In Memoriam 2016: Honoring Television’s Fallen Characters
Director Phyllis, Colony
Season 1, Ep. 2 – Season 1, Ep. 4
Time of Death: “Blind Spot,” Season 1, Episode 4
Cause of Death: Assassinated in her home by Broussard, member of The Resistance.
In the Los Angeles bloc while an alien entity has taken over the planet, there are those who abide by their new extraterrestrial overlords and those who choose to rebel. Will Bowman and his family are conflicted on which side to choose to follow but for the time being, he is employed by Homeland Security, headed up by Director Phyllis.
Phyllis is both cold and calculating as she spearheads the mission to arrest and imprison any insurgent that interferes with the alien occupation. But in the brief amount of time she’s on the series, we become a little sympathetic to learn she is merely doing her job in order to save her own life. Over the course of the first season, life during occupation is full of choices. Phyllis chose to assume a level of authority.
Yet because she’s in that position, she was made a target by The Resistance. By the end of the episode she came home after a hard day’s work and kissed her bed-ridden husband after he’s suffered a stroke. However, we were surprised to see that Resistance member Broussard (Tory Kittles) was patiently waiting in the dark to take her out.
Upon seeing him with his gun drawn, she accepted her fate and begged for him to end her husband’s misery as well. Shots are fired and we were left stunned after a major antagonist character was killed so early on in the show’s inaugural season. Baker in particular, a veteran in film and television, had her character killed off so soon we were left thinking no character is safe during an alien occupation. It’s a shame though as she could have proved to be an entertaining villain if given the chance to survive a little longer.
Next: Detective Saperstein, Shades of Blue