The Last Man on Earth / Characters

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Phillip Tandy Miller

Played by: Will Forte, Jacob Tremblay (young)

The titular last man on earth. For the first episode, anyway. An immature temp from Tuscon, who hinders the group as much as he thinks he's helping.

The Atoner: Phil spends the first half of Season Two trying to make it up to the others for being such a jerk in Season One.
Beard of Sorrow: Letting his beard grow is a symptom of depression from believing he is the last man on Earth. He shaves it off again in an attempt to impress Melissa, only to discover the ladies think he looks better with it.
Butt-Monkey: Just about nothing every truly goes right for Phil. His attempts to sleep with Melissa are ruined by Todd’s arrival, his effort to stop more people finding them leads to him almost dying of sunburn, he gets locked in the stocks by the others etc.
Captain Obvious: Much like Carol, he has a habit of spelling out every single detail and piece of subtext in every conversation, no matter how obvious they are.
Catchphrase: "Oh, farts."
- Counts as basically a cast catchphrase since just about everyone has used it.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Downplayed. Phil has many strange habits and is quite immature and silly, but he is never the less perfectly sane, to the point he finds the genuine weirdness and insanity of others outright baffling.
Dark Horse Sibling: Tandy was a failure his whole life, while his brother Mike made something of himself and ended up becoming an astronaut. While Tandy was still a screw-up after the virus wipes out most life on the planet, he managed to get a lot of the survivors together, got married, and ended up becoming the de facto leader of the group, while Mike becomes jealous over what Tandy now has, and goes off to find his own place in the new world.
The Ditz: Phil isn’t outright stupid, but he never thinks what he does through and is quite slow witted. Case in point when looking for where Melissa lives, despite all the pictures showing a different family and not her, he is convinced it means she was adopted by neglectful people.
Dumbass Has a Point: Every now and then, Tandy's minuscule brain power kicks in and he makes a cogent point about the groups situation. Most notably the season 4 finale, when he finally convinces the group to permanently plant roots instead of wandering.
Embarrassing Middle Name: Tandy. After the second Phil Miller arrives in town, he is forcibly rechristened it.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Carol aside, the group does not like him. He's tolerated at best, utterly loathed as worst.
Green-Eyed Monster: Phil’s initial response to more men turning up at the compound, as it ruins his chances of sleeping with Melissa. It’s so strong he tries to get rid of Todd by abandoning him in the desert but can’t bring himself to do it. Like most of his nastier traits he gets over it as the seasons go by.
Gone Mad From The Isolation: Years believing he was the only man on Earth did a lot of damage to Phil’s sanity, to the point he was seconds away from killing himself before he met Carol.
Happily Married: With Carol by Season Two. He starts off only willing to marry her due to the fact she is (seemingly) the last woman on Earth. After spending some time traveling America together between season one and two, the two come to understand each other a lot better and discover they share a lot of interests.
Heel Realization: In “Pranks For Nothin” he finally realises what a jerk he has been towards the others.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: While originally pretending to be Todd’s friend to sabotage his attempts with Melissa, over the course of the second season Phil tries to gain a genuine relationship with Todd, to the point that in season three he’s his closest member of the group apart from Carol.
The Immune: While it’s not outright stated, the fact he survived the virus with no sign of protection suggests he is immune.
Jerkass: In season one, he’s basically just a selfish jerk who only wants to sleep with the more attractive Melissa and is willing to sabotage others’ lives to do so. He grows out of this as the seasons go by.
Leader Wannabe: Phil wants to be the leader of the group, and often acts like he is. While Carol and Todd are willing to humour him (provided they’re in a good mood) all the others quite openly don’t take him seriously and shoot down his ridiculous suggestions. By the time of season three, everyone else has just decided to roll with the idea.
The Load: His contributions to the group are minimal at best.
Manchild: Phil is in his early forties; however he has maturity of an annoying five year old, thinks farts are hilarious, plays with toys like go-carts and slides, and is hopelessly immature. Outright lampshaded by Gail in “Hair of the Dog”.
Meaningful Rename: Following the arrival of the second Phil Miller, to avoid confusion the others start calling Phil by his middle name, Tandy. While initially against it, over time he comes to accept it, symbolising his change into a better person.
Nice Guy: By season three, Phil has shaken off most of his egotistic and nasty traits, morphing into a loveable though still immature ditz.
The Pig-Pen: Following the apocalypse Phil has descended to this. Having stopped caring about his personal hygiene he rarely washes. He grows out of it after meeting the others.
Sad Clown: Tandy is a goofy, funny and immature man who rarely takes anything seriously. He also had to watch his parents die, then bury them, watch as all of humanity died around him and almost killed himself believing he was the last man on Earth.
Sanity Slippage: Believing himself to be the last man on Earth eroded away Phil’s sanity, to the point he let his home decay and be filled with trash, started talking to balls he drew faces on and finally tried to kill himself. He got better after meeting the others though.
That Man Is Dead: While initially disliking being renamed Tandy by the others, by season three he’s accepted it as his new name, and turned his back upon the selfish and greedy man he used to be.
Took a Level in Kindness: Starting off as an egotistic lazy jerk in season one, as the seasons go by Phil gets considerably kinder to the point he could arguably considered one of the nicer members of the group by season three.
Trash of the Titans: Having stopped caring following the apocalypse, Phil’s house is literally a massive pile of trash, and he uses a pool as his toilet.
Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Was in Season One, being an insensitive man who was only looking to sleep with Melissa. He grew out it by Season Two.

