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Lena Grisky
Helena "Lena" Grisky
Played by: Jessica Lord
- Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: When in 2018, she developed feelings for Max despite having a boyfriend back in 1905. The lines of who she's dating when, how she feels about the whole thing, and whether everyone is on the same page are blurry and ever-changing.
- The Ace: A talented and well-respected prima ballerina in 1905 on track to become one of the greats. That is, until she suddenly disappears.
- Amnesiac Lover: Nico's Laser-Guided Amnesia makes her forget Henri at the beginning of season 3. Certain things, such as his letters, trigger flashbacks of him. But since she's stuck in an Amnesia Loop, she promptly forgets again.
- Competition Freak: She's ambitious when it comes to dance. Thea in particular seems to bring this side in her out, and later Jenna Bicks, to the point where she tires herself out, gets in trouble, or even nearly injures herself trying to one-up them. Lampshaded by Jeff when Romy arrives.Jeff: Let's just say, L doesn't like to lose.
- Dance Battler: She pulls this to get away from Frank in the season 1 finale.
- Enemy Compassion:
- She feels terrible after her retaliation gives Thea BSOD. She tries to put it right by contacting LavD. Just as Thea is threatening to leave, Lena plays into her Competition Freak tendencies by challenging her to a dance-off. Thea then gloats as LavD finally responds, and Lena giggles seeing her back to her normal self.
- Although she and Ines share some schadenfreude over Thea getting stuck in 1905, she does want to know her rival is okay and help her get back to the present.
- Faking Amnesia: Does this after getting her memories back in season 3 so as to not raise suspicion with Nico or Claudine?
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Of the 'person from the past ending up in the present' variety of having to adjust to a new time period. Ines assumes Lena is Amish, and Lena rolls with it to excuse her unfamiliarity with modernity. Other characters tend to perceive her as anywhere from Endearingly Dorky to a Cloudcuckoolander.
- Zig-Zagged when it's revealed Lena was born in 2003 but raised in the past.
- Genki Girl: She is rather excitable and giggles a lot, contributing to her wide-eyed otherworldliness as she Squees over things most people from the 21st-century wouldn't.
- Hypocrite:
- Basically gets called one by Jeff for being so harsh on Romy when she, too, had a rocky start, giving her a My God, What Have I Done? moment and prompting her to go apologize.
- Gets jealous over Henri hanging out with Claudine once and it being purely platonic (at least on his end), despite the fact that she's seen another guy almost every time they've been apart.
- I Didn't Tell You Because You'd Be Unhappy: Is hesitant to tell the Blok that they can't participate in Dance Off, as the competition does not allow masks thus they would not be able to remain anonymous and out of trouble with the school.
- Irrevocable Message: Gets irritable and argumentative with Henri when he informs her she's in a time bubble. Emotions running high, she starts blaming him for everything and basically tells him to get lost. She immediately regrets writing this though and goes to take back the letter, but it's already been sent.
- King Incognito: She tries to blend in as a normal 21st century girl and present-day student at the dance school, per Henri's advice in his letter. (She's not very good at it).
- Misdirected Outburst: She has moments where she lashes out at someone for something that isn't really their fault, or that they couldn't have known would happen, such as when she starts blaming Henri for getting her stuck in a time bubble, or blames Ines for letting Henri go through the portal into Lex's trap.
- She learns Henri's back in 2019, but hasn't told her and seems to be avoiding her, in the middle of her carte blanche choreography rehearsal. She has an Anguished Outburst in front of everyone, taking her sudden anger and hurt over Henri out on Isaac and even Mr. Castillo.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Mr. Castillo notices his students have been worn out during class. Lena accidentally mentions the Blok in front of him, which leads to everyone getting in trouble for dancing outside of school.
- Prim and Proper Bun: A ballerina, she often wears her hair in a tight bun.
- Princesses Prefer Pink: Wears a lot of pink and generally has a Barbie-esque appearance.
- Rebellious Princess: The events of the series are kicked off by her planning to run away with her boyfriend so she doesn't have to go back to Russia. In her narration, she states she cares more about ballet than being a princess.
- Straw Nihilist: Becomes this while waiting for the portals to reopen — after Ines gets taken by the Bureau — so she can reset everything by going back to stop herself from going to the future in the first place. Once she's set her mind on this course of action, she'll risk expulsion and talk back to Ms. Carré — it's not like it matters to her anymore.
- She does express some second thoughts over her behavior to Pinky, because what if it doesn't work and she's expelled for real?
- Totally Radical: Justified as she picks up various bits of modern slang and incorporates them into her everyday speech.Lena: What? Yellow. You only live once.Jeff: L, you're the best. It's YOLO. As in You Only Live Once. And no one uses that anymore.Lena: Oh.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Jeff gives her one for being too harsh on Romy in front of everyone and letting her Competition Freak tendencies get the better of her. Lena asks Ines and Nico to back her up, but they agree with Jeff — Romy is Just a Kid. Jeff reminds Lena where she was three years ago, giving her a My God, What Have I Done? moment, prompting her to go apologize.
- With a Foot on the Bus: There are multiple moments where Lena thinks she's going back to 1905 and will have to say goodbye to her friends and to ballet for good, and then doesn't.
- She's conflicted about going back. Not only has she grown attached, but she's worried her parents will take her out of ballet school and back to Russia, which is why she tried to run away in the first place. When Henri gets stuck in the present with her in season 2, she's even more reluctant since her only attachment has joined her now, making her happy to Start a New Life.
- Working Out Their Emotions: She dances when she is distressed to calm down.
Time Travellers
The Duquets
General
- Informed Poverty: Princess Alexandra calls Henri a "peasant boy" but, apart from living in the Garnier, the Duquets don't seem that poor, especially since they're an influential time travel family. It's possible she was exaggerating and considers all non-nobles to be peasants, or that Victor puts up a front to hide the fact that they're time travellers.
