Earl Kelly

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Earl Kelly (portrayed by Reece Noi) is a past character from the BBC drama series Waterloo Road, where he serves as the main antagonist for the first half of the series 4 autumn term. He is the son of Rose Kelly, younger brother of Marley Kelly, and older half-brother of Sambucca Kelly, Denzil Kelly and Prince Kelly.

Role in the series

Earl first appears along with the rest of his family in Waterloo Road series 4 episode 1. Whereas his older brother Marley is just a normal individual from a troubled background (their mother was an alcoholic) Earl is a borderline psychopath, as shown early on when he had smuggled a gun into school. He later threatend fellow pupils Bolton Smilie and Paul Langley with it, and when word went out about it, coerced his brother Denzil into taking it, causing the latter to get arrested when the police arrived.

Later on, Earl starts dating fellow student Maxine Barlow, despite the fact that her friends insist he's no good. During this time, Earl begins to show an unusual range of personalities, sometimes doing schoolwork exceptionally well, other times causing a lot of trouble when the slightest thing sets him off, and also stealing a falcon from a falconry to train it, despite being a known birdkiller. He also plans to start a family with Maxine, which she is estatic about, until she discovers that he abandoned the last child he had, willing to sell it for money that was 'going to set him and Maxine up.' Disgusted, she breaks up with him, and in distress, he goes to her house to try and convince her he's still on her side, but Maxine isn't convinced as he brings a gun with him. In the initial argument, he shoots her dead before fleeing from the house. He is sobbing as the police arrest him, repeating that 'she wouldn't listen.' He is likely serving life in prison.

His last appearence was in series 4 episode 8.

Personality

It is clear that Earl suffers from a severe personality disorder. When distressed, he takes it out on other people, often extremely violently and often with threats of death. He is also known to overreact to things, such as turning a gun on Maxine when she broke up with him. Its also seen here that he doesn't tend to understand the severity of his actions, confused as to why Maxine is so appalled at him abandoning his own child, as he was simply planning to start a family with her. Even after he kills her, he seems to believe himself to be the victim, telling the police 'she wouldn't listen.' At other times, when he finds something he enjoys, such as Falconry, he can do it exceptionally well, even calmly.

His level of family loyalty is contradictory also. When Sambucca is insulted by a fellow student, he immediately comfronts her, threatening her with apparent death if she continues to harrass his family. He also begins a disruptive campagin when Marley is falsely accused of taking cannabis, and takes any action against his family's status as a personal insult. On the other hand, he doesn't seem to care pinning the blame for bringing a gun into school on Denzel, and in general doesn't really seem to care for anyone other than himself.