Characters in Crashing.
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Lulu
Played by: Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Anthony's oldest and least responsible friend, a gadabout who moves into the hospital at the start of the show.- Aborted Declaration of Love: Confesses to Anthony a couple of times, but they soon pretend it was all a prank they were pulling on each other.
- Attention Whore: She rivals Sam for constantly needing to be the person everyone in the room is looking at.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Anthony learns not to tell her anything in confidence.
- Cannot Spit It Out: She's in love with Anthony, but they're both afraid of putting themselves out there. They get really close to admitting it a lot, only to backpedal and brush it off as just a joke.
- The Gadfly: Is constantly trying to push other people's buttons. Taken to Jerkass levels in her worst moments and ultimately subverted as it leans more into pointed attacks, especially when she's drunk.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Lulu is presented as everything Kate isn't: fun, vibrant, and quirky to Kate's strict, down-to-earth seriousness and control issues. This is not necessarily a good thing, as how happy it's made her is up in the air.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Subverted. Lulu intentionally does a lot of things to make herself seem special and intriguing, to project a quirky, irreverent image, but this is a largely shallow extension of her Attention Whore personality and her attempts to date Anthony. In other words, she's trying to Invoke Manic Pixie Dream Girl and it's falling rather flat.Kate: She wears quirky clothes and she is in love with you and it's exhausting.
- Quirky Ukulele: Plays one partly for the image.Kate: Wow! A ukulele! Quirky.
Lulu: Thanks, I try. - The Tease: Constantly flirts with everyone. Lampshaded by Anthony:Lulu: Tease!
Anthony: Coming from you. - Trickster Girlfriend: Lulu has obvious romantic tension with Anthony, and their relationship is partially founded on teasing and making fun of each other.
Anthony
Played by: Damien Molony
Lulu's childhood sweetheart, a cook in a local restaurant.- Crazy Jealous Guy: Not for his fiancée, interestingly enough, but for Lulu. He gets upset whenever she and Sam flirt with each other.
- The Ditherer: Anthony has difficulty taking important decisions and lets his fiancée Kate take most of them. Played for Drama when he lets Lulu decide whether he should stay with Kate or not.
- Graceful in Their Element: He's a bit of a dolt outside of it, but is very confident in the kitchen.
- Ignored Confession: He asks Lulu to confess her feelings, only to then pretend it was all a prank.
- Like Brother and Sister: Ostensibly his relationship with his childhood friend Lulu, although what with their constant flirting with each other and his Crazy Jealous Guy shtick, no one really buys it.Kate: He calls her "my Lulu."
Jessica: That is so hot and inappropriate. - My Sister Is Off-Limits: Anthony forbids Sam from sleeping with Lulu after telling him their relationship is very fraternal.
- Real Men Cook: Anthony is a chef by trade, a fantastic cook, and loves cooking for his friends.
Kate
Played by: Louise Ford
Anthony's high-strung fiancée.- Appearance Angst: Kate has issues with her body and she's not even comfortable with her fiancé Anthony looking at her naked.Melody: You hate your body?
Kate: Of course I do. Everybody does.
Melody: Everyone hates your body?
Kate: No, I mean... well, probably, if they were honest. - The Comically Serious: Compared to everyone else in the building, Kate is very strict and responsible.
- Control Freak: Kate is high-strung and anxious. The rest of the cast teases her about being "anal". While she isn't praised for this characteristic, those around her do appreciate it after some fashion — both at home and at work, people turn to her to take care of things and keep everything running.
- Grew a Spine: She learns to stop being meek and placid over the course of the show. The very last scene of the show involves her waiting a mere ten seconds or so for Anthony and Lulu to go behind her back to have an encounter, and then informing them in Tranquil Fury that she's "not fucking stupid".
- Insecure Love Interest: Kate doesn't like herself. Being so uptight isn't enjoyable for her, and she's aware it doesn't make her popular with others. She hates her body. When Lulu — who's everything Kate is not — comes onto the scene, Kate is really nervous about having to romantically compete with her. She doesn't want to be Lulu exactly — she's well aware of just what a mess Lulu is — but she wants her spontaneity and social ease.
- Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: The more Kate interacts with the other tenants, the more self-assured she grows and the more she gets out of her shell.