- Like Father, Like Son:Victor: You seem to have a gift for getting out of trouble.Henri: And getting in it.Victor: Well... We have that in common.
- Secret Legacy: Victor reveals to his son Henri that they are a centuries-old family of time travellers after Lena disappears and Henri searches for answers, though Henri is not yet authorized to make use of it himself. (He tricks the Time Collectors to take him to 2018 instead).
- Training the Gift of Magic: After learning Henri gave Francie a fake timepiece, Victor is so proud, he treats him to his first lesson on how to actually use the timepiece.
Henri Duquet
Played by: Christy O'Donnell
- '80s Hair: Henri dons this when he and Bree end up in 1983.
- Always Save the Girl: He is fully ready to cross time and space to get to Lena and disobey authority to do so. He shrugs off any rule or obstacle that might stop him, treating them as minor setbacks. He makes it clear that Lena comes before anything and anyone else.
- Determinator: He is absolutely determined to find Lena and bring her home, in his own words "no matter what it takes."
- Dub Name Change: He's named Henrique in the Portuguese dub.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: In season 2, it is Henri who has to get used to the present after getting stuck there. Thankfully, he has Lena to guide him.
- First Guy Wins: Her boyfriend at the beginning of the series, he is who Lena ultimately ends up with at the end of things as well.
- Misplaced Retribution: The Queen blames him for Lena going missing, to the point of putting wanted posters for him up around Paris.
- Satellite Love Interest: Zig-Zagged in that he has traits and things to do outside of being Lena's love interest (he is kinda forced to given they spend a lot of time apart), but in his mind? Lena is the center of his universe and his primary motivation for everything.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: He disobeys his father's orders not to get involved and ignores the fact that he's not yet authorized to use time travel.
- Wrong Time-Travel Savvy: In his attempt to get Lena back, he messes with a lot of time travel rules and even gets her more stuck than she initially was by creating a bubble around her.
Victor Duquet
Played by: Ingo Brosch
- Cool Old Guy: Henri's enigmatic, but ultimately good-hearted father, reveals himself to be a time traveller.
- Former Regime Personnel: He is ex-Bureau.
- If I Do Not Return: After breaking Lena and Thea out of time jail and running from Lex:Victor: Go. Run now! Get out, however, you can! I'll hold her off.Lena: But what about you?Victor: Don't worry about me... Tell Henri that I love him.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: His punishment when turning himself into the Bureau so that his son and Lena and Thea might be spared is having all memory of time travel wiped. If Henri tries to re-teach him, he will just forget again. He's effectively Brought Down to Normal.
- Love-Obstructing Parents:
- He gets in the way of Henri reuniting with Lena multiple times and even breaks the time portal so he can't travel. Harsh, but Justified as he's trying to stop his inexperienced son from breaking the laws of time travel so he doesn't cause a Time Crash and make the situation worse.
- He later suggests Lena stop trying to reach Henri in order to get the Bureau off their backs.
- Mysterious Protector: Acts as this to Lena, showing up with papers to help her out of a tricky situation and guide her so she can survive in the present day while he works out how to get her home. He later breaks her and Thea out of time jail.
- Senseless Sacrifice: Turning himself into the Bureau and losing his memories as punishment doesn't stop the Bureau from wanting to go after Henri.
- Take Me Instead: After Lena and Thea have run away, Victor tells Lex that he'll surrender himself to the Bureau if she leaves Lena, Thea, and Henri alone — that he's worth more to her than they are, and that she does not want to fight him.
The Time Collectors
General
Clive (left), Frank (middle), Pinky (right)
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Clive paints the three of them to show how much he cares about Pinky and Frank, and despite often being annoyed with him, Frank gets emotional.
- Bros Before Hoes: Frank and Pinky make an agreement that rescuing Clive from the Bureau takes priority over their love interests.
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Both Frank and Pinky act as this to Clive, but Frank more often as he tends to take things more seriously than Pinky.
- Dub Name Change: They're named Franco, Pedro, and Cláudio in the Portuguese dub.
- Freudian Trio:
- Id: Clive
- Ego: Pinky
- Superego: Frank
- Mook Depletion: Frank is on his own after Pinky quits the Collectors over losing Ines, and Clive suddenly jets off to see the dinosaurs after dropping Claudine off.
- Powerful, but Incompetent: Their power and tendency to thwart Henri's attempts to find Lena make them threatening enough, but they're pretty bad at being villains, and their plans often go awry.
- Smart Jerk and Nice Moron: Frank is the former to Clive's latter.
- Suddenly Shouting: Frank and Pinky in particular have a penchant for this.
- Terrible Trio: A menacing group of three rogue time travellers led by the ambitious Frank.
- Time Police: They somewhat unofficially take it upon themselves to stop other travellers from causing a ripple effect. They view themselves as rebels against the corrupt Bureau.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Frank and Pinky disagree on the method. Their arguments over how to go about capturing Lena distract each other long enough for Henri to run away.
Frank Murphy
Played by: Seán Óg Cairns
- Ambition Is Evil: He aspires to become the most powerful time traveller, and collects timepieces on the way to do so.
- Batman Gambit: Makes Henri a somewhat Unwitting Pawn by telling him Ines has been taken — Frank plays into Henri's Always Save the Girl motive by telling him the only way to get Lena back is to stop them. He also warns him to keep an eye on his timepiece, which Henri finds out he doesn't have. He then doesn't question Frank's suggestion that it was the Bureau.
- Berserk Button: Questioning his intelligence. He has to be held back when Henri calls him stupid for assuming he'd sabotage the machine that will help him get to Lena.
- Bound and Gagged: After he tries to stop Henri from going through the portal, Henri wrestles him until he's tied down.
- Determinator:Pinky: Frank has a plan, and when Frank has a plan, his mind won't stop until it's executed.
- Gibberish of Love: Contrary to Pinky's suave when approaching Ines, Frank is dumbstruck trying to talk to Thea after watching her dance and ends up a stuttering mess.
