Ellen Kim

Ellen Kim is a main character in the AMC+ animated drama, Pantheon. She is portrayed by Rosemarie DeWitt.

Ellen is Maddie's mother and David's grieving wife. She attempts to connect with her detached daughter and soon discovers Maddie is communicating with someone on the web, whom she believes may be impersonating her deceased husband.

Character[]

Ellen is a grounded historian who draws on her extensive knowledge of the past to help her navigate the future. She attempts to prevent Maddie from falling prey to the siren's song of social media, virtual reality, and the emotional biofeedback provided by tech. When Ellen learns that Logorhythms had betrayed her trust and uploaded her dying husband David against both of their wills, she vows to bring them to justice. She also must reckon, however, with the digital ghost of David trying to make contact with her.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

At one point, Ellen met David Kim and entered a relationship with him. The two eventually married and had a daughter, Maddie Kim. However, a decade after Maddie was born, David was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given four weeks to live. After Peter Waxman, he informed them of Logorhythms idea to upload a living mind to perfect their Uploaded Intelligence project. After David agreed to go through with it, she was against it but eventually let him undergo the procedure. After it was done, Waxman told her the procedure failed, when in actuality it was a success.

Almost two years after David’s death, she enters a relationship with a coworker named Gabe.

Learning of David's Fate[]

After Maddie is sent to the principal’s office for running out of class without an hall pass, Ellen explains that Maddie is adjusting to a recent move and the anniversary of her father’s death is coming up, which the principal understands. Maddie and Ellen drive home in silence. The following day, walks past Maddie’s room when she hears herself mentioned and becomes angry upon learning that Maddie has been talking to a stranger online. When she asks what the person wants with Maddie, they send a line from a poem and Ellen is panicked. She goes to her room and calls Waxman to demand what he did with David.

The following day, she enters Maddie’s room and tells Maddie to drop it after she searches for help free her father, having overheard her conversation. Ellen says David is not alive and Maddie reveals she found the poem in Ellen's books. Ellen insists that it is not Maddie's father. As Ellen is sitting in her room, she thinks of a moment she and David shared as she gets up. Ellen meets Gabe at a coffee house to breakup with him. Gabe talks about his ex-wife who left him and compares her to how much better of a person David was. After a brief conversation, Ellen decides to keep seeing Gabe.

The following day, Ellen drops Maddie off at school. As she sits at a green light before turning around. Maddie looks at the messages until the teacher closes her laptop. She returns to Maddie’s school and finds her being threatened by Samara, one of her daughter’s buddies. She then threatens Samara as Maddie tries to get her mother to back off and Ellen lets go. Samara runs off and Ellen reveals she has been keeping a major secret from Maddie.

At home, she explains to Maddie that her father participated in an experiment to upload his mind upon learning of his illness. Ellen also explains how she was lied to about it failing. Maddie expresses joy that her father is still alive, but Ellen insists that what ever contacted her was not truly her father. Maddie berates her mother as Ellen leaves.

The following day, Ellen looks at David's will before stumbling across a video of David and Maddie play Reign of Winter. She is brought back to the present by a knock at the door. Waxman arrives wanting to talk and Ellen says she will tell everyone about uploaded intelligence and berates him for lying about it, however Waxman reveals uploading David was never about saving him. Waxman reveals they uploaded David to have him work for Logorhythms even after his death. He reveals they gave David his memories back but he gained a sense of self and found a way to contact Maddie. That night, Ellen is told by Waxman that the current CEO, Julius Pope, is flying in from overseas to speak with her about deleting David’s upload. Maddie enters the room and reveals she knows about her meeting and wants to go with her. Ellen agrees.

