Cast and Characters

This page includes information about the characters and story of Blood Runs Cold, considering that it's impossible to see it at the momen. This page contains spoilers, so proceed with caution. Normally I'd reccommend watching the show first before spoiling anything, but if you can't see it, you might as well spoil it now.

---

Characters

Nora Thompson

Played by Devon Roland, u/s Tina Collins

“In most stories, when someone is boring, they are boring in their own unique way. They watch paint dry, they collect stamps, or they speak in a way dull that it circles back to being interesting. You couldn't say that about Nora. You probably know a Nora, which makes her much less interesting to watch.”

Nora is the protagonist of Blood Runs Cold, an incredibly uninteresting woman, seemingly content with her current position in life. She lives alone after the passing of her wife, Iris, until one day, a mysterious stranger delivers a diary to her, bringing along Iris' restless spirit.

Spoilers

After refusing to go along with Iris' bargain, reality is altered, leaving Nora truly alone. At last, Nora admits that she was never content with her dull situation, but she was too afraid to risk judgment or getting hurt, finding safety in monotony. But seeing Melanie in her same situation motivates her to truly act for the first time, and what she stands for.

Unfortunately for Nora, her character development is exactly what the Voices From Beyond wanted, and she is trapped in another cycle as the protagonist of their horror story.

Melanie Edwards

Played by Paige Martin, u/s Lena Riley

Melanie is Nora's coworker, bright, spunky, and a little bit awkward, but with a heart of gold nonetheless. While she's kind to Nora, she can only bear a conversation with her for so long, so she tends to keep interactions brief.

Spoilers

When faced with Iris's offer, Melanie is completely distraught. The idea of either losing her wife again or having to murder someone completely devastates her, but she makes her choice. She fails to kidnap Adrian, but ends up successfully kidnapping Taylor, until Nora intervenes.

Iris

Played by Lydia Ann Burke, u/s Claire Macias

Nora's wife, who tragically passed about a year before the story's events. With the delivery of her diary, Iris returns from beyond to offer Nora a terrible choice: sacrifice someone to bring her back to life. She is very driven, and will do anything to achieve her goals.

Spoilers

As it turns out, Iris is a manifestation of the Voices From Beyond. Originally created as Nora's partner, her goal is to manipulate Nora into action - whether that action is to bring her back through sacrifice, or banish her, it doesn't really matter. Either option is entertaining.When Nora refuses to pick either option, the Voices From Beyond alter reality, changing history so that she was Melanie's wife before she passed. She is banished from reality after Nora destroys her diary at the end of the second act.

Adrian

Played by Grayson MacDonald, u/s Mariah Newman

A member of a clique of gossipy coworkers of Nora and Melanie, Adrian is very observant, quickly noticing any changes in the people around them, and voicing their observations to their friends for speculation. Adrian and their friends act as semi-narrators throughout the show, commenting on the states of Nora and Melanie as they change throughout the story.

Adrian is written neutrally, and can be acted as either gender. Grayson played Adrian as a man, while Mariah played Adrian as a woman.

Spoilers

In act 2, Melanie attempts to kidnap Adrian, and sacrifice them to bring Iris back from the dead. She almost succeeds, until Nora interrupts their conversation. Her incredibly awkward interference is so noteworthy and out of character, that they immediately leave Melanie, running to the others to report on the incident, and unknowingly avoiding the kidnapping.

Taylor

Played by Juniper Shannon, u/s Ryan Andrew Fuller

Another person in the clique of gossipy coworkers, Taylor is mostly just excited to be included. Not quite as subtle as their friends, Taylor's backhanded observations tend be a little too direct, and they tend to jump to wild conclusions while gossiping.

Taylor is written neutrally, and can be acted as either gender. Juniper portrayed Taylor neutrally, and Ryan played them as a man.

Spoilers

Towards the end of Act 2, we see that Taylor has been kidnapped by Melanie, and is nearly sacrificed until Nora intervenes. They're very excited to have such an interesting story to bring back to their friends.

Sam

Played by Anjali Willis, u/s Ryan Andrew Fuller

Rounding out the clique is Sam, a master of the backhanded compliment. Sam takes pleasure in pointing out potential insecurities, but they are sensitive to having it dealt back to them.

Sam is written neutrally, and can be acted as either gender. Anjali played Sam as a woman, while Ryan played Sam as a man.

The Mysterious Stranger

Played by Jeremy A. Harmon u/s Mariah Newman

The Mysterious Stranger visits Nora's home late one night, leaving a book at her doorstep. The book is Iris' diary, which houses her spirit.

Spoilers

The Mysterious Stranger is another manifestation of the Voices From Beyond, jumpstarting the story by giving the diary to Nora. He can sometimes be seen in the background of scenes observing the action.

The Voices From Beyond

Spoilers

Strange powerful forces from beyond time and space. The Voices from Beyond are played as a collective by the ensemble of the show. These forces toy with our reality in order to craft their own twisted entertainment. They craft Iris and place her in Nora's past, hoping that the choice offered to her will spark some latent personality, and create a tragic story for them to enjoy - either Nora is forced into madness, having blood on her hands, or Nora is forced into despair, losing Iris a second time. Unfortunately for them, they don't get to see either story unfold.

---

Crew

---