- I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Feels this way towards Thea, who is no fool to him.
- Insufferable Genius: He feels the need to constantly reassert that "I'm the brains around here, and I'm in charge", and any challenge to that is a challenge to his ego.
- Like Father, Like Son: His father is revealed in season 3, and he dresses in the exact same steampunk style as Frank.
- Not So Stoic:
- He gets emotional when he sees the painting Clive made of them and Pinky.
- Cries when Thea breaks up with him.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Thea tells him she's leaving for her world tour in a teary breakup, just after Pinky quits the Time Travellers.Frank: No... please don't do this. We can have it all, can't you see that?
- Promotion to Opening Titles: As of season 3.
- The Strategist: As the de facto leader of the Time Collectors, Frank acts as this for the trio, coming up with elaborate plans.
- Threat Backfire: He tries to threaten Henri into giving him the necessary information to build a time portal, but freezes and stutters, and Henri mocks him.
- Unholy Matrimony: With Thea. They totally enable each other's worst tendencies, and he very much sees her as a partner in crime. It's really only after they break up that his behavior starts to improve.
Pinky
Played by: Lawrence Walker
- Delicious Distraction: Gets distracted by canapés in the middle of chasing Henri through a party at the opera house.
- Despair Event Horizon / Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Becomes so disillusioned by losing Ines to Nico's mind wipe, he quits the Time Collectors and gives up on time travel altogether at the beginning of season 3.Pinky: I'm not coming back [to 1905], Frank. I'm done with time travel and I'm done running. I just lost the only girl I've ever loved because of this. I'm not jumping through time anymore.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Never reunites with Ines, even after she regains her memories.
- Love at First Sight: He becomes infatuated with Ines immediately upon seeing her and declares her the love of his life. He feels the need to sneak away from Frank and Clive as they go back into the time portal to find her again.
- Love Redeems: Falling for Ines seems to totally shift his worldview and he becomes quite the softie. He'll do anything for her. He even befriends Henri who he'd spent the previous season trying to capture.
- Put on a Bus: He is nowhere to be seen after quitting the Time Collectors in season 3.
- Romantic Wingman: Enlists himself as this for Henri when he sees him and Lena having relationship problems, dubbing himself the "love fixer".
- The Starscream: Briefly becomes this when he and Clive go through the portal to the present without Frank, and Clive agrees on the basis of Pinky being more fun than Frank.
- Token Competent Minion: He is the only black Time Collector, and he is more competent than Clive.
Clive
Played by: Luca Varsalona
- Accidental Discovery: After Frank, Pinky, and Henri have spent hours trying to figure out how to work the time portal, Clive accidentally gets it working by tripping on a wire into the portal.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: When he travels to the future (his outfit implies he's from the 18th century), he gets distracted in the middle of a mission by technology, specifically phones and video games.Clive [while looking for Lena]: What is that sweet siren song? Future games! I love future games!
- Cuddle Bug: Becomes a Security Cling when in danger.
- Evil Laugh: Parodied. He seems to think it's fun, while Frank is not amused.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Definitely stands out in the trio as not being very clued in and having a childlike wonder to him.
- Genius Ditz: Despite being quite the airhead, he has some Hidden Depths — he's an incredibly talented painter, a skill he learned from a class in the 1600s. So talented in fact that his painting of the Collectors has Frank wowed and tearing up.Frank: Holy moly, this is incredible!Clive: Thanks.Frank: Clive, where did you get this?Clive: Oh no, I painted it myself. I took some class in the early 1600s. It's no big deal.Frank: No big deal? Clive, this is unbelievable.
- Motor Mouth: Seems to hate awkward silences and will start chatting to fill them, even when Frank is trying to concentrate.
- The Pollyanna: Played for Laughs and regardless of the situation, much to the annoyance of the more dour Frank and Pinky.
- Put on a Bus: After taking Claudine to the present, she tells Clive he can leave, so he does, saying he's going to see the dinosaurs. He's not seen again for the rest of season 3.
The Time Bureau
General
- Celestial Bureaucracy: It's implied the Bureau is located in a Place Beyond Time, and its headquarters looks like a normal office building.
- Time Police: That's what they say they are, but they've become a corrupt organization whose only goal is to gain a monopoly on time travel.
Francie Parks
Played by: Sophie Airdien
- Ensign Newbie: She seems to be out of her depth a lot of the time.
Alexa "Lex" Dosne
Played by: Rameet Rauli
- Big Bad Slippage: Though her motives don't change, she starts off as a bumbling, gullible secretary who's out of her depth when she embarks on missions of her own volition. After being upgraded, she becomes increasingly menacing, powerful, and almost robot-like.
- Eager Rookie: Defied.Lex: Ugh, I get that I'm the rookie, and I'm willing to play their little game and be the perfect assistant until they're ready to give me a mission of my own. But my boss is away, and if that means cutting a few corners and finding my own mission, then so be it.
- Ensign Newbie: She doesn't really know what she's doing (at least at first). When she tries to interrogate Victor, Oscar, and Alexandra, she accidentally de-ages two of them. She also accidentally deletes Clive.
- Evil Is Petty: She freezes Lena's carte blanche show and moves the frozen dancers around to screw with the routine, for no apparent gain other than having it out for Lena.
- Inspector Javert: She is ruthless in her pursuit of those in the wrong time period, or those committing time breaches more generally. It gets to the point where even her higher-up Nico disapproves, as she went too far and broke protocol. He says all she's done is make a mess of the situation.
- Menacing Stroll: Walks around in a rather intimidating way, especially after being upgraded.
- Mook Promotion: Gets promoted, which makes her all the more threatening. However, she's later brought down a peg by Nico.
- The Pawn: Frank suggests she is unwittingly this to the Bureau.
- Skewed Priorities: After the Time Collectors freeze Paris, Nico points out that by fixating on Lena and her friends, Lex lost track of the real threat here. The Time Collectors would not have gotten away with this if she hadn't taken her eye off the ball.Nico: The Time Collectors have frozen Paris.Lex: Wait, what? How?Nico: You were chasing the wrong problem. And that's what happens when you don't follow protocol.
