List of In Plain Sight characters
This is a list of characters in the USA Network original drama TV series In Plain Sight, which follows two U.S. marshals working in the witness protection program. The principal cast has undergone many changes over the course of the show. Additionally, various recurring characters have appeared during the show's run.
Main characters
Mary Shannon
Marshal Mary Shannon is a US marshal working in witness protection. She is a sharp-tongued nonconformist, often leading to difficulties. Her father, a gambler, left her childhood family after robbing a bank. Mary's issues, stemming from her father's abandonment and her mother's alcoholism, has saved the lives of some of her witnesses.Throughout the first season, Mary almost constantly fights with her mother, Jinx, and her sister, Brandi. She is unable to understand why they cannot obtain and hold steady jobs, which often leads to conflict. Meanwhile, Mary is dating Raphael, a minor league baseball player. He finds her difficult at times, but ultimately loves her. In the season finale, a two-part episode including "Stan by Me" and "A Fine Meth", Mary is kidnapped and Brandi is charged with and almost convicted of distributing drugs due to Brandi's usual poor choice in men.
During the second season, Mary's family continues to annoy her, but she can see past it more often. She becomes engaged to Raph, though she has feelings of uncertainty at times. She is, however, able to trust him enough to reveal the true nature of her job to him. Throughout the season, a new office manager, Eleanor Prince, is hired. Mary immediately decides she doesn't like her, but eventually, they become mild friends. In the second-season finale, "Don't Cry for Me, Albuquerque", Mary is shot while defending a witness. Marshall, Mary's partner, and Stan, her boss, work together to find the person who shot her. They eventually do, but Mary is still in danger of losing her life.
The third season opens with Mary being released from the hospital, very much alive and ready to get back to work. Very early on, Raph calls off their wedding. Soon, Mary meets FBI Special Agent Mike Faber, who asks her on a date. She refuses. Soon, Mary and Brandi's half brother, Scott Griffin enters their lives. She is very skeptical of his motives, especially when he asks Brandi to give him money. They learn he is addicted to gambling, much like their father. Mary becomes increasingly annoyed with Brandi, and it comes to a peak when she actually hands the money over to Scott. By the season finale, "A Priest Walks Into a Bar", Mary and Faber had started dating. At the start of the fourth season, Mary had already ended the relationship with Faber in order to give him the opportunity to try to work things out with his ex-wife. In the fifth episode of the season, "Second Crime Around", it is revealed that she has an ex-husband, Mark, whom she married at 17 but divorced soon after. In the sixth episode of the fourth season, "Something A-mish", she finds out that she is pregnant by Mark after one night together. The pregnancy of Mary is written in to incorporate the real-life pregnancy of Mary McCormack. She gave birth to her daughter, Norah, in "Something Borrowed, Something Blew Up".
In the fifth and final season, Mary has to deal with the return of her father, her feelings for Marshall, her mother and sister's unexpected return, and major changes to the WITSEC office. In the finale, she gives her blessings to Marshall and Abigail.
McCormack made a guest appearance as Mary Shannon in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Contract".
Marshall Mann
Marshal Marshall Mann is a fifth-generation US marshal, but the first to work in WitSec, which leads to friction between him and his father. Marshall is Mary's partner and best friend. He has a lot of insights about many things, which Mary dismisses as "useless information". He is laconic and usually laid-back, unlike Mary, so their ways of thinking and acting can differ greatly, leading to conflicts at times. However, they are both extremely protective of their witnesses.During the first season, Marshall begins to bond with various characters, most notably Bobby D. Upon their first meeting, the two clashed. However, during Mary's disappearance, the two were able to work together, and eventually become close friends.
In the second season, Marshall discovers that Mary has revealed the true nature of her job to Raphael. It is one of the few times he is visibly angry with Mary, going so far as to lash out at her. When he discovers her engagement, he is clearly shocked and later in his engagement toast goes as far as to say that he loves her, but neither of them seem to acknowledge what he has really said. In the season finale, "Don't Cry for Me, Albuquerque", after Mary is shot, Marshall is deeply affected, even breaking down and crying in front of Stan.
After Mary and Raphael call off their engagement, in the finale of season three, "A Priest Walks Into a Bar", Marshall appears to want to say something to Mary about how he feels, but is interrupted by Stan and does not try to renew the conversation. In the fourth season, Marshall finally realizes he and Mary are not right for each other and he begins a relationship with a police officer, Abigail, moving in with her. In "The Merry Wives of WITSEC", Marshall proposes to Abigail. In the series finale, Marshall told Mary that he loved her and he would always be there for her, but he wanted her to be okay with Abigail, because he loves Abigail deeply and wants the freedom to be with her. Mary gave her blessing. In the series finale, it is revealed that Marshall is Stan's replacement as chief inspector for WitSec's Southwest region.
