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Ramona Royale is a former film star and one of Elizabeth's former paramours. She is a character in Hotel portrayed by Angela Bassett.

Background[]

Ramona was the star of a run of 1970's blaxploitation films, including "Slaughter Sister", "Silky Fine", and "Bride of Blackenstein". In 1977, her aspiration to move beyond being the B-movie queen to becoming a Hollywood A-lister led to her meeting Elizabeth. The two had a decade-long relationship with Ramona becoming one of Elizabeth's afflicted progeny in the process.[1]

In 1991, Ramona's ambition to be something more than just one of Elizabeth's brood pets led her to become a maker herself by turning her new lover, Prophet Moses. As soon as Elizabeth found out about her paramour making Prophet an afflicted, she wreaked jealous revenge by murdering the up-and-coming rapper and his entire crew, completely severing the relationship between the two ever since.

Ramona returned to visit her parents in 1992 after Elizabeth renounced her relationship with her. Within months, both her parents became ill, and her father deteriorated mentally after her mother died. One night, their house was burglarized, and Ramona returned home to find her father beaten and near death. She fed him her blood, hoping it would cure his Alzheimer's disease, but it didn't work and he didn't have the mental capacity to understand his new condition. After twenty years, she found out he had killed two intruders. After drugging him, she drowned him in the bathtub.[2]

Personality and Appearance[]

Ramona Royale is a statuesque African-American woman with a strong character and ambitious spirit. She will do anything to be in power and will do anything to get revenge on Elizabeth. She has long waist-length curly black hair and full lips.

Story[]

During Donovan’s depression at being dumped by Elizabeth, he wanders through a rough part of town and feeds off drug addicts to get high. He notices a figure in the distance that appears to be having some car trouble. He approaches her, intent on stabbing her with a hidden blade, but is quickly subdued by her taser and the woman puts him in the trunk of her car and drives off.

The next morning Donovan wakes up tied to a chair and receives dialysis, the woman cleaning his blood of all the drugs he ingested via the junkies he fed off the previous night. She reveals herself as Ramona Royale and tells him about her history: She had come to Hollywood in the 70’s with barely a high school education and no prospects. Regardless, she quickly became a B-movie star with such hits as Slaughter Sister, Silky Fine and Bride of Blackenstien. Her pictures earned ten to fifteen times the amount the cost to produce but Ramona wasn’t the one earning the profits. Not content with this she pursues greater things.

In 1977 she pursued a film producer at the Hotel Cortez in Los Angeles, trying to convince him to cast her in a serious role. He offers to take her upstairs for a drink to discuss the subject but they are interrupted by The Countess. She is honored to meet Miss Royale and tells the producer to leave and seems to scare him off. Ramona is impressed and The Countess tells her she saved her from making a dreadful mistake. Ramona saw how she made the producer leave with just a look but now she was looking at her, and she didn’t want to run. The two then make love with the Countess turning Ramona into an afflicted, promising that she could live in her world of art, literature, and fashion forever.

For the next decade and a half, the two remained deeply in love but come 1991, Ramona realized that even though she could be anything she wanted, she couldn’t belong to Elizabeth forever. It was at this time that Ramona first laid eyes upon Prophet Moses, an up and coming record producer. She had always believed Elizabeth the greatest love of her life, but it turns out it was Moses. She turns him into an afflicted and plans to be with him forever. Her happiness is short-lived when she and Moses find all of his crew had been brutally murdered by Elizabeth, who is quick to finally murder Moses with his own gun. Ramona is distraught and realizes that Elizabeth could not have her creations creating others.

She tells Donovan her plan to use him as access to the Cortez, so she can kill Elizabeth’s children as revenge for her killing Moses. Donovan tells her Elizabeth dumped him and Ramona lets him leave.

A few days later Donovan brings Iris to Ramona’s mansion. Ramona is displeased noting she has no use for Donovan if he isn’t Elizabeth’s current lover. Donovan presents Iris, noting she manages the Cortez and can help them get access. Iris in her sickness recognizes Ramona’s beauty as a movie star. Donovan tells her they can use Iris to destroy Elizabeth for ruining their lives. Ramona realizes Donovan has turned his mother and calls him reckless. She likes that regardless and sees that Iris will be the perfect ‘inside man’ for the job.

Sometime later, Iris tells Ramona and Donovan that Elizabeth is away from the Cortez and they infiltrate with plans to kill the children. They get in the lift and head to the basement, but Ramona senses Donovan’s hesitation. She tells him that he’s not over Elizabeth and she leaves him to go to the penthouse. She heads to the drained pool where the children sleep.