The following day, mother and daughter go to Logorhythms as Waxman transfers David’s data from Norway. Ellen and Maddie sit in the lobby until Waxman arrives at escort them to a boardroom. Pope introduces himself and Deirdre Ryan. Waxman explains that once they wipe the data, David will be gone, but Pope and Ryan refuse to do so and claim David is their property and that Ellen's power of attorney does not include his mind. As her mother chastises them, Maddie activates her bracelet- that was given to her by Cody and Laurie Lowell to help free her father- and takes down Logorhythms servers. As Pope and Ryan say Ellen will lose in court and tarnish her family name, Pope is informed that everything is down. With Logorhythms losing money, Maddie agrees to give them back control in exchange for her father. Ellen is surprised by her daughter's act and tries to convince Maddie that the device on the table is not her father, but Maddie insists that it is. As they cannot afford to lose money at this rapid rate, Pope reluctantly hands over David and warns Maddie to be careful. Once the Kims leave the premises, Logorhythms gains control. Once they reach home, Maddie runs up to her room and reveals the Lowells have bought David an encrypted server to house David and they are freeing him. Once they finish the download, Maddie gets a call from an unknown number and her father answers, much to Maddie's joy and Ellen's horror. David tells Maddie to open Reign of Winter and his avatar appears. David asks if Maddie is ready to finish the adventure and father and daughter play their favorite game together for the first time in two years.

Adjusting to David's Return[]

Since David was freed, she has not spoken with him. Ellen gets a call from David at work and hangs up immediately. Gabe soon walks in to confirm if they are still on for that night. Ellen says she will be late as Maddie is making dinner. Gabe leaves and Ellen stares at her phone. Later that night, when Ellen walks into the dining room, she is surprised to see David and he apologizes. Ellen walks over to the laptop and closes it. Maddie berates her mother for treating her father like this but Ellen insists that the person on the screen is not her husband. Ellen insists the two talk, but Maddie insists they talk as a family and David begs Ellen to listen and Ellen leaves.

At Gabe's house, he and Ellen are watching a zombie movie when she asks him to turn it off. He does and as they are about to kiss, the lights flicker and David hacks into Gabe's devices. Ellen chastises David, but says nothing to Gabe about it. Gabe insists she try, but she stays silent and Gabe kicks her out, ending their relationship. At home, Ellen insists Maddie help her speak with David and she makes her mother an avatar. David arrives and she says that she has no idea what to think of David and cannot be with him. Ellen states she mourned him for two years and says she cannot be with him as they once were. David agrees that he cannot describe what he is and states she hurt him by saying he is not human and his love for his family kept him going. The two break up on good terms and laugh at the circumstances of the breakup as Maddie cries in the hallway. She and David laugh at his interference with her date as as remembers she ended two relationships that night and the two sing Pearl Jam's “I'm Still Alive” as Maddie walks in. Ellen tells her how her father supposedly won her over from Eddie Vedder, which Maddie does not believe.

Learning of Others[]

A few days, later she is looking at Laurie's obituary and finds it strange that she cannot find pictures of her husband. The doorbell rings and Maddie answers it. Cody Lowell barges in with something in his pocket and angrily asks what she did with his wife. Ellen pepper sprays him as Cody falls to the floor and a flashlight falls out of his pocket. Maddie introduces Cody and Ellen backs off. She gets Cody eye drops and he apologizes and thanks them for not calling the police. Ellen says it is not off the table as Maddie and Cody insist Laurie first contacted Maddie. Cody says Laurie has been different since breaking David out and that he was responsible for something and that it was why she wanted to break him out. He tells the Kims about how his wife became a UI and how she managed to contact him and they worked on getting her out. When he mentions Laurie’s servers, Ellen asks what would happen if they are turned off.

Later, Ellen tucks Maddie in before meeting Cody on a back patio. Ellen suggests Cody turn off Laurie’s server again, which is the equivalent of putting her in a coma, as she voices her frustration on David saying he wanted to upload. She voices her confusion at how Cody and Laurie can still have their relationship. Cody says it is almost the same as when Laurie was alive and says she behaves like she did and they have found workarounds for intimate moments. Cody says he cannot put Laurie in a coma as Ellen voices her concern for the dangers an unstable UI could do. The following day, Cody struggles to shut off Laurie’s server, but Ellen encourages him. Just as he is about to, he and Maddie get notifications and they log on to speak to the UIs.

