Caroline Steel

**Caroline Steel** is a Anti-Villainous antagonist of *Primeval* *Series 2*.

Caroline Steel was a woman who was paid by Oliver Leek to infiltrate Connor Temple and Abby Maitland's lives by becoming Connor's girlfriend, and was responsible for driving a short-lived wedge between them. Though paid by Leek, Caroline initially did not know about Leek's motives, or about the Anomalies, until the time when she redeemed herself.

Caroline was born circa 1985[1]. She was apparently the most popular girl at school, and had many boyfriends but wasn't ever dumped before. She apparently also performed well at school, although she loathed the bookwork and dropped it once she left.[2] At some point, Oliver Leek contacted Caroline and paid her to spy on Connor Temple and Abby Maitland for him without questioning his agenda.

Caroline picks Connor up at the DVD store. (Episode 2.2)

Caroline approached Connor in a video store as a friendly stranger, flirting with him and sharing similar opinions to him on fantasy and sci-fi films, quickly getting her invited to come with him back to Abby's flat.

Upon meeting Caroline at the flat, Abby and Rex both took an instant disliking to her, with Rex even trying to bite her hand, sensing her to be trouble. Abby and Connor were called away before more could happen, though before they left, Caroline wrote her mobile number on Connor's hand, asking her to call him.

Later that day, Caroline had apparently forgotten her phone and left it behind at Abby's flat, and it was only when Connor and Abby came home that Caroline returned for her mobile. Connor asked Caroline out for a drink and she agreed, as she was leaving, she asked Abby to join them but she declined.

Caroline meets with Connor with coffee. (Episode 2.3)

When Caroline was waiting to meet Connor for a coffee at an outdoor place, he arrived to say that he'd been called away by college/university work (actually the presentation of the new Anomaly Detection Device), though he did drink the coffee she'd gotten him (and burned his tongue on it) before he left. Once Connor was gone, Caroline sent a picture on her phone of Rex to an unknown contact, presumably Leek.

Caroline texted with Connor while he was actually dealing with the Smilodon incursion at Blue Sky Park. Late the next day, Caroline went to meet with Leek in his car and receive her next payment. She complained about her work pretending to be interested in Connor, but agreed to carry on with it before leaving.

Abby is unhappy to find Caroline sleeping round the flat. (Episode 2.4)

Caroline began coming over to Abby's flat with increasing frequency, annoying Abby who barely tolerated her. While Caroline was over organising a dinner for herself, Connor and Abby (herself and Connor mostly), she delayed them by a few minutes from getting and responding to Cutter's call by turning off Connor's phone. When Abby got Cutter's call, she and Connor left before they could start eating the meal, leaving Caroline behind at the flat.

While Connor and Abby were out, Caroline apparently locked Rex in the freezer after he'd eaten from the meal she'd made. Once Connor and Abby finally came home at night, Caroline pretended to be asleep on the couch. Abby found Rex barely-alive in the freezer and Caroline covered her actions up as an accident before leaving. The next day, Caroline made an untimely arrival at the flat for an arranged date with Connor, when a dishevelled Connor and Abby had just returned from dealing with a group of Mer Creatures.

Caroline waiting to attack Rex with a tennis racket. (Episode 2.5)

Caroline was waiting at the flat when she received at text message from Connor saying "ITS OVER". Caroline realised her infiltrating time was over and set about packing her things and leaving, but intended to steal Rex as well for Leek. After luring Rex out with a bowl of food, Caroline viciously attacked him with a tennis racket and used several plates as projectiles. Caroline managed to brutally knock Rex out, then fled the torn-up flat with him in tow.

Caroline's curiosity about Leek's interest in the creatures grows. (Episode 2.6)

After Caroline took Rex, Connor and Abby were unable to find her. She met up with Leek and offered Rex to him in exchange for more money. However, before Leek left, with her curiosity growing, Caroline asked Leek why he was interested in the creatures, and Leek offered to show her, taking her to his Creature containment facility. Sometime later, somebody discarded Caroline's handbag and phone in part of the facility.

