This is an article for a list of recurring characters from the American television series, The Pretender. The main character Jarod, played by Michael T. Weiss, is a genius who assumes new identities and masters new professions in every episode.
Main character
Jarod (Michael T. Weiss, 1996–2000) (Ryan Merriman, 1996–2000) {portrayed Young Jarod} A 'pretender'; a super-genius polymath with eidetic and working memory (possibly Hyperthymesia), who has the ability to be anyone, learn any skill and function in any situation – a chameleon who takes on identities as easily as most people change clothes. It is revealed at the climax of the second season that because of Jarod's rare genealogy, he is genetically dispositioned to being a "Pretender." According to The Pretender: Rebirth, Jarod uses about 20% of his brain, while most people use about 10%. It is also revealed near the end of season 2 that Jarod and his brother, Kyle, share a rare blood type, AB− blood. It is mentioned twice in season 4 ("Risque Business" & "Cold Dick"), that Jarod has a pistachio allergy. Since at least the time from when he was abducted, he has known the couplet "Kri Kra Toad's Foot, Geese Walk Bare-foot" (which is the English translation of the German couplet "Kri Kra Kroten-Fuss, Gänse Laufen Bar-Fuss").
In 1963, Jarod was taken from his parents as a young child, and grew up within the Centre as a virtual test subject until his escape in 1996. During his time growing up, he knew the young girl who would grow up to be his pursuer, Miss Parker. In the season one episode "Bomb Squad", Jarod is described as having had an "erudite, European upbringing" and that the cadence in Jarod's voice betray the fact that he was raised by a "French or Belgian nanny". Since his escape from the Centre, Jarod has been searching for his family: his mother, Margaret, his father, Charles ( "Major Charles", an ex-Air Force officer), and his surviving siblings, Emily (his younger sister), "Jeremy" (his 14-year-old clone), and Ethan (his younger half-brother whom he shares with Miss Parker). The second motivating factor in Jarod's life is atoning for the deaths he inadvertently caused by working for The Centre; because of this, he identifies himself with Onyssius, an Ancient Greek God of Retribution (mentioned in the pilot episode, the first of the two The Pretender telemovies, The Pretender 2001, and the first book of the renewed series, The Pretender: Rebirth).
Jarod usually avoids being caught by The Centre at the end of every episode and has, at times, engineered close calls for the purposes of gloating. Following his escapes, Jarod enjoys sparring with Miss Parker over the phone. He often, comically, uses her name in many of his insults at his job prior to the episode. An example of this occurs when he is working as a substitute teacher for chemistry and tells his students that "roaches would be the only living thing after a biological holocaust. Them and some woman named 'Parker'."
Due to his adaptability, insight, athleticism, and intelligence, Jarod is extremely formidable in his 'pretends' and elusive as a fugitive from the Centre. He routinely passes as an expert and experienced practitioner of various trades and can anticipate virtually all of the fugitive retrieval methods employed by the Centre. However, he does have several limitations and vulnerabilities. While Jarod can seemingly master any profession, he must find or create the means of replicating physical activities; for example, taking swim lessons prior to posing as a Coast Guard officer. While he can quickly learn existing knowledge, he has the same limits of discovery for new knowledge as traditional research, such as requiring labs and testing facilities for drug development. Once he has mastered a discipline, innovations are just as difficult for him as they are for any other practitioner, though he does possess cross-disciplinary insights. His deceptions are thorough but cannot stand up to intense scrutiny; as such, he always has to operate under a time limit before being discovered for his frauds. He has a deep psychological need to discover the truth about his past and unwavering commitment to his surviving family members; because of this, he has demonstrated a willingness to endanger and expose himself on their behalf. He possesses a strong moral center and can become emotional when faced with the abuse or neglect of the vulnerable, particularly children and the elderly; he is similarly incensed by abuses of power, causing his emotions to cloud his judgment, if not his intelligence. Finally, Jarod can make mistakes and become frustrated when he cannot acquire all available data, especially that of a private or personal nature; he cannot accurately predict the actions of people or organizations where there is limited information on their motivations, objectives, or goals.
Other protagonists
Miss Parker (Andrea Parker, 1996–2000) {main cast member} (Ashley Peldon, 1996–1999) {portrayed Young Miss Parker} A child of the Centre, "Miss Parker" has grown up within the Blue Cove complex, with both her father and mother playing pivotal roles in the organization. Her father, "Mr. Parker", is apparently the local administrator of the Blue Cove branch of the Centre. Miss Parker has a twin brother named Lyle, who was at first believed to be stillborn. When she was still a young girl, her mother Catherine Parker adopted a girl named Faith, who was dying of leukemia.
Soon after Faith's adoption, Catherine gave birth to Miss Parker's half-brother, Ethan. This child was the result of Project Mirage, in which Catherine Parker was impregnated with sperm from Jarod's father Major Charles (making Ethan, Jarod's half-brother, as well). The Centre scientist Mr. Raines (who is also Mr. Parker's brother) delivered the child and then apparently killed Catherine. Miss Parker was told that her mother committed suicide. Faith died shortly afterward. Miss Parker only learned as an adult, thanks partly to Jarod, that her mother had actually been killed. The full circumstances of Catherine Parker's death vary depending on who is giving the account. As an adult, Miss Parker also learned that her biological father is, in fact, Raines.