However, due to Liz and Alex, the coffins were destroyed and the children missing. Ramona is frustrated by this and Iris turns up to help. Ramona realizes that Iris is more motivated to stopping The Countess than Donovan. She tells Iris to find and kill the kids as she asks for the key to room 33.

Ramona heads to room 33 and looks for Bartholomew, intent on killing him. She finds him but he attacks her and escapes. Liz finds room 33 unlocked and an injured Ramona. At the bar, she gives Ramona some ice and notes that Bartholomew is still missing. Ramona thinks he should have died long ago and Liz mentions a lot of people in the Cortez should have. Liz is worried that Ramona’s presence in the Cortez could upset Elizabeth which she can’t afford at this time. Regardless she is pleased to see Ramona and has missed her. Liz tells her she is in love. Ramona is excited for Liz until she reveals its Tristian, Elizabeth's current ‘squeeze.’ Ramona warns Liz that The Countess will not be forgiving if she finds out and tells her to run away.

A few days later Donovan turns up at Ramona’s with a male porn star and offers him to her. She is annoyed at Donovan for going soft and mentions he can never be the man she needs to help take down The Countess. He tells her she’s wrong and has been newly motivated, throwing the porn star on the floor. She wants to hear how he has changed. He tells her despite The Countess taking him back, he realizes that his desperation for her would never evaporate. Ramona sympathizes as she’s been in the exact same spot. Donovan urges their attack on The Countess has to happen that night as she’s getting married to Will Drake the next day so she is distracted. He also slipped her enough to knock out an elephant. Ramona is impressed even though Donovan is unable to pull the trigger. They drink to their revitalized union by draining the porn star with Ramona’s dialysis machine. Donovan is curious as to why Ramona has taken so long to enact revenge on The Countess. She tells him: In 1992 after The Countess had killed Moses and tossed Ramona, aside she returned to her parent’s house. Having not seen his daughter in ten years, Ramona’s father is surprised to see her, even wondering if she had had plastic surgery due to her unaged appearance. She stays with them for a few months and they help her through her grief. Ramona notices her father seems distracted, worrying about his health. After her mother dies, Ramona’s father loses what was left of his mind. He started to get lost in his own neighborhood, unable to find his own home. One night he witnesses a home robbery and the thieves attack him. Ramona finds him battered and injured and is saddened that this once great man is now so low. She offers him her blood to make him an afflicted. She had seen the virus do remarkable things; healing cuts and wounds in hours, broken bones repaired in a matter of days. She hoped that it could bring her father back. All was for naught as the virus has simply stopped the Alzheimer progression. Ramona took care of him, helping him survive even though he was unaware of what he had become. One night another group of thieves broke into their house and Ramona finds her father had killed the attackers. Realizing that her father would never heal and want to end his suffering, Ramona drowns him in the bath.

She tells Donovan she realized that like her father, she had been frozen in amber for twenty years passing by like nothing. The world changed and she began to remember what she had lost and what The Countess had taken from her. She and Donovan toast to revenge.

They arrive at The Countess’ bedroom and Ramona tells Donovan to watch as she plans to stab her in the heart and cut off her head to make sure she stays dead. She’s startled by The Countess who awakens suddenly and Donovan taser’s Ramona.

Accompanied by Iris, Donovan takes Ramona to the locked corridor and places her in one of the cages. Iris is confused by his actions and soon realizes that he is still in love with The Countess and doing her bidding. Iris pleads with him, noting that the three of them have a chance to stop The Countess. Ramona wakes up in time to see Iris slap Donovan, saying that if he stays with The Countess he will die. Ramona tells him to listen to Iris. He makes Iris leave and then leaves also, with Ramona telling him The Countess is already moving on to her next lover. She shouts that if he doesn’t realize that then he is dumber than he is pretty, noting he is very pretty.

Later The Countess has Will Drake locked away in the corridor with Ramona. Ramona begs him to unlock her from the cage and he complies, unable to believe what is happening. He tries to find a way out but soon realizes they are completely trapped. Ramona picks up a broken pipe as he claims they will starve. She says she won’t and slices his throat with the pipe. He bleeds out and she tackles him, draining him of his blood. Miss Evers watches Ramona feed off him as he pleads for help as The Countess watches on her monitors.

