Tessa James Elliott, more commonly referred to as Tessa, was the posthumous overarching protagonist of Murder Drones, as well as the inadvertent instigator of humanity's downfall.
She was the daughter of James and Louisa Elliott, who recovered numerous discarded Worker Drones from a nearby dump and repurposed them to be her friends and servants at Elliott Manor, growing especially close to N, V, J, and Cyn, who had the Absolute Solver's influence over her body
Physical Appearance[]
Child[]
Like all humans, Tessa was only shown as a dark silhouette with glowing eyes. She had a slim build and a relatively tall stature (being taller than her Worker Drones, yet clearly not a grown adult), black hair, and a pair of downward twin tails, each with a hair band on the lower end, similar to Cyn's hairstyle.
Her silhouette appeared to indicate a short dark dress with short sleeves, heeled shoes, and a large bow on her head that is identical to Cyn's (further drawing parallels between the two). Compared to other humans, her head was significantly larger compared to the rest of her body.
Based on her hybrid appearance it can be assumed she typically wore a black dress, heels, and bow. She was wearing these at the time of the gala. It can also be determined that Tessa had black hair, although her eye color is still undetermined.
Astronaut[]
Disguised as Tessa, the Solver wore a tinted astronaut helmet that was decorated with a small rainbow and smiley face sticker on the top right side of the visor. She also wore a JCJenson branded cap (corroborating her false affiliation to them) and a large, light grey bow on the right side of her helmet. Her outfit consisted of a short-sleeved, white crop-top-like jacket with a shiny silver leotard underneath. She wore a pair of moderately long white gloves that were yellow at the ends and silver pants with knee-high strapped boots. Finally, she had a golden name tag that showed her name and occupation, and carried a broadsword on her back attached with silver straps. To her left hip, she also has a pocket where she sometimes holds her revolver.
Hybrid[]
Currently, Tessa and Cyn share the same appearance, given that Tessa's corpse is grafted onto the latter's Worker Drone body. The Cyn/Tessa hybrid's face bears gaping eye sockets which have been ripped/enlarged to make way for the drone visor. Glowing yellow X symbols are displayed inside her eyes. Cyn's hands also hang freely from her wrists, with Tessa's human hands draped on top. Tessa still has the same hairstyle and attire as when she was a child. Three intestine-like tentacles protrude out of the hybrid form's back in a similar arrangement to the Absolute Solver Translate symbol, which she uses to stand and walk around on. Tessa's skin appears to be entering early stages of decomposition.
Personality[]
In her youth, Tessa was a very lively individual, although somewhat morbid, hinted at by the décor in her room. Young Tessa was asocial having little to no interest with other humans and didn't know how to interact with them, having "only ever talked to robots". Despite her parent's dismay, she had an affinity towards drones and preferred to spend her time with them instead. While Tessa was usually seen close to J, N appeared to be her favorite drone.
As an adult, Tessa (really the Solver impersonating her) was first portrayed as a rather serious and intimidating individual during the ending of The Promening. From the way the Solver portrayed adult Tessa, she seemed to be overly confident, exclaiming "Human-made security this human can control!" with pride and confidence, despite not actually having control over the Sentinels. Adult Tessa also retained a bit of an immature streak, grabbing and spinning N around as she did when she was a child, which yet again makes sense as this was what the Solver was exposed to.
However, when it was revealed that Tessa's body was grafted onto Cyn's, the Absolute Solver completely dropped the imitation act.
Biography[]
Pre-series[]
Tessa Elliott was born to Louisa and James Elliott. Not much is known about her early life, other than that she was part of a wealthy family and lived in a manor with her parents. It's heavily implied that she was mistreated by her parents, such as with them shackling Tessa with a chain in her bedroom whenever she misbehaved (which happened frequently enough to leave Tessa with a sensitive wrist). Tessa didn't know how to interact with other humans and her only real friends were Worker Drones.
Tessa was fascinated by Worker Drones and would go out to repair and refurbish discarded Worker Drones from the nearby scrapyard to be her friends at the manor. She would even dress up her drones and give them names, hair and varying hairstyles. Other humans, such as her father James, found this behavior creepy, with her mother even calling J, N, and Cyn "dumpster pets".
Season 1[]
Heartbeat[]
Tessa makes her first appearance in a flashback at the beginning of Heartbeat, when N has a dream about his past life as a Worker Drone still working on Earth as a butler in Elliott Manor.
While N is front of him, and before N encounters Tessa herself, Tessa's father James says that they "need to curb her trips to the dump" and wonders where she's getting the hair for her drones, saying it's creepy. Later, J kicks down N and then cuts herself off to greet Tessa when she notices her. (From the expression that J gives upon noticing her, Tessa appears to be somewhat of a boss to the various drone maids and butlers around Elliott Manor.) Tessa is accompanied by a newly-repaired Worker Drone, hiding behind her for assurance as she smiles at N, who feels an ominous presence coming from the new maid drone.