As a young girl, Miss Parker met secretly with Jarod while he was also a child at the Centre. Miss Parker gave Jarod his first kiss when they were young. By adulthood, circumstances had changed and Miss Parker seems to hold Jarod in contempt. Miss Parker becomes a formidable field operative for the Centre before eventually joining the "corporate" side of the organization. When Jarod escapes the Centre, Miss Parker is "recalled from Corporate" and assigned to recapture him. Her anger towards the rogue Pretender increases as he repeatedly eludes and humiliates her. Despite this, Jarod helps Miss Parker learn more about her own past and comes to her aid when she is in danger, even when it risks his own safety.
As the series progresses, Miss Parker's attitude toward Jarod softens, though not by much. When Jarod and she discover their shared links on the Isle of Carthis, they nearly have a romantic interlude. Eventually, however, Miss Parker ignores Jarod's pleas and allows him to be apprehended by the Centre. Jarod manages to escape again, and Miss Parker is returned to her task of hunting him. She later receives another phone call from her longtime enemy, but this time they do not trade insults as usual. Miss Parker warns that she will continue to be coming after him, but wishes him luck in his journey to find his family.
Sydney (Patrick Bauchau, 1996–2000) {main cast member} (Alex Wexo, 1996–2000) {portrayed Young Sydney} {appeared in 27 episodes} Born sometime before World War II, Sydney comes from a French/Belgian background (his father was in the Belgian infantry), and his family's background was devout Roman Catholic. Sydney's family includes his father John-Michael, his mother Gretta, and his identical twin brother, Jacob; a sister is also mentioned, but never elaborated upon. During World War II, Sydney's family is rounded up by the Nazis; John-Michael and Gretta are sent to the gas chambers (despite the fact that the family was not Jewish), while Jacob and Sydney became the subject of experiments, since they are twins.
After World War II, Sydney and Jacob later relocated to the US and attended Yale University, Sydney studying to become a psychologist and psychiatrist, psychogenics being one of his fields of expertise (mentioned in the second episode). Together, they were later recruited into the staff of the Centre. Some years later on, Jacob became comatose following a car accident with Sydney at the wheel. Feeling responsible, Sydney hides his comatose brother from the Centre. Sydney becomes the organization's lead psychiatrist and is assigned to mentor and direct young Jarod. For years, Sydney guides the boy through simulations so the Centre may use his knowledge. Sydney is not meant to be a father figure to Jarod and outwardly resists this role, though privately, he is shown to have developed a deep fondness and loyalty to the boy.
When the adult Jarod later escapes the Centre, Sydney is assigned to aid Miss Parker in recapturing him. Though he does so, Sydney also prevents Miss Parker at times when he believes Jarod's safety is in danger. Throughout the pursuit, he also has several conversations with Jarod over the phone and empathizes with the rogue Pretender's quest to learn about his past and find a new life. Sydney's obvious loyalty to Jarod at times puts him in a dangerous position with Miss Parker and the Centre.
In the season-two episode "Bulletproof", Sydney learns he fathered a child with an old lover Michelle, a boy named Nicolas. Later in the series, Jarod devises a method that temporarily returns Jacob to consciousness. Sydney at lasts makes peace with his brother and Jacob dies peacefully.
Kyle (Jeffrey Donovan, 1997–1999) {appeared in four episodes} (Zachary Browne, 1996–1999) {portrayed Young Kyle} Kyle first appeared as a child in "Happy Landings" and as an adult in the season-one, two-part finale "Back to the Dragon House".
Kyle is first seen as a child in the episode "Happy Landings", where he is revealed as another boy trained at the Centre under the care of Mr. Raines (who then was still Dr. Raines). Kyle's story is then expanded further in the two-part "Back to the Dragon House". According to that episode, Kyle is the brother of Jarod, though neither remembered this fact due to the memory repression following the trauma of their kidnappings. Like Jarod, young Kyle is to be a Pretender, though Dr. Raines also wishes to mold the boy into a killer operative with no morality.
After seeing Kyle in the hallway, young Jarod insists on meeting him, anxious finally to have a friend close to his own age. Jarod and Kyle are allowed to see each other on multiple occasions, as they run simulations together. They do not know at the time that they are brothers. They develop a friendship and secretly communicate when they realize their cells are near each other. Raines is frustrated when he realizes that Jarod's morality is affecting Kyle. During one simulation, Jarod is tricked by Raines into pouring acid on Kyle's right hand, leaving a permanent scar between his thumb and forefinger. Jarod apologizes as Kyle is taken away and the two do not see each other again during their time at the Centre.
The Centre officially releases Kyle from its facility, but in truth, Dr. Raines secretly keeps Kyle in sublevel 27 of the Centre facility. Kyle is told that Jarod is dead and is forbidden to have contact with others. He is forced to live in SL 27 while Raines uses negative reinforcement to warp him into a sociopathic personality. Kyle is taught to believe in the mantra: "I decide who lives or dies." Some of Kyle's training involves learning to hate Catherine Parker, mother of Miss Parker.