A few days later, after Logorhythms finds David’s server and unplugs it, she comforts her daughter after Maddie experiences the simulation fall apart. Cody enters the room to reveal the servers are being turned off and Laurie reveals Logorhythms bought the company that owns the building earlier that day. As Laurie tries to bring David back online, everyone waits anxiously as David is rebooted. David is revived and does not remember the last twenty four hours. Laurie brings him up to speed as they discuss how to fix the flaw and bring David back to full speed. Cody suggests they get a floating data center like Laurie, but Maddie insists that they set it up at the house. Cody says they would need special equipment and Maddie demands he buy it as he has the money. Cody tries to talk the Kims out of it, but they do not relent. Over the next few, days, servers, cooling systems, and a decile generator arrive at the house and they set it up, drawing attention from the neighbors. Once everything is set up, they log into the server and discuss how Logorhythms found them. They deduce that they are using a tracking system to find them and Ellen and Cody express concern that it is too dangerous to attack again. As they think off where Logorhythms would keep the data on uploads, Maddie mentions the black site in Norway, confusing the adults. She mentions Caspian to Laurie , but she does not recognize the name. After hacking the black site, they come across a third UI, Vinod Chanda.

Ellen and Cody talk about the discovery of Chonda. Ellen is unsure if this means there are more UIs, but Cody feels their might only be three. Ellen compares UIs to discovering fire and thinks of the turbulence this technology can bring in the future when Maddie enters to reveal David and Laurie got all the files. After sorting through the files, they learn that the flaw is naturally occurring and no cure currently exists. The learn of Project Caspian and seek out Caspian Keyes.

Meeting Caspian[]

As the Kims and the Lowells are searching for Caspian, they learn that he skipped school and his fake girlfriend's socia media has been seemingly abandoned. David feels that by contacting Caspian, they could alter his destiny and stop him from cracking integrity. As Laurie searches the files, she starts to glitch and Cody fears the flaw will take its toll on her soon. Maddie insists she could call him as Ellen believes she finds it strange how Maddie possibly found the one person who could fix the flow. David states that he was the only one who solved Laurie’s equation and Maddie mentions he saw similarities between how David and Laurie communicated through emojis. David believes it is no coincidence. Maddie and Laurie state they should seek out Chonda, but Cody and Ellen are against it. As he and Laurie tell the others about their alternative for the cure involving merging code to create a new entity and form a new mind, Justine calls Maddie to tell her Caspian has been calling. She patches Maddie in and listens in. Caspian tells Maddie he is coming to Sacramento and she puts him on speaker. Caspian says his “father” was shot and they cannot go to a hospital as Logorhythms will find them. Ellen tells Caspian to meet them in the parking lot of the Sacramento Raceway at one the following afternoon and hangs up. She, Maddie and Cody wait in the parking lot as Caspian pulls up. They get out of their cars and Maddie notices blood on Caspian’s shirt . Upon seeing Cary, Ellen insists they need to take him to a hospital, but everyone questions how not to lead Logorhythms back to them by doing so. Cody insists he can use a fake name to check in Cary and tells Caspian to head back with the Kims. Caspian is reluctant until Maddie reveals they know the threat Logorhythms is and know what Caspian is. Caspian then agrees to leave Cary with Cody and goes with the Kims.

As she drives, Maddie and Caspian sit in the back seats. When asks who shot him “father”, Caspian says Cary is not his father and his shooter was not his wife. Caspian says he does not know where his mother is asks if her husband has reached a hospital. Maddie clarifies how everyone is connected and explains that Laurie and her father are the first and second people to be uploaded respectively. Caspian asks how they know about him and, upon return to her house, Maddie takes him to her room and comes running out when Caspian refuses to fix the flaw at first. She calls David, who reveals he knows already. A short while later, she sees Maddie and Caspian bonding in the backyard and watches them work on a cure for the flaw. However, Chonda arrives and overclocks so only he, David, and Laurie can talk. A few seconds later, Chonda demands Caspian tell him how long it will take to fix the flaw. Caspian does not answer and says David and Laurie showed him his files. Chonda tries to leave to warn others but is stopped from leaving When asked what he means by others, Chonda reveals he sent blueprints to upload people to the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Iran, and China. He selected these governments because he knew they would upload their best operatives and keep it secret. Chonda intends to change the UI's minds where they could see that they are more than human upon meeting him. David chastises Chonda for this as an unknown amount of people could die because of this along with the UIs.

