Anita Modig

Anita Modig is one of the main characters in ***Uriah***. She is the mother of **Uriah Modig** and had ''adopted'' **Thumbless** in order to protect him from his biological family.

## Anita

* Present Time
* Past/Flashbacks

## Biographical Information

### Relatives

Uriah Modig (Son, *Deceased*)
Thumbless ("Adopted" son)

### Occupation

Model
Church spokesman/organiser [*formerly*]

### Residence

Vildhamn hostel (Vildhamn mainland)
Her house (Vildhamn mainland) (*formerly*)

Anita was presumed to be dead for most of the series, however in Episode 71, it was revealed that she is alive as she was admitted in the hospital and survived her injuries. After that, Madeleine had got her out of the hospital so that Anita could secretly accompany her on her investigation of the Hällberg house and the snuff community affiliated with the Vildhamn police department. As Anita's house was set on fire after the attack on her, she has been staying at the Vildhamn Hostel and helping Madeleine from there.

## Appearance

Anita is a very beautiful woman with a slim figure, and is average height. She has fair skin, dark brown eyes with long eyelashes and curved eyebrows, and freckles on her face. Her curly hair is grey in colour, with a long lock falling across her face. Anita is a fashionable person with simplistic style. She often wears dresses with light makeup.

Throughout Season 1 and 2, she is shown to have long hair reaching mid-back, which was usually let loose. But in Season 3, in the present timeline, she has shorter, neck-length hair; as a result of her hair being cut in a jagged manner by the buzzsaw and the rest trimmed neatly at the hospital. The attack on her by the buzzsaw also caused a deep gash in her neck and a wound on her shoulder blade. She currently has bandages on her nose, around her neck and across her back.

When Anita was out investigating the Hällberg house with **Madeleine**, her hair was tied back in a small ponytail and she wore a pale yellow top with a police jacket, grey jeans, a brown cap and white sneakers, along with carrying a wooden cane.

Except these, Anita has mostly been wearing casual clothes during her stay at the hostel.

## Personality

Anita is a caring and compassionate person. However, when she was a young adult, Anita was quite reckless and immature. With the responsibility of being a single mother forced upon her, Anita developed a bitter attitude for her new lifestyle heavily affected her friendships and love life. Anita developed a reliance on alcohol, and hurt those she loved including her friends, lover, and Uriah. After Uriah's death, Anita's became very unstable. She was once again forced to raise a child, right after losing her own, was initially very aggressive and harsh towards Thumbless. Besides, still being unable to recover from her shock of losing Uriah, Anita forced Thumbless to adopt Uriah's identity.

Anita always felt regret for her past mistakes, and genuinely tries to seeks forgiveness for all the wrong things she has done. Additionally, Anita is a religious woman and a devout believer in God. She believes that she deserves severe punishment for all the sins she has committed and her soul won't be at peace till God has given her judgement. She even confesses her sins to Tomas, in hopes that he will serve her a punishment as a police officer. Anita often prays whenever she's in distress and to vent her feelings out, just like after when she had encountered **Vincent** on her way home and felt a strong sense of foreboding.

Despite her flaws, Anita has a genuinely sweet and motherly personality. Except the times she became harsh and unstable, Anita is seen taking care of her children in a very tender manner, and always tries to make up for her rough behaviour in any way she can. She does her best to be a good mother, trying to be patient and calm with the kids most of the time. After living together with Thumbless for a while, she eventually got over her irritation and fierce temper, and grew more loving and understanding towards the boy, maintaining a soft and gentle demeanour for a long period of time.

Anita has a soft spot for children. She is very empathetic towards them and was evidently disturbed when she discovered the jars containing the ashes of the other undocumented secret children Tomas used for Project Bullfinch, realizing the inhumane things they had to suffer in his hands. Immensely distressed and breaking down, Anita brought the jars along with her, even naming the children Tindra and Niklas and mourning their deaths, memorialising the innocent unfortunate kids in a more humane way - a prominent example of the strong compassion in Anita's heart. She had even given young Vincent a cross necklace and promised she would save all the children, reflecting her kind nature and empathy.

