Passing mention characters, will we see them again?

[GD_Elite]

Originally, I was thinking about starting a thread for female relatives of characters, to see if leverage was being used to ensure the rat's co-operation. However, considering the revelations of chapter 24, in my mind this is cleared up now.

We have already seen characters that have been mentioned appear later:

"Saul's girl" is mentioned chapter 1, and came to the story later as Lady. (Chapter 5)
Angel's girlfriend, Cindy, is mentioned in chapter 1, and she met a tragic end at the end of that chapter.
Saul's mom is mentioned in chapter 1, and is later Tanya (Chapter 18)
Samantha's daughter is mentioned in chapter 10, coming to the story as Hope in chapter 18.
Randy is mentioned in chapter 19 and appears in zombie form in 23.


However, there are still a whole heap of characters that have been mentioned but are uncertain to be dead.

Bill mentions Sandy. We have no idea who that is.
Lizzy's dad paid for her to get a degree.
Kelly's sister/Tommy's mom is MIA. It is also worth noting that Tommy's sister/Kelly's niece is turned.
Datu has kids back in the philipines.
Datu's parents are looking after his kids.
Datu says his grandmother carried a gun.
Datu's ex-wife, mother to his kids.
Burt has a niece who drives hybrids.
Ryan has wife and kids who are missing.
Pegs' dad is a pilot.
Riley's mother read her the story of Robin Hood.
Kalani's girl, Hannah. Presumably dead.
Michael's parents are probably dead too, because Michael is a liar.
CJ was the leader of the other tower, but Kalani says she is dead.
Survivors on the Yacht.
Bill Roberts (thanks nikvoodoo)


With all these people with unconfirmed fates, surely there is a possibility that some of them will return at a later date. Do you think that we might see any of these people in the future? If so, who? I think it's quite possible considering the other characters that have appeared as characters. Also, if you think I have missed someone, post it and I'll add it to the list.

Extra Fun Fact: We know absolutely nothing about Victor's past.

[nikvoodoo]

I believe that of the people you've listed the only ones we are likely to ever hear from in some capacity are Sandy, and Hannah.

Strictly my opinion, but:

Lizzy's father serves no purpose in the story other than getting Lizzy her degree which she's using to analyze the Mallers/Talk Bill Down.
Kelly's sister disappearing was to set up the dynamic between Tommy and Kelly. I think she's served her purpose.
Datu's Family: Simply because of the distance, I'm not sure they will ever appear in L.A. I am of the mind that his children may want to try to find their Dad, but do they have the means to sail from the Philippines to Los Angeles? I think they were used to establish Datu's paternal nature for Hope.
Burt's niece was used to establish the lack luster nature of a hybrid in terms of security, and shortly after we were treated to the Hybrid being crushed under the weight of a zombie attack
Riley's mother and the story of Robin Hood was used to deepen Riley's archery abilities/background
Michael's parents are dead. He's said so in a moment of vulnerability, but since we've heard him talk around it we establish Michael is reserved about revealing personal information.
Kalani has turned out to be trustworthy (as of this moment), so I'll believe it when he says CJ is dead. And no other member of the Other Tower can reveal information now: Hope doesn't remember anything, and I'm not convinced Skittles lived there.
I think the yachters are dead. They pulled into that harbor to restock and resupply and they probably died while doing it because their only hope for the future floated away from them. I think the point of the yacht was to show that you aren't safe anywhere. Land, Sea, and (now with the introduction of RPG's) air.


I'd throw Bill Roberts into that equation as well. While we still have no confirmation we've seen him, it's a very high probability he's been around. Maybe a special category for him alone outside of those you've mentioned.

But aside from that, most of the people that have been mentioned except for CJ, Hannah, and Sandy have established a relationship, a rule, or a quirk of the world we know and love.

[GD_Elite]

I've added Bill Roberts to the list.

I agree a lot of them are long shots. Especially with Riley's and Datu's family being overseas, and others just being very brief mentions. However, when Saul mentioned his mother or Samantha's mentions her daughter, these could have just been seen as points to build up the atmosphere of the moment.

