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Jether Polk is a more empathetic member of the wretched Polk family. He is a character in Roanoke portrayed by Finn Wittrock.

Background[]

Jether Polk is one of Mama Polk's offspring, brought up as a savage by his kin.

Personality and Appearance[]

Among his relatives, Jether is the one who seems to feel a kind of empathy toward other human beings, perhaps due to the fact that he has never killed a human. Jether is obsessed with video recordings and is addicted to cocaine. He often uses videos recorded by him to masturbate.

By his own admission he feels stuck in the middle: not old enough to go to bed with Mama Polk, nor young enough to be cuddled like a child. He dreams of becoming famous, although his total lack of self-esteem and submission to Mama Polk makes Jether inept. Unlike his brothers, Jether seems to be slightly more alert, still showing some deficits.

Jether has an emaciated body due to poor living conditions, covered with scabs and dirt. His face is partially ruined and his clothes are dirty and crumpled.

Story[]

While Monet, Audrey and Lee are on the run from the spectral Lost Colony in the surrounding woods of Roanoke House, the women are captured by the Polk boys, including Jether. Upon bringing the hostages to his home, Jether immediately shows a morbid interest in them, recording the abuse inflicted upon them with a video camera with the intent of using the recordings to masturbate.[2]

When Mama Polk entrusts Jether with the task of watching Lee, his interest towards her grows. The two have fleeting discussions, which Lee uses to instill confusion in Jether, making him doubt his loyalty to a family that treats him as an inept. Jether reveals to her that he feels excluded for not having a counterpart in My Roanoke Nightmare, and dreams of becoming famous. Despite this, he states he will never be as famous as his ancestor, Kincaid Polk, who, emulating the ghost of the Piggy Man at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, killed several people while wearing a pig's head, thereafter giving way to an urban legend. Jether then reveals that he's never killed a person before and that Lee will be his first human victim. Between several tortures inflicted on Lee by Mama Polk, with Jether's help, the two continue to talk so that Lee can find a way to escape. Aroused, Jether offers her part of his cocaine and starts to touch himself explicitly. In order to break free, Lee seduces Jether, touching his private parts before choking him with one arm and, finally, killing him by thrusting a knife in his neck.[3]

Notes[]

  • He is the fourth character portrayed by Finn Wittrock in American Horror Story. For a complete list of his characters, see Cast.
  • This is the second time that actor Finn Wittrock has portrayed the son of Frances Conroy's character in American Horror Story, having previously portrayed Dandy Mott, the son of Conroy's Gloria Mott in "Freak Show".
  • Jether, like his father and brothers, is named after a biblical figure. His name is a reference to the son of Gideon in the Book of Judges. He was asked to kill the Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna, however, being still young at the time, did not have the confidence to carry out his father's request.
    • This may parallel Jether's more empathic attitude towards his family's captives, while his siblings enjoy torturing them.
  • It is heavily implied in Chapter 8 of Roanoke, that Jether and the rest of his siblings engage in an incestuous relationship with their mother. It is also hinted at when Mama Polk refers to her grandchildren as her "babies".
  • The Polks seem to be based on the Peacock family from The X-Files episode, Home. Like the Peacocks, the Polks are murdering, deformed, inbred "hillbilly" characters dominated by a sexually abusive mother.

Quotes[]

  • To Audrey Tindall and Monet Tumusiime: "Hello, ladies. Smile for the camera. Smile, goddamn it!"
  • To Lee Harris: "You best put leaving here out of your mind. Even I can't leave if I want to. I ain't bigger than Piggy Man. Never will be! So shut your mouth! Shut it! Don't care to hear your words no more."

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. In Chapter 10, he appears in a video.
  2. Episode: Chapter 7
  3. Episode: Chapter 8
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