The Nevers Character Guide
A character guide for HBO’s “The Nevers.” Included is information about characters and noteworthy information about the series they’re in.
A character guide for HBO’s “The Nevers.” Included is information about characters and noteworthy information about the series they’re in.
Please Note: This content contains pertinent spoilers, descriptions are updated as new information is presented, images changed as better ones are captured, and this is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, guest star, or reoccurring role.
General Information
| Network(s) | HBO |
| Created or Developed By | Joss Whedon |
| First Aired | 4/11/2021 |
Plot
August, 1896. Victorian London is rocked to its foundations by a supernatural event which gives certain people – mostly women – abnormal abilities, from the wondrous to the disturbing. But no matter their particular “turns,” all who belong to this new underclass are in grave danger. It falls to mysterious, quick-fisted widow Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) and brilliant young inventor Penance Adair (Ann Skelly) to protect and shelter these gifted “orphans.” To do so, they will have to face the brutal forces determined to annihilate their kind.
— HBO Max
Groups & Organizations
- The Touched: The orphans who have supernatural gifts.
- The Orphans: The group of children who, under Amalia and Penance’s care, find a home and refuge from a world which fears them
- The Ferryman’s Club (1.2): Hugo’s sex and debauchery club
- The Sentinel (1.4): The paper that Effie Boyle writes st
Notable Locations & Items
- St. Romaulda’s Orphanage: Financed by Lavinia Bidlow, with Amalia and Penance playing a strong influential role, the Orphanage is home to many children who are Touched and provides them safety from an increasingly dangerous world that wishes them harm.
- Ferryman’s Club (1.1): Hugo’s club featuring all types of degenerate activities.
Other Noteworthy Information
- Year (1.1): It’s 1899
- Galanthi (1.5): The name given to the beings which gave birth to The Touched.
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Lavinia Bidlow (Olivia Williams)
Lavinia is a wealthy woman who funds Amalia’s orphanage for the Touched and acts as their main advocate in society.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
- Patronage (1.4): Financed Dr. Cousens going to medical school
Quotes & Gifs
Public opinion is a brush fire.
— Ms. Bidlow (1.2)
Amalia True (Laura Donnelly)
A widow who finds herself becoming the champion for the Touched.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
- Languages Spoken (1.1): Is aware of Chinese, Russian, and maybe Turkish
- Touched Ability (1.1): Has a “Rippling” ability which allows her to see parts of the future
- Real Name (1.2): Molly
- Equestrian (1.3): She likes horses
- Background (1.6): Before attempting suicide, Amalia was Molly, a woman who married the wrong man, Thomas True, got demoted at her job working at a bakery, and was miserable. However, then Zephyr, a woman from the future, assumed Molly’s body, and became Amalia, post the Galanthi’s appearance.
Quotes & Gifs
More suffer from society’s perception than their own debilitation.
— Amalia (1.1)
Pain despises hope.
— Amalia (1.2)
Waiting’s only painful when you’re not doing anything else.
— Amalia (1.3)
Penance Adair (Ann Skelly)
March 16, 2021
Ann Skelly
Photograph by HBO / Keith Bernstein
Penance is a genius inventor who is one of the first to join Amalia, her best friend, in defending the rights and safety of the Touched.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
- Origins (Deadline): Is Irish
- Touched Ability (1.1): Can see energy, or at least potential energy and how it flows or can flow through things
Quotes & Gifs
Hugo Swann (James Norton)
Hugo is a pansexual young man who heavily relies on his charms, money, and secrets that circulate in his secret club that allows him some form of power.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
- Oh, Father Of Mine (1.2): His dad was abusive, and currently has dementia.
- RIP Brother (1.2): His brother Caleb drowned.
Quotes & Gifs
Horror and fascination go arm and arm.
— Hugo
Augustus “Augie” Bidlow (Tom Riley)
Augie is Lavinia’s sweet, awkward younger brother with a secret of his own – such as his infatuation with Penance.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
- Keen Interest (Deadline): He is an ornithologist [he studies birds].
- Touched Ability (1.2): Can see through the eyes of birds and potentially communicate with them.
Quotes & Gifs
Lord Gilbert Massen (Pip Torrens)
A veteran turned politician of sorts, all Lord Massen wishes for it to maintain order and the British Empire. Hence his distaste and crusade for the Touched who not just upset order, but whose very existence is an absolute threat to it.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
Quotes & Gifs
We build homes to keep other people out and then build machines to let them all in.
— Lord Massen (1.3)
We must keep control, not seem to be grasping for it.
— Lord Massen (1.5)
Inspector Frank Mundi (Ben Chaplin)
A police officer who tries to adhere to his official duties, and moral compass, but with a love for drinking, which leads to violence, and a world torn between the powerful and those with powers, Frank finds doing his job increasingly a challenge.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
- Sexuality (1.3): It is hinted by Hugo that he and Inspector Mundi had sexual relations and that Mary is aware that Inspector Mundi does, when drunk apparently, has sex with men.
