Russell Lightbourne is a major antagonist in the post-apocalyptic TV series The 100, serving as one of the main antagonists of the sixth season alongside his daughter, Josephine.
In the sixth season, Russell is in his sixth host and is known as Russell Lightbourne VII when the people from Earth arrive on Sanctum. With Nightblood becoming rarer and the discovery of Nightbloods amongst the Eligius IV crew, the Primes, led by Russell, plot to use the survivors of Earth to create new hosts for themselves and continue their existence.
Russell and his wife Simone sacrifice Clarke Griffin in order to resurrect their daughter Josephine whose last host was murdered six years before and Josephine succeeds in manipulating Abby Griffin and Clarke's friends. However, Clarke survives the mind wipe and kills Josephine for good while her friends foment a revolt against the Primes. Despite Russell succeeding in resurrecting all of the deceased Primes, they are killed for good by Clarke when she blows them into outer space. Russell is then arrested for his crimes after a brief alliance with Sheidheda.
At the start of the seventh season, Russell, now the last surviving Prime, has fallen into a suicidal depression. Despite the revolution, Russell still has many followers while the various factions in Sanctum are divided over what to do with him. After a failed attempt to goad Clarke into killing him, Russell is knocked unconscious and encounters Sheidheda in the Mindspace, the Dark Commander having uploaded himself into Russell's Mind Drive. The Dark Commander kills the last Prime in the Mindspace, destroying Russell's consciousness and resurrecting himself in Russell's final host body. Sheidheda poses as Russell for a time in order to manipulate the factions of Sanctum before his deception is eventually revealed.
He is portrayed by JR Bourne, who also portrayed Sheidheda in the same series, Ben Moss in Thir13een Ghosts , Jeremy Tell in Arrow, Bernard Chisholm in Smallville, Chris Argent in Teen Wolf, and James in Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.
Personality[]
In his first life, Russell is shown to have been a kind and hardworking man who deeply loved his family, something that carried over into his other lives. However, Becca Franko also called him a "pompous ass" and didn't think much of him. After killing his family in a psychotic rage under the influence of the Red Sun eclipse, Russell dedicates 25 years of his life to bringing back those he killed, eventually succeeding with the help of Dr. Gabriel Santiago.
Over the course of more than 200 years, Russell changed greatly into an immortal tyrant willing to do whatever it takes to survive. However, he is not as cold or extreme as his wife Simone or daughter Josephine who are shown to be willing to go to great and even genocidal lengths to keep the dynasty of the Primes going. Russell also retains his love for science and is known to have studied the effects of both the Red Sun toxin and the Anomaly, in part with Gabriel's help before Gabriel abandons the Primes out of moral concerns over their actions. Although Russell sacrifices Clarke in order to resurrect Josephine, he expresses a great deal of genuine remorse for the act, having been desperate to bring his daughter back. After learning that Clarke in fact survived, Russell is pleased by the chance to right his wrong by restoring Clarke and putting Josephine into a new willing host over his daughter's protests.
After Simone's assassination, Russell loses all hesitation in order to get revenge and is willing to burn people at the stake. Only John Murphy suggesting a way to create new Nightbloods spares Clarke's friends and family, although Russell still executes Simone's killer. However, he still retains a degree of sympathy as one parent to another for Abby who has apparently lost Clarke for good and for Abby's reluctance to harm Madi in order to get the bone marrow that they need. However, as a result, he also knows that Abby will kill him if she gets the chance and he mind wipes Abby, killing her in order to resurrect Simone.
After all of the other Primes are killed by Clarke, Russell nearly kills Madi in revenge before Sheidheda, possessing the young girl, talks him out of it and they form a brief alliance instead that ends with Russell's arrest.
Following his arrest and the death of all of the other Primes, Russell falls into a suicidal depression, refusing to eat, drink, or sleep and openly expressing a desire to die. Despite his anger at Clarke, he is too lost and depressed to do anything about it, even seeking her advice on what to do when you've lost everything.
Russell appears to have lost his mentality of a living divinity in his depression, showing contempt that Jordan Green might've been brainwashed into believing it, destroying Priya Desai's Mind Drive and making it clear that he wanted a similar permanent end for himself. In turn, Jordan believed that Russell was simply a man who had lost his way. As a result of his depression, Russell went so far as to goad Clarke by using the death of her mother, but Clarke ultimately knocks Russell unconscious instead of giving him what he wants, inadvertently leading to his death at the hands of the Dark Commander.
