| “ | That girl is broken. She is more animal than human. The greatest mercy would be to have her put down. | ” |
— Chathrine to Mary in Royal Blood
| ||
Clarissa is a strange and almost feral young woman who hides in the shadows. Clarissa’s past was a tantalizing puzzle that will reach out to change the lives around her in ways no one suspects. Clarissa is also an antagonist. During Season One, it was revealed that Clarissa is the daughter and firstborn of Catherine de' Medici. Clarissa was thought killed by Mary in order to save Charles' life, but later revealed to be still alive. She has not been seen since Royal Blood.
Early Life
“Clarissa’s past is a tantalizing puzzle that will reach out to change the lives around her in ways no one suspects,” teases casting intel.
Clarissa was born to secret lovers Catherine and Richard. In order to hide the baby from Henry, Catherine ordered the baby to be taken away. She was told that Clarissa was dead, but Nostradamus gave the baby to his father. Clarissa was born with a red birthmark on her face, inherited from Richard. Nostradumus's father tried potions to remove it, and eventually disfigured her face.
Clarissa was laughed at by children and had stones thrown at her.
Season One
In the Pilot, Clarissa is first mentioned by Rose at the convent who says that there are ghost there. When Mary is in her chambers by herself she hears noise and walks over to a divider where she places her hand and is told by Clarissa not to drink the wine. At the end of the episode Clarissa is behind Mary when she thanks her for warning her not to drink the wine. In Snakes in the Garden, Colin is shown to be alive, albeit in the process of being tortured. His torturer leaves and a strange white-clad figure frees both his hand and foot bounds before encouraging him to leave. The next day, Mary finds Charles talking to a friend lurking in a passageway. He says that her name is Clarissa and she decides when you see her, she knows secrets and sees everything, and he bribes her to stay around, despite the fact that she dislikes people. Included in that are guessing games where he learns things. Mary enters into the doorway and calls out to Clarissa, picking up a marble. That night, Mary goes into the passageway on the hunt for Clarissa. She announces that she needs help and that if the girl can hear her, to come out and find her. One of the marbles she dropped rolls, meaning that Clarissa is there. The two are to play a guessing game: if Mary guesses right, Clarissa rolls the marbles back to her; if she guesses wrong, Clarissa can keep them. As a result of the game, Clarissa reveals that she knows who is trying to hurt Mary and indicates that both the English and Queen Catherine are playing a part in the scheme. She soon flees, though, but not before breaking a marble and leaving a key.  Clarissa under Mary's bed. In Hearts and Minds, Clarissa is mentioned when Francis and Tomas are dueling in archery. Catherine says that the target is modeled to look like the castle ghost. She is later seen at the end of the episode where she is hiding underneath Mary's bed. In Left Behind, she assists Mary in helping everyone leave the castle. In Fated, Clarissa, sneaks into Nostradamus' rooms to get some of his handmade artisan poisons. She slips it in the tea meant for Kenna, but Aylee ends up drinking it instead. Since the poison is taking too long to kill her, Clarissa finally just pushes Aylee down the castle steps. Nostradamus manages to figure this out quickly and rips the sack right off Clarissa's head for the wicked thing she did in order to convince Mary of the prophecy. The viewers were not shown her face. In Inquisition, it is revealed that Clarissa is the illegitimate daughter of Catherine de Medici and was born with a birthmark on her face. As a baby, she was given to Nostradamus' father who tried to remove the mark but only ended up making it worse. In Royal Blood, Clarissa kidnaps Charles and Henry Jr. in attempt to kill them in order to get revenge against Catherine for not loving her, as she was Catherine's daughter. She is hit with a rock in head by Mary and believed to be dead. In Consummation, she doesn't appear but is mentioned several times by both Nostradamus and Catherine. It is implied that she put a girl sing a song for Nostradamus to hear so that he will realize she is still alive. He later searches for her unmarked grave and finds footprints and blood traces, confirming that Clarissa is indeed alive. |
Personality
She is described as being “a strange and almost feral young woman who hides in the shadows”. She is also very shy and quiet not directly communicating with anyone. She doesn't really have any boundaries considering she just took Olivia somewhere unknown and stabbed Nostradamus in the neck without remorse. Yet she is very protective and helpful towards Mary and when she learns that Catherine is her mother she also showed protection towards her. She can also be heroic when she saved Mary and Catherine from the poison.
Physical Appearance
Her face, which she keeps hidden under a bag, is described as being severley disfigured. Clarrisa has red hair and blue eyes. She has caucasian skin and on the right side of her cheek she has a scar that is close to her nose and covers a faction of her lip. They tried surgery then potions to get rid of the port-wine stain birthmark that she had.
Relationships
- Charles: Half-brother, Former Friend.
- Mary: Half-sister-in-law, Former Ally.
- Nostradamus: Adoptive brother, presumbly enemy.
- Catherine: Mother, enemy.
- Richard: Father.
Appearances
| Season One | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Appearance Status | ||
| Pilot | Appears | ||
| Snakes in the Garden | Appears | ||
| Kissed | Absent | ||
| Hearts and Minds | Appears | ||
| A Chill in the Air | Absent | ||
| Chosen | Absent | ||
| Left Behind | Appears | ||
| Fated | Appears | ||
| For King and Country | Appears | ||
| Sacrifice | Absent | ||
| Inquisition | Appears | ||
| Royal Blood | Appears | ||
| The Consummation | Mentioned | ||
| Dirty Laundry | Absent | ||
| The Darkness | Absent | ||
| Monsters | Absent | ||
| Liege Lord | Absent | ||
| No Exit | Absent | ||
| Toy Soldiers | Absent | ||
| Higher Ground | Absent | ||
| Long Live the King | Absent | ||
| Slaughter of Innocence | Absent | ||
Name Origin
Clarissa is a feminine name which comes from the German name Clarice which is derived from the Latin the word Clarus, which means "bright, clear or famous." Clarissa also has a Greek origin, meaning "brilliant". Clarissa is considered an English, Italian, and Portuguese name. Clarisa is the Spanish form of the name.
Trivia
- She is known as the castle ghost.
- We first learn her name in Snakes in the Garden.
- She killed Aylee.
- The only people to see Clarissa's face were Nostradamus, Catherine, and Olivia.
- She is Catherine's daughter.
- Her father is Richard, however she had no on-screen interaction with him.
- She helped Colin escape from torture.
- Just like Bash, she is not based on a real person.