Nico Michaels
Played by: Jake Swift
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Acts as a dazzling Charmer to get close to Lena, taking Max's place as her dance partner.
- Caught on Tape: Freezes Lena and her friends while they're hanging out in the lounge to check in with the Bureau and doesn't consider that a phone was recording while Jeff was dancing.
- In Love with the Mark: Admits to Lena that he's caught actual feelings for her.
- The Mole: His mission is to go undercover as a student at the Paris Opera Ballet School to get close to Lena to figure out if she's the Chosen One.
- Parental Abandonment: He didn't see his mother again after she dropped him off at the Bureau when he was six until the time travellers' ball.
- The Stoic: Naturally wears a stern facial expression with furrowed brows, at least at first.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Although he's a completely different character to Max, he effectively fills the same role in Lena's love life, albeit he's more of a Hopeless Suitor with a Fake Romantic Real Turn, while Max seemed like more of a possibility.
- Tyke Bomb: He was raised from the age of six to be an agent of the Bureau, having much of his real identity hidden from him. He was never told he was one of the Heirs, or that his mother runs the Bureau and had orchestrated everything.
- You Have Failed Me: He deletes Lex for all her antics.
Quinn Michaels
Played by: Kirsty Michaels
- Evil Matriarch: She dropped her son off at the Bureau when he was six and lied to him, telling him it was a boarding school. She then watched over him from afar while he was raised to be an agent.
- High Collar of Doom: Wears a black suit blazer with a high collar.
Oscar
Oscar
Played by: Javone Prince (seasons 1–2), Edward Kagutuzi (young; seasons 2–3)
- Actor Swap: Edward Kagutuzi, who plays young Oscar, took over the role from Javone Prince about halfway through the show.
- The Ageless: Oscar's Clock Shop is a Place Beyond Time, so for as long as he stays in there, he will never age. He says no one believes him when he explains why he never leaves.
- Changing Yourself for Love: Feels like he has to do this for Bree given she fell in love with 80s him, but it turns out she prefers when he is just himself and isn't trying so hard to be "suave".
- Clark Kenting: Goes undercover as Henri's talent agent Alistair Jenkins to hide from the Bureau, who've accused him of aiding and abetting Ines in uncovering the science of time travel.
- Clockworks Area: He operates out of a warehouse called Oscar's Clock Shop, and its interior is a Place Beyond Time.
- Fountain of Youth: Gets turned into a teenager by Lex, with no memories of his adult life. Henri helps him regain his memories while he physically remains young, leading to an Actor Swap about halfway through the show.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He always seems to be tinkering away at something and has a knack for creating random items.
- Have We Met Yet?: Henri first meets Oscar in 2017 with Oscar knowing who he is (and he is not happy to see him). Henri then accidentally goes back to 1905 and seeks out Henri; this time it's Oscar who doesn't know who Henri is.(in 2017)Henri: Do you know me?Oscar: Know you? You are the bane of my existence!(later in 1905)Oscar: Can I help you?Henri: Oscar, it's me.Oscar: Pleased to meet you, Me.Henri: You must be joking, we just met... 100 years in the future!
- Magic Librarian: Downplayed and more of an archivist, he's the "village clerk", which means it's his job to keep records and logs of time travel and help time travellers.
- One-Hour Work Week: From the time he's aged down, he's increasingly rarely shown doing time travel-related work and seems to spend most of his time hanging out with Henri (and later Bree) and helping him with his music.
- Shipper on Deck: He is supportive of Henri's attempts to get Lena back and often brings up the Power of Love.
Other
Thomas Murphy
Played by: Martin Cairns
2018 characters
Students
Ines le Breton
Played by: Eubha Akilade
- Amnesiac Lover: Nico's Laser-Guided Amnesia makes her forget Pinky. Pinky jolts her into remembering him, but it only lasts for a few moments before she forgets again.
- Black Best Friend: To Lena, but subverted in that she has a story arc of her own, and her friendship with Lena is mutual; Lena backs up Ines just as much as Ines backs up Lena.
- Book Smart: She's a science whizz who attended a "genius school for brainiacs" (Dash's words) for two years before deciding she wanted to dance instead, catalyzed by her parent's divorce.
- Brainy Brunette: A brunette known to her friends as Science Girl. Her knack for physics comes in handy when trying to figure out the science behind time travel, making her The Smart Girl of the team, but it also gets her in trouble with the Bureau. Due to her actress being part Nigerian, this also overlaps with a positive case of Black and Nerdy.
- The Confidant: Quickly becomes this to Lena. Ines is the most accepting of her "weirdness" and is the first person Lena tells the truth about who she is. Ines then helps Lena blend in.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Lena once they become roommates and get to know each other.
- Love Is a Weakness: Scoffs at romcoms, viewing them as propaganda to sell the idea that boys are the answer to one's problems.
- After Dash leaves for London, her sadness makes her double down on this stance, seeing feelings as "what got me into this mess in the first place: stupid feelings".
- My Future Self and Me: Pinky takes her to 2029, where she can see she's become a well-respected scientist.
- New Friend Envy: She gets so upset over Thea and Lena getting along in season 1 episode 9 that she almost moves out of their shared room. The particular way she reacts seems to stem from abandonment issues.
- Official Couple: With Dash in season 1. They break up when he transfers to the London School of Ballet.
- Quirky Curls: Usually tied back.
- The Stoic: Even directly lampshades in season 1 episode 21 that she's not one to emote. Becomes Not So Stoic when she cries over Dash leaving.
Dorothea "Thea" Raphael
Played by: Hannah Dodd
- 15 Minutes of Fame: Her anachronistic style of ballet gets her a lot of very much wanted attention and fame in 1905, even getting invited to Buckingham Palace, on tour, and to work with famous individuals. She ends up wanting to stay and has to be forced back to the future by Lex.
