Lady Emily Kaldwin
Lady/Empress Emily Drexel Lela Kaldwin
Click here to see Emily as she appears in the sequel.
Voiced by: Chloë Grace Moretz (Dishonored), Erica Luttrell (Dishonored 2)
The daughter of the now-deceased Empress, and the heir to the throne. She is currently missing, and Corvo breaks out of prison to find her. She becomes one of the leads of the second game alongside Corvo.
- Action Girl: In the sequel, she has grown into a young woman with supernatural powers trained in the use of mines, knives, stealth and more.
- Badass Normal: Not only is she already highly trained by her father by the second game, but she can actively reject the Outsider's mark and be played without any powers whatsoever.
- Bastard Bastard: By the end of Dishonored 2 on a High Chaos run her Character Development has turned her into one. In fact, Emily’s High Chaos character arc is her realizing that she has no legitimate right to the throne and will never rule securely unless she's the most frightening bastard in the Isles. She says "you only deserve your throne if you're willing to roll out a red carpet of blood to keep it" near the start of the final mission in High Chaos. Delilah points out to Emily that this means that both of them are equally illegitimate in terms of blood.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Wanted to escape her duties and be freed from being an Empress during the opening of Dishonored 2. Assuming she is chosen as the Player Character, she gets her wish when Delilah imposes a coup that ousts Emily from her position as Empress.
- Bodyguard Crush: One of the first things she does is ask if Corvo will marry her if he doesn't marry her mother. This is presumably before she learns that he's her dad.
- Break the Cutie: Where do we begin? Over the course of the game, she;
- Sees her mother get murdered in front of her, and is then kidnapped;
- Is held against her will at a brothel by two noblemen for six months;
- Has nightmares the whole time and might have been visited by the Outsider;
- Witnesses the murders of the people who protected her, while the only person she ever trusted is taken away from her;
- Is once again held in captivity, until rescued one last time.
- It's even worse if you took the High Chaos approach, where her life is directly endangered (and she may indeed be killed). Everything then influences her to be evil on the throne, and chaos looms over Dunwall as a result. So yeah, she has a great time.
- In the second game, she's ousted from her throne and either spends the entire game as a statue or forced to reclaim her throne from the shadows.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Emily doesn't really like her job as an Empress and often escapes her tedious daily life by going on night runs across Dunwall. But despite her tender age, Dunwall got back to its feet after the Rat Plague in less than fifteen years under her leadership.
- But Not Too Foreign: Fictional example. She's the rightful empress of Gristol, but her father is from Serkonos. For a real life comparison, it's like the ruler of England being half-Italian, mind you many amongst real-life nobility have a parent from a royal family from other countries.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: Justified. For much of her childhood, her true father's identity was kept secret, probably even from her. He was still a paternal figure in her life, however; Corvo Attano, whom she called by that name. Essentially the name "Corvo" is more or less the title "Dad" to her. Even after the patrilineage was publicly acknowledged, he was still "Corvo".
- Character Development: Has this in spades in Dishonored 2, Although a well-meaning ruler, Emily has yet to grow into her role as empress. Prior to the coup, she spent half her time ignoring the Duke's corruption in Karnaca, neglected most of her courtly duties and wished that she was far away, doing fun things instead. Once overthrown, she underwent a massive character arc, where she learned firsthand how her neglect affected her subjects. Depending on the player's play style, she could end up taking her job more seriously and become Emily the Just and Wise or reign as a bloody and iron-fisted tyrant.
- Children Are Innocent: Subverted, Emily is smarter than she appears. She heard a lot of horrible "grown-up" things at the Golden Cat but remains polite enough to pretend to still be an innocent. On a High Chaos run, she's a straight-out Enfante Terrible.
- The Chosen One: Downplayed, but she is the only one the Outsider is willing to interfere in outsider matters with in order to protect. Normally, he just appears to those he has Marked to comment on what they're doing, but when Delilah hatches a plan to pull a Grand Theft Me on Emily, the Outsider sets Daud, who he openly dislikes, on the path to stopping her.