- Fighter Name (1.4): The East End Ape
Quotes & Gifs
Dr. Edmund Hague (Denis O’Hare)
An American doctor, who is a little off-kilter, a side effect of being gifted, and in his search for the source of the Touched’s powers, can be considered apathetic towards their kind.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
Quotes & Gifs
Maladie (Amy Manson)
Maladie is An absolute madwoman who, unfortunately, became one of the Touched while in the care of a mental institution. Thus, her powers derived from pain became a fascination of doctors who experimented on her until she escaped. But, rather than live a quiet life in hiding, she found a gang of other Touched and now is a suspected serial killer.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
- Real Name (1.2): Is Sarah
Quotes & Gifs
Annie “Bonfire” Carby (Rochelle Neil)
A fire wielder who is part of Maladie’s gang but ultimately is only loyal to herself. Why? Well, she wasn’t necessarily raised as much as she dug her way out of hell, so the only thing she trusts is herself and these fire powers she was gifted.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 3
Quotes & Gifs
Dr. Horatio Cousens (Zackary Momoh)
Dr. Cousens is a West Indian physician who is married with a young son, whose abilities were discovered by Amalia, thus resulting in him working with her to help those at the Orphanage.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 1
- An Affair (1.3): Had an affair with Amalia, possibly before they became Touched.
- Wife’s Name (1.5): Katherine
Quotes & Gifs
Mary Brighton (Eleanor Tomlinson)
A performer with dreams of singing on stage, but with a career that isn’t going well and a personal life that mirrors her career’s progress, keeping high spirits is increasingly becoming a challenge.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1
- Touched Ability (1.1): Has a voice that seems to seek out and find the Touched
Quotes & Gifs
Lucy Best (Elizabeth Berrington)
A street smart woman who often portrays herself as happy and gay yet is actually dealing with personal demons from her past.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1
- Touched Power (1.2): She can break most things with her hands
- Unfortunate Discovery of Her Power (1.3): One example being her son, whose bones she accidentally broke when he was a baby – thus killing him.
Quotes & Gifs
Primrose Chattoway (Anna Devlin)
With being ten feet tall, Primrose is very noticeable and not like other girls. However, all she wishes it to be ordinary, not take up too much space, and being able to have a normal life.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1
Quotes & Gifs
Harriet Kaur (Kiran Sonia Sawar)
A Scottish Sikh who is an aspiring lawyer who, despite the various limitations people tried to enforce, plans to live her life the way she sees fit.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1
- Aspirations (1.4): Wishes to become a barrister
- Gift (1.4): Can freeze things with her breath
- Boyfriend (1.4): His name is Aneel
Quotes & Gifs
Myrtle Haplisch (Viola Prettejohn)
A girl who, with no longer being able to speak a language her family can understand, is forced out but luckily rescued, and one of many at the orphanage.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1
- Touched Ability (1.1): Speaks various languages, such as Chinese, Russian, perhaps Turkish, but currently not English.
Quotes & Gifs
Désireé Blodgett (Ella Smith)
Désireé is a prostitute with powers, as well as a six-year-old son who is mute.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 2
- Specific Power (1.2): Desiree’s power is the gift of gab, in terms of people opening up to her and revealing their deepest secrets and thoughts.
- Child (1.2): Her son is Nigel
Quotes & Gifs
Nimble Jack (Vinnie Heaven)
Nimble Jack is a charming thief with a special talent for breaking and entering.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1
- Gift (1.4): Can create impenetrable discs that float in the air and can even carry an adults weight.
Quotes & Gifs
Declan “Beggar King” Orrun (Nick Frost)
The Beggar King is a criminal overlord who is neither friend nor a consistent foe to anyone. All he cares about are the odds and the money it can bring him.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1
Quotes & Gifs
Elisabetta “Beth” (Domenique Fragale)
Beth is an Italian woman who, upon touching something, can make it float. Because of this, she seeks out Amalia for refuge but ends up in a trap set by Dr. Hague.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 2
Quotes & Gifs
Odium (Martyn Ford)
One of the Beggar King’s greatest weapons, Odium is a goliath of a man who can walk on water.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1/ Episode 3
Quotes & Gifs
Zephyr aka Stripe (Claudia Black)
Who Amalia was in a past life, when she was a soldier in the future.
Additional Information
- Introduced In Season 1 Episode 6
- Veteran Status (1.6): Has been fighting for over 28 years.
- Origins (1.6): Is from Southern Canada
- Full name (1.6): Zephyr Alexis Navine
Quotes & Gifs
[…] “this close” is where we always end up. It’s where we all fold. “This close” change is too scary, even for the people who fight for it.
— Stripe