While Leek and Helen Cutter were overseeing the advancement of their plans, Caroline felt she'd seen enough and wanted to leave, but Leek instead had her taken down to the cell where Connor, Abby and Jenny were being held, exposing the truth about Caroline's work for Leek to Connor and the others. Abby demanded to know where Rex was, but Caroline didn't care, and the two engaged in a fight until Connor was forced to break it up.

Caroline redeems herself, getting an injured Rex out. (Episode 2.7)

Leek shortly afterwards, true to Caroline's curiosity about what he was doing with the creatures, took her and the team to see his army of captive creatures, before afterwards locking the four back up. Caroline was left in shock, horror, fear and disbelief after seeing the creatures and what Leek was doing, then had a change of heart and became remorseful towards Connor and Abby for what she'd done to them.

A short time later, Leek had Caroline, Connor, Abby and Jenny locked in a sealed room with a Smilodon as 'dinner theatre.' Abby managed to get the Smilodon's attention away from the others and trick it into electrocuting itself on the room's control box. The four then escaped into the bunker, as its security system went offline and the creatures ran riot, wiping out Leek's mercenary army. The four eventually reunited with Rex, who led them to a ventilation shaft exit. When a mercenary found them and injured Rex before Jenny killed the former, Caroline redeemed herself for getting Rex into this by carrying him out to Abby. Upon escaping the bunker, the four immediately left to contact James Lester.

Caroline apologises to Connor and Abby at Stephen's funeral. (Episode 2.7)

After Stephen Hart sacrificed himself stopping the creatures in the bunker from getting out, Caroline attended Stephen's funeral with the team and the ARC personnel. After the service was over, Caroline went to Connor and Abby to give a proper apology for what she had done, and reminded Connor that he still had her number if he wanted to talk.

After Caroline had written her number on Connor's hand, he wound up losing it while washing Precambrian Worm slime off of himself. He spent a great deal of time fretting about it, believing that Caroline would think he was too cool to call her.

Connor was about to go to a new Anomaly incursion when her remembered that he had a date with Caroline. Nick Cutter asked if she was pretty and Connor nodded before the former told him "bummer".

After Caroline had shown Abby up on the punching bag, Abby complained at how much Caroline was visiting her flat. The next day, after Caroline had locked Rex in the freezer, Abby called her "Cruella De Vil", while Connor tried to defend her.

Connor realised he had feelings for Abby and that his relationship with Caroline wasn't working out. Connor told Stephen who said he needed to tell each woman how he felt. Connor then talked to Abby about his relationship saying there was no chemistry between Caroline and himself. Despite Abby's recommendation, Connor sent Caroline a text message saying "ITS OVER".

Sometime after Caroline had stolen Rex, Connor believed she was holding the lizard hostage until they recommenced their relationship. Later that day, as Abby told Connor that Caroline better not hurt Rex, Cutter over heard and queried why Caroline knew about Rex. Connor explained what happened. Connor later detected Caroline's discarded phone to the Creature Prison, when the team arrived, Abby wanted to know why Caroline would hang around the abandoned warehouse. Connor speculated it was a retreat of some kind as he though Caroline was the spiritual person. The team later found her discarded handbag and phone.

Abby talked with Connor about his relationship with Caroline being fake. Connor revealed that he and Caroline had kissed when Abby was not around.