- Becomes more permanent fame when she returns, and does stay this time.
- Alpha Bitch: With a Girl Posse of Bree and Kennedy and an inflated ego from having been on Dance Off to boot. Other characters such as Jeff and Ines call her Ice Queen. Instead of learning from Max dumping her with a "Reason You Suck" Speech, she doubles down and ramps up her behavior towards Lena, going out of her way to make her day-to-day worse.
- She found a Girl Posse in 1905 as well.
- Bittersweet Ending: Becomes a world-touring étoile in the 1900s, which she reveals in a teary breakup with Frank as she feels she needs to do this alone. She also never returns to the future, having achieved her dreams and found happiness in the past.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: It's revealed in season 2 that she's Book Smart and gets A+s in literature in particular, but she finds it boring.
- Death Glare: Frequently pulls this at Lena, and she's not subtle at all.
- Dub Name Change: She's named Bianca "Bia" Raphael in the Portuguese dub.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Towards Max, especially when Lena comes into the picture. Somewhat Justified as her concerns over their flirty closeness are not entirely unfounded.
- Comical Overreacting: Continuously screams in Clive's face when she realizes they've gone back in time, in bright neon athleisure as people walk past. Of course, they stare at her and she yells at them in response.
- Competition Freak: She can't handle the idea of not being the best dancer and is determined to take rivals such as Lena down as a result. She cannot resist a challenge.
- Fiery Redhead: Strawberry blonde (blonder in season 1, redder in season 2) and temperamental.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: When she takes Lena's place in going back to 1905 at the end of season 1, this time of the 'person from the present ending up in the past' variety. Doesn't help that she's Hot-Blooded and doesn't vibe with the propriety of the era. However, she manages to make it work, so much so that she has trouble re-adjusting to 2019 when she gets back.
- Nervous Wreck: Although usually confident, she becomes this when her Stage Mom is around.
- Never My Fault: After going back in time, she screams "LENA GRISKY, YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"... except, Lena didn't make her steal the timepiece, and certainly didn't make her go through the time portal. She tends to blame Lena for a lot of things.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Bree and Kennedy are genuinely shocked to see Thea have actual fun with Lena in season 1 episode 9.
- Her seeming totally happy and fine before the midseason showcase, having lost out on the leading part to Lena and Max, is a big indication she has something up her sleeve. Bree and Kennedy see it as a bad sign that she's wearing a different shade of lipstick.
- The Prima Donna: Became this after competing on Dance Off, a famous dance competition. She has a lot of social media followers and assumes people who approach her want a selfie or an autograph. She's shown to have a Big Ego when it comes to dancing. When she goes to ballet school in 1905, she gleefully declares the other dancers amateurs.
- Prim and Proper Bun: A ballerina, she often wears her hair in a tight bun.
- Put on a Bus: Pinky sends her and Frank to 1905 to protect them from Nico in the first episode of season 3. In the following episode, she leaves to go on a world tour as an étoile and chooses to stay in the past.
- Secret Chaser: She is determined to prove that Lena is a time traveller, although it becomes a Cassandra Truth.
- Shipper on Deck: To Jeff and Isaac.
- Squee: Does this over an actor in a romcom JJ Jacobson and when she thinks Australian beauty blogger Lavender Darling (LavD) wants to meet up.
- Stealing the Credit: For the Blok's success when they get onto Dance Off, claiming to be their leader in Max's absence when she's barely even been there while Lena and Jeff have been putting in the work to manage the crew (even if it places them at odds with each other sometimes).
- The Stool Pigeon: She tells Ms. Carré that Lena is taking the Blok to London for Dance Off, making sure to single out Lena as responsible.
Maximus "Max" Alvarez (Castillo)
Played by: Rory J. Saper
- Always Someone Better: After being the object of Dash's envy for the first season, Max feels threatened by newcomer Isaac's talent and work ethic and sees him as a Rival.
- Berserk Button: The very sight of Reuben, the leader of the opposing dance crew during the Blok challenge who steals their choreography and turns out to be his brother.
- Boredom Montage: In season 2 episode 12 — since he can't participate due to his accident, he opts to stay behind in Paris while the others go to Brussels for the choreographer's Grand Prix.
- Career-Ending Injury: One of the best dancers at school, he severely injures his neck attempting a dangerous lift with Lena, and is told by the doctors that a career in dance is unlikely to be feasible for him. He's made an assistant to his father in season 2 and ends up taking after him in being a great choreographer, even from the sidelines. However, Max ends up leaving Paris at the end of the school year as he no longer wants to be there if he can't dance. He does dance with Lena one last time before he goes, though.
- Cheer Up Episode: Spends the latter half of "The Chill Method" trying to cheer Lena up and get her to chill after she blames herself for them missing out on leading the midseason showcase to Jeff and Thea.
- Competition Freak: He's generally ambitious but it's taken up to eleven when competing against his brother Reuben in the Blok challenge, or against Isaac for the lead role in the choreographer's Grand Prix.
- Lampshaded by his friends after he injures himself attempting a dangerous lift with Lena while trying to one-up Isaac and Clara.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The lift that gets him injured.
- Heroic BSoD: After his accident, he was very passionate about dance. He gets depressed about not being able to participate and is scared for his future if he can't be in dance.
- The Leader: Of an underground hip-hop dance crew called the Blok, which most of his friends take part in at some point or other.
- Like Father, Like Son: In the Valentine's Day Episode, he's still unable to dance and thus assisting his father's classes. After the Valentine's routine, he interrupts and starts imitating the way Mr. Castillo critiques and scolds the students, much to everyone's amusement.
- Lampshaded by Isaac when Max can't help but critique his dance moves.
Max: Stop, what are you doing? Extend your arms fully, Isaac.Isaac: Like father, like son.- Max refuses to budge on his creative vision for his carte blanche choreography, which centers on two leads instead of an ensemble to showcase the whole class.