Brandi Shannon
Brandi Katherine Shannon is Mary's sister, who is naïve, resistant to advice, and often enabling of others' bad choices. Mary usually refers to her as "Squish". Brandi rarely thinks about the future, preferring to live in the moment. She believes she can get by on only her charms. However, she considers Mary to be role model and an example. She at first is loyal to her mother, but slowly develops her independence and doesn't need her mother's approval. She initially obnoxiously calls Raph "Chico" but later learns to treat him with the respect he is due.During the first season, Brandi is involved romantically with Chuck Johnson, who lives thousands of miles away in the Shannons' native New Jersey. Mary and Jinx know virtually nothing about him, and they don't approve of him. Their suspicions are confirmed when Brandi travels to New Jersey, and is implicated in a major drug deal initiated by Chuck. During the deal, she discovers that one of the dealers, a meth addict, has a young infant, and calls child services to protect the baby. Soon after, Chuck is kidnapped, and two FBI agents are killed. The kidnappers also kidnap Mary by mistake, thinking she is Brandi. Mary is chained to a post in a basement, nearly raped before being executed, but just manages to free herself and kill her would be rapist. Investigators soon realize there is a connection between the drug trafficking and the kidnapping, and begin to draw up charges. However, when no drugs can be found at the Shannons' home, the charges are dropped. Brandi says that, had she known what was going to happen, she would have killed Chuck.
Soon after, in the second season, Robert O'Conner, the agent in charge of the drug trafficking case, returns to arrest Brandi for drug trafficking and murder. Mary, however, is able to convince him to back off; this time, for good. Jinx, meanwhile, convinces Brandi to begin attending court-ordered AA meetings in her name. Brandi does, and meets Peter Alpert while there. At first, he is disgusted with her for making a mockery of the system that lead him to become sober. However, they eventually begin a relationship. Brandi later learns he is one of the richest men in Albuquerque, and subsequently tries to get him to break up with her, believing he has many mistresses. This turns out to be untrue and he does not break up with her.
Throughout season three, Brandi and Peter continue dating. When Mary and Brandi's half-brother, Scott Griffin, enters their lives, Brandi trusts him fully, while Mary does not. Although she knows he is a compulsive gambler, Brandi borrows thousands of dollars from Peter to give to Scott. Peter is happy to do so, despite Mary's vehement protests. By the season finale, "A Priest Walks Into a Bar", Brandi has moved in with Peter. The two announced their engagement in "The Art of the Steal". However, in "Something Borrowed, Something Blew Up", Brandi leaves Peter at the altar and Mary agrees to break the news to the would-be bridegroom and everyone else.
By the time of "The Anti-Social Network", Brandi has moved away from Albuquerque to be with Scott Griffin, with whom she shares many interests. It is also noticed that she has begun drinking heavily. In the series finale, Brandi returns to Albuquerque to live with Mary, and is also pregnant by an unknown man. At the very end of the episode Brandi confirms that she will keep the baby, since Mary kept Norah.
Jinx Shannon
Jinx Shannon is a recovering alcoholic, and the mother of Mary and Brandi. Her husband James left her and her daughters after robbing a bank. Mary and Brandi both see themselves as being more mature than Jinx, which is true, to a point. She seems to have a strong resentment of her elder daughter, which eventually subsides.Throughout the first season, Jinx struggles with her alcoholism. She is also unable to keep a job, moving very quickly between jobs such as door-to-door makeup saleswoman and stage actress.
By the second season, Jinx's alcoholism peaks. She is arrested for public intoxication, which she profusely denies. She is ordered by the court to attend AA meetings. However, she refuses to attend one meeting because she has a dentist's appointment and convinces a reluctant Brandi to attend in her place. Later, when confronted with video of her arrest before court, she realizes she is an alcoholic, pleads guilty, and asks to be placed in rehab.
Later, Jinx becomes a dance instructor at a ballet studio, and appears to have become sober. In season 5, Jinx moves to Florida to take care of Brandi, after Brandi has started drinking heavily. In the finale, she and Brandi move back to Albuquerque after the death of Mary and Brandi's father, James Shannon.