The Netflix supernatural thriller “Lockwood and Co.” made us witness an unconventional relationship between two eccentric personalities. The expectations and motives of both characters involved were in stark contrast to each other. Where one had started developing actual feelings, the other had purely deceptive and selfish motives. So, let’s understand what Pamela Joplin was up to and why she was trying to get close to George.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Pamela Joplin Befriend George? Is She Dead Or Alive?
Lockwood was ecstatic when he found out that a new client had arrived at their door. He asked his team members, Lucy and George, to put on their game faces, as he really wanted to convert the client and earn some money to keep his agency afloat. Lockwood had an immense amount of faith in his negotiation skills, which is why whenever a potential client came, he did the bulk of the talking. Pamela Joplin and Sebastian Saunders ran a grave-digging business called Sweet Dreams Excavations, and they had encountered some trouble with one of their graves. Pamela, just like George, was the researcher on the team who looked into the cause of death and ascertained if, in the future, the deceased could become a “visitor.” Most of the time, the people with traumatic experiences became visitors, and that is why Pamela looked into their burial records to avoid any trouble or at least be prepared for it. Pamela was an academic, and she had in-depth knowledge about whatever she talked about. Knowing George, it didn’t come as a surprise when he got mesmerized by her expertise and critical remarks. Both Pamela and George agreed that, though the Fittes database was broad in scope, it lacked depth, which at times was important in solving cases.
Pamela also seemed quite interested in having a conversation with George, as both of them had a lot in common. George loved the brief conversation he had with her, because Pamela validated his beliefs and opinions, and more than anything, she seemed to understand his point of view. George knew that people considered him an oddball, and he had no problem with that. He had accepted the fact that not a lot of people would understand his eccentricities, but being around Pamela raised his expectations.
Pamela couldn’t hide her excitement when Lockwood, Lucy, and George arrived at the Kensal Green Cemetery to contain the visitor and destroy its source. At that point, it felt like she was excited because she was able to put her knowledge to practical use, but in reality, her emotions were backed up by a very different motive. Pamela became paranoid when she learned that the bone glass had been stolen by somebody. She confronted Lockwood and told him that time and again, she had asked them to tighten the security, but nobody paid any attention to her. The tension and unease were clearly visible on her face. She had repeatedly told everybody that monetary gain or loss was not the reason behind her restlessness, but losing a unique artifact bothered her. Joplin held herself back, as she had realized that unless and until she took matters into her own hands, she wouldn’t be able to speed up the process and find the bone glass.
George had gone to the British Archives to do some research about Bickerstaff, but he was not allowed inside as they had already reached their visitor capacity. While going back, he met Joplin, who told him that because she was a board member, she could ask them to let him in. Joplin invited George for dinner, and she was intentionally misleading him because she knew that she would require a young person like him for what she was planning to do.
Till “Lockwood and Co.” Episode 6, Joplin had completely won over George, so much so that he vouched for her in front of his people. They once again spent time together when Lucy and Lockwood were going to the ball organized by Fittes. When George got the bone glass, instead of handing it over to the DEPRAC, he called Joplin, who took him inside the Bickerstaff mansion under the pretext of conducting an academic experiment. It was then that the sinister plans of Pamela Joplin were exposed. She had become obsessed with the bone glass, and she wanted to know what truly lay beyond the mortal realm at any cost. She knew that the bone glass could unravel many mysteries and give some more clarity about what had happened during ‘The Problem.’ She told George that Lucy and Lockwood might have been more talented than him, but it was his name that was going to go down in history. It was at this moment that you realized how devastatingly unrestrained ambition could be. Joplin was ready to go to any lengths to achieve greatness. She was ready to spill blood and put the lives of even her dearest friends at stake. There was a hunger for knowledge and a desire for appreciation and recognition. Joplin knew that young people had a greater ability to see what was beyond, and she speculated that it was probably Bickerstaff’s biggest mistake not to take that into consideration.
George was shattered to know that Joplin never felt close to him, and she did all that just to use him for the experiment. Joplin would have made him look into the bone glass, but Lucy arrived at just the right time and took George’s position. As soon as Joplin uncovered the bone glass, Lucy turned her face and made the skull, i.e., the follower of Bickerstaff, face his master’s creation. The glass cracked as George pushed the stand on which it was kept. Joplin picked up the glass to check if it was broken, and that act defined her fate. The glass illuminated once again, and Joplin, who was looking straight into it, got ecstatic. She screamed at the top of her lungs, and there was a flash after which she vanished from the mortal realm.
In all probability, Joplin had died, but it is very much possible that her spirit got trapped either inside the bone glass or somewhere else in the mortal world. It is possible that we might see her as a visitor in the second season of “Lockwood and Co.,” and the kind of obsession she showcased makes us realize that it wouldn’t be an easy task to contain her. We are completely oblivious to what she might have seen in the supernatural realm and why she was so elated and excited after witnessing it. We hope that the makers bring her character back in the second season because otherwise, it would be an ungratifying end to a character that otherwise has a lot more to offer.