Max: Well, I'm not bending my creativity.Armando: Wow. I've created a monster.Max: You wouldn't do it, and you know it. - Nepotism: His father is famous choreographer Armando Castillo. Played with in that he never told anyone, not even the schools he was applying to, about this and is a truly talented dancer. However, this reveal still generates resentment from his classmates.
- Orphan's Ordeal: Subverted in that he claims to have lost his parents to a car crash and been taken care of by his extended family. However, it turns out that while this is true for his mother, he's just estranged from his father.
- Put on a Bus: He leaves after season 2, leaving Lena only a letter explaining that he doesn't want to be in Paris if he can't dance. He was going to head home to London, but his father managed to arrange an internship for him in New York.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Says this to his aunt when he brings Lena over to practice, and she mistakes Lena for Thea.
- Tempting Fate: With shades of Break the Haughty, he shoots down Jeff's suggestion that he should have a backup plan in case dance doesn't work out for him. He doesn't believe in having a backup plan because dance is the only option in his eyes, and to have a backup plan would indicate that he doesn't believe in himself.
- Troubled, but Cute: He's a charming, talented, popular guy but he's also rather enigmatic with a secretive, troubled past and family issues.
- The Un-Favourite: Feels like this to his father in comparison to his brother, both of whom he has an uneasy relationship with.
- Unreliable Narrator: It's revealed that he's told a lot of Blatant Lies about his past. Most of his friends get mad at him for lying, but Lena sympathizes with him as she, too, has had to lie about who she is.
Jeffrey "Jeff" Chase
Played by: Castle Rock
- Class Clown: Can be this at times as he's quite the goofball, full of energy, and always trying to have fun. He also makes other students laugh, turning his school presentation with Ines into a comedy routine.
- Dub Name Change: He's named Jefred "Fred" Chase in the Portuguese dub.
- Fun Personified: He's always trying to have fun, to the point where other characters occasionally tell him off for not taking things seriously.
- Genki Guy: He is a very energetic, physically flexible guy who casually pulls out hip-hop and break dance moves all the time and rarely seems to stop moving.
- Gibberish of Love: Has a difficult time getting the words out to tell Isaac that he likes him, to the point where Isaac thinks he's trying to insult him.Jeff: You're kind of a pain.Isaac: Wow. This just gets better and better. Thanks, a lot.Jeff: No, Isaac, no don't go, Isaac... Oh, man. What I meant by that is, you're a pain because I like you.
- Ham and Deadpan Duo: The ham to Isaac's deadpan. Arguably to Max, Ines, and Thea at times as well.
- Hopeless Suitor: To Max, whom he has a short-lived crush on.
- Horrible Judge of Character:
- Takes Reuben's words at face value and doesn't seem to realize it's a thinly veiled threat until Thea points it out.
- Brushes off Ines' suspicion of Nico.
- I Reject Your Reality: He refuses to accept that Dash is leaving in season 2. He starts by pretending Dash meant something else, to outright denial, to yelling that he can't leave.
- Mellow Fellow: He is generally a chill and easygoing guy who gets along with (almost) everyone.
- Morality Chain: Actively tries to be this to Thea, aware of her jealousy as he tries to keep her from getting too petty towards Lena, with varying degrees of success.Thea: Lena. Ruins. Everything.Jeff: Hey, it's okay. [The part] is theirs, and they're awesome. We're gonna be cool about this, right?
- My God, What Have I Done?: Has this reaction when Ines points out to him that he just Lampshaded the chemistry between Max and Lena in front of everyone and more importantly, in front of Max's girlfriend and Alpha Bitch Thea.
- The Nicknamer: Calls Lena L and Thea T.
- Odd Friendship: With Lena. He helps her learn hip hop and she helps him learn ballet. He also befriends Thea when they're assigned dance partners.
- The Pollyanna: Lampshaded by himself when they land in 1983 at the beginning of season 3.Ines: Something obviously went terribly wrong.Jeff: Or terribly right! You guys know I'm a half-glass-full kind of guy. This place is sick, yo! Look at all the crazy hair and the crazy colors! I mean, look at those break dancers. They're actual 80s break dancers!Isaac: Are you insane? Did you not hear what they just said? We just time-traveled.
- Quickly Subverted when they get chased by Bureau agents — he did not sign up for that.
- The Slacker: Played with. He seems like he doesn't take dance very seriously, but it's implied to be in reaction to pressure.
- Straight Gay: He's no more camp than any of the other guys at ballet school.
- Third-Party Peacekeeper:
- Between Max and Isaac as he tries to keep them friendly and their increasingly petty rivalry at bay.
- Also between Lena and Thea.
- Those Two Guys: With Dash.
Dash Khan
Played by: Hiran Abeysekera
- Always Someone Better: Etienne tells him to his face that Max is the best dancer, which is why he always picks Max for roles over him. This favoritism makes Dash want to transfer to the London School of Ballet after getting scouted on the street.
- Subverted when Etienne reveals that if he went easy on Dash, he wouldn't push himself and that he goes easy on Max "because he needs it". He wants Dash to show passion. However, this doesn't stop Dash from feeling resentful towards Max, especially when his father is revealed to be a famous choreographer.
- He eventually does choose to transfer in season 2, believing it would be healthy to get away as he's spent too much time trying to one-up Max instead of focusing on himself.
- Dogged Nice Guy: To Ines, and Everyone Can See It. He thinks he's getting somewhere when they start spending time together, but she clarifies it's Not a Date... until it is.
- Dub Name Change: He's named Duarte Khan in the Portuguese dub.
- Follow in My Footsteps: He comes from a family of cricket players. Although he was good at the sport, his grandmother took him to his first ballet and she convinced his parents to let him go to ballet school to pursue his dreams.
- While at dinner with his mother and Etienne in season 1 episode 18, she suggests he pursue an academic field for university, but he insists that dance is his passion.