I understand that it's your opinion, but basically I'm going with the idea that has been posted a lot on the Chapter 24 discussion: If Kc hasn't said they are dead, don't jump to conclusions.

[nikvoodoo]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not poo-pooing this idea at all. I wouldn't be shocked by the appearance of anybody on the list....except maybe Michael's parents. I think this opens up a really interesting debate about things we may have overlooked. Kc has said we have bits and pieces of the puzzle, but we're missing the connections at the moment (not saying we're dumb. Just saying we dont have the appropriate information to connect the dots). There is plenty to think about with this list and who may or may not have something to contribute.

[HardKor]

Of all the people on the list, I think Datu's family would be the most likely to make an appearance. I know the distance is a serious obstacle but Datu talked about wanting to get back to them. And he is such a dedicated character I don't see him giving up until he knows what happened to them.
Everyone else on the was mentioned in a more passing way: what they did in the past, etc. without much wondering about what happened to them.

*Edit*:
looking back up at the list, I noticed "the people on the yacht" I really hope we find out about them to. I just got back to that point on my current re-listen and the mystery has got my thoroughly intrigued.

[MancheeLivesOn]

I say Hannah is going to make an appearance or is at least going to be mentioned again. Datu hasn't mentioned his family in a while but I can see him going off at the end of the series to find what became to his family.

[7oddisdead]

i havent done a re-listen in a while...but at one point scratch is yelling at a fellow maller, and she mentions "feeding your ass to the sisters" i have a feeling this is one of the few that we could quite easily see....given the situation at the end

[Grognaurd]

Nik makes a lot of good points. But, I think he probably left Randy out by oversight.

I do not think Michael would call out Randy when sedated if Randy was just "one of the smart ones"-zombies.

Although it is not a person, it does have a proper name, Raydon Labs. Burt pulls a foreshadowing rabbit out of his hat when he says, see that, thats a level III badge from Raydon Labs, you gotta be pretty damn smart to get one of those. Security badges I have seen are dominated by the photo of the person. Other information on the card needs a closer inspection and there is no way to know apriori if one has to be very smart to get a level III badge. It is just as likely that level III could be third shift or whatever.

If we really want to reach: "The Party Girl" even had a speaking part early in Chapter 1.

Did Scratch say "poncho" when she was cutting up the guy at the other end of the CB radio and blamed for the loss of the tanker?

The Coast Guard was doing evac runs. They did lose at least one chopper at LAX. But, there were several airlifts from The Colony to somewhere. In this Mythos, the change is so quick, it is unlikely to have been ambushed by transporting the infection in. If they did fly out to sea, many of those areas could have awesome passive defenses. Even if the dead swam or sub-marathoned (quasi pun) to an aircraft carrier or oil rig I do not think the have a way up the shear sides.

[nikvoodoo]

Randy wasn't left out. We've met Randy already. He was in the list of names above the "Those we haven't met yet but have been mentioned" list.

That's why the party girl isn't on the list either. She was already in the story. Same with Professor Wayland ;)

[Grognaurd]

Ah, ok. I read it as "known" minor-charcters with unknown current status. But, no worries. What's a couple of names amongst the 6,000,000,000 dead. In any case, I feel there is much more to know about Randy

[GD_Elite]

I deliberately didn't include random unimportant mallers, because I was trying to go with characters that tower members knew. However, I think there were a few mentioned including "Poncho" and one with a burnt face (Johnny?). It would be kind of cool if we heard of these characters again, but in reality and part they play is going to be minor, when compared to a passing mention of Hope or Tanya, who are now main characters.

[Grognaurd]

I'm just sitting around digging up bones...

I had a thought about this. I think it was either Nik or Crowbar brought it up in another thread.

"that guy on the third floor, I forget his name." Angel tells Michael this when they notice that all the zombie bodies were gone as he describes who was on guard duty last night. We as listeners never hear any subsequent conversations.

But, at the start of the War at the end of Season 1, I am pretty sure Scratch said something like. Shots fired. third floor, Lee Harvey.

