Patricia Thornton, aka Chrysalis (Sandrine Holt) is a hidden recurring villainess from CBS' 2016 MacGyver series. She was introduced in the pilot as being with the Department of External Services, and served the director of the Phoenix Foundation; sending MacGyver and his crew on various missions.
Patricia turned heel in episode 1.12, "Screwdriver," when she was revealed as a villainous mole who had been leaking information to the Organization for three years. Former Phoenix operative Nikki Carpenter, who was believed to be a traitor since the pilot (as well as MacGyver's ex-girlfriend), was actually in deep cover for the CIA searching for the mole who had been working for the Organization, and knowing this, Patricia framed Nikki and kept Mac away from her, doing so to keep her own villainous secret hidden.
Patricia listened in on Mac's call to Riley about Nikki, and she tracked Mac and the crew once Nikki's phone was turned on. Later on, the evil Patricia sent operatives to a cabin (where Mac and Nikki often spent time together) and destroyed evidence of her true role, which Nikki kept in a lockbox. While the group waited at a hotel lobby for the mole, who was known as Chrysalis, Patricia appeared with the same operatives who shot at Mac's crew at the cabin and had Nikki handcuffed. She later stated that Nikki's search was a ruse to discredit the group, but it was in the episode's climax that Patricia's reveal occurred. Riley presented evidence of Patricia's double dealings, as she also had a Cayman Islands account that was used by the Organization to pay her. Patricia was later arrested for her crimes.
Trivia[]
- Patricia's reveal as Chrysalis in "Screwdriver" was part of a face-heel double turn between her and Nikki Carpenter. Since the beginning of the series, Patricia served as the Director of DXS/Phoenix, while Nikki was portrayed as a recurring villainess following her (apparent) betrayal in the pilot episode, "The Rising." Hints of Patricia's heel persona were shown when she arrested the redemptive Nikki in "Screwdriver," and it was Patricia's own villainous reveal that cemented Nikki's face turn.