Biography[]
Past[]
Russell was an astronomer from Earth who was the leader of a colonization mission to the habitable moon Sanctum. However, due to toxins released during an event known as the Red Sun eclipse, Russell went temporarily insane and killed many of the other colonists, including his own wife and daughter. For the next twenty-five years, Russell worked with geneticist Gabriel Santiago, who was also his daughter's boyfriend, to find a way to resurrect everyone.
Using the Mind Drive technology and Nightblood hosts, Russell and Gabriel succeeded, but at the cost of the hosts' minds. Russell became the leader of the Sanctum colony with the original team becoming known as the immortal Primes who extended their lives by taking new hosts once their previous host died. Gabriel would eventually abandon the Primes out of moral concerns and create the Children of Gabriel resistance force.
After arriving on Sanctum, Russell became intrigued by the mysterious Anomaly and under the influence of Red Sun toxin, had visions connected to it. The Anomaly inspired the design that he used for the Sanctum settlement, but he could never figure out its mystery and eventually gave up on trying to.
Six years before Eligius IV arrived on Sanctum, Josephine was killed in an apparent accident, secretly murdered by her former best friend Kaylee Lee.
Season 6[]
When Clarke and her friends arrive on Sanctum, after experiencing a Red Sun eclipse of their own, the Sanctummites return and Clarke begins negotiating with Russell and the other Primes to allow the survivors of Earth to settle upon the moon. The initial negotiations go badly until Delilah and Rose -- the two current future Nightblood hosts -- are kidnapped by the Children of Gabriel. Clarke saves Delilah but is injured in the process, revealing herself to be a Nightblood as well. Russell changes his mind as a result, but exiles Charmaine Diyoza who is a famous political terrorist from before the Eligius III mission left Earth.
Shortly thereafter, Russell leads the Naming Day Ceremony in which he resurrects Priya Desai in the host of Delilah, killing Delilah in the process. However, Rose is killed by the Children of Gabriel, setting back the Primes' plans for further resurrections. At the same time, Sanctum's doctor, Cillian, is revealed to be a Children of Gabriel spy who commits suicide rather than be captured alive. With Clarke paralyzed by Cillian's poison, Russell and Simone discuss the situation and realize that with the growing rareity of Nightblood hosts, it could be another 54 years before they could resurrect Josephine in a willing host. As a result, the two decide to resurrect Josephine in Clarke's body in secret, an act that bothers Russell greatly. Regardless, Russell mind wipes Clarke, apparently killing her and resurrects Josephine.
Following Josephine's resurrection, she murders Kaylee Lee in revenge for her previous death and is assigned by her parents to continue to pose as Clarke and to discover how many other Nightbloods are amongst Clarke's friends. Russell and Simone keep Josephine's resurrection a secret from even the other Primes, only informing Rose's former guard Jade of the development and assigning Jade to guard their daughter. Josephine is able to learn that Abby Griffin has the ability to make Nightbloods synthetically and with the help of Murphy, manipulates Abby into agreeing to help the Primes by promising to help save Marcus Kane using the Mind Drive technology. However, Clarke's best friend Bellamy learns the truth about Clarke's apparent death and attempts to kill a genuinely remorseful Russell in revenge. Bellamy ultimately changes his mind and instead uses the loss of Clarke to strike a deal with him instead.
Shortly thereafter, Clarke is revealed to have survived the mind wipe thanks to having a piece of the A.L.I.E. AI still in her head. Although Josephine learns that they can get rid of Clarke for good with the help of an EMP, Russell sees the development and the new Nightblood as a chance to make amends for their actions by restoring Clarke and transferring Josephine into a new willing host. Unwilling to give up Clarke's body, Josephine plots behind his back to get rid of Clarke for good with the help of Murphy, Emori and Ryker Desai. However, Clarke's friends, having learned the truth, abduct Josephine in order to take her to the Children of Gabriel to get the Mind Drive removed. At the same time, under the influence of Sheidheda, Clarke's adopted daughter Madi kills Miranda Mason and makes a failed attempt on Priya's life. As a result, Russell orders whatever means necessary used in order to recover his daughter. At the same time, although Abby succeeds in creating more Nightblood, it is destroyed by a resurrected Kane with the help of Indra and Raven at the cost of his own life, further setting back the Primes' plans.