[Adventureless_Hero]

Hmm, it is a possibility they could be one and the same, but who ever that guy on the third floor is, he would be dead now. It would be pretty crummy story telling to have some inconsequential dead guy being responsible for much of the story suspense. I did like the Lee Harvey reference though, pretty clever on Scratch's part.

[reaper239]

unless he will come up later as some key piece of the backstory, like maybe as the designer of the virus.

[Grognaurd]

I would not be too quick to write off all the Red Shirts. I agree that most likely they are dead, but Kelly + Tanya et al were preparing for the chopper in the other tower to the south. Scratch et al attacked from the North. We have buildings to the North. Then some Hedges. Then the Tower's Fuel Tanker. Then "The Tower" then the other building. Prior to the mallers the Tower was surrounded by Zombies. So, I infer that the Southern building was not camped. When the Mallers attack, they are counter attacked by Zombies and people in The Tower. It would be possible for Red Shirts to bug-out. After Kalani pulls the Fall of Reach stunt it would be even more of an emphasis to bug-out.

We have Stephen and a bunch of others try to get out in one or more cars. It is certain that one car was overrun. But, maybe one car got away or one or more people from the overrun car got away. If the Zombies are going to chow down or drag-off people it is always possible people put some distance down. Remember, you do not have to be Fast. You just have to be Faster than and have better cardio than Kalani. LOL, yea, I know he wass not in the car. But, I hope you enjoy the reference.

I am sure there were a lot of Red Shirt KIAs. But, there are various mechanisms for sole survivors. Like I always say, If there aint no body then there aint nobody dead.

[Adventureless_Hero]

That does make sense and it is certainly a possibility. It makes me think back to how Saul and Victor don't encounter the Mallers. It seems clear to me that the Mallers didn't go around for some time after Saul and Victor high tailed it. In episode 25-1 you can hear what sounds like a zombie retreat call. I assume this is them fleeing the collapse of the building as mentioned by Scratch in the epilogue of chapter 24. But could it be possible that some Red Shirts were lingering around for the Mallers to catch? Or maybe Saul and Victor were on the opposite side of the Tower rubble as the Mallers were.

I don't know where I was going with this post. It kind of came out as me thinking in text. lol

[Eviebae]

Lizzy's father serves no purpose in the story other than getting Lizzy her degree which she's using to analyze the Mallers/Talk Bill Down.
Kelly's sister disappearing was to set up the dynamic between Tommy and Kelly. I think she's served her purpose.
Datu's Family: Simply because of the distance, I'm not sure they will ever appear in L.A. I am of the mind that his children may want to try to find their Dad, but do they have the means to sail from the Philippines to Los Angeles? I think they were used to establish Datu's paternal nature for Hope.
Burt's niece was used to establish the lack luster nature of a hybrid in terms of security, and shortly after we were treated to the Hybrid being crushed under the weight of a zombie attack
Riley's mother and the story of Robin Hood was used to deepen Riley's archery abilities/background
Michael's parents are dead. He's said so in a moment of vulnerability, but since we've heard him talk around it we establish Michael is reserved about revealing personal information.
Kalani has turned out to be trustworthy (as of this moment), so I'll believe it when he says CJ is dead. And no other member of the Other Tower can reveal information now: Hope doesn't remember anything, and I'm not convinced Skittles lived there.
I think the yachters are dead. They pulled into that harbor to restock and resupply and they probably died while doing it because their only hope for the future floated away from them. I think the point of the yacht was to show that you aren't safe anywhere. Land, Sea, and (now with the introduction of RPG's) air.



I really enjoyed your analysis. I was listening to a "Red State" podcast with Kevin Smith and the Casting Director and she mentioned breaking down scripts--is that what that is like? With more detail I'm sure. I'd like more discussion of this type just because I find it interesting.

I think one thing that separates good fiction from bad--and is a problem enough that I know it must be hard to overcome--is when characters are easily labeled according to their function in the story. They pop in, contribute their part to the plot, and then pop out. It ranks right up there in Things That Annoy Me with books where all the characters talk and think a like. Overall, not many characters have felt like that to me in WA. The only one I can think of is the girl at the beginning that asks Michael out.