The Promening[]
Tessa makes her first present-day appearance at the end of The Promening, where she arrives at Copper 9 via landing pod. After her pod lands gracefully, Tessa, now an adult woman and a certified JCJenson technician, jumps out and decapitates a Worker Drone on sight with a sword. A rebuilt J follows shortly after, tossing her the keys to the ship. Tessa then claims that she and J have "maintenance work" to do.
Cabin Fever[]
Despite not physically appearing in Cabin Fever, Uzi sees a vision of young human Tessa (the Absolute Solver wearing her skin) briefly standing in the corner, with her back turned to Uzi. However, upon looking back, the apparition is gone and instead Uzi notices a human hand appear behind the corner, shocking her until she realizes that she is alone.
Home[]
During the events of Home, Tessa is shown through N's memories of his life on Earth, which are being accessed by Uzi through hacking. There, she is shown to see J as her partner while being enamored by N due to him being a "cute butler". Tessa, however, is wary of Cyn since she knows something is wrong with her, secretly working with J to have her locked in the basement because of this.
Tessa first appears with J in the gala room, distraught over not knowing how to talk to humans. She flinches and touches her wrist when she and J clink glasses. Tessa immediately runs to and spins around N when she notices him, but is dismayed to see he brought Cyn with him. Cyn reveals that Tessa and J have been locking her in the basement. Tessa's mother Louisa arrives, displeased to see the drones. Tessa, J, and Cyn are chained and locked in Tessa's room during the gala by her mother (in Tessa's case, by her wrist), and, due to a further comment from Cyn, N is chained to a tree in the swamp for the crows to devour his parts. Angered, Tessa blames Cyn for N being punished in her place, only for the Solver to reveal its eldritch form and reassure her that she won't have to discard her pets nor will it have to discard her, as she warns her to stay away from the gala.
Horrified that Cyn will slaughter everyone present, Tessa speaks to J about the former committing work-related taboos such as "wanting paid time off" and "attending a union negotiation"; enraging the workaholic J into breaking her and Tessa's chains. The duo discreetly pass through the upper floors of the mansion, avoiding the guests, as they search for a way to murder a "robochild." They come across a night stand with a revolver on it and an authentic medieval sword held by a suit of armor nearby, which they momentarily swap, until N finds them and warns them about V being under the Solver's control. The two help N to get the key to the basement and stay behind to hold off V. Tessa and J rush to the ballroom where they encounter Cyn. Tessa tries to shoot Cyn and proceeds to throw objects at her, as she tells Tessa that she didn't have to see this. Cyn reveals her true Absolute Solver form and takes control of J, who shuts the door, trapping Tessa. The Absolute Solver then proceeds to kill everyone off-screen - Tessa can be heard screaming and calling for her mother by N from the basement.
Later, back outside in the present, Tessa and J meet with Doll, who obtained the Keybug from Uzi as part of their deal to take her with them to Cabin Fever Labs. Tessa shoots at Doll to make sure she wasn't like Cyn, to Doll's annoyance and anger. Regardless, the trio proceeds to head out until they're stopped by N, V, and Uzi who confront them for answers as the episode cuts off.
Dead End[]
The scene picks back up at the beginning of Dead End, where N recognizes Tessa, surprised that she is still alive. She, joyfully, tries to pick him up only to momentarily choke on "toxic air", before she is bitten by Uzi in anger, who questions why she and J are here. Tessa and J say that Cyn has disappeared from Earth, with her last know act being sending the Disassembly Drones to the human exoplanets.
Before anything else happens, Doll betrays the group by snatching the Keybug and running to the lab before them. J and Tessa try to stop her, but are unable to stop the Russian drone from making her way underground. Tessa says that Cyn wants to enter the Cabin Fever Labs, and gives J the keys to her ship. Tessa explains to Uzi that Doll believes her parents were experimented on in these labs, and enters with the rest of the group.
The four (N, Uzi, V, and Tessa) come across a room with pieces of destroyed Disassembly Drones, where Tessa explains there is a security system designed to counter them. After typing on a computer, she claims that, as a human, she can control the security system, but awkwardly hides a paper saying "ACCESS DENIED". As they locate the labs' Secret Elevator, Tessa steps on a trap and is dragged away.
Tessa next appears bound to a bed, while Beau cuts into N. N and Tessa escape, and Tessa accesses a computer to show N how Earth looks like at the moment. While Tessa explains how the Solver took control of Cyn and destroyed Earth, a photograph of what appears to be an injured (yet seemingly alive) young Tessa after the gala massacre appears. Tessa tells N that her mission is to enter the labs, find the list of infected drones, and destroy them. She tells N he will need to choose the universe over saving Uzi. Then, a sentinel appears and attacks N. Tessa then orders the sentinel to "be a nice dingo". The sentinel appears perplexed when its boot-loop light doesn't work on Tessa, and bites her. At the sight of her blood, the sentinel deactivates itself. As other sentinels approach Tessa, Uzi's Solver abilities destroy the doors' control panel and allows the sentinel access to the room, Alice, Uzi, V and Beau are in.
