Seasons of Love/Characters

For convenience, students (i.e., the majority of the cast) are listed with their graduation year.

Main Characters

Kent Thomas

Class of 2010.

• All Guys Want Cheerleaders: When Jessie enters the picture.
• Author Avatar
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Claire, until they get to know each other better and it stops.
• Berserk Button: Don't call him "Birdman."
• Blue Eyes
• Calling the Old Man Out: Frequently, to little effect.
• He Cleans Up Nicely
• The Hero: Becomes this as the story progresses.
• I Am Not My Father
• I Am Not Handsome
• Lonely Rich Kid: Before he met Tom.
• Momma's Boy: Given what his father is like, you can't exactly blame Kent for being emotionally closer to his mother.
• The Movie Buff: Hence his skills in comparing peoples' appearance to famous (and not-so-famous) actors.
• Non-Idle Rich: Doesn't actually have a job yet, but is genuinely uninterested in his father's wealth.
• Rule-Abiding Rebel: Following the rules is his rebellion, against his corrupt parents.
• Secretly Wealthy: He tries to hide this from Holly so she'll like him as a person, until Claire finds out (leading to bad results for her relationship with Jimmy) and Kent decides it's better to just not worry about it anymore.
• Sixth Ranger: A late addition (fall 2006, when he met Tom) to Rick's clique.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy
• White Sheep
• Why Couldn't You Be Different?

Holly Snow

Half-Australian (from her father's side), half-American (from her estranged mother's). Class of 2010.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Dates Milo for a short time despite being generally immune to his charms, but this was due mainly to sour relations between herself, John and Kent at the time, and Milo was well aware of this fact.
• Australian Accent
• Berserk Button: Don't mention her mother. Just don't.
• Blue Eyes
• Brainy Brunette
• Catch Phrase: Not exactly, but she has the occasional soft-spoken "Ew."
• Daddy's Girl
• Girl Next Door
• Important Haircut: Trims her hair between seasons 2 and 3.
• Meaningful Name: Quite possibly the most Christmas-y name ever, appropriate for a girl born two days after. Lampshaded, of course.
• Missing Mom: Who went back to her hometown of San Diego after the divorce. Until The Bus Came Back.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue oni to Claire's red.
• Smitten Teenage Girl: In "The Crush," this is how she is when she first notices Kent.
• Daughter Of A Whore: Though Pam wasn't a prostitute (just an unfaithful wife), this is just the same a Berserk Button for Holly, and the quickest way to insult her is to make a comparison between them.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The girly girl to Claire's tomboy.
• What Beautiful Eyes!: Kent compares her eyes to those of Alexis Bledel, his celebrity crush, and subsequently the rest of her body before the comparison starts getting old and becomes a point of annoyance among them.

"It's getting old. We can stop mentioning who I look like now."

• Why Did It Have To Be Bunnies?

Claire Zielinski

Holly's best friend, also from a broken home. Class of 2010.

• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Rusty, and later with Kent.
• Daddy's Girl
• Disappeared Dad: Though he still sees her during the holidays and some summers.
• Everything Is Big in Texas: Originally born in Houston before her parents divorced and she moved to L.A. with her mother.
• Green Eyes
• Lady in Red: In "The Charm," at the winter formal.
• Love Martyr: Becomes one as her relationship with Jimmy slowly disintegrates.
• Pirate Girl: For Halloween in "The Sin", anyway.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red oni to Holly's blue.
• Secret Keeper: Briefly in "The Twist." When told she can only reveal Kent's secret to one other person, she tells Jimmy, not Rusty as Kent had been hoping, and the rest is history.
• She's Got Legs: So says Jimmy in "The Cross," but this was mainly an attempt to get on her good side (she's a ZZ Top fan).
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Holly's girly girl.
• Tsundere: Type B.

Russell "Rusty" Guitierrez

Holly and Claire's friend. Class of 2010.

• Butt Monkey
• Chivalrous Pervert
• Deadpan Snarker
• Dogged Nice Guy: The patient type.
• Killed Off for Real
• Meta Guy
• Parental Obliviousness: Remarkably unaware that he's a drug dealer.
• Phrase Catcher: "Thank you, Rusty."
• Plucky Comic Relief
• Stoners Are Funny
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: In love with Claire since they first met in kindergarten.