A couple of days later, John and Alex locate the afflicted children who have been rampaging through Los Angeles. They bring them to the Cortez and lock them away in the corridor. The kids bicker amongst themselves until they find Will Drake’s corpse. Ramona appears, starving and remarking that the kids smell like appetizers but Suddenly Ramona child Jaya Royale was kidnapped by Ike Turner

After their failed attempt on The Countess’ life, Liz and Iris head to the vault to free Ramona to help them. Upon entering the corridor they notice the bodies of the afflicted children, all having been drained of their blood. They also find Will Drake’s decomposing corpse. They head around the corner, believing Ramona to still be caged. Liz sees that the cage is open and they try to flee, only to be confronted by Ramona. Clearly starved and furious, Ramona believes The Countess sent them to kill her. Liz tries to explain that they came to free her so they can finish off The Countess. Ramona doesn’t trust Iris who left her locked away. Liz tries to reason with her but Ramona is suffering from feeding on the diseased children. Liz and Iris offer to arrange a meal for her.

Liz and Iris return to the lobby and come across Queenie who has a reservation. They immediately recognize her as prey for Ramona and take her to her room. Despite having a dark feeling, Queenie stays in her room as Iris and Liz go to check if they have any other vacancies. Queenie heads to the bathroom only to be ambushed by Ramona who attacks her with a knife. Queenie’s magic kicks in and the injury shows up on Ramona instead. Ramona attacks her again but Queenie is quick to fight back, stabbing herself in her hand which in turn makes Ramona drop her knife. Realizing that Queenie is a witch, Ramona pursues her as witches blood will make her strong. After a brief tussle, Queenie aims to kill Ramona but is stopped by James Patrick March who stabs her in the neck. Her magic fails to work against him as he is a ghost. Ramona feeds from the dying Queenie and feels the strength of her blood. She wonders why March intervened and he tells her he needs her to kill The Countess. He needs her killed in the Cortez so she will remain trapped with him forever. Ramona agrees and drinks up.

Having been revitalized by Queenie’s blood, Ramona is given a dress from Liz and Iris tells Ramona that it is the perfect time to kill The Countess. Liz offers Ramona some weapons but she tells her that she won’t need anything with witch’s blood running through her veins. She tells them it’s time for her to rise and The Countess to fall.

Due to Mallory changing the events of the original timeline and preventing the Apocalypse, Queenie never came to the Cortez thus Ramona never fed off of the witch's blood.

Having been patched up by Sally, The Countess is recovering in her penthouse when Ramona appears. She notes that she could tell she was coming from her blood, which smells of walnuts. Ramona remarks that hers smells like black licorice. The Countess wonders if Ramona is ready to take her down, noting that Ramona’s stint locked away in the corridor probably did nothing to quell her anger towards her. Ramona fantasized about killing her every day while she was locked up, but has yet to decide how to end The Countess. The Countess warns her that even in her weakened state she could severely injure Ramona. Ramona scoffs at this. The Countess then tries to apologize to Ramona for everything. She offers her the hotel but Ramona is having none of it. However, Ramona begins to feel sorry for The Countess, noting it is harder to hate her when she’s more than just a monster. The Countess kisses Ramona and begs her to let her leave. If not, then sleep with her first. The two make love and The Countess leaves, only to be shot by John.

After Liz is given authority by Will Drake to lead his fashion company, Ramona participates in Drake’s exclusive fashion show at The Cortez, appearing as the final model. She is later shocked to learn the Liz has prostate cancer and offers to turn her but Liz declines. She tells Ramona her intentions of becoming a ghost.

During Devil’s Night in 2022, Iris and Ramona are discussing the unwanted attention received from Billie Dean Howard’s shows she had filmed at the Cortez. Ramona suggests that they shut the place down but John appears, telling them that it’s time to put an end to Billie Dean’s persistence.

During his interview with Billie Dean, John talks about how after being on the run, he returned to the Cortez with his family greeted by Iris, Liz, and Ramona who welcomed him back to the fold.

Later John takes Billie Dean to Devil’s Night where he and the other serial killers threaten her life and tell her to stop bringing attention to the Cortez. Billie remarks that as none of them can leave the hotel, they can’t hold her to her word. Ramona appears and Billie wonders what she is. Ramona tells her she is a creature that kills to live and drinks a body worth of blood a day without thinking twice. She warns Billie that if she even mentions the name Cortez ever again she will hunt her down and drain her dry. Billie flees the hotel, never to speak of it again.

Powers[]

Ramona Royale was turned by Elizabeth in 1977. She possesses all of the powers common to vampires.