- Height Angst: Downplayed, but in season 1 episode 16, he mentions his 5'4 height when self-deprecating about being nothing special compared to the much taller Max.
- Master of All: He excels in many fields, including tennis, cricket, video games, languages, multiple genres of dance... just not trigonometry.
- Moving Angst: His friends are genuinely sad to see him go back to London, including Max. He tells Ines it's the right move for him, but that he won't go if she doesn't want him to. Despite being sad, she encourages him to go, so he does.
- Official Couple: With Ines in season 1. They break up when he transfers to the London School of Ballet.
- The Perfectionist: He considers dance to be his whole life and spends hours on end practicing.
- Put on a Bus: Leaves for London in the first episode of season 2.
- Those Two Guys: With Jeff.
Isaac Portier
Played by: Terique Jarrett
- Broken Ace: Downplayed. He feels torn between the expectations of his teachers and former dance partner that he takes ballet seriously and wants to allow himself to have fun with Jeff.
- Classical Music Is Cool: He has a greater interest in ballet and other traditional dances than he does in modern dances like hip-hop, the opposite of Jeff. When given total freedom to put on whatever show he likes for the carte blanche project, he goes for Swan Lake simply because "it's a classic", which even Mr. Castillo questions.
- Competition Freak: He's generally ambitious especially when competing against Max for the lead role in the choreographer's Grand Prix.
- Convenient Replacement Character: He's introduced as the New Transfer Student from the London School of Ballet the very episode after Dash transfers to the London School of Ballet.
- Ham and Deadpan Duo: The deadpan to Jeff's ham.
- Instant Fan Club: Bree and Kennedy are taken in by him at first sight before he's even said a word.
- Love Is a Weakness: Ines teams up with him during the Valentine's Day assignment, dubbing them the "anti-Valentine's Day crusaders". Mr. Castillo tells the students to find a word that best defines love to them, and Isaac can't come up with any positive words.
- No Poker Face: His facial expressions are a dead giveaway as to how he's really feeling.
- Talented, but Trained: He is very talented with a big ego, but also very focused, highly driven, and a Perfectionist. He has no time for distractions, and no time for dance partners who can't match his level of commitment.
- Uptight Loves Wild: A gay variation. Jeff helps him loosen up, so much so that Jenna, his former dance partner back in London, notices that he's become more fun (and scolds him for it).Isaac: It wouldn't hurt to have a little fun. We're in the South of France!Jenna: Yes. To train with the CJ Company. That's your problem, this sudden need to have fun.
Bree Girling and Kennedy Mather
Played by: Chloe Fox and Caitlin-Rose Lacey
- '80s Hair: Bree dons this when she and Henri end up in 1983.
- Beta Bitch: To Thea.
- Cuddle Bug: In season 2, they offer hugs to characters who seem to need it, such as Dash and Ines when it's announced he's leaving.
- Desperately Needs Orders: They feel lost when Thea has a BSOD in season 1 episode 17, to the point where Bree says she doesn't even know what to eat for breakfast because Thea always tells her.
- When Thea disappears in season 2, they try to find someone new to follow around all day. Lena takes advantage of this as payback for Thea taking over her life back in 1905.
- The Ditz: Not only that, but the ballet school variety of Book Dumb. It's stated in season 2 that they got held back a year. They can be pretty slow and Literal-Minded — for example, when Jeff asks if they can ship the Valentine's Day roses they're selling to Canada, they assume that means there are no roses in Canada.
- According to Frank, they "make Clive look like a genius".
- The Dividual: It's not really until season 3 that they develop distinct personalities beyond being Thea's (occasionally reluctant) Yes-Men. Other characters even call them twins, and Ines calls them the "dizzy sisters".
- In season 3, Frank addresses them as "Brennedy".
- Genki Girl: Bree especially.
- New Friend Envy: Kennedy is taken aback upon seeing Thea and Lena have fun and dance together, claiming Thea never dances with her like that. They're both unsettled by the development.
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: They both clearly think Thea has lost the plot when she starts rambling about how Lena is a time traveller.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: As of season 3, seemingly to replace Thea.
- Stepford Smiler: Even when they're skeptical of whatever it is Thea is getting up to, they plaster a smile on their faces and at least pretend to be supportive.
- Valentine's Day Episode: They love Valentine's Day and have a tradition of dealing roses and other gifts every year, believing wholeheartedly in spreading the love.
Clara
Played by:?
Faculty
Gabrielle Carrè
Played by: Katherine Erhardy, Georgia Ware (young)
- Badass Teacher: She takes notice of how much Thea's confidence gets knocked when her mother is around. She tells Mrs. Raphael off for being such a Stage Mom and that she should leave if she wants what's best for her daughter.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her attempt to stand up to Thea's mother backfires when Mrs. Raphael doesn't show up to the recital, upsetting Thea.
- School Forced Us Together: Makes Thea move into Ines and Lena's room to stop the pettiness between them.
- Stern Teacher: Has strict rules.
Armando Castillo
Played by: Rik Young
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: There are moments that indicate Armando does love his son and is trying to mend their relationship.
- Hidden Depths: He turns out to be really good at hip-hop.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: When Max injures his neck attempting a lift with Lena despite it being banned for being too dangerous, instead of scolding him, Armando isn't mad at all and is shown to be truly concerned for his wellbeing. He cries and comforts his son when he learns the injury is serious.
- After the accident, he decides to let the students have fun for a class, much to their shock.
- Heroic BSoD: Has one after his choreography losing the CJ Company place to Ms. Carré's. Lena helps pull him out of it by arranging to put on a show with their choreography anyway.
- Performance Anxiety: He gets nervous before his students perform.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: This turns out to be the case as he lets Lena and Max change the choreography for the carte blanche show, much to Ms. Carré's dismay.
- By the end of season 2 into season 3, he's mellowed out quite a bit and adopted a more experimental approach to ballet, which puts him at odds with Ms. Carré, who wants to stick to tradition. He's also more forgiving of Lena and even calls Ms. Carré unreasonable for being harsh on her exam performance.
