History Characters / KnivesOut

* PranksterParent: He is a CoolOldGuy with various eccentricities who had various secret means of communicating with his oldest daughter [[DaddysGirl Linda]]. Usually they manifested in the form of games, clues, puzzles and riddles that only she could properly decode. [[spoiler: By the end of the film, she finds the latest note he left for her and she figures out that the invisible ink can be seen by applying her lighter under it, revealing to her that her husband Richard has been cheating on her and that Harlan threatened to tell her if he did not]].

* PranksterParent: He is a CoolOldGuy with various eccentricities who had various secret means of communicating with his oldest daughter [[DaddysGirl Linda]]. Usually they manifested in the form of games, clues, puzzles and riddles that only she could properly decode. [[spoiler: By the end of the film, she finds the various notes he left for her and she figures out that the invisible ink can be seen by applying her lighter under it, revealing to her that her husband Richard has been cheating on her and that Harlan threatened to tell her if he did not]].

* TheGadfly: [[spoiler: In ''Glass Onion'', he is this when he unapologetically ruins the murder mystery game that Miles has set up by using his detective skills.]]

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: His age, appearance, political beliefs and influencer status strongly channel Ben Shapiro.

* LogicalWeakness: As he points out to Helen, Blance isn't a police officer or authority figure nor is he a vigilante. He can make a case for the authorities to arrest and prosecute those he builds cases against but he can't do anything beyond that.

** There's also Great-Nana, Harlan's mother. She's the only person who doesn't get involved in the family's squabbles and plots and even laughs a little when Blanc gives his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to them. At first, it seems like she's just too much of ScatterbrainedSenior to realize what's happening around her, but it's ultimately revealed that [[ObfuscatingStupidity knows a lot more than she lets on]] and is firmly aware of her clan being money-grubbing jerks--especially because they treat ''her'' badly, too.

** He also has a pretty good reason to be angry when it comes to certain family members. [[spoiler:He confronts Richard on his infidelity, Joni on her double-dipping into money intended for Meg's education, and Ransom for being a RichIdiotWithNoDayJob. He's noticeably gentler when he tells Walt he plans to cut him off.]]

Richard and Linda's son, referred to as the BlackSheep of the family. He's a foulmouthed RichIdiotWithNoDayJob.

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Comes across as this, with his only known job having been a summer working as Harlan's research assistant. [[spoiler:In truth, he's actually very intelligent and clever, using his knowledge of murders to frame Marta for Harlan's death. The only thing that undoes his plan is Marta being a better nurse and person than he gave her credit for.]]

* EasilyForgiven: By Marta, [[spoiler:for betraying her confidence to the rest of the family.]] Marta instantly hugs her and tells her she won't have to worry about anything financially. [[spoiler:It's unclear if this definitely still stands by the end of the film, but Marta never actually contradicts it.]]

* BigGood: His role in both ''Knives Out'' and the sequel, ''Glass Onion''. He's really the only character looking out for the welfare of Marta [[spoiler: and Helen]], and is spured on not only by the compelling nature of the case, but the desire to see justice be done and the criminals justly punished.

* DitzyGenius: Benoit Blanc is a brilliant detective but he can come across as a bit buffoonish on occasions. ''Film/GlassOnion'' reveals that he struggles to understand simple games, and he even admits that he felt like an idiot for not seeing [[spoiler: Miles' murder plan and obvious stupidity despite it staring at him in the face.]]

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: In ''Glass Onion'', when Blanc's explaining [[spoiler: how Miles Bron attempted Helen's murder, he realizes Miles stole the idea on how to do it from an earlier conversation with ''him''. He can't believe it when he realizes.]]

* TraumaCongaLine: First her father dies, seemingly by suicide. Then she learns she had been completely written out of his will. Finally [[spoiler: she learns the truth of her husband's infidelity and her son's status as a murderer]] within a few minutes of each other. All this over the span of about a week or so.

[[caption-width-right:Not pictured: Harlan, Ransom, and Great-Nana]]

* CrazyPrepared: As a mystery writer, he tends to think of a lot of things about how people would do things ahead of time. [[spoiler:When he attempts to force Richard to tell Linda about his affair before he sends a letter confirming it himself, he holds up a particular pink letter and puts it away in a hidden space. And on the off-chance Richard managed to find it and tried to get the letter first, he wrote it in heat-sensitive ink to make sure he would think it was just a bluff to get him to come clean, when in reality Linda, who knew Harlan and his passions enough to recognize the invisible ink, would try and hold a fire under it]]

* TheGadFly: His introduction to the audience is at the mansion right before the will is read. He annoys the hell out of everyone before the reading, giggles ceaselessly throughout it, and helps Marta escape afterwards. He clearly relished putting his family through the ringer before the will; and '''loved''' the fallout after... because he's an asshole.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alan_stevens_3.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''The Straightlaced Attorney'']]

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Has been cheating on Linda for a good while, potentially for many years, with Linda too afraid to admit that she married a faithless scumbag who just wanted to partake in the family money.]]

** In ''Glass Onion'', [[spoiler:he is able to determine the plot of the entire carefully crafted murder mystery game crafted by Miles by simply observing the seating positions and the information that was presented to the Disruptors in the hours leading up to the dinner, to the extent that Blanc basically solves the game ''before it even started'']].

* NonProtagonistResolver: Fitting the Creator/AgathaChristie-inspired narrative, Blanc is not the protagonist of either film (those roles go to [[spoiler:Marta and Helen]], who have their own reasons for investigating the murders with him. His primary role is to correctly deduce the identity of the killer for the big reveal at the end while they get their dues.

** In ''Glass Onion'', he is ultimately able to realise that [[spoiler:Miles']] own frequent mis-wordings are in fact a clue to [[spoiler:his hidden stupidity and constant idea stealing]] and thus indicate that [[spoiler:he]] is in fact the murderer.