Russell Lightbourne

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

He is the leader of Sanctum and one of the Primes - the first families to settle on Sanctum.

Early life
Russell was born on Earth and joined the Eligius Corporation where he led Eligius III's Mission Team Alpha to settle and colonize the Alpha.

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. When his Josephine suggested renaming the Alpha 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=

Over the years, Russell and other Primes have been brought back several times using an A.I. technology similar to Becca's A.L.I.E. 2.0 that transfers the memories and personalities of the Primes into the host bodies of people with Royal Blood.

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, 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. This, along with Clarke saving Delilah convinces Russell to let Clarke's people stay. However, upon learning that Diyoza is the terrorist Diyoza they grew up hearing about, he kicks Diyoza 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 AI chip in Clarke. A while later, Josephine wakes up in Clarke's body. Russell is happy to be reunited with his daughter.

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."

Physical Appearance
He is tall, broad and skinny, with a beard and greying hair.

Simone Lightbourne
Simone is Russell's wife and agrees with him on many things. He always takes her opinion into consideration when decision making. 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 at least a century.

Killed Victims

 * Clarke Griffin (supposedly)
 * Josephine Lightbourne (under the influence of the eclipse, later brought back multiple times)

Notes and Trivia

 * His character was announced on September 21, 2018.
 * He is the leader of Sanctum.
 * He is a current Prime.
 * He has Nightblood, known as the 'royal blood' on Sanctum.
 * Earthborn is most likely a reference to the book series, where the grounders are instead known as earthborn.