- Combo Platter Powers: In Dishonored 2, she gains her own set of powers (and with New Game Plus she can gain Corvo's powers as well).
- Aura Vision: "Dark Vision" is the only active power she shares with her father.
- Healing Factor: Thanks to the "Vitality" power.
- Jedi Mind Trick: "Mesmerize", which creates a strange void entity that fascinates her enemies, allowing Emily to walk by unnoticed.
- Living Shadow: "Shadow Walk", which lets her turn into a shadowy creature that is more difficult to spot, and can perform immediate executions. With upgrades, it can compress its form to crawl through rat tunnels.
- Me's a Crowd: "Doppelganger", which lets her create a duplicate to either act as a distraction or to fight for her. An upgrade lets her use it as a Ninja Log. A further update allows her to trade positions with her clones.
- Synchronization: "Domino", which links two to four living people together so that whatever happens to one happens to the others, enabling Emily to kill, knock out or apply effects like howling/blinding bolts to entire groups.
- Tentacle Rope: "Far Reach", which lets her toss out a shadowy tendril to grapple to points. Since it's a physical appendage, it can be upgraded to grab items and people.
- Time Stands Still: The first trailer shows her using Bend Time, though she doesn't have that power in-game unless one starts a New Game Plus.
- Cool Mask: In Dishonored 2, her mask is a scarf made from kind of cloth used in Outsider shrines.
- Cool Sword: If the Player Character in the second game, Emily gets ahold of her father's folding gadget sword, the same one that Piero made in the first game, while fleeing Dunwall Tower.
- Creepy Child: Says some seriously disturbing things as a ten year old in the first game if you have high Chaos. "The others are all dead, aren’t they? That’s ok, I was going to have them all killed anyway."
- Cruel Mercy: Though the nonlethal options remain the same regardless of player character chosen in Dishonored 2, Low Chaos Emily is the canon result for the sequel, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. With the exception of one enemy target, all the major enemies have a creatively "merciful" Low Chaos options to dispose of them.
- Daddy's Girl: She's clearly very fond of Corvo, and he serves as her biggest role-model once her mother died. In the sequel that takes place 15 years into the future, they remain very close and train together on a regular basis.
- Death of a Child: If you screw up the hostage situation in a High Chaos run, the last thing you hear is her scream as Havelock drags her to her death.
- Decoy Protagonist: If you choose to play as Corvo. She is canonically the protagonist of the second game, is featured in all the advertising, and serves as the protagonist of the game's tutorial, but as soon as the choice is made she spends the rest of the story as an inert statue.
- Deuteragonist: She's one of the few beings that the Outsider will go out of his way to protect, she's just as essential to the plot as Corvo (being the heir to the throne, influenced by Corvo's actions, and ruling as The High Queen in Low Chaos endings), she has a strong emotional connection with him (being both his charge and his child), and she's the protagonist of the second game.
- Disposable Decoy Doppelgänger: In Dishonored 2, one of Emily's powers she is subsequently granted by the Outsider include "Doppelgänger", which summons a decoy copy of her in the targeted location that distracts or confuses her enemies. With enough upgrades, Emily can maintain two such copies at once, swap places with either of them, and even have them assassinate enemies for her.
- Enfant Terrible: She learns from Corvo's example (rather like Eleanor Lamb). On a high Chaos run, that sees her end up as one seriously scary kid. After you do away with the Lord Regent on high Chaos, she makes some disturbing remarks about what she'll do as Empress.
- Fisher King: Much like Corvo in the original game, her choices in the second game (should you choose to play as her) will influence the world around her. In High Chaos, bloodfly outbreaks are more common and deadly, citizens of Karnaca will have taken their own lives and npcs are more malicious. Meagan will likewise not confide in her past, and Sokolov will fall into despair in the epilogue.
- Going Commando: If "pants" is used in the meaning of undergarments instead of outer-garments in her letter in the sequel, where she says:Remember the time I kept a straight face during the Watch Officer's report, all the while sitting at my desk without pants?
