“ | Tu m'as trahie Isobel, maintenant tu vas mourir. | „ |
~ Duchess Gertrude tells Isobel she will die in French. |
The Duchess Gertrude was a witch in the early 17th century who serves as the overarching antagonist in Season 4 of the WB Television series Smallville.
She was portrayed by Jane Seymour, who also played Genevieve Teague in the same series, Debra Connor in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Cathy Ames in East of Eden, and Rachel Argyle in Ordeal by Innocence.
Biography[]
Past[]
Duchess Gertrude was a powerful French aristocrat and a practitioner of magic. She was obsessed with finding three mythical stones that would supposedly reveal an incredible trove of knowledge when all three were united.
The Duchess sent ships to the far ends of the known Earth. But all her agents could discover was a map that led to a temple in China where one of the Stones was supposedly hidden there. However, the map never made it into the hands of Gertrude. In 1604, Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, her arch rival and witch, stole the document and hid it so that she could find the Stones of Power for herself.
Enraged, the Duchess had the exquisite young sorceress and her companions, Brianna Withridge and Madelyn Hibbins, captured for practicing witchcraft and sentenced to burn at the stake by Magistrate Wilkins. As Isobel and her comrades burned, she vowed that when she rose from the dead, she would wipe out all of Gertrude's heirs. The Duchess went to the gathering and yelled at Isobel before watching the execution.
Season Four[]
Her descendants, the Teagues, continued the quest for the Stones of Power. After being possessed by her rebellious ancestor, Lana Lang had a strange dream in which she witnesses the execution of Countess Thoreaux and Gertrude yelling angrily at her in French. During the execution, Duchess Gertrude's eyes lit up the same violet color that Isobel's eyes were when she used magic, identifying her as a witch. Lana abruptly woke from the dream in shock. The next day, Lana met Gertrude's descendant, Genevieve Teague, and noticed their eerie resemblance.
Lana later admits to her boyfriend Jason Teague that she met his mother and tells him that she dreamed about Genevieve before she met her. Jason became suspicious that he was a pawn in his mother's plan. Genevieve later asked Jason to leave with her, but he confronted her about Genevieve's orchestration of his and Lana's relationship. Genevieve reveals that she knew of Lana's connection to Isobel Thoreaux and that their ancestors were responsible for burning Isobel at the stake.
Jason refused to leave Lana and Genevieve said he was in love with a girl that may kill their entire family. Unknown to either of them, Lana overheard their conversation. Lionel Luthor later revealed the rivalry between Isobel and Gertrude to Lana when she came to the mansion looking for Jason who was in China searching for the mythic stone. He gave her the same map that Lex and Jason had and left for China with Clark Kent.
Genevieve later confronted Lana in her apartment demanding the stone that Lionel gave her. A fight ensures and when Genevieve tried to strangle Lana, Isobel once again possessed her and fulfilled her vengeance by killing Genevieve with the very Stone they both sought after. Once Isobel had exacted her revenge on Duchess Gertrude, she was bathed in light, freed herself from Lana, removed the Mark of Transference and Isobel's spirit could finally rest in peace.