The present Anita has matured a lot, and has overcome her anger, recklessness and alcohol addiction. However, she has been severely scarred by the incident on the Christmas Eve, mainly because of Tomas, and that trauma still persists. But she has been extremely brave and emotionally strong, assisting Madeleine in her investigation of the Hällberg house, especially since that's the location of Uriah's death, a depressing memory that Anita still struggles with to this day. Anita is also regretful for how she had forced Uriah's identity onto Thumbless and not being able to take care of him and protect him properly. Even though she is completely broken and guilty inside, Anita has shown great determination to make up for all her wrongdoings and find her boy again, promising herself she won't fear anything and be held back anymore.

## Relationships

#### Uriah Modig

Uriah is Anita's biological son, whom she loved dearly. When Uriah was an infant, she severely injured him and destroyed his vocal cords. Anita has struggled with the immense guilt of hurting her child ever since then, more because she had no one to vent to and avoided taking accountability for what she did. She gradually grew loving and caring to Uriah, however there were still times when Anita often exhibited reckless and immature behaviour with Uriah. When she returns from Tomas' house drunk, Uriah refuses to talk to her because he dislikes talking to her when she is drunk, which establishes that Anita's drinking habits is/was a common occurrence and problem in Uriah's life. She takes away his communication device because he disagrees with her, and he becomes furious because he can't speak or sign to her after she grabs his arm. Although Anita sometimes would have outbursts, she would regret it and tried her best to atone for it.

Anita was devastated from Uriah's death and hasn't been able to recover from the trauma. She even has occasional flashbacks and visages of his corpse or him being tortured in Tomas' basement, showing the extent to which the incident had scarred her. She is unable to forgive herself for Uriah's death and feels she deserves to experience the same pain Uriah went through at the time of his murder over and over again. She also regrets the fact that she wasn't really the best mother for Uriah and is still desperate for a chance to redeem herself. She then uses Thumbless as a substitute for Uriah, making him adopt his identity, age, and even styles his hair in the same fashion as Uriah's.

#### Thumbless

Anita had taken in Thumbless shortly after Uriah's death after making a deal with Bo. While grieving Uriah's death, Anita couldn't accept Thumbless into her household. Due to Tomas's abuse, Thumbless would always run away from Anita, hated physical contact, and would often bite her. Anita stuck to a patient approach with him and treated him gently, and was slowly able to gain his trust and affection. Fearing the Hällberg family, she became overprotective of Thumbless. She cut off all of his contact with the outside world, installed multiple locks on the door, and covered up windows in his room. Her struggle to cope with the loss of Uriah lead to her to impose his identity onto Thumbless. She cuts his hair to resemble Uriah's and forces him to repeat, "I'm 8-years old. And my name is Uriah".

Over the years, Anita became attached to Thumbless, and genuinely learns to love Thumbless as her own. Anita was secretly aware of the fact that Thumbless felt immensely lonely and longed for a friend, for he had no one else to speak to. Anita taught Thumbless to sing - as it was a tool for him to express himself. Anita would sometime eavesdrop on Thumbless singing to himself in the bathroom, or come across some of the drawings he made, and realized that these were the reflection of his loneliness and longing to see the outside world. After encountering Vincent on her way home, Anita breaks down crying; fearing that they will come to kill him. She makes the decision to let him outside by gifting him a pair of shoes on his birthday. The two go to the Vildhamn Sea Park, and Anita tells Thumbless how much she loves him, and everything that she loves about him, which embarasses him. She distracts Thumbless and tries to abandon him at the sea park, in hopes that he will be safe, but he quickly finds her running away and in tears. He yells at her for trying to abandon him, and she tells him that he is not Uriah; that he is his own unique individual, he refuses to acknowledge it. Ever since she woke up at the hospital, rescuing Thumbless has been her goal. She has also been reflecting on her actions all this time and is deeply ashamed for how she didn't realize that Thumbless had been struggling with his identity. She is determined to find him and bring her son to safety, and finally give him his own name and identity. She begins to see him as his own person, and no longer just a substitute for Uriah.