When acting as Connor's girlfriend, Caroline exercised a giggling, cheerful, attractive and "lovey-dovey" demeanour around Connor and Abby, but she was really very ambitious, greedy and cold and was spying on the duo for money from Leek. As well as being greedy and cold, Caroline could also be very vicious and cruel; she once trapped Rex in a freezer just for smashing her bowl of food, resulting in him nearly freezing to death, (Episode 2.4) and she later viciously attacked and knocked him out to take him for Leek. (Episode 2.5)

Despite her selfishness and cruelty, Caroline was not truly evil, and showed a better-hearted side after learning the truth about Leek and his creature army - she became genuinely remorseful towards Connor and Abby for what she'd done to them, and she helped get a wounded Rex to safety as atonement for getting him into the mess. (Episode 2.7)

## Relationships

Abby Maitland
When Abby and Caroline first met just after the latter and Connor had met, Abby was noticeably baffled that Connor had actually managed to pick up such as attractive girl, and was rather impatient, unimpressed and passive-aggressive about the relationship and its sheer unlikelihood. After Rex got locked in the freezer, Abby quickly and rightfully blamed Caroline, and became more loathing of her. After Caroline kidnapped Rex, when Abby's distrust of Caroline was confirmed to the team, Abby and Caroline got into a violent catfight over Rex's disappearance, with both of them declaring beforehand they would enjoy beating up the other. However, Caroline and Abby afterwards softened up somewhat when Caroline became remorseful over what she had done, and when Caroline saved Rex, Abby genuinely thanked her. Caroline later properly apologised to Abby and Connor at Stephen's funeral for her actions.

Connor Temple
Caroline was hired by Leek to get close to Connor and become his girlfriend. When with Connor, Caroline exercised a cheerful and funny exterior, she frequently went out with him or made food for him or attended to him in any other way, and she pretended to play along with Connor's childish antics and flirtations. However, Caroline showed when receiving her payment for Leek that she outwardly really had a lot of contempt for Connor; calling him a "little creep" for his constant flirtation towards her, but then admitting that he probably wasn't all that bad. After Caroline was captured by Leek and imprisoned with Connor and the team, when she saw what Leek was doing with his creature army, she displayed genuine remorse towards Connor for deceiving him, and seemed to lose her original contempt for him. At Stephen's funeral, Caroline went up to Connor and gave him and Abby a proper and genuine apology for what she did, and she indicated she was willing to start a real relationship with Connor if he wanted, however he did not reciprocate the feelings.

Oliver Leek
Caroline was hired and bribed by Oliver to spy on Connor and Abby for him. During their partnership, Leek and Caroline maintained a non-personal, strictly-business and cold partnership, in which Leek handed Caroline her payment for her services, and Caroline didn't ask any questions about what Leek was up to. But after capturing Rex, Caroline became more curious about what Leek wanted and was doing with the creatures, and Leek decided to show her one way or another. Despite Caroline's reluctance to be any further part of Leek's actions, Leek turned on Caroline and imprisoned her with the team, and he gave her the answers about the creatures in a twisted way, by showing her the creature army Leek had gathered and collected.

Rex
Rex instinctively recognised when he and Caroline first met that she was trouble, and was aggressive and distrustful towards her. True to Rex's distrust of her, Caroline had a highly vicious side towards Rex; at one point locking him the freezer just for spilling a bowl of her food, which resulted in Rex nearly freezing to death. Later, when Connor dumped Caroline by text, Caroline lured Rex out with food to capture him for Leek - she attacked Rex with plates and a tennis racket, and after brutally knocking him out, taunted down at him, "Got you, lizard." When Leek turned on and captured Caroline, she initially didn't care at all about what Leek had done with Rex, until she became horrified and remorseful after seeing Leek's creature army. When Rex was wounded by a gunshot while leading Caroline and the team out of the bunker, Caroline went to help Rex and carry him out of the bunker, as atonement for getting him into this situation in the first place, and displayed genuine concern over Rex's wound.

Appearances
Canonical
Episode 2.2 (first appearance)
Episode 2.3
Episode 2.4
Episode 2.5
Episode 2.6
Episode 2.7 (latest appearance)

Non-canonical
Fight for Survival

*Series One* : Parasite (Primeval)

**Primeval Evolved** : Megopteran
**Novels** : Baba Yaga | Tom Samuels|}