Echo and Gaia begin fomenting a rebellion against the Primes with the help of a reluctant Ryker, leading to an angry father assassinating Simone. Enraged at the deaths of so many Primes, Russell decides to burn Clarke's friends and family at the stake, but Murphy realizes that bone marrow transplants can be used to create new hosts and Russell agrees to spare Clarke's friends in exchange for their help in creating new Nightblood in this manner. Nevertheless, Russell executes Simone's killer by burning him at the stake and Ryker stops an attempt by Echo to kill Russell during the execution. Russell then agrees to uphold Josephine's deal with Murphy to make him and his girlfriend Emori immortal if he helps to recover Josephine. He also compels Ryker to turn Echo into a Nightblood and mind wipe her in order to resurrect Simone, but Echo escapes with the help of Gaia and Nathan Miller and kills Ryker.
Russell's forces eventually succeed in finding Josephine at the Children of Gabriel camp, but by this time Clarke has killed Josephine for good and reasserted control over her body. As part of a plan to overthrow the Primes, Clarke poses as Josephine in order to infiltrate Sanctum and take down the radiation shield. Using Nightblood created by Abby, Russell succeeds in resurrecting all of the surviving Primes at once, but mind wipes Abby to act as Simone's new host, knowing that Abby would want revenge against him for the death of her daughter were she to live. Clarke's friends return and force Priya to reveal the truth about the Primes to the gathered Sanctummites, leading to her death at the hands of Delilah's angry mother. Russell throws the crowd into chaos by releasing a concentrated Red Sun toxin bomb and leads the Primes into retreating to Eligius IV while Murphy and Emori choose to remain behind in order to save their friends.
After taking control of Eligius IV, Russell decides to abandon Sanctum and depart to find a new home amongst the other potential colony worlds. Russell and Simone attempt to mind wipe all of Wonkru, forcing Clarke to reveal her true identity in order to stop them, throwing Russell into despair over the loss of his daughter. Simone then leads the other Primes in search of Clarke, but Clarke kills all of the Primes by blowing them into outer space. The only survivor and devastated by his losses, Russell forges an alliance with Sheidheda -- who is possessing Madi -- in order to get revenge. However, Madi manages to regain control of her body and has Russell arrested.
Season 7[]
Following the loss of his entire family and the other Primes, Russell falls into a suicidal depression, refusing to eat, drink or sleep. Despite the rebellion, Russell is left with many followers who become known as the Faithful and call for his release while the other factions on Sanctum want his execution for Russell's crimes. Jordan Green, acting as an intermediary between the various factions, attempts to seek Russell's help in order to calm tensions. After learning that Jordan had a vision of the Anomaly while he was under the influence of the Red Sun toxin, Russell discusses his own experiences with the Anomaly and smashes Priya's Mind Drive when Jordan presents it to him.
Clarke later visits Russell to seek his help personally. Russell returns Abby's things and attempts to drive Clarke into killing him in revenge in order to get the peace that Russell now desires. Clarke nearly shoots Russell, but knocks him unconscious instead. Upon being knocked out, Russell finds himself, once again in the form of his original body, in the Mindspace with Sheidheda who had uploaded himself into Russell's Mind Drive when Raven destroyed the Flame AI. Declaring that he is now Russell, the Dark Commander slits the deposed Prime's throat, killing him and destroying Russell's consciousness. With Russell gone for good, Sheidheda is resurrected in Russell's final host body. Unaware of Russell's death and Sheidheda's resurrection, Clarke rescues the Dark Commander from a fire that she inadvertently starts and announces that "Russell" will be executed for his crimes the next day.
Following his resurrection, Sheidheda poses as Russell for an extended period of time, manipulating Russell's followers in order to gain power for himself. Indra eventually discerns the truth after hearing Sheidheda use his favorite threat "kneel or die" and has Russell's Mind Drive surgically removed in order to ensure that when the Dark Commander does die, he can never come back again. Sheidheda is eventually forced to reveal the truth to Russell's angry followers who are then locked in a room with him by Indra. However, the Dark Commander brutally massacres them instead of falling to the Faithful as Indra had expected and assumes control over Sanctum.
After attempting to cause a war on Bardo, Sheidheda is finally killed by Indra who blows up Russell's host body with a sonic cannon. Anything that was left of Russell Lightbourne is destroyed along with his final body.
Trivia[]
- The time lapse between Sheidheda uploading himself to Russell's Mind Drive and killing him is due to Russell's stated refusal to sleep. As shown with Clarke Griffin and Josephine Lightbourne, two minds can only enter the Mindspace when the host is either asleep or unconscious.
- Following Russell's death, Jason Rothenberg confirmed that Russell would stay dead, but that JR Bourne would stay on the show as Sheidheda.[1]
References[]
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