Ema Winslow

**Overview** • History • Gallery

**Emma "Ema" Winslow**, portrayed by Abby Corrigan, is a main character in ***Harlan Coben's Shelter***. She is the best friend of Spoon S, Mickey Bolitar and Rachel Caldwell.

*A grungy queer kid and Kasselton High’s resident outcast who knows better than anyone how cruel high school can be–but with her dark sense of humor and wit, she is anything but a victim.*

## History

Emma “Ema” Winslow is an only child, she is the daughter of Angelica Wyatt and Windsor Horne Lockwood III. Ema is known to be a loner at school and often minds her business, however, her observant and thrill seeking side cannot stop her from following Mickey and telling him to stop bothering the bat lady’s house. The next day at school, Buck walks over to her lunch table, where she sits alone, and attempts to bother her, however she plants a chocolate bar right where he sits and it looks like poop stains to everyone else, this displays her funnier side she rarely shows. Upon seeing the back of his pants, Buck attempts to stomp over to her table but Mickey quickly interferes. They engage in small talk until Spoon arrives. From this point on, Ema befriends the two boys, and then is later joined by Rachel in their little group.

## Personality and traits

Ema is a loner and keeps a lot of her life a secret. She doesn't want people to see her differently because of who her mom is, which is why she made up a rumor about her family being tied to drugs. She tends to be nice and helps solve the mystery with her friends, through which her clever and observant side can be seen. She can see when Mickey's mind is being messed over by the Bat Lady and tries to stop him from acting impulsive.

She tends to close herself off from other people and finds it difficult to make friends, proven by her bringing up that she isn't good at "this whole friend thing".

## Relationships

### Non-familial

#### Spoon Spindell

Spoon and Ema are friends and engage in solving the mystery together. Despite Ema occasionally getting annoyed at his outbursts of excitement (as when meeting her mom for the first time), they are shown to be a good team. In the first episode they kiss to distract the Bat Lady's guard's attention from the fact that they were hiding at their property, but it doesn't lead to any further romantic exploration, as Ema develops a crush on Whitney, and Spoon doesn't have feelings for Ema and admits it was his first kiss. Spoon protects Ema throughout the series and she does the same for him, like when Buck exposes her secret to the school and he finds Buck and hits him. The two fire playful jokes at one another, however, when tragedy strikes during episode 7 and 8, Ema does not hesitate to comfort Spoon and be there for him.

#### Mickey Bolitar

Ema and Mickey are friends. They are supportive of one another and bond quickly. Mickey becomes suspicious of her in episode 5, when he notices the butterfly tattoo on her back and assumes she could be hiding something. Ema explains everything she knows and his suspicions are cleared. They continue to support and look out for one another throughout the series for example; Mickey running to Ema’s class to try and comfort her once Buck exposes her to the school (implying Mickey memorises her and Spoon’s classes), Ema, long with spoon, are visibly distraught when they find Mickey by the beach passed out. Ema (teaming up with Spoon and Rachel) also goes out of her way to finish his mission to rescue Ashley without running it by him, proving she is willing to take risks for Mickey, even though she is shown to be carefully guarded and thinks everything through.

#### Rachel Caldwell

The two are good friends. They start out as complete strangers, however, their mission to rescue Ashley brings them closer together. They pretend to date to get inside the club in episode 7, and Rachel even seems impressed by Ema’s car at the beginning of the episode. They fight together to protect Ashley, nearly getting Ema killed in the process, however, Mickey saves them both. Ema shows her caring side when it comes to Rachel, she asks if she is okay once Whitney reveals the truth and she is seen admiring Rachel during the basketball game. Rachel also stands up for her against Whitney and says Ema is “too good” for Whitney. Both girls are loyal to one another, sharing quiet moments and hugging and comforting one another.

#### Whitney Renna

Ema meets Whitney in art class, where Whitney compliments her drawing. Whitney is shown to be supportive of Ema and her work and encourages her to post her art on uDOu. They bond over the school's play, when Whitney does Ema's makeup, and later when talking about the app and why Whitney decided to start posting. In episode 5, Ema tells Whitney about her mom being Angelica Wyatt and expresses how she relates to Whitney when it comes to not wanting people to see her differently because of fame. A little after that, they share a kiss.

Whitney tells her brother, Buck, about Ema's mom's identity, and in episode 6 he announces it to the entire school. Ema confronts Whitney and tells her to stay away from her.

#### Agent

Agent is Ema's tattoo artist. They gave Ema multiple temporary tattoos and a butterfly tattoo that doesn't come off, to Ema's displeasure.

## Memorable Quotes

* "What? What a twisted bitch. No, like, seriously. That's so fucked up. Like why would somebody say that?"
* "Oh my god. I think I might hate you. *[...]* I definitely hate you."

## Trivia

* All of Ema’s tattoos – with the exception of the butterfly tattoo – are temporary designs given to her by Agent while under the guidance of The Spirit.
* Ema, a nickname given to her by Buck, is a portmanteau of Emo + Emma.
* Her actual mother is Angelica Wyatt, which she keeps secret as to not attract attention nor have people befriend her for the wrong reasons, this is something she never shared except with Whitney.
* She is friends with Mickey first, then spoon and then finally Rachel.
* She can drive.
* She has a neon green lamborghini with the licence plate “Dollfin”; an homage to one of her mother’s films.
* She is artistic and is often encouraged to post her actual work.
* Her clothes often feature her own art.
* She sings incredibly well, being the daughter of a famous actress, this was a given.

## References

1. ↑ Amazon YA Pilot ‘Shelter’ Adds Three to Cast (EXCLUSIVE)