Natalie Rodman (Motive)

Natalie Rodman (Joanna Cassidy) was a hidden recurring villainess from the fourth and final season of Motive. She was a judge who previously worked as a professor, with one of her students being Angie Flynn, who worshiped Natalie and considered her a mentor.
Natalie briefly appeared in the series' antepenultimate episode, "Natural Selection," only to return in a larger role in the following episode, "Chronology of Pain." In that episode, Natalie had survived an arson attempt, which was caused by a bomb in her grill exploding. Her survival was short-lived, however, as she suddenly collapsed and died while she was interviewed by Angie regarding a past case of hers, which ended with Natalie sentencing the killer of a young woman to only 12 years in prison. Because of that, the victim's father, Craig Sugimoto, was suspected in Natalie's murder, but he was quickly cleared. As for Natalie's cause of death, Dr. Betty Rogers stated that the explosion caused her lungs to fill with fluid until they exploded.
It was after Natalie's death that she was posthumously revealed as a corrupt villainess, much to the shock and heartbreak of Angie. As it turned out, Natalie had been receiving kickbacks for sending young offenders to a camp known as Nature Bound, which was run by mechanic and ex-con Mark Duff. She received payments from Duff to send the offenders there, mainly first time offenders who committed petty crimes, and the camp was an abusive environment, as Duff treated the offenders harshly and overworked them to the point were a number of them received terrible injuries. Natalie found out about the abuse, but opted to fire Duff instead of reporting him, while covering up her ties to the camp. As for the money she received, the evil Natalie used her ill-gotten funds to pay for a town house, where she often had trysts with her illicit lover Justin. Regarding the affair, Brent (Natalie's husband) knew about it, as the couple had an open marriage.
One of the offenders that Natalie sent to the camp was Meredith Wright, who was sent there at the age of 14 after she was caught stealing lipstick. The abuse she suffered ruined Meredith's life, and after she committed suicide, her friend and roommate planted the bomb that ended up killing Natalie.
== Trivia ==
* Natalie Rodman shares similarities to SVU villainess Hilda Marsden, as both were corrupt judges who gave harsh punishments to small-time offenders, doing so for money. Their fates are the main difference, as Hilda ended up arrested for her corruption, while Natalie was killed for revenge.
Category:2010s
Category:Adulteress
Category:Blonde
Category:Callous
Category:Conspirator
Category:Deceiver
Category:Greedy
Category:Hero's Lover
Category:Live Action Villainess
Category:Opportunistic Corruption
Category:Villainous Reveal
Category:Woman Kills Villainess
Category:Fate: Deceased
Category:Demise: Internal Explosion