  • Immortality - Ramona is not susceptible to human weaknesses, thus being immune to all aging, disease and death. However, she is still vulnerable to physical injuries.
  • Conversion - Ramona is able to spread her supernatural virus onto human beings by letting humans drink some of her blood, therefore transforming these humans into vampires.
  • Enhanced Senses - Ramona is naturally superior to humans in almost every way, possessed of otherworldly senses which allows her to easily overcome mortals:
    • Night Vision - The ability to see in the dark.
    • Heartbeat Detection - The ability to hear a human's heartbeat.
    • Blood Smell Detection - The ability to identify specific individuals based off the scent of their blood, allowing her to track others over long distances.
  • Enhanced Strength - The ability to exhibit strength beyond a normal member of the user's species.
  • Enhanced Speed - The ability to perform motions, or movements, at a speed and effortlessness that surpasses that of a normal member of the user's species.
  • Hissing - Ramona has the ability to emit a loud hiss, similar to a bat, when threatened or angry.
  • Concilium - The ability to control others' minds, which she often uses to seduce hapless men and women.

Associated Characters[]

Mr. Royale[]

Mr. Royale is Ramona's father, and one of the afflicted specimens condemned to a lingering death after infection due to an incurable disease that not even the blood virus managed to cure. Ramona returned to visit her parents in 1992 after Elizabeth spurned her. Both parents became ill within months, and her father deteriorated mentally after her mother died. Their house was burgled one night, and Ramona returned home to find him beaten and near death. She fed him her blood, hoping it would cure his Alzheimer's disease; it did not, and he did not have the capacity to understand his new condition. After twenty years, she found he had killed two intruders. After drugging him, she drowned him in the bathtub.[2]

Notes[]

  • Mr. Royale is the second character portrayed by Henry G. Sanders. For a complete list of his characters, see Cast.



Cassie Royale[]

Cassie Royale was Ramona's mother and Mr. Royale's wife. Her death caused her husband to lose sanity.[2]


Prophet Moses[]

Prophet Moses (better known as Moe) was an up-and-coming rapper in 1991 turned by Ramona. They had a good relationship, but then jealously murdered, along with his entire posse, by Elizabeth.[1]



Quotes[]

  • Ramona (after kicking in the door in one of her films)
    Did somebody order room service?
  • Donovan
    Who are you?
    Ramona
    Now, that's the wrong question. What you should be asking is who was I?
  • Ramona (about Elizabeth)
    What she couldn't have was one of her creations creating something else. There could only be one queen.
  • To Donovan: "You're reckless. I like that."
  • To Donovan: "You know the only thing worse than heartbreak? Loneliness. Knowing that it's never going to end."
  • Ramona (about her father)
    Back to the only man in the world that I ever kneeled down for..
  • Ramona
    You're a damn witch! Witch's blood will make me strong.
    Queenie
    I ain't nobody's protein shake, bitch!
  • To James March: "Looks to me you qualify for the job."
  • Ramona (to Billie Dean Howard)
    I'm a creature who kills to live and who drinks a body's worth of blood a day and doesn't think twice about who I'm sucking it from. So, if you even let out a whisper of a word that sounds like "Cortez", I'll find you and drain every drop of life from your skinny ass.


Notes[]

  • She is the third character portrayed by Angela Bassett. For a complete list of her characters, see Cast.
  • Ramona Royale has been absent from five episodes this season: "Checking In", "Chutes and Ladders", "Devil's Night", "Flicker", and "The Ten Commandments Killer".
  • Ramona is undoubtedly inspired by actress Pam Grier and her cinematic persona Foxy Brown.
  • She is bisexual.
  • The Countess mentions that Ramona's blood smells like walnuts.
  • In season three and five both Angela Bassett's characters, Marie Laveau and Ramona Royale respectively, wanted revenge for her lovers' death. In the third season, her lover was The Minotaur.
  • She is one of the four main characters to survive the season; the others being Alex Lowe, Scarlett Lowe and Iris.
  • It is as of yet unknown what ultimately happened to Ramona after Mallory's time travel spell in Apocalypse. With Queenie no longer checking into the Hotel Cortez, a starving Ramona never would have fed off of her blood. In turn, Ramona likely would not have confronted Elizabeth, thus negating the two sleeping together. Consequently, Elizabeth may have left the hotel earlier and prevented her murder at the hands of John Lowe. Whether or not Ramona would inherit the Hotel Cortez beyond this point, as promised to her by Elizabeth, is unknown in the new timeline. However, it is possible Iris and Liz Taylor found someone else for Ramona to feed on, leading events to unfold similarly to how they did in the original timeline.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Episode: Mommy
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Episode: She Wants Revenge
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