Carol Pilbasian-Miller

Played by: Kristen Schaal

An off-kilter notary from Delaware who traveled to Tuscon after seeing Phil's signs and is the first person he meets after the apocalypse. They marry in the second episode out of loneliness and desperation, but ultimately develop a real, loving relationship as the series goes on.

Adam and Eve Plot: Determined to repopulate the Earth, no matter how completely impossible that is.
Affectionate Nickname: After reconciling in their marriage, Phil often calls her "Care Bear".
Captain Obvious: Even worse than Phil, Carol has absolutely no concept of subtlety or subtext.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: She might be a little more sensible, but Carol is so bizarre in her habits and hobbies that she even leaves Phil baffled for quite a while.
Gosh Darn It to Heck!: Carol is firmly against swearing; as such, the very worst insult she is capable of is about the same as that of a young child.
Grammar Nazi: Has a near fanatic belief that sentences are not supposed to be ended with prepositions, and gives Phil no end of grief over this.
Happily Married: To Phil, starting in Season Two. She initially married him as he is (seemingly) the last man on Earth. After Phil is exiled at the end of season one, Carol decides to go with him. Whilst traveling America together between the seasons, they grow a lot closer, and manage to form a deep bond.
The Immune: How Carol managed to survive the virus outbreak that destroyed humanity.
Lawful Stupid: During season one at least, Carol was obsessed with still following the laws, even though they no longer made any sense due to there not being any people left on the world. One example is trying to force Phil to stop at a stop sign while out driving. It’s implied that the only way she managed to stay sane during her isolation was by latching onto law and stability, explaining her near zealot desire to enforce it.
Lethal Chef: Even with the limited resources they have available, Carol really isn’t a good cook. Her spaghetti and raisin balls is universally agreed to be utterly inedible.
Malaproper: Despite being a Grammar Nazi, Carol is really not good with the English language, commonly messing up idioms and homophones such as mistaking expressions for “watching you like a hog”, and “holding my breasts”. She thinks TMI means “too minimal information”, and even believes paedophiles mean dedicated long distance walkers.
Nice Girl: Carol is about as sweet as sugar; she tries her hardest to get along with everyone and outright hates conflict.
No Social Skills: Carol has absolutely no filter. She casually discusses the most personal or disgusting events in intricate detail, ranging from her present sex life to bodily problems, with others in public, and can never understand why others don't want to join in.
Womanchild: Carol is a bit more sensible than Phil, but she’s still very immature herself. She dresses much like a seven year old, loves besparkling her clothes, goes overboard with celebrating holidays like Christmas, and openly enjoys living with Phil in what is effectively a child’s playhouse.