- Stern Teacher: His classes are called "dance boot camp", and the students are intimidated by him. He's expectedly harsh, at least at first.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Has jet black hair and brown eyes, is 6 feet tall, and is known for his intensity and biting words when teaching. Also qualifies as Tall, Dark, and Handsome.
- Tough Love: He's even like this towards his own son Max, compounded by a heap of familial issues.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Oranges.
Etienne
Played by: Chris Baltus
- Stern Teacher: He even walks around with his arms crossed and has a tendency to add arbitrary assignments and goalposts.
Other
Janet Raphael
Played by: Dianne Weller
- Stage Mom: Thea's mother was a Glory Seeker who lacked the talent to fulfill her dreams, so she lives vicariously through her more talented daughter's dancing. Though Thea genuinely loves ballet, she didn't choose it initially.
Reuben Bello
Played by: Manuel Pacific
- Long-Lost Relative: He turns out to be Max's adoptive brother, and it's implied they haven't seen each other in many years.
- Parental Favoritism: At least, according to his brother Max.
Jenna Bicks
Played by: Esther Lindebergh
Isaac's former dance partner from the London School of Ballet introduced in season 2. She participates in Mr. Castillo's workshop in season 3.
- The Gadfly: Goes out of her way to try to get under Lena's skin.
- The Killjoy: Seems to hate fun, and
actively scolds Isaac for becoming more fun in the time since they were last dance partners.Jenna: I'm here to train, not to have fun.- She also has a serious problem with Jeff for this reason.
- The Stoic: Lampshaded by Jeff.Jeff: Ugh, she's the worst. I mean, she has, like, zero personality... a permanent scowl.
Owen
Played by: Jelle Florizoone
- Romantic False Lead: To Jeff.
Romy Jensen
Played by: Isabelle Allen
- Agent Mulder: And a bit of a Cloudcuckoolander. Frequently Lampshaded by Simon that she's prone to believing in conspiracy theories and the paranormal.Simon: Remember when you also thought aliens landed in school?Romy: Oh, come on. I was only eight when their pod landed on the playground.
- The Call Put Me on Hold: She is absolutely determined to get into Mr. Castillo's workshop and opts to just show up, claiming she had to take matters into her own hands after her e-mails, texts, DMs, PMs, video chat requests, and audition videos were ignored. Thankfully, she does turn out to be pretty good.
- Competition Freak: As most of the characters are, except Isaac and Jeff consider her to be "next level".
- Determinator: She pretty much won't take no for an answer, going as far as to use Lena's timepiece to constantly rewind time until the person she's talking to gives her the answer she wants.
- Drop-In Character: Her first appearance is her showing up to Mr. Castillo's workshop uninvited.
- High-School Hustler: Somehow manages to get her way with Mr. Castillo.
- Long-Lost Relative: She is actually Lena's half-sister.
- Mirror Character: It's Lampshaded by the other characters how similar she is to Lena as she follows her around and copies her every move, down to the mannerisms.Jeff: That Romy is like a mini-Lena, except totally on fire, yo.Ines: Tell me about it.Isaac: It's terrifying.
- Secret Chaser: She's suspicious of Lena after finding old photos of her in her house. In her investigation, she manages to overhear Lena briefly remembers she's a time traveller before forgetting again.
- Tagalong Kid: She and Simon are 14 — a few years younger than the other students in Mr. Castillo's workshop. Simon wants to stick to their level with kids their own age, but Romy wants to stay on.
- Too Much Alike: The reason she and Lena clash. It's frequently Lampshaded by other characters how similar they are in personality. The trope is justified as they are acutely half sisters.
- Underestimating Badassery: To prove herself, she states she can keep up with Lena, randomly selecting her without realizing she's one of the best dancers there, thus setting a high bar for herself.
Simon
Played by: Louis Davison
- Agent Scully: With shades of being a Cloudcuckoolander's Minder. Downplayed in that he dissuades Romy's theories and tries to stop her from getting too conspiratorial, but he won't go out of his way to deny what's right in front of him.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Does whatever Romy tells him to, not because he agrees with her or wants to (he often doesn't), but because she intimidates him.
Jack Jensen
Played by: Josh Burdett
- Long-Lost Relative: He's Lena's biological father. He had met her mother while she was visiting the year 2000.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Reveals this to Lena when Romy introduces her to him.
1905 characters
Russian Royal Family
Alexandra "Alex" Grisky
Played by: Elisa Doughty
- Fountain of Youth: She is turned into a teenager by Lex, with no memories of her adult life, although it ends up being temporary for her, unlike Oscar who chooses to stay young.
- Love-Obstructing Parents: She does not approve of Lena seeing a "peasant boy".
Grand Duke Stefan / Oleg Grisky
Played by: Dominic Gould
Students
Claudine Renault
Played by: Audrey Hall
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: As Lena's roommate, it's implied she was nice to her face but secretly resentful. Lena turns on her when she realizes Claudine snitched to her parents. By season 2, Lena considers her two-faced and a nemesis.
- It's All About Me:Claudine: I'm going to crush this!Ines: By I, you mean we, right?Claudine: Oh whatevs, Ines... Fine. We.
- The Mole: Frank enlists her to go undercover to the future to figure out what Nico and the Bureau's intentions are with Lena.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: As of season 3, having appeared sparingly in the first two seasons.
- Proper Lady: She leads lessons on manners as well as the reading circle, and is horrified by how (openly) rude and unmannered Thea is. However, due to Thea's influence, she becomes a Spirited Young Lady in season 3, which puts her at odds with the time period she's in.
- Stealing the Credit: Takes credit for all the anachronistic phrases and dances Thea brings back in time.
- The Stool Pigeon:
- She snitches about Lena's relationship with Henri to her parents, which kickstarts the entire plot.
- She threatens to report Thea's improper behavior to the Directrice.
- Totally Radical:Claudine: Girl power, y'know?
