He dresses up as an American soldier in order to have his teams seize control of Cyber Command and fight their security by surprise.
- Hypocrite: Claims that he's not a monster and yet, he has snipers aimed at the Cassidy residence with orders issued to be ready in taking out Nelson and Gabriel.
- Monster of the Week:
- Set up to look like an Arc Villain, maybe even the Big Bad, then shot by Gabriel at the end of the pilot before being handed back to the MSS.
- Reappears as the Monster of the Week in "Athens" and ends the episode taking a bullet from Lillian.
- Rogue Agent: What the MSS tells Cyber Command. Lillian doesn't seem to buy that excuse, evidently thinking MSS burned him rather than admit to attacking US government employees on US soil (an act of war).
Mei Chen
Played by: Faye Kingslee
A rogue operative of the MSS with Triad connections. She possesses the same mutation as Gabriel, and in the pilot her organization kidnapped Dr. Cassidy and forced him to implant a modified version into her. After Cyber Command breaks the organization she becomes a gun-for-hire and a recurring antagonist. Oh, and she has a thing for Gabriel.
- Betty and Veronica: Given the apparent attraction between Gabriel and Riley and her on-and-off villain status, her Foe Romance Subtext with Gabriel makes her the Veronica.
- Dark Action Girl: A rogue Chinese intelligence operative, qualifying her even before she was implanted with a chip. Her next appearance after the pilot opens with her killing an innocent woman with access to classified material because they look similar enough for Mei Chen to impersonate her.
- Empowered Badass Normal: Dr. Cassidy implanted an updated version of the chip into her under duress.
- Evil Counterpart: Unlike Gabriel, she uses her chip for evil.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In "Mei Chen Returns", a screenshot of her bio suggests that she worked under the People's Armed Police prior to being a MSS operator, who then went rogue.
- Foe Romance Subtext: She is very clearly in lust (at least) with Gabriel, comparing him to Adam (to her Eve). He is not interested. Though after he's shot in the series finale, she cyber-renders with him in lieu of anesthesia while his mom works on him, and they share a Big Damn Kiss.
- Professional Killer: After waking up with the chip, she becomes a hitwoman with no particular loyalty to anything but cash.
- The season finale, however, reveals who's hiring her: Lillian's father Leland.
- Recurring Character: Her work as a gun-for-hire and attraction to Gabriel mean she's usually an enemy, but in the series finale she's an ally.
- Rogue Agent: Appears to be one alongside Jin Cong.
- Yandere: A possible view of her relationship with Gabriel.
Amos Pembroke
Played by: Elden Henson
A Cyber Command technician responsible for ensuring that Gabriel's microchip is well-maintained before and after he goes on a mission. He was later apprehended and arrested by Gabriel and Riley for being a double agent to Jin Cong's rogue MSS faction.
- Only in It for the Money: The only reason why he agreed to be a double agent for Jin Cong.
- Put on a Bus: Given that he was arrested on charges of treason.
- Rogue Agent: He is one, which was revealed at the end of the pilot episode.
- The Mole/Double Agent: Is one for Jin Cong and for Cyber Command.
Hector Villareal
Played by: Carlos Sanz
A Mexican drug dealer who was the main culprit for kidnapping two university students from the University of Arizona. He also happens to be a secret informant for the American government responsible for providing information that led to the apprehension of drug cartel leaders.
- Bullying the Dragon/Tempting Fate: He thinks that he has the right to kidnap two teenage girls for being "sold out" by his American handlers despite the fact that he provided solid info that led to the arrest of other drug dealers in Mexico.
- Just because he's buddies with Leland Strand, he stares down Lillian's agents believing that he would get away with it yet again. At the end of the episode, Lillian has him killed.
- Deadly Bath: His death in Mexico was arranged by Lillian without the knowledge for her father as "retribution" for kidnapping two American nationals in order to manipulate a government deal between America and Mexico. Lillian's Honey Trap of an assassin knifes him in the back in his bathtub.
- Monster of the Week: Unceremoniously killed off at the end of his only episode.
General Greg Carter
Played by: Nick Searcy
An American military officer in charge of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He covertly ran a WMD program tested on a death row convict named Luther Vick in Austin, Texas in order to synthesize and create vaccines in case the enemy was able to get a hold of the said virus.
- All There in the Manual: His full name is mentioned only in press releases for "Patient Zero". His first name is barely mentioned in the said episode.
- Crazy-Prepared: The only reason why he did the covert WMD program was to prepare vaccines from the convict's own antibodies.
- Monster of the Week: Arrested and presumably court-martialed at the end of his only appearance.
- Motive Rant: Gives one while being apprehended by Cyber Command tac teams.
- Praetorian Guard: Has a loyal group of black ops agents in Austin in order to destroy traces of evidence of his involvement with Vick's escape, which also includes disposing of Gabriel and Riley. "Patient Zero" suggests that they could be black ops agents recruited from the American military.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Insists that he did the program in order to defend American lives from a potential WMD attack.
Novyi Svit Revolyutsioneriv
A Ukrainian anti-nuclear terrorist group established in 1992, they are responsible for a string of assassinations and bombing attacks on nuclear research personnel and facilities as a means of showing their resistance to nuclear proliferation. They are also responsible for an attempt to use a virus in order to let a nuclear power plant in Los Angeles be destroyed, having the same effect as Chernobyl.
- Crazy-Prepared: From planning on "Cortez"'s death to having countermeasures during an exchange with Cyber Command.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In "The Grey Hat", a Cyber Command briefing shows data on NSR, including their leaders and some of the terror attacks attributed to them with the latest attack on Moscow attributed to them.
- Western Terrorists: Of the Ukrainian variety.
