Davey Bowden

**Davey Bowden** is a main character on the first season of HBO Max's *The Flight Attendant* and a recurring character in the second season. He is portrayed by T.R. Knight and by Owen Asztalos in the character's youth.

He is Cassie’s older brother who “gently” disagrees with her life choices and is constantly frustrated that his sister remembers their childhood very differently. After Cassie quits drinking and starts putting her life back together, he tries to be supportive of her in her recovery.

He has two daughters, Maya Bowden-Green and Eve Bowden-Green and is the spouse of Rick Green.

## History

### Biography

As a child, Davey Bowden was the subject of bullying and ridicule by his and Cassie's father. He thought him a "sissy" and regularly favored Cassie. He once stopped him from beating Cassie at an egg-and-spoon race and teased him about his fear of heights when he hesitated at climbing a ladder to bring him a hammer on the roof. Fed up, he left the moment he turned 18, something that Cassie has never quite forgiven him for. Since then, their relationship has been troubled.

## Throughout the Series

### "In Case of Emergency"

Cassie and Davey chat about his and his family's upcoming trip to New York, but she tells him she can't talk too long or else she'll miss her flight.

### "Rabbits"

Davey expresses reservations about Cassie's lifestyle and his upcoming trip, saying that he thinks it may be a bit too much for his children. He asks her how many drinks she's had and if she's okay and really fit to be around his girls. She promises him that she will be both alert and fantastic when he and his children come to visit.

### "Conspiracy Theories"

Davey and his sister have their long-awaited family outing at the aquarium with his partner Rick and his two young daughters, Maya and Eve. It seems like a fun outing out first, but when the girls ask Cassie to buy them a stuffed toy, Davey tells her not to, as he and Rick are trying to teach them that they don't get everything they want simply because they ask for it. Cassie calls this "an existential gift for young kids" and tweaks his chin, calling him mean. Later, she goes behind his back and buys the toys anyway.

Later, Davey meets Cassie at a restaurant, where she is surprised to find him alone. He explains that he discovered the toys and chews her out for trying to get his children to keep secrets behind his back. She replies that he's overreacting and that it's just a stuffed animal. He tells her that making his kids love him less won't make them love her more and she accuses him of always making her the bad guy. They get into a terrible argument about their family past, him saying that his father called her the son he never had. He accuses her of having not remembering things the way they really were and taxis away, saying that maybe he was just lying to himself about thinking she could change.

### "After Dark"

After hitting rock bottom and going to prison, Cassie has a flashback of one of Davey's birthday parties as a child. Although she initially remembers it as a happy affair, the scene changes and she is finally forced to confront the truth of her and her father's mistreatment of him. She has several other flashbacks which prove the truth of what Davey has been saying. Afterwards, she uses her one phone call to call Davey. She tells him that she treated him like he was crazy for so many years, when he was the one who was right. She says that she can't change how their father acted, but she was part of it too and it was wrong. He tells her that he never thought any of it was her fault and the way their father treated her was wrong also. She asks if there's anything he can do to help her, saying that it's what the point of having a big brother is, but she tells him she just has some stuff to sort out.

### "Hitchcock Double"

Cassie gets a call from Davey and Miranda Croft tries to stop her from taking it, as the two of them are supposed to be fleeing the country together. She takes the call anyway. He asks her if she got out and is home. She lies that she is home, telling him that she got bailed out of jail and the whole thing was simply a huge misunderstanding. He offers to come to visit her to help her out. She thanks him for the offer and promises to call him soon, but then Miranda takes the phone from her.

### "Arrivals and Departures"

After settling things in Rome and finally being in the clear for Alex Sokolov's murder, Cassie returns to the United States and is surprised to find Davey waiting for her at the airport. She is elated to see him and he tells her that there's only so many emotional phone calls he can get from her before he's going to hop on a plane. He tells her that he was worried about her and she says that she's going to be okay for real this time. She hugs him, telling him that things will be different.

### "Mushrooms, Tasers, and Bears, Oh My!"

Davey has arrived in Los Angeles to support Cassie at an open Alcoholic's Anonymous meeting as she celebrates one year of being sober. Prior to the meeting, Cassie is out tailing a woman named Grace that she thinks may be impersonating her when she spots Davey shopping at a local farmer's market. She hides, not wanting to get into a conversation with him, but he briefly spots her anyway. Later, at the meeting, she denies having been there. She introduces him to her sponsor, Brenda. He hands her a bag, telling her to look inside. Within it is a stuffed bear wearing a shirt that reads "Easy Does It." He tells Cassie to press the bear's paw. She does and it recites the phrase "easy does it" in Davey's voice. She hugs him, telling him the gift is weird and she loves it.

