Dot Karlson

**Dot Karlson** is a recurring character in the second season of HBO Max's *The Flight Attendant*. She is portrayed by Cheryl Hines, who is credited as starring cast, despite not appearing in two episodes.

Dot Karlson is a manager and supervisor with the Central Intelligence Agency at their Los Angeles, California headquarters. She is the direct supervisor of Benjamin Berry. She seems to have concerns about his potential involvement with and obsession with one of his assets, Cassandra Bowden. At the same time, she at times says and does things that suggests that she may be on Cassie's side.

## Throughout the Series

### "Seeing Double"

Dot calls in Benjamin Berry into her office for a meeting after his civilian asset, Cassandra Bowden, inadvertently witnesses the murder of her mark, Will Kotov, in Berlin, Germany, having gotten too close to him. Cassie is left waiting outside. During the meeting, Benjamin refers to Cassie as a "liability" for disregarding orders by getting too close, but Dot describes Cassie as just the type of person who can do the work. She refers to a past incident in which Cassie woke up next to a dead body and made her way safely back to the U.S. without being detected, asking just how many people could do that. She then calls Cassie into the office and dismisses Benjamin. She tells Cassie that at the CIA, what passes for boldness in men is seen as recklessness in women. She tells her that despite what Benjamin seems to think about Cassie, he fought to be her handler and they're going to give him time to cool off.

Dot then asks Cassie how she's holding up. Cassie tells her that she's fine, and then starts to show her something on her phone. Dot cuts her off, asking her how she even has it, that they're supposed to be confiscated upon entry. When Cassie shows her pictures that she took of a milky-eyed agent who was monitoring the mark, Dot tells her that the man is with the CIA. She then tells Cassie that a gas main explosion was responsible for the mark's death. She warns Cassie that if people think she's involved with the death, it would be bad. She tells her that they're going to have Imperial Atlantic Airlines temporarily ground her from flying, before dismissing her.

### "The Reykjavik Ice Sculpture Festival Is Lovely This Time of Year"

Dot enters Benjamin Berry's office just as the milky-eyed agent that Cassie mentioned to her hands him a photo. She takes a drink from Benjamin's office and sits down at his desk, him quipping that she should make herself comfortable. She tells him that she wanted a sit-down and he replies that Cassie still owes him a debrief, but he keeps trying to call her, only for her to ignore his calls, with her voicemail being full. He says that Cassie talked to the mark and that her intel is crucial. Dot, however, tells him that Cassie doesn't know this and this is a good thing for them, asking if he wants to throw Cassie into an active volcano. Benjamin, however, replies that Cassie keeps missing her contact window and that something is off. He tells her that they need to keep Cassie on a tighter leash. She, however, replies that he misses being out in the field and this is why he wants her job as manager. She, however, tells him that it's just a bigger desk. She warns him to stop fixating on an asset, that somebody in HR might mistake it as him having a crush on Cassie Bowden and that would be messy.

### "Drowning Women"

Dot encounters Cassie as she is attempting to make a discreet exit from CIA headquarters. Unknown to Dot, Cassie has just woken up after having secretly had sex with Benjamin in his office. The two ask each other what they are doing there and Dot points out the fact that she *works* there. Cassie claims that she was just giving Benjamin the overdue debrief on what happened in Berlin. In response, Dot comments that it must be hard for Cassie, them not being able to tell her everything. She suggests that Cassie see a counselor, saying that she seems on edge. Cassie says that it's nice of her to suggest, then boards an elevator.

Later, Dot visits Benjamin's office, saying that it looks like he pulled an all-nighter and asking how he's holding up, referring to the fact that two CIA analysts were recently murdered at Echo Park. He replies that losing people is hard, but that he's doing okay. She asks him if any new theories have sprung up, saying that she's been doing her own homework and that it looks like an inside job. He asks her for specifics, but she tells him that she wants to dig a little deeper first. She then asks him why Cassie was sneaking out of his office looking disheveled, but he claims that he must have just missed her. Later, Dot meets with a woman named Vicki and asks her to pull all communications between Benjamin and Cassie. When Vicki asks if she's looking for any specific time period, she replies "All of them." Vicki stares and nods.

### "Brothers & Sisters"

Dot enters Benjamin's office, telling him that people are waiting for answers on the two murdered CIA analysts and that the optics aren't good. She tells him that she's looking for answers she can give to their families, asking him how the investigation is going, if he has any leads. He tells her that he's circling a person of interest, but she shoots back that he's not actually getting anything done work-related. In response, he states that he doesn't know what she's implying, but that he's doing his job. She tells him that they get a counselor if he needs one, but he tells her not to give him the counselor speech like he's a new recruit. She tells him that he needs to stop behaving like one, or else she'll note it on his record, walking out and telling him to leave the Cassie Bowden situation alone.

Later, Dot puts in a call directly to Cassie. She tells Cassie that she's taking a risk by trusting her and that what Cassie found in Berlin is connected to the deaths of the analysts at Echo Park. She tells her that she's beginning to have real doubts about Benjamin Berry and Cassie tells her in return that she saw Benjamin at her place with the same milky-eyed agent that she saw in Berlin. Dot reveals that the man in question is "Officer Jones," describing him as being Benjamin's errand-boy and expressing surprise that Cassie saw him in Berlin. Cassie tells Dot that she also saw him on footage at Echo Park. Dot tells her that they can't talk about this on the phone, asking her to meet with her in thirty minutes. Cassie, however, tells her that she's in New York and is going to be there until the next day. Dot then tells her to get back as soon as possible and to be careful, then hangs up.