- Mistaken for Gay: Lulu, Jessica, and Anthony all variously seem to find the idea of Kate as a repressed lesbian to be plausible. Her attraction to her fiancé Anthony seems tenuous at best. She isn't comfortable with him seeing her naked, he struggles to make her orgasm, and she drunkenly confesses that she doesn't love him. If she were a lesbian, Last Het Romance would provide a very convenient, no-blame "out" for their relationship. But Kate's not a lesbian. This makes the situation with Anthony much… stickier.Jessica: Have you ever thought that you might be into women?
Kate: Yeah. But I'm not.
Jessica: Oh, I don't know. Think about it.
Kate: I have. I'm just not a lesbian. - Shrinking Violet: Downplayed, but she is very insecure and nervous.
- Stepford Smiler: Kate pretends nothing's wrong with her and Anthony's relationship, even if she's really torn about it. This is at least partially a defensive strategy — she knows Lulu wants Anthony, having (or at least pretending to have) a strong, secure relationship is the best defense she has.
Sam
Played by: Jonathan Bailey
An electric, exhausting, and overly sexual resident.- Attention Whore: Along with Lulu, Sam always has to be the loudest person in the room, and this causes problems with his interactions with the other tenants. It also crosses badly with jealousy when the person he likes is dating someone else.Fred: You're not fucked up, Sam — you're a Drama Queen!
- Coming-Out Story: Over the season, Sam slowly comes to realize he has romantic feelings for Fred.
- The Dandy: Because Sam views himself as a Handsome Lech, he puts a lot of effort into his looks. He lets Fred borrow a shirt when he wants to look nice for a date.
- Genki Guy: He is so full of energy, he is practically always bouncing on his feet. He is often running, jumping, dancing, rolling around, play fighting and prone to outbursts.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: A gag in the first episodes involves Sam jumping at the chance to be paired up with any female name. He propositions the entire female cast at one point or another. But he's actually nice and and fun to be around, so his friends let it fly. And Sam does have some standards—he knows all about the harms of porn and is against it.Sam: You know that a common side effect of excessive porn use is erectile dysfunction.
- Loving Bully: Downplayed Trope. Sam and Fred's relationship is primarily fond — they're best friends, with an underlying crush — but there's also a mean streak in it. Sam lashes out with belittling as a way to create distance when he's uncomfortable. Even in happy moments, Sam constantly insults Fred, which Fred doesn't seem to mind.
- Odd Couple: Aggressively extroverted Sam really enjoys hanging out with quiet Fred, despite them being total opposites.
- Sad Clown: Sam tries to keep things fun and lighthearted, but it's obvious he's not taking the death of his father well.
- Shipping Torpedo: Sam is clearly jealous of Will and gets competitive with him and possessive of Fred. He only doubles down when Will tries to ask him to back off.
- The Tease: Sam loves to tease and cuddle Fred, and monopolize his time, openly flirting — all the while claiming he's straight and there's nothing to it.
- Transparent Closet: Sam seems to be almost the last one to find out about his own crush on Fred, despite Fred, Will, and Lulu all noticing it very soon.
Fred
Played by: Amit Shah
A shy and excitable resident who strikes up an unlikely close friendship with Sam.- Character Catchphrase: One of Fred's outgoing love interests invites him to do something and he responds with a breathless, "Okay!"
- Closet Key: His interactions with Sam help the latter realize he's into men.
- Only Sane Man: Fred and Kate are the most even-keel people on their floor, although his friends' quirkiness entertains him more than anything.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: A two-guy example. Both of Fred's love interests are considerably more extroverted and active than he is.
- Shrinking Violet: Fred is quite mild-mannered and sensitive, also he takes a step away from this trope in that he's also fairly excitable.
- Twofer Token Minority: Fred is a gay Desi man.
Melody
Played by: Julie Dray
A no-nonsense painter with a French accent.- Artists Are Attractive: She's rather pretty and has a bohemian attitude. Although quirky, she's portrayed in this way.
- Eccentric Artist: A painter who's strange and seemingly uninhibited.
- Everyone Looks Sexier if French: She's very attractive and speaks with a Francophone accent.
