Russell Lightbourne

Russell Lightbourne is a recurring character in the sixth season. He is portrayed by JR Bourne and Sean Maguire and debuts in "Red Sun Rising".

He is the leader of Sanctum settlement and one of the Primes.

Early Life
Russell was born on Earth, and when he was a young boy on Earth, his first pet dog bit his face. However, his father still loved the dog and refused to put him down, claiming that the dog deserves a second chance. A few years later, the dog attacked Russell's infant sister for crawling near his bowl, and two days later, Russell's sister had died. At some point, when he was an adult, he married Simone Lightbourne and they had a daughter, Josephine.

The three of them went aboard Eligius III to travel to the moon Alpha. They arrived there in 2045 and were original members of Mission Team Alpha. Russell was the team leader. On day 21 of the mission, Russell killed Simone, Josephine, and others during an eclipse induced psychosis.

Russell spent the next 25 years trying to figure out how to use Mind Drives to bring his family back. In 2070, he assisted Gabriel Santiago in bringing his daughter back via an adult, black blood host.

His family become three of the Primes and used various hosts for the next two centuries to be reborn after each death. Russell is currently the "seventh of his line", that is, on his sixth host.

Throughout the Series
In Red Sun Rising, 236 years ago, Russell and his team including his wife Simone and daughter Josephine had just recently arrived on the Alpha. He tried to keep everyone on target with their missions to build a sanctuary for human race on the Alpha. When his Josephine suggested renaming the place to "Sanctum", he gladly accepted the suggestion. Later that day, Russell and his team encountered their first red sun eclipse. Since they didn't know it's effect, Russell got exposed to it and turned psychotic. While in this eclipse-induced psychosis, Russell went off and attacked his wife and Josephine with an axe and shot many others.
 * -|Season Six=

In The Children of Gabriel, the current "reincarnation" of Russell is among the first Sanctum Citizens to see Clarke's group from Earth. When they ask for help with Murphy who's dying, Russell takes a look and determines that Murphy has died from the toxic seaweed, but there's a way to bring him back. He asks Cillian to bring him back by getting him bitten by a Kepa-She snake whose venom reverses the effects of the sea weed. Afterwards, he orders for Clarke and her friends to be locked up. He visits them later to inquire why they are there and why they killed Kaylee's family. Before deciding what to do with them, he asks some of them to go bring in their transport ship inside the radiation shield where it's safe. He's left behind with Clarke to determine their fate.

When Clarke begs Russell to let them stay in Sanctum, Russell invites her to discuss it over dinner at the palace. During the dinner he tests Clarke's loyalty. He already knows about Clarke's dark past, thanks to Jordan telling Delilah everything. Clarke says that all the time she killed people on Earth, it was to protect her people. She asks Russell for a second chance but Russell doesn't trust that Clarke won't turn against them. He decides to kick Clarke's people out. However, right after dinner, everything is interrupted when the Children of Gabriel sneak in and kidnap Rose and Delilah - the remaining Royal Bloods. Clarke saves Delilah but get injured in the process. When Russell notices that Clarke has black blood, he realizes that she is a royal blood like them too. The events of the night convince Russell to let Clarke's people stay. However, upon learning that Charmaine Diyoza is the terrorist from their history books, he kicks her out.

In The Face Behind the Glass, Russell leads the celebrations for Delilah's naming day. Part of the ceremony involves repentance during which he makes amends with Kaylee for leaving her behind and shutting the door at Ryker's Keep before Kaylee's family could get in. After conducting Delilah's naming ritual, Russell is disappointed to receive bad news from Jade that Rose has been killed. Russell and Simone needed Rose to eventually use her as a host for their daughter Josephine. It could take decades before another royal blood child is born. Lucky for them, Clarke gets paralyzed by Cillian who turns out to be a spy for the Children of Gabriel. Russell becomes tempted to take advantage of Clarke and use her as Josie's host without her consent. Simone agrees that it was meant to be. He apologizes to Clarke and tells her that her brain will be erased. Russell and Simone inject Clarke with a substance that knocks her out. While she's out, they insert Josephine's Mind Drive in Clarke. A while later, Josephine wakes up in Clarke's body. Russell is happy to be reunited with his daughter.

In The Old Man and the Anomaly, Russell expresses remorse for what he did to Clarke and sees Clarke's survival as a chance to make it right. Instead of erasing Clarke's mind for good, Russell desires to restore her and find a new willing host for Josephine despite his daughter's protests. As a result, Josephine decides to go behind his back to get rid of Clarke for good.

After Miranda Mason is found dead, Russell realizes that it is not the Children of Gabriel and orders his people to find the people from Earth and Josephine as Sanctum begins to go into lockdown. After Madi's failed attempt on Priya's life, Russell insists that the people of Earth must stand trial for what they have done, though he promises they will do all they can to save Jordan Green since he saved Priya. The disgusted Ryker forces Russell to admit that Clarke is still alive. He orders his people to do whatever it takes to bring Josephine home.

Personality
He appears to be a stern and kind leader. He is a charismatic leader, a visionary and pioneer, who rules over a "peaceful society."

During his first life, he seemed like a nice person, he seems to be kind and hardworking. He cares about his family and for a new settlement. However the eclipse caused him to become psychotic and kill his family and friends. After the eclipse had passed, he seemed to be wracked with guilt, as he spent the next 25 years with Gabriel trying to bring Josephine back through the Mind Drives before using it on the others he killed.

Although he was willing to murder Clarke Griffin to get Josephine back, Russell expressed remorse for his actions. After discovering that Clarke survived, he wanted to bring her back and put Josephine into a new, willing host to make that wrong right.

Physical Appearance
His current host is tall, broad and skinny, with a beard and greying hair.

His original appearance was a white male with blonde hair and a mustache.

Simone Lightbourne
Simone is Russell's wife and agrees with him on many things. He takes her opinion into consideration when decision making and the pair are often seen leading their people side by side. Both are Primes with the Royal Blood who occupy hosts of their own. They have been together for over two centuries.

Josephine Lightbourne
He seems to be very close to his daughter, Josephine. He cares deeply for her and often lets her get away with things. He respects her work, though he disagrees with some of her opinions.

Quotes

 * Russell Lightbourne: "Do you remember when I told you why I became an astronomer?"
 * Josephine Lightbourne: "You wanted to prove there's no God. Too bad Nietzsche beat you to it when he said "God is dead." Can I go now?"
 * Russell Lightbourne: "What would you say if I told you that being here in this miraculous place, makes me question that?"
 * Josephine Lightbourne: "I'd say.. not everything that miraculous is a miracle."
 * – "Red Sun Rising"


 * Russell Lightbourne: "Sanctum is mine!"
 * – "Red Sun Rising"

Killed Victims

 * Simone Lightbourne I
 * Josephine Lightbourne I
 * Unknown number of other Primes
 * Brooke and others born in Sanctum
 * Tai Averi Sr.

Notes and Trivia

 * His character was announced on September 21, 2018.
 * He was the first person who turned psychotic on the new world.
 * In "The Children of Gabriel", Russell VII mentions that he was bitten in the face by a dog when he was a child. Russell I had a scar on the side of his face which may have been from that dog attack.