### "No Exit"

Cassie and Shane Evans investigate a boat called the *Cream & Sugar* whose registration was found in a picture loaded onto a Viewmaster that was sent to Cassie. When they discover three dead bodies, including that of the milky-eyed agent, Cassie puts in a call to Dot, hoping for her help. The call instead goes to Dot's secretary, Vicky, who tells Cassie that Dot is in a meeting and cannot be disturbed. She offers to put Cassie on with Benjamin Berry, but Cassie adamantly refuses this offer, asking that she just ask Dot to give her a call back.

Later, Cassie is at Pacific Park at Santa Monica Pier, trying to track down her double, when she gets a call from Dot. Dot thanks Cassie for recording the evidence that she did and for trusting her. Hearing the noise all around Cassie, she asks where she is. When Cassie tells her that she's at Santa Monica Pier and the double is there, Dot tells her that it's not safe for her there and she needs to leave. She warns her that if Benjamin Berry shows up to not engage. She promises that she's on her way and hangs up. Just then, however, Benjamin shows up right behind Cassie and calls out her name. Cassie flees.

### "Backwards and Forwards"

Dot comes to Cassie in the hospital in the aftermath of the situation at Santa Monica Park, in which Grace St. James revealed herself to be Cassie's double before shooting herself in the head. She asks Cassie if she can speak with her, then takes her aside, telling her that there's a problem. She thanks Cassie for her statement, saying that it verified that Benjamin Berry was not involved with Grace. She apologizes for encouraging Cassie to doubt him, but then pulls out a file, saying that she shouldn't reveal it to Cassie because it's classified, but that Grace was not working alone. The file contains a photo of Grace standing together with another double. Cassie tells Dot that Grace did say that what was happening was bigger than either of them. Dot then asks Cassie to come with her for her safety.

The two of them get in Dot's car for the CIA headquarters, but find themselves stuck in traffic. Cassie asks if they could go to her place first, saying that among other things she could use a shower to get Grace's blood out of her hair. Dot, however, suggests going to her own place instead, saying that it's closer and they can get out of the traffic. They do so, and Cassie is impressed by the place, which is very well-appointed, with stunning views of the Los Angeles skyline. Dot leads Cassie up to her bathroom, offering to give Cassie a tour of the place after she gets cleaned up. She leaves, but poking around, Cassie discovers a picture of Dot wearing the same military uniform that she a photo of Grace wearing, as well as a bottle of Santal 33, the same cologne worn by the double in Berlin. She comes to a horrifying realization: that Dot is the other double and has been pulling the strings of the conspiracy all along.

Cassie puts in a call to her friend Annie Mouradian, revealing what she has just learned and the fact that she is at Dot's place right now. She asks if Annie's boyfriend, Max, is there and Max joins in the call. She asks him if he would be able to trigger an alarm at Dot's place if she texted him the address, him being a hacker. He agrees that can he can, so Cassie ends the call in order to text him the address. "Now?" asks Max. "Obviously," agrees Annie, so Max does as instructed and sets off the alarm. Back at Dot's place, the alarm goes off at a deafening pitch. Cassie races down the stairs, only to run smack into Dot. She asks Dot if they shouldn't evacuate, but Dot simply pushes a button on a keyring, saying that it was a false alarm. She points out that Cassie's breathing is quicker and her pupils are dilated, asking her to tell her just what it is she thinks she's figured out.

Cassie does so, saying that she thinks Dot knew Grace and that she helped her out of the military somehow. To this, Dot replies that it's not her fault, that Grace is simply one of a number of "broken tools" that she's used, like Cassie. Cassie asks if the original mark, Will Kotov, was one of those as well, but Dot tells her that she's not going to get into specifics. She does say, however, that Kotov tried to blackmail her, so she eliminated him. Cassie replies that she's been killing people left and right, trying to blame it on her, but Dot tells her to grow up. She tells Cassie that she's done this kind of thing before and that it maybe a nihilistic point of view, but she sleeps fine at night. She stands in front of Cassie pointing a gun, warning her that if she comes toward her, she'll fire and people will believe that it's self-defense.

Cassie asks Dot "Why me?" To this, Dot replies that the first time she saw her file, she knew that she could make her fit the profile of a rogue operative, especially one that had been captured on camera at every crime scene. Cassie realizes that she was the one who left the Viewmaster and Dot replies that her real psychological evaluation made it obvious she couldn't resist puzzles. Cassie tells her that she's wrong about her and that nobody will believe what she's saying. Dot responds that people believe the person who's still alive. Reaching to fire her gun, she tells Cassie that she put together a lot, but that it wasn't soon enough, and that she doesn't have anymore alarms to pull. "Maybe I have one," replies Cassie, pulling out a personal safety alarm given to her by Miranda Croft and setting it off. She then flees towards the door, only to run into a couple of agents. Dot orders the agents to take Cassie into custody, but they instead approach Dot, telling her that Benjamin Berry sent them and that she's under arrest. In the aftermath, Benjamin reveals that he pieced together the conspiracy after seeing things in Cassie's file that were obvious fabrications. As he investigated further, he discovered that Dot had been selling access to CIA records for years. He further states that it was lucky that one of the agents told him that Dot had brought Cassie to her place, something that was a huge breach of protocol.

## Appearances

Season Two
* "Seeing Double"
* "The Reykjavik Ice Sculpture Festival Is Lovely This Time of Year"
* "Drowning Women"
* "Brothers & Sisters"
* "No Exit"
* "Backwards and Forwards"