#### **Salim**

Salim is Anita's past lover, and Uriah's biological father. She met him at a church on a Sunday gathering, and they had a passionate relationship together. Anita got pregnant with his child when she was seventeen and gave birth Uriah. She admits that neither of them wanted Uriah, but were forced to keep him because of their shared religion. Salim soon left Anita for another woman as Anita's alcohol addiction drove him away. She was deeply hurt and was unble to move on. Anita tells Uriah that his father and her had a happy relationship together, but he had died at war when Uriah was only two; so as to not let the boy know that Salim had actually abandoned them. When getting ready to meet Tomas for a date, questions if she's finally ready to move on.

#### Tomas Hällberg

*Tomas* was Anita's ex-boyfriend. She confessed about her relationship with Tomas to **Madeleine**, when asked about how she was able to guess the first passcode to the Project Bullfinch room, which was apparently the date Tomas and Anita started dating (23/08). Later on, during Madeleine's interrogation, she narrates the entire story of how they got involved with each other, starting from how she met Tomas at the church to accompanying him for dinner and wine at his house on the same day.

Anita was evidently charmed by Tomas on their first meet, and even though she felt awkward to engage with a married man at first, she was instantly drawn to him. Being without love for almost five years and still harbouring the pain and despair of losing **Salim**, Anita saw Tomas as someone who would fill that hole in her heart. On their first date together, a drunk Anita had broken down and vented out to Tomas about her past and what she did to **Uriah**. In desperate need of a listener, Anita was taken in by Tomas' affection and comforting words, and her broken self started seeing him as her caregiver and devoted lover. They started seeing each other more often and their relationship got deeper and more intimate from that point onwards.

All until the night of the Christmas Eve, the time of the gruesome tragedy that finally made Anita see Tomas's true colours. After Uriah's murder under the hands of Tomas, her image of him as a charming and perfect man was shattered, revealing the vile, evil person he actually was. That incident deeply scarred Anita and she has barely recovered from the trauma caused by Tomas. At present time, Anita holds nothing but sheer hatred and disgust for him. She is also deeply ashamed and regretful of the affair, with her keeping it up even though she knew Tomas had a wife and kids, and more because it cost her her beloved son's life to finally realize Tomas's true evil intentions. When she got to hear from Madeleine that Tomas was the one that rescued her and brought her to the hospital, Anita was immensely shocked and quite unsettled. Besides, while investigating the **Project Bullfinch** room she found the remains of the other kids Tomas used for his project, realizing what he did to them and that he never stopped with Project Bullfinch even after **Thumbless** was gone, which distressed and disgusted her even more. Anita regards Tomas as 'the Devil', hating him to the very core. She has been adamant not to give in to Tomas' manipulation anymore, seeking revenge for Uriah's death and trying to protect Thumbless from going back into Tomas' clutches.

#### **Madeleine Drömstrand**

Madeleine allowed Anita to be an active part of the investigation, getting her out of the hospital and having her accompany her secretly to the Hällberg house.

Madeleine was the sea park guard Anita had asked to keep a watch over **Thumbless**, but she got to know her better when she was present with her after she woke up at the hospital. When Anita had become restless and went into panic after being reminded of the incidents that had taken place, Madeleine tried to calm her down and explain things more clearly, and that eventually lead to slightly personal questioning which made Anita have an annoyed approach towards her. But after she revealed that she was a police officer, that too from outside the Vildhamn department, Anita was overwhelmed with emotions for she finally found someone she could trust, but was taken aback when Madeleine cuffed her, saying that she was under arrest for kidnapping. Anita didn't protest against Madeleine's statement, but soon after that she escaped the hospital with her to investigate the Hällberg house.

