Augustus Bidlow

**Augustus "Augie" Cyril Aspinal Bidlow** is Lavinia's younger brother and a Touched man whose turn allows him to exchange minds with corvids and later, control them entirely.

## Biography

### Before

When Augie was ten years old, Lavinia Bidlow took him and his friend, Hugo Swann, to go ice skating with her. As a teenager, Augie attended Eton College with Hugo, when he already demonstrated an interest in ornithology and had strong opinions on avian nomenclature.

On the Monday of August 3, 1896, Augie was walking with his sister. The Galanthi flew over London and emitted a bright-colored exhaust, affecting many people. As the light touched Augie, he fell unconscious on the ground. Like all witnesses, he forgot the occurrence as soon as the object disappeared.

Augie would often dream he was a crow, until one day he was awaken when it happened. He was at the church when he suddenly was also in the sky, controlling the flight.

### 1899

Three years after the occurrence, Augie doesn't appear to recognize his own status as one of the Touched, although he notices the crows massing outside the window. He considers the Touched as not among society, which gives Lavinia the idea to invite Amalia True and Penance Adair to the opera. This bothers Augie, so he hopes that Hugo will agree to attend the opera to coach him through the evening. Hugo agrees under the conditions that Augie attend the Ferryman's Club.

In the opera, Maladie's sudden attack is interrupted by Mary Brighton, whose hopeful singing connects with other Touched in the theater, including Maladie, Amalia, Penance, and Augie.

Two days later, Augie attends a charitable fete hosted by Lavinia at the Bidlow Estate, where he meets Penance again. Aside the party, they talk about him discovering as one of the Touched. They bound over their respective turns and passions, until they are briefly interrupted. In Penance's absence, Lavinia warns Augustus not to get too close to the girl, as people saw them walking away together and their involvement could stain Penance's reputation and even endanger her. Lavinia adds that Augie is not clever enough to keep a mistress, but they most certainly can't have a girl who is Touched and Irish bear the Bidlow name. Upon Penance's return, Augie is no longer interested in continuing their conversation and excuses himself. She leaves the party and a crow under Augustus' control briefly follows her.

That night, Augustus is drunk when he goes to the Ferryman's Club, where Hugo tells him about his decision to employ the Touched at his business. Now, all Hugo needs is Augie's signature, as the Bidlow name on the contracts will lend legitimacy. Hugo then leads Augie to two women and he goes with them.

Augie becomes the sole proprietor of the Ferryman's Club, but he tells Hugo that he's still feeling a bit reluctant about his name being involved with the club. Augie fears that his sister will find out and worries how she will respond to Hugo employing the Touched, given that they are her charity. Hugo pleads with Augie to trust him, at least for the time being, as he can't run the club on his own.

With Mary's death, Audie sends a wreath of roses for her funeral. Amalia lists the Bidlows as suspects for ordering her murder, and Penance remarks that they should simply murder Augustus after their last encounter. Amalia then tasks Penance with investigating him. In the Bidlow Estate, Penance finds Augie sitting alone while flying with the crows above. Nervous, he tells her that Lavinia made him do it, claiming that it could be bad for all. Penance understands that he's confessing to killing Mary, so she reveals a prototype wax recorder documenting their conversation, but it breaks when she shows him.

Augie then explains he didn't kill Mary, he was referring to the party where they last met. He offers to make amends, but Penance tells him she doesn't have much experience with men and doesn't know what to ask of him. Augie tells Penance to remember his transgressions so that he may re-earn her trust over time. He then exclaims that he wants to be her friend, so Penance holds his hand. She then asks if his sister who killed Mary.

Augie has lunch with Lavinia in the Hotel Cecil. Now that Hugo's club has become a matter of public record, she advises her brother to steer clear of him, even though Hugo is Augie's friend and used to be Lavinia's as well. Lavinia has a headache, so Augie advises her to call Dr. Waterson. Lavinia tells Augie to stay out of the city tomorrow during Maladie's execution. He claims to have had no intentions of attending, as he's going to Brighton for the day for a new building opening. Lavinia notices his drawings or birds and Penance, then asks him to bring her a gift from Brighton.

Augie visits Penance in the Orphanage to discuss the preparations for their searching for the Galanthi. The next day, when Penance decides to rescue Maladie instead, Augie sides with Amalia to continue with the original plan. Beneath the Royal Military Army base, Augie, Amalia, and Bonfire Annie fight off the soldiers while Horatio continues to drill. Amalia then falls into a sinkhole and meets with the Galanthi. When she leaves the building, Augie makes a group of corvids scare away the guards at the entrance. The four regroup, though without discovering their enemy. Back to the Orphanage, Penance's group returns after an equally unsuccessful mission.

## Behind the scenes

* He is portrayed by Tom Riley.
* His official description introduced: "A sweet, disarming nerd and Lavinia's younger brother. A keen ornithologist, Augie is happy to let his older sister take the reins of the family fortune. He finds the Touched unnerving, but is drawn to them by his increasing infatuation with Miss Adair, and by the schemes of his nefarious best friend, Hugo."
* Augie represents The Emperor in *The Nevers* Tarot, a card associated with dependability, structure, and protectiveness.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 *The Nevers* — "Exposure." HBO, April 18, 2021.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 *The Nevers* — "Hanged." HBO, May 9, 2021.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 *The Nevers* — "Touched." HBO, April 11, 2021.
4. ↑ *The Nevers* — "Ignition." HBO, April 25, 2021.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *The Nevers* — "Undertaking." HBO, May 2, 2021.
6. ↑ *The Nevers* — "True." HBO, May 16, 2021.
7. ↑ James Hibberd, "Joss Whedon's HBO sci-fi drama The Nevers casts 12 actors." *EW.com*, July 30, 2019.
8. ↑ "The Emperor." *The Tarot Guide*. Retrieved on October 2, 2022.