Thomas "Tom" Fraser

Kent's best friend before he met Holly. In a relationship with Oriel Richards, and in a band with her and Kristen, in which he alternates (with Oriel) between guitarist and keyboardist. The oldest of the original circle led by Rick, and the one who introduced Kent to them. Class of 2011.

• Beware the Nice Ones: If you mention his deceased mother in the wrong light, prepare for a unnerving change in Tom's behavior.
• The Big Guy: Of Rick's clique.
• The Confidant
• Gray Eyes
• Long-Distance Relationship: His girlfriend lives an hour away in Long Beach.
• Missing Mom: She was killed by a Stalker with a Crush from her high school days when Tom was three.
• One Head Taller: Than Oriel.
• The Quiet One
• The Stoic
• Stoic Spectacles
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Or girlfriend, as it were.
• Victorious Childhood Friend

Samara Pearse

Class of 2010.

• Alpha Bitch
• Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better: Has this attitude towards Claire, and to a lesser extent everyone else as well.
• Berserk Button: If you insinuate anything bad about her dead sister or any of the rest of her family, she will make you regret it. Also, Aerosmith.
• Blondes Are Evil: Or bitchy, anyway.
• Dead Big Sister: Hannah was crushed by the elevator Samara was riding at the time. An allusion to events of another (unpublished) story by the same author.
• Brooklyn Rage
• Deadpan Snarker
• Green Eyes
• Hates Everyone Equally
• Hey, You: With few exceptions, refers to everyone by a nickname, a la Dr. Cox. (Kent = Bruce Wayne/Batman, Holly = Ozzie, Claire = Tex, Rusty = Cheech, Tom = Lucky, etc.)
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Type B.
• Informed Judaism
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Jerkass Has a Point: Frequently.
• Knight in Sour Armor
• Large Ham
• The Nicknamer
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: After Cameron breaks up with her, except that by "good" she means "perfect."
• The Rival: To Claire, although only Samara sees it that way.

Other Students

James "Jimmy" Allen

Claire's boyfriend at the beginning of the series. Class of 2010.

• Batman Gambit: Pretending to be The Matchmaker in order to manipulate his way into Samara and then Sloane's pants.
• Big Bad
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Believes Claire to be in love with Kent. Not that he doesn't have any evidence.
• Domestic Abuser: Slowly becomes one as his relationship with Claire falls apart.
• Face Heel Turn: Can be pinpointed to "The Twist," when his jealousy of Claire and Kent combined with her unwisely telling him Kent's secret makes him pull a Scarpia Ultimatum to end the couple's longstanding celibacy, lest he tell everyone what Kent doesn't want them to know.
• For the Evulz: Usually everything fits into his grand plans somehow, but occasionally he'll do this; for example, making Stacey go Off the Wagon in "The Charm."
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Guess why.
• From Nobody to Nightmare
• The Generic Guy: He starts out this way before...
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope
• Like a Son to Me: Eventually manages to win Rod's approval where Kent never could.
• Love Makes You Evil: If you could call his feelings for Claire "love."
• Manipulative Bastard
• The Matchmaker: Subverted, when he uses this guise to sleep with Samara and then Sloane after claiming to help the former get back together with Cameron and to improve the latter's relationship with Scott.
• Moral Event Horizon: Oh, boy, lots to choose from. Was it tricking Claire into having sex with him? Was it bedding three other women while they were still together? If not that, then it was almost certainly raping Sloane repeatedly and murdering her ex.
• Mr. Fanservice
• Politically-Incorrect Villain: Becomes one as part of his descent into villainy.
• Rape Is Love: Says he loves Claire, but as everyone is quick to point out, that ain't love. Later, this is done repeatedly with Sloane.
• Sixth Ranger Traitor
• Tall, Dark and Handsome: And often described as such, where it serves more as a synonym for "bland" than as much of a compliment.
• Would Hit a Girl
• Your Cheating Heart: At first, frequently suspected of this despite the lack of any proof. Eventually turns into reality, with Faith, Samara, and Sloane.

Michael "Mike" Anderson

Class of 2012.

• The Lancer: Among Rick's particular clique.
• Military Brat
• Your Cheating Heart: Seduced by Kristen while still in a relationship with Iris.

Caroline "Carrie" Bell

Tom's cousin, the daughter of a famous movie producer. Class of 2007.