- Guile Hero: Low Chaos Emily is extremely intelligent, smart, astute and gifted at Take a Third Option and the Outsider ends up noting that she will be remembered as Emily the Just and Emily the Clever.
- He Knows Too Much: High Chaos Emily should she choose to kill Sokolov and Meagan, invokes this; she can't leave them alive to tell people about what she did.
- Heroic Bastard: Although Jessamine and Corvo were married in all but name... they were not married in name, and thus Emily is technically an illegitimate child of their romance. Emily's Low Chaos character arc in Dishonored 2 is her realizing that she has no legitimate right to the throne, and will only ever rule securely if she rules with the consent of the governed. Delilah points out to Emily that this means that both of them are equally illegitimate in terms of blood.
- He Who Fights Monsters: If Emily follows the High Chaos route in the sequel, she becomes as ruthless as her aunt in her ending of the game and can even kill Meagan/Billie and Sokolov, while also leaving her father in granite.
- The High Queen: In a Low Chaos ending, Emily's rule ushers a new golden age for the Empire and Dunwall, thanks to Corvo's guidance and protection. She becomes known as Empress Emily the Wise. In a High Chaos ending, she becomes a borderline case of God Save Us from the Queen!. In the Low Chaos ending of the second game, Emily becomes known as Emily the Just or Emily the Clever, ruling benevolently.
- Note that at the beginning of the sequel, the game subverts this - Emily's rule has been a contested affair and her approval isn't high. Unemployment is high in the crown isle of Gristol and Dunwall's flooded district, though now drained, has yet to be repaired. An oil shortage is hitting the Empire. Emily has also not been paying attention to the other isles, allowing Serkonos' Luca Abele to rule over his island like a tyrant and run it into the ground. There are also rumors that she's had her dad murder anyone who questions her rule. They are being framed of course. It's only when the consequences of her apathy finally catch up to her, via the coup, that Emily realizes she was being a fairly shoddy ruler and sets about getting some Character Development.
- Hereditary Hairstyle: She wears her hair similar to Corvo, her father. Long and framing her face with a division to one side over the eye. Of course being a girl she has it in a more feminine manner with a ribbon in-game. However, her portrait's and Corvo's make them look startlingly similar. Dishonored 2 makes the resemblance to both her parents very apparent — she looks a great deal like her mother, but a few of her features are unmistakably Corvo's. In the sequel, she wears her hair in a twisted updo like her mother.
- Lady of War: At the time of the second game, Emily is a young woman who is about as skilled as Corvo with stealth and combat, which means, one of the greatest fighters and assassins in the Empire, while she is always dressed in an orderly, elegant and impeccable way.
- Missing Mom: As the game begins, her mother is murdered by unknown assailants in front of her eyes.
- Morality Pet: For Corvo, especially in a High Chaos run. It's even blatantly enforced in gameplay: it's possible to kill every other character in the story — even if killing some of them results in a game over — but it's impossible for Corvo to harm Emily.
- Necessarily Evil: In a High Chaos ending of the first game, Emily will be considered to have done what she had to in an awful situation.
- One-Woman Army: If you choose to play as her in the second game, she'll take back her throne single-handedly and does so with even fewer allies than her father had before her, 15 years prior.
- Overly Long Name: Well, she's a noble, and long names are historically a noble thing. As revealed in The Dunwall Archives artbook, her full name is Emily Drexel Lela Kaldwin.
- Personality Powers: Unlike the previous protagonists, Emily is not only an assassin but an aristocrat and leader of men. Several of her abilities are loosely themed after her status as Empress and the power she naturally holds over other people's lives, with an emphasis on crowd control. Even her equivalent to Blink, called Far Reach, is symbolic of a ruler's political influence. Note that this does NOT mean that Corvo is the combat character and Emily is the stealth character. If anything, Emily is the combat character and Corvo is the stealth character. Far Reach is more visible than Blink, but can be used to steal objects and even to knock out or kill opponents directly. Of course both Emily and Corvo can be played using an assault or a stealth playstyle.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: In the second game, Emily is rather slight in build, but still has the strength to heft limp bodies around even without any Outsider assistance, and to grapple with swords against burly guardsmen or wrench Clockwork Soldiers apart.
