Susan Jackson

**Susan Jackson** is a recurring character on Syfy's *Van Helsing*. She is portrayed by Hilary Jardine.

She was Vanessa Van Helsing's neighbor and best friend up until The Rising, during which time she became a vampire, though she was later cured after she and Vanessa reunited.

## Character Description

*“Vanessa's former neighbor and friend, Susan didn't have an easy life before the vampire rising. After, it's not really any better.”*

## Biography

Prior to The Rising, Susan had a rough life, she was in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, Tommy. However, it wasn't all bad as she was also friend and neighbor to Vanessa Seward, who looked after her and protected her from danger, such as Tommy. After learning of her friend's death, she took Vanessa's daughter Dylan into her home until the police arrived. Susan was bitten during The Rising by an unknown vampire and since then was apart of Julius' Brood.

It was later learned that her relationship with Tommy wasn't the first abusive relationship she was involved in. Before leaving home and moving to the city, Susan was raised on a farm, in the middle of nowhere by her mother and father. While she had a good relationship with her mother, her father abused Susan and her mother, which compelled her to go away. It left Susan and her mother estranged, so much so that she wasn't even aware that her mother had died five years ago until she found the grave on their farm. Oddly enough, after everything her father had done to her mother, Susan was happy that her mother didn't live to see the world become what it did.

## Season One

Susan gets into a violent altercation with her boyfriend Tommy, who hits her and then storms out of her apartment. She watches and encourages Vanessa as she threatens to put Tommy's head through a wall. Later, Susan knocks on Vanessa's door, bearing a bottle of wine as a thank you for her earlier assistance and inviting Vanessa to drink with her. Vanessa declines since it is her daughter Dylan's birthday, but promises to come by Susan's apartment when Dylan is asleep. Continue Reading Here....

After The Rising, Susan became part of Julius' brood. Three years later, she encounters Vanessa once more and decides to volunteer to fight her. At the revelation that they used to be friends, Julius heartily allows it, but Vanessa refuses to fight. To goad her into action, Susan claims that she killed Dylan, sparking Vanessa's fury. The two engage in combat, initially going back and forth, but Vanessa soon gains the upper hand and bites Susan, turning her back into a human right in front of Julius. Though disoriented by her reversion, Susan manages to obey Vanessa's order to run, making it down to the tunnels that most vampires feared. During a quick rest, she confesses that she didn't kill Dylan; in fact, she had found Dylan knocking on her door, crying and covered in blood. Upon learning that Vanessa had been killed in her apartment, Susan took Dylan in, locked the door and called the police. While they waited for the cops, they called Dylan's father, who promised to come and get Dylan. After the police took Dylan away, she tried to find out what happened to her friend's daughter, but was turned into a vampire before she succeeded. She finds it funny that the "dead woman" Julius was after had been Vanessa all along. Soon, they are forced to run again as something begins to approach them. Continue Reading Here....

As Susan continues to move throughout the tunnels with Vanessa, they hear an unfamiliar howling sound approaching them. Vanessa picks up a pipe just before a mutated vampire attacks the two of them, knocking Susan to the ground and trying to bite her. Vanessa distracts it, getting bitten herself before stabbing it through the skull with a pipe. When Susan to calm her down, Vanessa attacks her, stuck in some kind of animalistic trance. Susan manages to snap her out of it and Vanessa passes out. While waiting for her to wake up, Susan sings a song that Vanessa would sing to Dylan. After making their way back to the hospital, Susan helps Vanessa's friends take back the facility that another group had stolen. She soon discovers that Flesh is one of Vanessa's companions and takes issue with this. Continue Reading Here....

Susan enters the exam room to check on Vanessa's condition, which is pretty bad. Vanessa asks if they have anything for the pain, and Susan tries to comfort her friend while Doc injects her with something. Flesh soon comes to inform the survivors that Julius was approaching with a horde of vampires to recover Vanessa, but Susan claims that Julius might be coming to take Flesh back instead, revealing that he was one of Julius' lieutenants. After hearing a ton of noise, Susan decides to check it out and joins Axel and Sam with a rifle, saying that she refused to become a vampire again, they soon begin firing at the vampires as they breach the doors. Later, she joins the rest of the group during their escape from the hospital. Continue Reading Here....