- Fiery Redhead: Melody has bright red hair. Although she's mostly relaxed, she's got a strong character that comes out when Lulu or Sam test her. When Lulu pushes her too far during the home party, she lets some of her inner bitch out and pours her drink on her. She also has little patience with Sam when the latter returns to using sex to distract himself from his misery—she comes onto him very aggressively, so much so that he breaks down and admits he doesn't really want to bang her, after which she walks away. She's also ready to lay into Colin's terrible ex at a glance.
- Like Parent, Like Spouse: Downplayed, but her work's themes are eventually revealed to be related to her father, which is why she chose Colin as a model in the first place.
- Mistaken Nationality: Played for Laughs. Melody speaks with a Francophone accent, but in the finale when she reveals that she's never been to France. She's from some other French-speaking country (such as Belgium or Switzerland), going against everyone's assumption.
- Static Character: Unlike all of the other cast members, Melody never changes much over the story, though this is largely because she starts the story already a self-actualized person. Thus, her storyline revolves around helping other people deal with their issues.
- True Art Is Angsty: At least part of the reason Melody is drawn to Colin as her muse was because he exudes palpable misery which she considers ideal for art.
Colin
Played by: Adrian Scarborough
Kate's middle-aged coworker who's going through a divorce. Becomes Melody's muse.- Acquainted with Emergency Services: Colin is familiar with the emergency hotline in which Will works.
- The Eeyore: Colin is melancholic and sad most of the time because he's in the middle of a divorce.
- Extreme Doormat: Before the show, he was sharing a house with his wife and her lover.Colin: I will continue to live with my wife and her lover until they…
Melody: They have sex in the bath while you're shaving your face?
Colin: That would do it, yes. - Grew a Spine: Colin starts out as understandably miserable that his wife treats him like such crap, but after spending enough time with Melody's Tough Love, he eventually stands up to her and doesn't need her anymore.
- Mistaken for Suicidal: Early in the season, Colin — fresh off a divorce — sings a spontaneous song about wanting to die most mornings and seems familiar with how the crisis hotline Will works at operates. In the final episode, Melody has him pose by an open window. She leaves him alone to confront Sam, and when they return Colin is unconscious on the ground below. Melody assumes he jumped, but when Colin comes to he admits that he really did just lose his balance and fall out the window.
- The Muse: Melody strongarms Colin into becoming the inspiration for her art. Also a gender inversion, as the hot younger woman is the artist, and the plain-looking middle-aged man is the muse.Melody: I want to get to know you. I want to paint you. I want to make love to you. I want to be your friend.
- Shrinking Violet: Reserved and kind, Colin is hesitant to move into the hospital and be around Melody's friends.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Colin is middle-aged, plain-looking, withdrawn and melancholic. Melody is probably 20 years his junior, conventionally attractive, bold, and laden with signifiers of sexy like redhead, artist, and French. Exaggerated Trope and Played for Laughs in that Melody decides Colin is who she wants and starts fervently perusing him, while Colin seems far more hesitant about this relationship.Kate: Do you really like Colin?
Melody: Of course.
Kate: [mystified] Why?
Melody: Because he's given up.
Kate: And that's attractive to you?
Melody: Oui. He just wants to be small and good, and because of that he is huge and beautiful. Everyone wants to be big. It's bullshit.
Will
Played by: Lockie Chapman
Fred's Australian boyfriend.- The Ace: Will is great at everything he does. He's charismatic, successful and handsome, sings well, does volunteer work for an emergency hotline, and always gets what he wants.Fred: He is a really good cook. He also buys himself small companies and makes them stronger and more commercially viable.
Sam: Well, that's impressive.
Will: You make it sound like I work for a charity.
Fred: Oh, yeah, he's a Samaritan when he's got the spare time.
Will: Stop it! Really makes me sound like a knobber. Don't tell him about the paper. [Beat] Fred?
Fred: Oh yeah, he also writes a column for a financial paper. And he bakes!
- Derailing Love Interests: For the majority of the show, Will is more kind, emotionally mature, and well adjusted than Sam — by a wide margin. In order for Sam to have any chance, Will has to snap and reveal himself as a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
- Determinator: Will takes pride in the fact that once he wants something, he doesn't stop until he gets it.