Melissa Chartres

Played by: January Jones

A real estate agent from Ohio that also traveled to Tuscon after seeing Phil's signs. Phil and Carol meet her after they T-bone her car at an intersection.

Action Girl: Her fondness for guns, and skills with using them make Melissa the most dangerous member of the group. Unfortunately, due to the lack of threats the group faces, this just makes the others fearful of her.
Brutal Honesty: Melissa never sugar coats the truth, especially towards Tandy. She likewise has no problems telling Jasper to his face that Pat is a dangerous psycho who wants to kill them.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: She starts off as the Only Sane Woman in Season One. After going through a large amount of Sanity Slippage, by Season Two she is constantly staking out defenses to keep the others safe from imaginary dangers. By Season Three the others become convinced that she is a danger to herself and are forced to lock her away. She gets better once she starts taking her medication again.
Fangirl: If her more out-there personality is any hint, she’s a really big fan of the The Shawshank Redemption. She even acts out the role of one of the characters and wants Todd to play along.
Gun Nut: Of the group members Melissa is the one seen handling guns the most, commonly using shotguns and rifles. She is also more than happy to shoot them.
The Immune: How Melissa managed to survive the virus wiping out all of humanity.
Jerkass: While in season one she was understandably annoyed by Phil’s antics, by season two she’s gotten a lot colder and outright nastier towards the others, and him in particular. It’s one of the symptoms of her Sanity Slippage.
Lack of Empathy: What seriously worries the group, especially Todd, is when she happily shoots a man in cold blood and doesn’t seem bothered over it, even when it turns out he and his group weren’t really attacking them.
Mysterious Past: Her history is largely secret for several seasons. Phil and Todd eventually find out that she's an ex-real estate agent from Akron, Ohio.
Official Couple: With Todd. Initially attracted to him because of there only being two men left (and Phil being the other one), Melissa nevertheless grows to love Todd’s caring nature and genuine loyalty towards her.
Only Sane Woman: Between Phil’s selfishness, Todd’s meekness, and Carol’s bizarre interests and Lawful Stupid behaviour, she is forced to be this in season one. However, her sanity slippage causes her to lose this position in the following seasons.
Poor Communication Kills: She doesn't bother mentioning that she needs to take anti-psychotic meds, that she doesn't have any left on her, and what the name of said medication is (only referring to it by Layman's terms), resulting in her causing trouble for everyone for almost an entire season until they manage to figure out what's going on with her.
Sanity Slippage: Her sanity gradually erodes as time goes on, due to not having her anti-psychotic meds.
Wrong Genre Savvy: Her skill and obsession with guns, coupled with her take no prisoners desire to keep all the others safe and investing in defensive tactics during season two, would probably make her the most useful member of the group if they were living through a Zombie Apocalypse or an Apocalypse Anarchy. However, as they are the last people in the world with virtually no threats whatsoever, it simply makes the others more afraid of her and for her safety.

Todd Rodriguez

Played by: Mel Rodriguez

A sweet, amiable guy who becomes the fourth member of the group after he spots Phil's fireworks while driving to Mexico.