Tessa is next seen with N when he wakes up, as V drops down from the ceiling and angrily confronts Tessa about her not being able to control the sentinels. Uzi wakes up and goes hug N, as V looks at Tessa with both worry and suspicion. The sentinel that bit Tessa earlier wakes up, now with red eyes, as the group looks on from above. The group then see an unconscious Doll holding the Keybug at the end of the hallway. Tessa goes there right away, exclaiming "Bloody convenient!". She then asks Uzi not to "date her robot" when she sees her and N holding hands. Doll then wakes up, takes the keybug and puts it on the reader, revealing her trap. She releases sentinels on the group and drops down the elevator shaft. The red-eyed sentinel, who's developed a thirst for blood, shoots at Tessa, only for V to deflect the bullet. Tessa, N and Uzi enter the elevator as V fights the sentinels, and cuts the elevator cables to allow the three to continue.
Mass Destruction[]
Following the end of the previous episode, Tessa, N and Uzi find themselves in a cave after exiting the elevator. After an outburst from N, Tessa tells him they'll save V after they are done. Tessa tells Uzi to stay out of this one, and asks N to back her up. As N tries to calm down Uzi, he tells Tessa again that they won't hurt her. Uzi's Solver powers activate, causing a tunnel collapse and separating the group.
Afterward, Tessa next appears at the lockers and, after using her fingerprint to pass the security check, uses the computer to check the Cabin Fever database and then destroy the locker room. Doll then emerges and confronts her about the Crucifix Patch. Tessa learns that Doll needed it to patch herself to keep the Solver from influencing her. Tessa taunts her, saying that the Solver doesn't need her before vanishing into the darkness. From the darkness emerges a new threatening figure, which is heard making child-like, distorted screeching sounds as it approaches Doll. The screeching gets louder and louder as Doll tries to attack the unknown enemy with her Solver ability, but fails since the enemy also is a Solver host. Doll reaches in desperation for a rock on the ground, flinging it towards the darkness. The being then jumps out of the darkness and attacks Doll.
After Uzi is done watching the video of the Solver controlling Nori and attacking the scientists at the Cabin Fever Cathedral, a moribund Doll appears and collapses in front of her, with her visor saying "FIGHT BACK" in Russian. Tessa then appears at the entrance, telling Uzi that "someone's been busy". Tessa approaches Uzi, and Uzi attempts to explain, but realizes Tessa is also a Solver host. Tessa tries to kill Uzi with the sword, but N stops her and tells her to spill the secrets about the patch. When she doesn't, N uses his blade to decapitate her.
Later, after N and Nori battle a Solver-possessed Uzi, a headless Tessa walks over to reattach her head, then proceeds to unzip her suit. After doing so, she walks over to Doll and proceeds to eat her heart, revealing that Tessa was dead all along, and under the suit was nothing more than her lifeless corpse melded with Cyn. Cyn then proceeds to attack N and Uzi and tries to drag them into the pit.
Absolute End[]
After Uzi eats the Solver's black hole, the Cyn-Tessa hybrid falls to her knees and starts to melt away. After the flesh, oil and drone parts break down, several of Tessa's bones, including her ribcage, femur, jawbone and hand bones, are left in front of Uzi.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- Steph Crothers, her voice actor, has confirmed that Tessa is an Australian/Aussie.[1]
- The gun Tessa acquired in Home was a black powder Colt 1851 Navy Revolver, although it was treated as a cartridge-converted version in the episode.
- If one looks closely, Tessa and Cyn appear to share the same hairstyle (albeit in different colors), foreshadowing their later fusion of appearance and identity used to fool the main cast by the Solver.
- In the present, Tessa's jacket has emblem on its right shoulder that shows Earth and six symbols which seem to represent the human exoplanets. The emblem has Earth and five of the other symbols crossed out, with only one (presumably Copper 9) left.
- There are a few discrepancies between Tessa's appearance in the show, and her design in concept art drawn by Liam Vickers:
- Tessa and Cyn are both depicted with small bows on the ends of their hair in the official art. There are no bows in the show.
- Tessa's hybrid form's tentacles appear serrated in the official art, similar to the tentacles of the hearts of Solver-infected drones. In contrast, these tentacles are smooth in the show.
- During the flashback in Home, when Tessa notices N in the gala room, she throws down a glass and runs up to him, grabbing him by his face as she spins him around. In Dead End, Cyn, who at the time was there watching the entire interaction, mimicked this very moment while masquerading as adult Tessa - she acted as though she was glad that N remembered her from when he was a simple Worker Drone, but was cut off as she complained about the air being toxic, despite wearing a suit to protect her from the elements.
- Tessa's hybrid appearance was foreshadowed in the "It came from Copper 9!" poster revealed after the release of Dead End. Behind Doll, there was an unidentified creature with an evil grin and X's on both eyes. This has since been revealed to be the Absolute Solver wearing Tessa's melded body from within Cyn.
- Liam Vickers stated that the hair Tessa used for her drones was actually hair that she'd collected from human corpses found in the swamp surrounding her home, or by digging up graves in the family cemetery built on the plot, which she later bleached. In the series proper, this is only briefly hinted at by the human bones in Tessa's room.
- In the teaser image for "Home" in which Tessa appears in a portrait standing next to Cyn, she is holding a shovel, which also hints at her graverobbing habits.
References[]
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Worker Drones |