- Power Tattoo: If chosen as the Player Character and accepting of the Outsider's empowerment, her left hand is marked with the Outsider's symbol.
- Princess in Rags: Or Empress In Rags. She gets a taste of her father's hardknock life before he became Royal Protector when she travels to his home city to investigate how and why she had her throne yanked out from under her. She mingled amongst the seedier parts of Dunwall as part of her training by father dearest so she could fend for herself (and so she could blow off courtly duties), but could always return to the cushy bed and silver tea sets of Dunwall Tower. After being usurped, she doesn't have that option and her place of solace is a leaky old boat owned by one of her few allies. Having her common-born father around and the aforementioned mingling helps make her take it more in stride than most cases of this trope that were more coddled.
- Promoted to Playable: In the second game, she becomes a playable character alongside Corvo.
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: High Chaos Emily is essentially the story of a sheltered and apathetic but well-meaning young Empress becoming a ruthless cold and violent tyrant, becoming just as bad as Delilah. She ends up known as either Emily the Vengeful or Emily the Butcher.
- Puppet King: What the Conspirators (both sets) want to make her into.
- Royal Bastard: She's the daughter of the Empress Jessamine Kaldwin and her bodyguard Corvo Attano.
- Royal Brat: She's quite likeable overall, but makes things difficult for Callista when she's bored.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Deconstructed in Dishonored 2. While she's an Action Girl learning to fight by night, her love of doing so means that she's not very effective as an empress. She daydreams her way through meetings, signs basically whatever's put in front of her, and would rather be anywhere except at a royal court. But the people of Dunwall don't need a badass, they need an empress. As such, her character arc in 2, whether Low Chaos or High Chaos, is learning that being able to fight doesn't translate into being an effective ruler. If you play as Corvo, he admits that he was coddling Emily by playing into her fantasies of being a hero rather than teaching her how to be The Good King.
- Statuesque Stunner: She stands 5'10" in 2.
- The Stoner: Not explicitly shown, but her lover Wyman says they'll bring back some white leaf tobacco, an illegal substance in Gristol, from their trip and implies it was Emily's request. Other than that, she doesn't act this way at all.
- Strong Family Resemblance: In the main menu screen no less, looking back and forth between Corvo and Emily shows she's definitely Corvo's. Kirin Jindosh identifies her by the fact that she has her father's eyes, despite the bandanna mask she was wearing to hide her identity.
- Superior Successor: Potentially. In Dishonored, Corvo had to take the Outsider's mark and Blink, and while a run without using the power is possible, it's heavily implied that Corvo made use of the Outsider's gifts in canon (most notably when he uses them in cutting a few traitorous guards to pieces when Delilah's coup is sprung). Which means that an Emily who rejects the Outsider can match Corvo's feats without the powers or several years of experience that Corvo had.
- Taken for Granite: If Corvo is the chosen player character in 2, she gets turned into a statue by Delilah.
- Took a Level in Badass: Goes from a rather defenseless child to someone trained by the Empire's greatest swordsman and adept in stealth. Despite being rather petite, she is able to go against groups of enemies, sometimes knocking them out with a single punch. And that's before she gets powers from the Outsider.
- Touched by Vorlons: The Outsider marks her in the sequel, empowering her with abilities distinct from Corvo's, such as tentacles used as a grappling hook as well as transforming into a creature made of shadows.
- Underestimating Badassery: If Emily is the Player Character in the second game, many of the conspirators gravely underestimate her, believing she's been coddled and spoiled by her father, advisors, and palace staff, not realizing that daddy dearest trained her in his ways quite well (to say nothing of potential Outsider aid).
- Warrior Princess: Emily is the former empress and working to regain that status through skills gained by being trained by the greatest spy and assassin in the Empire.