Jenny, another AA member who is impressed by Cassie's recovery, comes up and introduces herself to Davey. Davey tries to take photos, but Cassie tells him to put his phone away, as Alcoholics Anonymous is anonymous. Davey cheers as Cassie receives her chip for one year of sobriety. After the meeting, he chats with Jenny and she invites him to lunch. During the lunch, Jenny reveals that she hosts a podcast about true crime stories and that she was hoping to have him on the show to talk about Cassie's story. Davey is immediately turned off, getting up and telling her that it makes him uncomfortable, her using him to get dirt on Cassie. She, however, tells him it isn't like that, that he just seemed fun at the meeting and that while Cassie may have woken up next to a dead body, she can't imagine what it was like for him. He sits back down and apologizes, saying that he's just been stressed because of some stuff he's been going through with his husband, Rick. She tells him she's there for him to talk if he needs it.

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

While in Iceland, searching for her fugitive friend Megan Briscoe, Cassie takes a call from Davey. He tells her about his lunch with Jenny and about her podcast. He explains what it's about, but says that it's not exploitative and that he thinks her story could be good for it. In response, Cassie tells him that Jenny needs to learn the definition of "Alcoholics Anonymous," that it's *anonymous*. She further states that the whole situation with Alex Sokolov was just a blip on the radar and that nobody really cares about it anymore.

### "Drowning Women"

While visiting her friend Grace St. James, Cassie gets a text from Davey reading "Excited about our trip tomorrow. How's the letter to Dad going? If you need any help, I'm here. What a big step. SO PROUD OF YOU!" Overwhelmed by the recent events of her life, she gives into the temptation to get smashed-out drunk. Later, back at home, she discovers the "Easy does it" bear given to her by Davey. Driving drunk, she heads to a nearby ocean and tosses the bear in a lake, determined to escape the sound of Davey's recorded voice coming from it.

### "Brothers & Sisters"

Cassie boards the flight for the trip to New York, sitting down next to Davey. After they are buckled in and the plane has prepped for final departure, Cassie reveals to Davey that she fell off the wagon the night before. She tells him also that it's not the first time that she's slipped. He wonders about the fact that she waited until the doors were closed and there was no escape from him. He wonders if they should even be going on the trip, but she tells him that it will be good and cathartic. They are then forced to fend off the rude flight attendant Carol Atkinson, who chastises them for sitting in the wrong seats. Davey tells Cassie that it's heartbreaking that she threw all the work away. She replies that everything he's feeling and saying is right.

They arrive in New Jersey, where Davey pays witness to Cassie reading her letter to their father, in which she tells him that she loves him, but she will not be like him. They then head to their mother's home. As they pull up, Davey suggests that they go to get a root beer float, but Cassie tells him that they need to just get it over with and she'd like for one thing on the trip to go as planned, with no weird surprises. They walk up and Davey opens the door. Inside is their mother, whom Davey had lied to Cassie was on a "meditation retreat."

## Relationships

### Cassandra Bowden

Although Davey loves his sister Cassie deeply, he is troubled by her behavior and her skewed view of their family past. Although she infuriates him at times, it is clear that he cannot stay angry with her for long and wants to do right by her. Supportive of Cassie's recovery from alcohol addiction, he shows up at an open Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to support her and also joins AlAnon.

### Hank Bowden

Davey's alcoholic father Hank was deeply abusive to him in his childhood. He mocked him as being both a "sissy" and a "fag" and regularly played his sister against him. Fed up with it, Davey fled the family home the moment he turned 18, leaving only Cassie with their father until he finally killed himself in a drunk-driving crash.

### Lisa Bowden

Davey continues to maintain a decent relationship with his mother into adulthood, unlike Cassie. This is despite the fact that Davey left at age 18, while Cassie stayed. Lisa loves Davey, but sometimes resents his attempts to get him to reconcile with Cassie.

## Appearances

Season One
* "In Case of Emergency"
* "Rabbits"
* "Funeralia"
* "Conspiracy Theories"
* "Other People's Houses" (as youth only)
* "After Dark"
* "Hitchcock Double"
* "Arrivals and Departures"

Season Two
* "Mushrooms, Tasers, and Bears, Oh My!"
* "The Reykjavik Ice Sculpture Festival Is Lovely This Time of Year"
* "Brothers & Sisters"
* "Backwards and Forwards"

## Trivia

* In an interview regarding the series, it was pointed out to *The Flight Attendant* creator Steve Yockey that Davey Bowden is the only major character on the series who doesn't seem to be living a double-life of some sort. He stated that this was very much by design, though he also felt that on the whole Miranda Croft was very honest with herself.
* Davey Bowden is the only main character of the first season of *The Flight Attendant* who appears as a recurring character in the second season, though a couple of others return only as one-shot guests.

## References

1. ↑ Ng, Philiana (December 17, 2020). 'The Flight Attendant' Creator Answers All the Biggest Finale Questions (Exclusive). Entertainment Weekly via Kare 11. Retrieved on December 19, 2020.