Suren was a vampire Royal, born amongst the Mongol hordes, turned some 700 years ago by Mother. She is portrayed by Dichen Lachman.
History[]
Early Life[]
Suren was around 700 years old; her biological parents were Mother and a Mongol warrior who taught her how to skin animals and humans alike. Suren was turned by her own mother not long after the future vampire queen herself was turned. During the 1930s, Suren was previously being watched over by Aidan and his protégé Henry, forming a relationship with the latter when the former restrained himself from her affections. However, Henry could not keep himself satiated with Suren as a lover, leading to her finding him with another woman at a ball at the Halloway Hotel, the night before she and Mother were to leave Boston. Suren killed Henry’s lover in front of a room of human onlookers, all of whom were slaughtered under Mother's orders; ensuring the Vampires existence would not be exposed. As a result of her petulance, Mother punished Suren, by burying her underground for eighty years.
Season 2[]
After Bishop's death, Mother decides to release Suren (feeling that she had served her penance after 80 years) early to take over the Boston vampire instead of Aidan and is stationed in
the hotel where she ironically caused the bloody massacre. Her assigned task has been to rid the city of all the orphan vampires and vampires not loyal to Bishop.
With Aidan as her second in command, Suren first picks a new police liaison in Cecilia and personally sires her when Aidan refuses to. Regardless of her dissatisfaction with Aidan, she throws the Dutch out the trail when Heggeman ends up missing as a result of his death at newly transformed Nora's claws. When Suren decides to bring in a mobster into the vampire fold, Aidan protests, even though the mobster has caught one of Bishop's orphans who attacked children in broad daylight. When Aidan acquiesces later, he begins feasting on the mobster when he should be turning him. Suren is pleased at this turn of events, believing it is necessary in order for Aidan to become the vampire she knew ages ago and become her lover. However, Mother is less than thrilled that they have been enjoying each other rather than working and orders Suren and Aidan to hunt down Bishop's orphans. Months later, Suren has told Mother that they have culled all of the orphans, leading Aidan to use his renewed relationship with Henry to gather up the orphans. Suren, who has been watching, orders that the owner of a house who gets paid for vampires to pass the threshold to transfer ownership to her human liaison. She then orders the orphans to be uninvited, killing everyone but Henry and Aidan. Aidan later presents Henry to her, and she decides that in order to be properly punished for his actions 80 years ago, she will skin Henry alive, a painful procedure that as a vampire he will survive from.
Later, Aidan convinces Suren to experience the "mundane" aspects of his life, which begins by having dinner with Josh, Julia, and Sally. After impressing Josh with her love of Antiques Roadshow, she realizes that Aidan previously was in a relationship with Julia, but puts off everyone's fears by making the situation better. That night, she expresses her fears that she does not fit in with Aidan's world, but he assuages the fears. The next day, Mother returns to Boston to express her gratitude that Suren was able to shape the city back up. She rewards her by allowing her to continue to rule Boston. Mother said a few months of impressing her did not make up for 8 centuries of disappointment, while excommunicating Aidan from the vampire clans.
To escape the oppression, Aidan and Suren run away together to a hotel to start, but Suren soon grows hungry. After Aidan is attacked by other vampires, she asks him to give up, and she will return to Boston. Aidan promises her that he will find a way, and he leaves Suren alone in the hotel, where she goes through withdrawal and thinks about the past. She decides to return to Boston to take her place as its leader, eventually telling Aidan that she did it to save him from Mother's oppression. At Mother's going away party, Mother names Suren as her successor, but gives her one last task to show she is truly strong: Suren must kill Aidan. Suren refuses, as she loves him, and falls to the carpet. As Mother cuddles her, she stakes Suren, and she crumbles to dust in front of Aidan and the vampire council.
Personality[]
Suren was cultured and educated, having lived for centuries as Vampire royalty; Suren was knowledgeable about antiquities, as well as the social etiquette of various cultures. Suren was also intelligent and tactical; with the help of Aidan, Suren was able to devise a plan to cull Bishop’s orphans, as well as reform the Boston Vampire clan. Despite the comfortable lifestyle with which Suren was afforded (due to her status as Mother’s Daughter), she also resented her Mother’s oppression, and as a result, would act out in impatient, petulant, and demanding ways; local Vampire clans would assign Vampires to watch over her. Suren also struggled with her bloodthirst; despite wishing to flee with Aidan, Suren realised she would not be able to control her bloodlust, and returned to her Mother’s fold.
Traits and Abilities[]
Suren possessed all of the standard traits and abilities of Vampire; such as immortality, enhanced strength, senses and vitality, superhuman speed, invulnerability to most conventional causes of fatality, increased recovery rate, awareness of the supernatural and mind compulsion. Suren also possessed retractable fangs, and the ability to ingest and digest blood. Due to her advanced age, Suren’s vampiric abilities were stronger than most Vampires.
Due to her life as Vampire royalty, Suren was well cultured and educated; she possessed a wealth of knowledge about antiquities and social etiquette. Suren was also an adept tactician; she was able to successfully reform the Vampire clan in Boston, as well as successfully enact a plan to cull Bishop’s orphan army.
Trivia[]
- Publicity materials for season 2 indicated that the character was to be named Izumi, but this was apparently changed during production.
- Suren’s age creates ambiguity regarding Mother’s age, as well as the circumstance surrounding her turn into a Vampire.