- Weak, but Skilled: Her powers are much more indirect in use than Corvo's. While Corvo's time and space based powers favor more direct power and straightforward solutions, Emily's shadow powers require some outside of the box thinking to use to their fullest. Mastering her powers and putting some whale bone points into them gives Emily a lot more freedom in her playstyle than Corvo has, with even her basic traversal tool (Far Reach) turning into a power that can grab items from a distance and even pull enemies towards her for takedowns.
- What the Hell, Hero?: In the sequel, multiple characters point out that, as bad as Duke Abele is, a big reason he was able to act as he did is that he had Dunwall's, and by extension Emily's, backing. Indeed, it seems that Dunwall didn't much care about the Karnacan peoples' plight as long as the silver kept flowing.
- You Killed My Father: When Billie Lurk confesses to Emily that she was part of the group of assassins who killed her mother, Emily's reaction is one of icy hostility. Even if you don't kill her and pick the more forgiving dialogue option, Emily makes it clear that she never wants to see her again.
Empress Jessamine Kaldwin
Empress Jessamine Kaldwin
"When you are near, my heart is at peace."
Voiced by: April Stewart
The Empress of the Isles, who is murdered at the very beginning of the game by the supernatural assassin Daud.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: It's implied this trope sparked the relationship between Jessamine and Corvo considering she was a good-natured sheltered noble girl who grew attracted to a professional swordsman who grew up from the slums.
- Almost Dead Guy: Despite being brutally stabbed through the chest and then slammed to the ground, she manages to stay alive long enough to implore Corvo to protect Emily.
- Big Good: In a country of absolute filth and dreck, she seems to be the only person with a heart. She doesn't even need to do much to distinguish herself. She just doesn't want the poor to be penned up and slaughtered.
- Bodyguard Crush: She had a well-known but not publicly acknowledged affair with her bodyguard that resulted in a daughter.
- Floral Theme Naming: Her name Jessamine is an old English variant of Jasmine.
- Good Parents: As evidenced in her letters/audio recordings meant for Emily, and in the Lord Regent's personal musings. While she did make sure that Emily was receiving the necessary lessons in order to become a proper Empress, Jessamine also let her child be a child and to be her own person, and encouraged Emily to keep drawing and telling stories.
- The High Queen: She was apparently much beloved by her people.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Right in front of her daughter, no less.
- The Lost Lenore: It is strongly hinted at in the first game and confirmed in the second that Jessamine and Corvo were lovers and Emily is their child. As of the second game, it is clear that Corvo still loves Jessamine deeply and, as per her "speaking" to him through the heart, she still feels the same for him.
- Mama Bear: She was untrained in combat and had no chance at all of success, but when the assassin moves to grab Emily, Jessamine bodily shoves him away to protect her daughter and earns a vicious backhand in retaliation.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Hers kicks off the game's plot.
- Royal Brat: If Delilah is to be believed — which is admittedly a big ask — Jessamine blamed a servant for breaking an expensive object and cheated at parlor games as a child.
- She Knows Too Much: Or rather, she was about to know too much. Hiram Burrows ordered her assassination because he knew her orders to investigate the Rat Plague would reveal that he started it in an effort to Kill the Poor.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Towards Corvo, she has a Bodyguard Crush on him and the two are lovers which results in Emily's birth.
- Soul Jar: The Heart is heavily implied to be one to her involuntarily and post-mortem, based on what it says and what Piero says. The sequel outright confirms it, and her exposition has her being more personal toward Corvo..
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: As said one of the least ambiguously good characters in this game, adored by almost everyone as a result, so of course her death would be what set off the game's events.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: If Delilah's account of her Start of Darkness is accurate, Jessamine and her impulsive decision to blame Delilah for breaking some royal treasure as girls are ultimately responsible for creating one of the greatest threats to Dunwall in history. However, there was no malice behind little Jessamine's actions; She was just a child who didn't want to get into trouble, and couldn't have imagined the magnitude of her playmate's punishment.
- Uptown Girl: Can't get more uptown than an Empress.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Gets about five minutes of screentime before she kicks it. She welcomes Corvo, mentions that things are bad, and dies. Of course, in another sense, she's right there with you for the whole game.