Acrofatic: For his size, Todd is a solid pop 'n lock dancer.
Always Someone Better: Is this during the first season towards Phil. He’s everything Phil is but also a genuine nice guy. His only real flaw, being overweight, is counterbalanced by his personality and isn’t considered a serious problem as there are only a few men left in the entire world.
Big Fun: Todd is a bit of the hefty side, but is nevertheless a decent and friendly man. A sore spot for Phil in season one is that the entire group enjoy hanging out with Todd more than him. However, over time even Phil befriends him.
I Am a Monster: Has a habit of letting guilt utterly destroy his self-worth, such as after he hoards a stash of bacon for himself, has an affair with both Gail and Melissa, or after he thinks he killed Pat (despite Pat trying to murder them at the time).
The Immune: As Todd survived the virus that killed everyone else (save the other members of the group), he probably is this.
Kavorka Man: Played with, and deconstructed. Todd is overweight and not exactly classically handsome. However, he’s such a Nice Guy that Melissa is instantly interested in him. This also leads to all the woman (save Carol) finding comfort in him in season two, unaware he’s cheating on them.
Nice Guy: Todd is a huge softie, an easy going, polite and sweet natured fella. He even puts up with the majority of Tandy’s antics, unless he seriously goes too far.
Oblivious to Hatred: In season 1, he was largely unaware of the fact that he inadvertently ruined Phil's plan to repopulate with Mellisa and Carol, causing Phil to maliciously envy Todd and try to overshadow him for once.
Official Couple: With Melissa. As she was seemingly the last single woman on Earth at the time, they quickly got together. Through the seasons Todd stands by Melissa, even as her sanity dramatically declined, and even managed to find the solution to make her well again.
Only Sane Man: Normally Todd is too easy going and accepting to qualify, but on occasion the fact that he’s simply more normal than the rest of the group lands him in this role. For example his worries that Melissa’s decline in behaviour has gone beyond simply strange, to the point she’s potentially dangerous or pointing out how woefully unequipped the group is to handle treating injuries, illnesses or even Carol and Erica’s pregnancies.
Opposites Attract: Todd and Melissa. Todd is an easy going, tolerant and quite meek nice guy. Melissa is a strong, sharp and often cold woman, who is never afraid to voice her opinions and call the others out on their insanity.
Vitriolic Best Buds: He's the closest thing to a friend Tandy has. But even he has his limits when dealing with his craziness.

Erica Dundee

Played by: Cleopatra Coleman

An Australian with a mysterious past who is stranded in the States after the apocalypse. She and Gail met at the White House, and travel together before joining the group outside Tuscon.

Cartwright Curse: Both the men she was involved with, Phil and Mike, died. She lampshades this following Lewis’s death in his obituary in “The Spirit of Saint Lewis”.
Divergent Character Evolution: As introduced simultaneously in Season one, she and Gail only showed a few traits like age, race, skills to established any differentiation from one another. Overall any characterization was shown mostly similarly. It was not until the following Season is when their characters became more developed and distinguishable. (Though Erica's defining traits are shown as more or less by comparison. See examples.)
Embarrassing Last Name: Not keen on being an Australian named Dundee.
Former Teen Rebel: Implied. She apparently took a lot of drugs when she was younger.
Hidden Depths: Was arrested for armed robbery before coming to America, getting a job at the State Department under a false name. She also used to take so many pills that she can identify numerous similar ones by brand, with a single glance. Mike outright points out she is a lot more interesting than the others know.
The Immune: Implied, as she managed to survive the virus that killed everyone else.
Satellite Character: Has the least focus and development of the entire cast. She herself lampshades this while talking to Mike, claiming that everyone simply stopped learning about her after they found out she was Australian.

Gail Klosterman

Played by: Mary Steenburgen

A heavy-driving, snarky restaurant owner and chef from North Carolina. The closest thing the main group has to a Straight Man.