• Brainy Brunette
• Celibate Hero
• Classy Cat Burglar
• Good with Numbers: A math prodigy, hence her major at USC.
• Hero of Another Story
• Stage Magician: She makes things disappear both covertly and professionally!
• Virgin Power

Milo Barnes

A transfer student from Jacksonville, Florida who moves to the neighborhood in the fall of 2008. Was supposed to be class of 2009, except he fails to pass most of his classes and has to repeat his senior year and graduate with the class of 2010.

• The Casanova
• Deceased Parents Are the Best: The reason for his moving to California to live with his aunt.
• The Hedonist
• Military Brat
• Mr. Fanservice
• Nephewism: His mother had already been dead for years when his father died in an accident, requiring him to move in with his Aunt Susan.
• Really Gets Around
• The Slacker
• Third Option Love Interest: For Holly, when relations between herself, John and Kent turn sour.
• Troubled but Cute

Michael Trent Bowman

Roger and Diane's son. Class of 2012.

• All Gays Love Theater: Justified, given his upbringing.
• Dead Big Sister: His older sister Ellie died the same day as Samara's older sister during the same string of horrific accidents surrounding the 2006 musical.

Rosalyn Burns

Kent's childhood friend, the daughter of another rich family. Class of 2008.

• The Ghost
• Spoiled Sweet

Richard "Rick" Candler

The de facto leader of his own circle of friends. Class of 2012.

• The Corruptible
• The Friend Nobody Likes
• Handsome Lech
• Hero of Another Story: Though he has a pretty substantial role in this one. The Hero of his own clique.
• Heroes Want Redheads: At first, anyway.
• I Call Him "Mister Happy": Little Richard.
• Jerkass
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Ladykiller in Love: When he meets Veronica, largely due to her being the only one to tolerate him at the time.
• Lovable Sex Maniac
• Kavorka Man: Straddles the fine line between this (due to his repellent personality) and The Casanova.
• Messy Hair: "An adventurous man needs adventurous hair," as he says to justify it.
• Pet the Dog
• Really Gets Around: Eventually.
• Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist
• What the Hell, Hero?: When Mike violates The Bro Code by dating Iris sometime after her breakup with Rick, Rick decides to respond in kind by seducing Mike's ex-girlfriend Cassie and sending him the video of the act. Needless to say, Rick is severely punished for this and ousted by all his friends. However, not long after he's beat the odds and found a new friend, Rick becomes the victim of another seduction of sorts by Jimmy and things start to go even further downhill... .
• Your Cheating Heart: Subverted when he and Iris mutually agree to break up just as he and Mila start developing an attraction.

Emily Candler

Rick's little sister. Class of 2015.

• Fan Girl: Of Justin Bieber and Disney Channel KidComs, and not subtle about it.
• Girl Next Door: For Nathan.
• Tagalong Kid: Along with Nathan.

Jack Dawson

No, not that one. Class of 2009.

• Bishonen
• Chick Magnet
• The Movie Buff
• Unfortunate Names

Kent: "Your name is Jack Dawson?"
Jack: "I know. I've been getting shit for that for years."
Kent: "Doesn't help that you kind of look like Leo DiCaprio."

Jack: "No, it doesn't."

Joshua "Josh" Goldsworthy

One of Holly's closer friends from outside the main circle; in a band with her, where he plays the guitar and drum and she sings and plays the keyboards. Class of 2009.

• All Guys Want Cheerleaders: When he was dating Stacey.
• Big Brother Instinct: With Holly and Mila.
• Big Brother Mentor
• Chick Magnet
• Just Friends: With Holly, despite rumors to the contrary.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits
• Sharp-Dressed Man: He's great at this.

Mila Goldsworthy

Josh's little sister. Class of 2012.

• Annoying Younger Sibling
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The brunette among Rick's love interests.
• Fan Girl: A Twilight fan, but she thankfully manages to keep some restraint. Ships Jacob/Bella, and hates Breaking Dawn.
• Shiny Midnight Black

John Gomez-Cavanaugh

A transfer student from Santa Marta, Colombia to the neighborhood in the winter of 2007. Class of 2010.

• Badass Long Hair
• Badass Spaniard: Establishes himself as this in his very first appearance in "The Renewal," when he decks Andrew.
• Expansion Pack Past
• Gratuitous Spanish: Lampshaded, most notably by Samara, who nicknames him Dora.
• Latin Lover

Iris Greene

Rick's girlfriend. Class of 2012.

• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The redhead among Rick's love interests.
• The Chick: Among Rick's clique.
• Cool Big Sis
• Girl Next Door: Literally, for Rick.
• Redheaded Hero

Nathan Greene

Iris's little brother. Class of 2015.

• Tagalong Kid: Along with Emily.
• Redheaded Hero

Rowan Harvey

Class of 2010.

• Catch Phrase: "You Bastard."
• Cloudcuckoolander
• Hazel Eyes

Alexander "Alex" Isaac Hayes

Would be class of 2013, but high test scores push the date a little earlier.

• Embarrassing Middle Name: Isaac
• Mr. Fixit
• Put on a Bus: To Chicago, with girlfriend Terra.
• The Short Guy with Glasses: Albeit without the glasses.
• Teen Genius
• The Smart Guy: Within Rick's clique.

Alexis "Lex" Hummel

Class of 2009.

• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The beauty of Holly's dance classmate trio.
• Middle Child Syndrome

Brooke Hummel

Class of 2007. Lex's older sister.

• Cool Big Sis
• Everybody Remembers the Stripper: In-universe example: all anyone outside the Hummel family seems to care about is the fact that she works as a stripper in Vegas.

Tyler Hummel

Class of 2012. Brooke and Lex's younger brother.

• Invisible to Gaydar

Cassie Jaeger

Class of 2012.

• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The blonde among Rick's first three love interests.
• Hair of Gold

Jessica "Jessie" Kellehan

A transfer student from Detroit, Michigan who moves to the neighborhood in the fall of 2008. Becomes the drummer of Tom, Oriel and Kristen's band. Class of 2010.

• Bi the Way
• Brainy Brunette
• The Cheerleader: But genuinely averts the stereotype, as she is smart, kind and monogamous.
• Rule-Abiding Rebel
• Seemingly-Wholesome Fifties Girl

Scott Kimble

Class of 2010.

• Break the Cutie
• Killed Off for Real
• The Loins Sleep Tonight
• Murder the Hypotenuse
• Never Suicide
• Shipper on Deck: Ships Kent/Claire. Part of the reason Jimmy comes to hate him.

Cameron McCarthy

Samara's boyfriend, for about two months in the fall of her sophomore/his senior year. Class of 2008.

• Am I Just a Toy to You?: His reasoning for breaking up with Samara, after she treats him this way in her quest to be the best.
• Beard of Sorrow: Grows one after the breakup, despite his antagonism towards Samara.
• Killed Off for Real
• Stout Strength
• What the Hell, Hero?: After the breakup with Samara, he wants revenge - by means of hijacking the school news feed. This never happens, though, because instead Jimmy comes to him with other ideas, which are again subverted when he chooses to help Cameron get back together with Samara - which turns out to be part of Jimmy's plan to sleep with her, so that doesn't work out either.

Stacey Milano

Class of 2009.

• The Alcoholic
• Bottle Fairy
• The Cheerleader
• Life of the Party: The reason Josh broke up with her.
• Ms. Fanservice
• Off the Wagon: She is turned to the drink again after several weeks of sobriety when Jimmy demeans her For the Evulz in "The Charm."

Kristen Quigley

Oriel's "best" friend, and the bassist of their band. Class of 2011.

• Anything That Moves
• The Friend Nobody Likes: She and Oriel have known each other since childhood, and Kristen's father, as a musician himself, has a nice in-home studio that's perfect for the band to practice. Really, she didn't become a problem until her first time.
• Nobody Loves the Bassist
• Really Gets Around
• The Vamp

Oriel Richards

Tom's girlfriend, who lives in Long Beach. With him and Kristen, the core of a rock band, for which she is the singer and alternates (with Tom) between guitarist and keyboardist. Class of 2011.

• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
• Eternally Pearly-White Teeth: Justified, given that her mother is a dental hygenist.
• Face of the Band: In-universe.
• The Ghost: For a long while. Makes her first appearance in "The Charm" as Tom's date at the Winter Formal.
• Little Black Dress: In "The Charm," her introduction, at the winter formal.
• Long-Distance Relationship: With Tom.

Sloane Rivers

Scott's girlfriend. Class of 2010.

• Corrupt the Cutie
• Excessive Evil Eyeshadow: After Jimmy has converted her to his side.
• Fallen Princess
• Killed Off for Real
• Heel Face Revolving Door
• Your Cheating Heart: Cheats on Scott with Jimmy. Later, cheats on Jimmy with Rick.