As the survivors stop at a gas station, Susan and Sam siphon gas from a nearby vehicle. Sam accidentally drinks some as it comes up through the tube, choking and spitting it out as Susan uncontrollably laughs. Moments later, a loud church bell can be heard for miles. Susan believes that it has to be someone sending them a signal, but Axel disagrees and insists they continue to the military base. Upon reaching the base, Susan and John canvas the halls with rifles in hand. Land mines begin to explode outside and she realizes that the sounds are getting closer. When a noise catches their attention, Susan starts to peaks around the corner; she is startled when a man appears. Capturing him, she and John lead him back to the group, where they learn his name is Gorman Jones. The survivors soon move on to a more secure location, a bunker that Axel informed them of. Once there, they discover vast amounts of food and drink, including alcohol, which the group begins to binge on. Later that night, she and John stumble out into the hallway, drunkenly talking and flirting with one another. John starts to kiss her, but Susan quickly shuts him down; this displeases John, who puts his hand over her mouth and attempts to force himself on her. However, Vanessa appears and stops him, saving Susan. Continue Reading Here....

Susan awaits Vanessa's, when she arrives, Susan asks to bunk with Vanessa as the bunker gives her the creeps. As they lay in the bed, she expresses her feelings towards the recent altercation, believing that John got what he deserved. He was probably going to kill her, Vanessa had saved her from another drunk asshole just like the old days, then Vanessa remembers the old days, where she lacked control of her aggression. Susan learns that Vanessa wanted to kill John, and she couldn't wait to do it again, she reminds Vanessa of something her father use to say, *"life's good when you enjoy your work."* Susan informs Vanessa that her parents don't stay too far way, laughing at how her father could easily take down vampires. Vanessa admires that Susan can laugh despite the situation there in, the world is always terrible, according to Susan, except for when she with Vanessa, then kissing her, Vanessa returns the kiss for a couple seconds then stops, telling Susan to rest leaving a kiss on her forehead, and she does. Continue Reading Here....

After being saved by an archer and a swordsman named Theo, the survivors are taken to a community called Eden, where they have food, medicine, they'll be safe, but Susan isn't buying it, she doesn't trust him as everyone they meet lets them down like John, she doesn't believe that this time will be any different. The next day, Susan asks Vanessa if they are moving on , they'll leave soon because there's something not right about Eden, she barely slept last night, but Vanessa dreamt, the first time in a long time, they watch close by as Theo and another guy trains, Susan notices all the pregnant woman, saying it's weird that there are so many of them but no children. Continue Reading Here....

Susan, along with the rest of the survivors head to her childhood home, hoping that her mother and father are there, however they are not. In the back, she finds her mother's grave, dated five years ago, before The Rising. Vanessa wonders how long it's been since she talked to her parents last, but Susan refuses to talk about it or even find her father, as he's getting whatever he deserved. That night, they head outside after hearing a noise out front, they find Strider, a horse that she learned to ride on, moments later it's attacked by a feral, who is soon revealed to be Susan's dad. They chain him up, Susan reveals that she hated him as he's the reason she and her mother lost touch, then swiftly blowing his head off with a shotgun. She heads into the woods to get a break from it all, Sam finds her, consoling Susan, then choking all life from her and removing a finger. Continue Reading Here...

## Season Five

Susan appears to Vanessa during her state of unconsciousness after having taken in the Dark One's power. She greets Vanessa before telling her that Dylan is waiting for her. Continue Reading Here....

## Personality

When she was human, Susan was often caring and loving, more so towards Vanessa than anyone else, she was the constant good in Susan's life. Together, they always pushed forward no matter the obstacle that lay ahead. She had a dark side but was more often that not filled with life, frequently laughing and joking.

Susan's personality as a vampire far differed from that as a human, she was mean, nasty and very hostile. Despite Vanessa once being her closest friend, Susan was quick to attack her, and held nothing back while doing so, even mentally digging at Vanessa by claiming that she killed Dylan, drained her of all her blood the night Vanessa died. However, after her reversion, Susan apologized, saying none of that was the really her, it was the vampire side talking.

## Abilities

During her time spent as a vampire, Susan was fairly powerful and skilled in combat. Her altercation with Vanessa in Julius' Compound proved this to be such, she dominated the first half of the fight, punching, kicking and slamming Vanessa's head into the pavement. It wasn't until Vanessa became increasingly angry that Susan lost the fight, ending with Vanessa biting her, turning Susan back into a human.

As a human, Susan lost all the powers she once possessed. However, she has proven still very capable of protecting herself. She was able to use a rifle to dispatch multiple vampires as they entered the hospital doors.

## Arsenal

* Military grade assault rifle
* Hunting rifle

## Appearances

* Coming Back
* Fear Her
* Nothing Matters
* For Me
* Little Thing
* Help Out
* Stay Away
* Last Time

Season Three* Fresh Tendrils
* Super Unknown
* Outside World

Season Five* The Doorway (archive footage)
* Novissima Solis

## References

1. ↑ Official Character Description From SyFy Website