Victoria Ryland (Bridget Regan) is the hidden main villainess from Perception's first season finale, "Light" (airdate September 17, 2012). She is the wife of U.S. Senator Scott Ryland.
Introduction[]
Victoria was first shown briefly in the season's penultimate episode, "Shadow," as she was on TV attending her husband's swearing-in as Senator, replacing Ted Paulson, who was killed in a plane crash. She returned in full form in "Light," beginning with being on the receiving end of an interview with Dr. Daniel Pierce and Kate Moretti. It was revealed that Ted's widow, Helen, was blackmailed into turning down the senate seat and endorsing Scott, with a video of Ted with Victoria being used in the scheme. Victoria claimed that she had met with Ted to discuss funding for a literacy program when she was suddenly pounced on by Ted. She stated that Leo Attinger, her husband's Chief of Staff, saw her leave, and that led to him being suspected of using blackmail and possibly murder to get Scott elected.
Reveal & Arrest[]
Victoria's reveal as an ambitious and murderous villainess
However, when Scott suddenly had a stroke and later died, Pierce was forced to eliminate the theory that his rise to power was the center of a conspiracy (which included the murder of reporter David Alcott), and came to the realization that Victoria was behind everything. As revealed later on, Victoria had ambitions of becoming Senator, so she began her villainous plan with seducing Ted and planning to blackmail him into stepping down. When Ted was killed, however, Victoria resorted to blackmailing Helen, which resulted in Helen turning down the position and Scott being sworn in. As for Alcott, the evil Victoria killed him by running him over in her car, doing so because he was getting close to the truth, and she later killed her husband by tampering his bottle of Coumadin and replacing the medication with sugar pills.
Kate informed Pierce that Victoria's car was taken in for repairs after Alcott was killed, and that was enough for Pierce to confront the villainess during her swearing-in celebration. Pierce revealed Victoria's entire scheme, with Victoria responding with arrogant denial, stating that if there was proof, the FBI would be meeting her instead of Pierce. At that moment, Pierce gave Victoria an ultimatum: either announce her resignation or he'd go to the press with everything he knew. Later that night, Victoria was shown in her car attempting to run over and kill Pierce, only to miss him and run over his bicycle. In a twist, however, it was Roger Probert who was on the bike and jumped off, as Pierce had anticipated the depths of Victoria's heel persona and set up a trap to catch her. The trap works, as Kate arrived and arrested Victoria for kiling Alcott and her husband, as well as her latest attempt.
Trivia[]
- Bridget Regan also played villainess Daphne Tucker on New Amsterdam, and later played redeemed villainess Charlotte Cole on MacGyver.
- Victoria Ryland is similar to Luna Vargas, the villainess from Scandal's sixth season, as both were ambitious political wives who killed their husbands for power. One difference is that while Luna only killed her husband, Victoria killed another victim beforehand and nearly added a third later on. Also, Luna hired others to commit murder, while Victoria directly committed her murders on her own.
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