The Alcoholic: Gail got through the apocalypse thanks to alcohol and loves her liquor. A little too much. Following Gordon’s death she starts seriously drinking again, to the point that when it’s pointed out she’s started before ten in the morning, she simply turns the clock forward several hours and continues drinking.
- This is a bit of Lampshade hanging, because it's well known that professional chefs tend to suffer alcoholism at higher levels than most other career paths.
Companion Cube: Her friend/sex-mannequin, Gordon.
Dark and Troubled Past: She lost her son sometime before the virus struck and wiped out humanity.
Deadpan Snarker: Gail is one of the wittier and more sarcastic members of the group, with her go-to response to the others’ antics to be understated mockery and laid back sarcasm.
Dirty Old Woman: Downplayed. But as Carol points out she regularly smokes, drinks and tries to sleep with younger men (not that she has much choice due to the lack of surviving humans).
Divergent Character Evolution: As introduced simultaneously in Season one, she and Erica only showed a few traits like age, race, skills to established any differentiation from one another. Overall any characterization was shown mostly similarly. It was not until the following Season is when their characters became more developed and distinguishable. (Though Gail's defining traits are shown moreso by comparison. See examples.)
Driven to Suicide: Comes dangerously close to this in season three. After getting trapped in an elevator for several weeks, her efforts to escape all fail and one of her ricochet bullets hits her in the leg. She almost uses her last bullet to shoot herself believing the others will never find her.
The Immune: As with the others, it seems Gail is immune to the Virus.
Lady Drunk: Following Gordon’s death, Gail relapses into drinking regularly, to the point she’s rarely shown without a glass of wine in hand.
The Medic: Despite having no actual medical training, it generally falls to Gail to perform any medical procedures that the group needs. It is she who (unsuccessfully) operates upon Phil, and who delivers Erica’s baby.
Out Living Ones Offspring: A very sore point for Gail, as her son died at some point before the virus. It’s partially due to that she is so unwilling to be Carol’s new mom at first.
Silver Vixen: Gail is in her sixties, but is still acknowledged to be very attractive and gets plenty of attention. It’s outright lampshaded by Phil in her first appearance calling her “a hot old lady”, not that she appreciates being called it
Supreme Chef: Unlike Carol, Gail is a former professional chef and can thus make great food even with the group’s minute rations. Unfortunately as rations deteriorate even further, her skills are definitely pushed.
Team Mom: Being the oldest woman in the group, Gail is unwilling forced into this position. In Season Three, Carol outright tries to get Gail to adopt her, so she can be her mom and grandmother of her baby. Gail eventually accepts.
Wandering Minstrel: Between her love of playing the accordion, both for the group’s entertainment and her own, and the groups semi-nomadic existence, she forms a modern day version of the archetype.

Lewis

Played by: Kenneth Choi

An arborist from Seattle who traveled on Pat's boat before meeting the group in Malibu.

The Cynic: On account of losing his partner, watching humanity die, and spending several weeks living with the insane Pat, Lewis is a very glass half empty type of guy. Unlike the other members of the group, he has no patience for Tandy’s antics.
Defrosting Ice King: Starts off highly cynical and outright annoyed by Tandy, but as the season goes on he grows more open and accepting towards him and the other members of the group. By the end, while he’s far from an optimist, he is able to have at least a glimmer or two of hope.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: Dies completely out of the blue in a plane crash in “The Spirit of Saint Lewis”.
The Immune: How he managed to survive the virus, like the other members of the group.
Logical Latecomer: Being a more recent addition to the group, Lewis is utterly baffled and exasperated by Tandy’s antics, and amazed that the others have grown so jaded to them. After Tandy’s particularly unconvincing attempt to make them believe he killed Pat, using an obviously fake dummy, Lewis outright yells at him, demanding to know how stupid he thinks they are.
Mauve Shirt: Hangs around for a while, has a motive for surviving and seems like a permanent fixture...then he dies in a fiery plane crash.
Only Sane Man: On account of being the Logical Latecomer, and out of the remaining group consisting of Tandy and Carol being just as crazy as ever, Gail being a full blown alcoholic, Todd being too meek and accepting of the others’ insanity, Melissa’s growing sanity slippage and Erica’s passiveness, he takes over as the voice of reason.
Twofer Token Minority: Is both the group’s only Asian and the only homosexual. Lampshaded by Tandy, as he’s happy that a homosexual population managed to survive the virus ravaging humanity down to double digits.
Sixth Ranger: Joins the group in the beginning of season three and is quickly accepted as an important member.
Straight Gay: Is an openly homosexual man, but doesn’t display any camp or feminine traits whatsoever. No one ever suspected he was before he casually announced it.

Jasper

Played by: Keith L. Williams

A child found living in the woods near the office building the group stayed at in San Jose, California. Not much of a talker.

Creepy Child: He's definitely a little...off.
The Quiet One: Is completely mute right up until the last two episodes of season three.
Suddenly Voiced: After being silent in all his appearances, he starts talking in “The Big Day”, having gotten over it at some point during the six month time skip.

Secondary

Mike Miller

Played by: Jason Sudeikis

Phil's younger, much more successful brother. He is an astronaut who is stranded in space on board the International Space Station when the virus hits.