In her alliance with Madeleine, she was guided by her throughout, who was very patient and careful with her. Later at the hostel as well, Anita is treated gently and kindly by her, allowing her to relax and get comfortable before the questioning. During Madeleine's interrogation, she offers Anita drinks to loosen up the atmosphere and taken slightly aback by her cool, carefree attitude, Anita starts to warm up to her presence, feeling calmer to start the interrogation. So far, Anita has been able to maintain a co-operative relationship with Madeleine. She has been able to trust and rely on her more, and is inclined to help her in any way she can so that they can finally find Thumbless.

#### Vincent Hällberg

Anita met Vincent through Uriah, and was very happy that her son had made a friend. She learned that Vincent was bullied at school, but was at peace knowing that him and Uriah always stuck with one-another. However, after the fateful Christmas Eve, no connections remained between them.

Years later, Anita has a brief encounter with a grown-up Vincent while coming home from the convenience store with **Thumbless**' gift, and she doesn't recognize him at first, she was so disturbed by his tone and presence that she described him as 'Death'. After Vincent kidnapped her and Thumbless from the sea park and brought them to her house, she finally realized who he was and turned to a more subtle approach with him, trying to persuade him not to be like his father and that she still saw the same terrified child in him from years ago. Vincent was extremely triggered by this and attacks Anita, but later on she got to hear from him about his pent-up anger and despair related to her 'abandoning' him on the night of the Christmas Eve, thus seeing through what drove Vincent to such an aggressive and vengeful approach towards her.

Even though Anita hasn't completely looked past what Vincent did to her and Thumbless, her connection with Vincent has been extremely saddening for her. Young Vincent had seemingly hoped she would save him from his abusive household along with Thumbless, but in the end that didn't happen. Anita was already in sheer devastation after Uriah's murder and on top of that, was put under pressure by **Bo** to take away only Thumbless with her, as a result she couldn't do much or anything at all in the situation she was put in. She had 'consoled' Vincent by giving him a little cross necklace and assuring him it would keep all evil away, which was the the only thing Anita was able to do for the unfortunate kid standing in that situation, knowing that she can't help or rescue Vincent in any other way. After her gruesome discoveries in the **Project Bullfinch** room, she breaks down completely, lamenting about how many lives she failed, including Vincent's, showing the pain and guilt she felt for not being able to save him from **Tomas'** hands.

#### Bo Vahlin

Anita was first acquainted with *Bo* when she had been modelling for new paintings to be put up at the church, and Bo was hired as the artist, who portrayed Anita as an angel in his paintings. Besides this, there hasn't been many interactions between them.

Except for the night of the Christmas Eve after **Uriah** was murdered, when Anita got involved with Bo; as there had been a deal between them - Bo buried Uriah's body in holy grounds, and in exchange for that, Anita had to take away **Thumbless** with her and raise him in isolation so as to keep him safe from his murderous family. Bo was later jailed after being framed for Uriah's murder by **Tomas**, and there was no more contact between him and Anita after that. As of present time, it has been hinted that Anita has been anxious and wary of Bo coming into their lives again, for she is afraid he will be taking away or harming Thumbless once he finds him.

#### **Filippa**

*Filippa* is the nurse that was in charge of Anita at the Vildhamn hospital. During **Madeleine's** ongoing investigation, she has been taking care of and treating Anita in hiding at the hostel.

## Gallery

Anita's casual outfit in Episode #91Anita's date outfit in Episode #94
## Trivia

* Anita's surname 'Modig' means brave
* Anita loves makeup and is usually wearing it, but is confident without it too
* She likes singing and enjoys playing the piano as well
* She has the most wardrobe changes out of all the characters in *Uriah*
* There is an official *Uriah* playlist for Anita

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Episode 71 (S3)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 94 (S3)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode 65 (S2)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Episode 90 (S3)
5. ↑ Episode 96 (S3)
6. ↑ Episode 98 (S3)
7. ↑ Episode 28 (S1)
8. ↑ Episode 68 (S2)
9. ↑ Episode 92 (S3)
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Episode 82 (S3)
11. ↑ Episode 42 (S2)