Melanie Smith

Class of 2010.

• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The brawn of Holly's dance classmate trio.
• Beware the Nice Ones
• Fiery Redhead
• Hot Amazon
• Lipstick Lesbian
• Statuesque Stunner
• Suddenly Sexuality
• Team Chef

Dana South

Oriel's cousin. Class of 2007.

• Author Avatar: A gender-flipped version.
• Brainy Brunette
• Distaff Counterpart: To Kent, and the two of them become aware of this rather quickly.
• Gotta Catch Them All: An avid birder, like Kent, but even more so.
• Hero of Another Story
• Meganekko
• Third Option Love Interest: For Kent (who is himself a Third Option Love Interest for her at the time), when Tom and Oriel try without much subtlety to set the two up.

Nicole Sullivan.

No, not that one. Class of 2010.

• Shipper on Deck: Like Scott, ships Kent/Claire.

Terra Verbinski

Class of 2010.

• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The brains of Holly's dance classmate trio.
• Brainy Brunette
• Closet Geek: Secretly a Star Trek fan, until the 2009 film makes it cool to be open about it.
• Nerds Are Sexy: See above.

Ashley White

Class of 2011.

• Gold Digger
• May-December Romance: With Rod.

Faith Wilson

Jimmy's childhood friend from Lincoln, Nebraska. Class of 2008.

• All Love Is Unrequited: With Jimmy, until the two of them take the opportunity to fix that.
• Ethical Slut: Though we never find out exactly what her ethical excuse was.
• Really Gets Around: Until Jimmy
• Sex Face Turn: Of a sort: following her encounter with Jimmy, she renounces her promiscuous ways.

Parents And Teachers

Roger Bowman

The high school drama teacher.

• Bald of Awesome
• Team Dad

Diane Bowman

Roger's wife, and an English teacher at the high school.

• Embarrassing Maiden Name: Frickenburger.
• Stage Mom

Robert Fraser

Tom's father, an English professor.

• Badass Bookworm: Teaches William Shakespeare to college kids, stopped a murderous Stalker with a Crush from harming his family.
• Papa Wolf

Samuel "Sam" Greene

Iris and Nathan's father, a police officer for the Glendale Police Department.

• Black Sheep: Married into a family of redheads, where he is the only one with brown hair.
• Fair Cop
• Heroes Want Redheads: As mentioned above.

Marcus Gutierrez

Rusty's father.

• Hot Dad

Sandra Gutierrez

Rusty's mother.

• Hello, Attorney!
• Hot Mom
• Hot Chick in a Badass Suit

Mark Snow

Holly's father, a veterinarian.

• Australian Accent: Well, yeah.
• Awesome Aussie
• My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad: A literal case, when, after his daughter is insulted at Thanksgiving dinner by Rod, he takes the discussion outside - and loses.
• Kindly Vet
• Land Down Under: Originally from Melbourne.

Pamela "Pam" Snow

Holly's mother, long estranged until she returns suddenly for Holly's 17th birthday.

• Eighties Hair
• Hot Mom: The hottest, if the reactions of the boys in Holly's life are any indication.

Roderick "Rod" Thomas

Kent's father, CEO of clothing franchise Roderick & Company.

• Corrupt Corporate Executive
• Dirty Old Man
• Even Evil Has Standards
• Hot Dad
• Jerkass
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Tyler's biological father.
• May-December Romance: With Ashley.
• Overprotective Dad: See below.
• Papa Wolf: Even if his reasoning is misplaced.
• Politically-Incorrect Villain: Sexist and homophobic.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money

Gina Thomas

Kent's mother.

• Blonde Republican Sex Kitten
• Evil Parents Want Good Kids: She does more than her husband does, anyway.
• Gold Digger
• Hot Mom
• Mama Bear
• Sexy Secretary: To her own husband. Not a point of pride.
• Stuffed Into the Fridge

Lisa Zielinski

Claire's mother, a real estate agent.

• Hot Mom
• Mama Bear

Walter Zielinski

Claire's father, an astronaut. Lives in Houston, Texas.

• Badass: He is an astronaut.
• Disappeared Dad: But gets to see Claire on holidays and some summers when one visits the other.
• Hot Dad
• Your Cheating Heart: The reason Lisa divorced him, and still a sore spot for Claire, even if she loves him.