The Aloner: While the virus ravaged the Earth, he spent three years all alone on a space station.
Always Someone Better: Mike is everything his brother isn’t: successful, mature, charming, a professional scientist and astronaut. He even manages to stay one step ahead of him in their prank war.
Big Little Brother: Mike is several inches taller than Phil, as well as noticeably more muscular. It isn’t even revealed he is the younger of the two until they reunite.
Companion Cube: While trapped upon the space station he managed to keep himself sane by talking to his numerous caterpillars. When the last one dies, he nearly commits suicide until he notices a new one hatching from an egg.
Embarrassing Middle Name: His middle name is Shelby, which Phil wastes no time mocking him about when the subject comes up.
Hope Spot: After years of being too afraid, Mike finally plucks up the courage to use the escape shuttle and manages to survive the return journey to Earth. He finds his brother, is accepted by the group and even starts a relationship with Erica only for him to catch the virus and seemingly die. As of Season 4, it turns out he was just sick with something different and had a weakened immune system due to being in Space for a long time.
The Immune: Double Subverted. Unlike the others, Mike only survived the virus by being off the Earth when it struck. Upon his return, it’s not too long before he succumbs to it and apparently dies. However, it turns out it wasn't the virus, and he goes to the group alive and well.
Irony: After years believing and being terrified that he would die alone in space, in the end Mike chooses to die alone in his old house, to spare his brother the fate of having to watch him die.
It Runs in the Family: Like his brother, he hangs onto a sliver of sanity with a Companion Cube. In his case, worms.
Not So Above It All: Mike, maybe more mature and successful than his brother, but he is just as willing to engage in a childish prank war as he is.
Sole Surviving Scientist: He is an International Space station researcher and initially seems like the last scientist left alive after The Virus killed the vast majority of humans Earthside.

Phil Miller a.k.a. "Phil 2"

Played by: Boris Kodjoe

A former member of the U.S. Special Forces from North Carolina, Phil finds the main Phil stranded on a billboard outside Tuscon and joins the group thereafter. Has a somewhat prickly personality and does not like or trust Phil.