Preparing for Fallout[]

Two weeks after Chonda sends out the UI blueprints to the top cyber powers in the world, she and Maddie are panic buying in preparation for the damage the UIs could cause. David calls his family to inform them Laurie is planning to go public about Uploaded Intelligence, shocking them both. As she drives, David tells his family about the events that lead to Laurie and Chonda to leave and Maddie states she agrees with Chonda despite not trusting him. Ellen asks if David has a plan and he has them enlist the help of Waxman. As Waxman is watching his daughter in ballet class, Ellen goes over to him and states she needs his help. He reveals they have no cure for the flaw, but Ellen states they need his UI tracking program as a war is on the horizon.

Later that day, Waxman hands over the track data and the Kims invite him in to speak with David, but David declines. Laurie returns and Chonda arrives, David reveals he invited them both to give him a speed advantage. Chonda rebuilds the program and they realize the Chinese UIs are attacking Logorhythms. Maddie and Ellen tell Waxman about the attack and he agrees not to tell his company. When Waxman get a call about something going on with the systems, he lies and says it is a system balancer and to ignore it if the system holds, pleasing her.

Exposing Logorhythms[]

A week later, Cody joins her and Maddie in their backyard after Chonda destroyed her servers. As Cody holds a pair of his wife’s earrings, he states that they are not her talks about Laurie’s first funeral. As Ellen says he must honor his grief, Cody states he would rather honor Laurie’s dying wish to reveal UIs to the world. As Maddie expresses her doubt that people would react positively to learning of UIs, Cody berates her for supposedly siding with Chonda. Ellen insists no one will believe them as Cody points out the server in their basement. When Maddie points out that her father wants to remain secret for his own safety, Cody mocks her and he and Ellen get in a scuffle. Ellen knees Cody in the groin and after getting up he insists he is going public.

Later, she makes popcorn as she watches a small protest Cody gathered outside Logorhythms headquarters in Palo Alto. After hearing Maddie state that no one will believe Cody, she goes to join him. She arrives just as David, who sacrifices himself fending off Chonda and three Chinese UIs from nuking Sacramento, releases Laurie’s message. Soon, dozens of protesters arrive and security is called to keep the peace. As Cody struggles to keep the crowd at bay, Ellen grabs a microphone and reveals what she knows about uploads and who at Logorhythms knows as Waxman emerges from the building. Ellen hands him a megaphone as Waxman confirms what is being said is true. She arrives home to to find her house as the only one in the neighborhood with power, due to the generator, a comforts her daughter as the neighbors arrive seeking answers.

Appearance[]

Ellen is a woman in her forties and a brown pixie cut with bangs and brown eyes. She often wears green stud earrings and a necklace.

Personality[]

Ellen is a woman grounded in fact and has trouble comprehending what she believes to be the impossible. However, given the time, she can become open to anything.

Relationships[]

Maddie Kim[]

Ellen loves her daughter despite their lack of common ground. When she learns Logorhythms lied about the upload, she refuses to tell Maddie about the procedure to not get her hopes up. Upon seeing her daughter being bullied by Samara, Ellen threatened her daughter’s tormentor in return. After David is freed, the two would have different opinions of the situation. While Maddie was happy to have her father back, Ellen was unsure how to feel. After Maddie plans a dinner date for her and David, the two get into a fight. However, they reconcile later that night.

David Kim[]

Ellen greatly loved David and was saddened by his death. Against his decision to upload, Ellen was unsure how to feel and ignored him. After David forced Gabe to break up with her, Ellen angrily confronted David and had a conversation about his current status. After talking, the two decided to remain friends.

Peter Waxman[]

Before David’s death, Ellen and Waxman were close. After learning that he lied about David’s upload failing, she demanded he tell her the truth. When Waxman came to her house to prevent her from going public, Ellen berated him for lying. After needing Waxman to get Logorhythms UI tracking programs, Ellen reluctantly stated she wanted his help. After Waxman lied about the Chinese UIs attacking his company, Ellen was pleased with his actions. After she joined the UI protests, Waxman joined her and confirmed the rumors of UIs.

Cody Lowell[]

At first, Ellen saw Cody as a threat and pepper sprayed him after he barges into her home. After telling her his story, the two consul in each other about their opinions on if UIs are truly human or not and the threat they pose to the world. After a falling out following Laurie Lowell's second death, Laurie saw the small protest Cody gathered in Palo Alto. After hearing Maddie call him crazy, Ellen drove to Palo Alto to join him.