The Ace: Tall, muscular, handsome and charming, not to mention highly intelligent and skilled with his hands. Phil is far more useful to the group than any of the other members, especially Tandy. He shifts into a Broken Ace in season two, due to his growing lust for Carol, Control Freak issues and increasing disagreements with the other members of the group.
Control Freak: Not initially, but as time goes on Phil gets more annoyed by Tandy’s antics and the others’ ignorance causing his well-meaning attempts to keep the others alive to descend into aggressive bullying and a need for control.
Drowning My Sorrows: After discovering he got Erica pregnant, and realising that despite everything he has done for them he’s alienated the entire group to the point they actually like Tandy better than him, he resorts to simply drinking on the beach until he passes out. He would have drowned if it hadn’t been for Tandy.
Dude Where Is My Respect: His problems in season two stem in large part from feeling unappreciated by the other members of the group, despite him doing the most work to keep them alive. This causes him to start ignoring them and their problems, which only increases the dislike for him.
Embarrassing Middle Name: After his death, Tandy discovers his middle name is Stacey. He dislikes it to the point that he lies to the others that he doesn’t have a middle name.
Genius Bruiser: Phil is big and muscular, a lot stronger than all the rest of the group and a lot more forceful. He’s also far more intelligent and knowledgeable than the others, being the only one of them who is an actually capable survivalist.
Hope Spot: Following Tandy saving his life, the two begin to patch up their relationship; Phil finally accepts that it was his growing temper and Control Freak tendencies which alienated him from the others, not Tandy. Tandy helps mend the bridges between him and the others, including Erica, and he starts looks forward to being a father. Then his appendix bursts, and he dies on the operating table.
The Immune: Like other members of the group, Phil managed to survive the virus which ravaged humanity down to less than twenty people.
Meat Grinder Surgery: For a burst appendix. He doesn't survive.
Mr Fix It: Phil is a capable mechanic and tinkerer, managing to fix Carol’s broken door, give the group a working hot water shower, and began work on an irrigation system.
Only Sane Man: Being the most intelligent of the group, in Season One he is the first one to point out that Tucson is not a good place for them to live in the long term, as it’s near impossible to grow crops here. In Season Two, it’s Zigzagged, as while he’s still intelligent and sensible, his growing anger and dislike towards the others (especially Tandy) start to cloud his judgement.
Petthe Dog: After antagonizing Tandy through most of the second season, he finally decides to have a beer with him on Christmas.
Scary Black Man: Not at first, as he starts off pretty charming and helpful. However, as his animosity towards Tandy continues to grow and he starts to show his nastier side, being an ex-special forces soldier and the most physically capable member of the group, he starts to fall into this.
Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Part of the tension between him and the others is caused by the fact that, as he's the most competent member of the group, he gradually starts to believe that rules don't apply to him the same as they apply to the others. This is exemplified over the debate when he punches Tandy just for mentioning Carol; Tandy proceeds to argue to the others that if it was deemed appropriate for he and Todd to be locked in pillories for hoarding food, then Phil should really spend some time there for committing the arguably more serious crime of assault. When the others side with Tandy over him, Phil throws a fit and storms off.
Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: After finally having had enough of the group’s growing dislike for him (which was in good part his fault), and perceived ungratefulness for everything he did for them, Phil decides to leave the group and start out on his own in “A Real Live Wire”. He makes one last heartfelt plea for Carol to come with him, right before Erica tells him she’s pregnant with his child.
Took a Level in Jerkass: Starting off as a nice guy who simply wants to help the others survive, his anger towards Tandy boils until he outright throws Tandy out into the desert to die and threatens to kill him if he returns. Afterwards, his inability to let go of his anger and his growing exasperation with others’ ungratefulness and stupidity, causes him to get more aggressive and nastier. He finally starts to get over it after Tandy saves him from drowning.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the end, Phil just wants to keep the last humans alive. All of his more ruthless actions like throwing Tandy out into the desert or acting like a tyrant towards the others are motivated by his belief that it’s for the best or his anger at their stupidity and foolish choices, which he sees as endangering them.

Pat Brown

Played by: Mark Boone Junior

A former ice cream truck driver who rode out the apocalypse on a yacht. Has become an Ax-Crazy survivalist and conspiracy theorist, and is the first truly antagonistic survivor the group meet.

Ax-Crazy: When he gets going he can be wantonly violent, such as attempting to murder the entire group with a harpoon gun.
Bait the Dog:
- First finds Mike lost in the ocean, saves him, offers him food and seems willing to help out. Then tries to kill him the second it becomes clear he is serious about trying to find his brother.
- Upon finding the group, Pat initially seems well meaning, and quickly strikes a bond with Tandy. It looks like he’s turning over a new leaf, then he sees a picture of Mike, loses it and tries to kill everyone.
Boom, Headshot!: How Pamela finally kills him in the last episode of season three... or so she thought.
Conspiracy Theorist: Pat is convinced that the virus is an attempt at population control by the government, who are hiding in bunkers waiting to retake the country.
Crazy Survivalist: Emphasis on the crazy, Pat is an insane man who’s obsessed with surviving the apocalypse, having a ship loaded with everything from weapons to hazmat suits. He is perfectly willing to kill anyone the second he believes they are even a remote danger to his survival. All it takes to convince him is the suggestion they lied to him.
Gone Mad From The Isolation: Pat survived the virus by staying at sea alone for several years. Doing so has left him dangerously mad.
Hidden Depths: For an unstable lunatic, Pat is very good at tennis, customizing jeans and cooking. He and Tandy prove to actually have a lot in common.
Made of Iron: Survives being run over by Todd, then having his body dumped in the trash by Tandy. Later survives getting shot in the back of the head, one end right out the other.
Mask of Sanity: Pat is clearly unstable, but initially he comes across as a genuinely friendly eccentric and a Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold. Underneath it all, however, he’s a truly dangerous madman who tries to kill people out of paranoia.
Mood-Swinger: Pat can go from being friendly and cheerful to homicidally angry in the blink of an eye.
Not Quite Dead: He survives getting shot clean through the back of his head. Pamela immediately pumps a few more rounds into him.
Off with His Head!: In order to make sure his bullet-riddled body was really, truly, finally dead, Tandy takes a shovel and decapitates him before dumping head and body into the sea. It takes him a few tries to finally cut through.
Properly Paranoid: He wasn't wrong about the virus, and survived by hiding out as sea.

Pamela Brinton

Played by: Kristen Wiig

A wealthy socialite who survived the virus in a state-of-the-art bunker. Encounters the group during season three and finally meets them during the finale

Actually Pretty Funny: She thinks Tandy's jokes are a laugh riot.
The Alcoholic: During her time in the bunker, she starts drinking a lot to help her cope with the apocalypse. After three years, the entire bunker is literally filled with empty bottles.
Always Second Best: Had this relationship with her “friend” Catherine, who is much more charming and witty than she is, managed to always show her up at her own parties and always acted subtly condescending towards her. None of this stops Pamela from being shocked when Catherine dies, though.
Big Damn Heroes: Saves the group from Pat in the season three final, by shooting him dead when he tries to kill them.
Drowning My Sorrows: The loss of humanity, her husband and her lifestyle causes her to start drinking.
Gilded Cage: The bunker has everything she needs. But after an extended period, it becomes akin to a prison.
Gone Mad From The Isolation: Three years in a bunker with no one but her dog Jeremy to talk to erodes her sanity. At the end she believes that she can teach him to talk and gets angry when he doesn’t learn. Her sanity after leaving the bunker is no better, as she kidnaps Phil and strands the others in a dingy.
Happily Married: Was before the virus struck, her husband got infected and isolated himself to stop her from catching it too.
Heroic BSoD: Her entire debut episode “Got Milk” is one long one for her. The ramifications of the Virus slowly catch up with her, her husband and friends all die, she is left isolated in a bunker for three years, and finally loses her dog and her only source of comfort and companionship. By the end she is utterly broken down and barely does anything but lie around the bunker drinking.
Hope Spot: After three years of vainly searching and while on the brink of total despair, Pamela finally finds evidence of other humans survivors (namely the group) with her drone, and then it automatically returns to her as the battery is low. She manages to find them again, right before Melisa shoots the drone, depriving her of her only window into the outside world.
Selective Obliviousness: Is deeply in denial about the virus, right up until the bodies are literally piling up outside and human civilisation is on the brink of collapse. Even after locking herself in a bunker, she still spends the first year convinced it’s only a matter of time before someone finds a cure and things will go back to normal. When the truth finally hits her, she utterly breaks down.
Trash of the Titans: Used as a sign of her descent into depression. As the years go by, she stops caring about tidying up after herself, until the bunker is covered in empty wine bottles and rubbish.

Glenn

Played by: Chris Elliott

A man stranded on a desert island for 5 years while the virus wiped out humanity.

Deserted Island: Was stranded on one for years, possibly sparing him death by virus.
Life Saving Misfortune: Glenn has spent five years shipwrecked on a desert island, away from his family. This is probably the only thing that kept him from dying during a global pandemic with only about fifty other known American survivors.

Karl

Played by: Fred Armisen

A milquetoast, unassuming guy. Who happens to be a wacko serial killer and a cannibal.

Faux Affably Evil: While he is genuinely affable to those he speaks with while in prison and proves to be a Reluctant Monster, he was this when he was an active killer prior to being arrested, being a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who falsely befriended victims while posing as an artist. This mask went away following his arrest since he no longer had the means to kill people and was able to open up about his urges that had been forcing him to do evil.
I'm a Humanitarian: Has an insatiable thirst for human flesh.
Ludicrous Gibs: Blown to smithereens by the Rubix Cube bomb.
Reluctant Monster: He knows he's insane and that what he does is beyond deplorable. But he's incapable of fighting the urge.
Terrible Artist: He lures his victims by inviting them to paint their portraits. Since it's just a cover, his paintings are childish doodles.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: A bland, easily overlooked guy. Also a cannibalistic nutcase.

Characters / The Last Man on Earth

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