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Olivia Benford
S1 Olivia
Actor Sonya Walger
First Seen "No More Good Days"
Last Seen "Future Shock"
Name Olivia Benford
Status Alive
Job Trauma surgeon
Saw in Flash Herself with Lloyd Simcoe

Olivia Benford is a successful trauma surgeon at Angeles Hospital. She is tough when it comes to mentoring her interns, but her vast knowledge and compassion for her patients has garnered her respect from her colleagues. Much of her empathy stems from her love of children, especially her daughter, Charlie.

At home, her marriage to Mark has been tested by what she saw in her flash forward, a vision of herself romantically involved with Lloyd Simcoe. Olivia believes strongly in her marriage and has fought against her attraction to Lloyd, but the universe continues to cross their paths in ways she cannot ignore.

Character Biography[]

Pre-GBO[]

Olivia Benford was originally going to attend Harvard University and live in a building next to the cigar shop Leavitt & Pierce in Harvard Square. However, her husband Mark Benford got a job in the Los Angeles FBI field office, and she followed him to Los Angeles instead. If she had stayed at Harvard, Lloyd Simcoe, who was at Harvard at the same time, would have been living next door to her. ("A561984")

In the months prior to the global blackout, Olivia's marriage had been troubled by her husband's alcoholism, at one point deteriorating so badly that she issued Mark an ultimatum: if he ever starts drinking again, she will leave him. By the morning of the blackout event, however, their relationship seemed to be stronger, and they displayed obvious affection for one another. She was in the habit of leaving her husband sarcastic love notes, such as "You're a crappy husband; I hate you", which they both enjoyed with good humor.

On the morning of the blackout, Olivia called one of her interns, Bryce Varley, before going in to work, and left him a message asking why he wasn't at rounds the previous day. She demanded that he call her immediately, and expressed concern for his well-being.

At work, Olivia scrubbed in to prepare for a surgical procedure, exchanging banter with a nurse about their respective children. The procedure was just beginning when the blackout occurred.

Flash Forward[]

Olivia was lying on her bed, scantily clad. She sensuously rose and went out to the hall, looking downstairs at Lloyd sitting on her couch. She smiled and called down to him, "Hey, honey." He turned to look up at her, but her Flash ended before he saw her. ("No More Good Days") (Olivia was also visible in the earlier part of Lloyd's Flash as he walked out of the bedroom, but there is no indication that her Flash had started yet.)

Post-GBO[]

Olivia and her surgical team awoke to the sound of beeping monitors, with blood on their gloves and gowns. They found that the patient had died while they were unconscious.

Olivia received a call from Nicole, her daughter's babysitter, letting her know that Charlie was okay and that she could stay to watch her until one of them got home. A bit later, she was able to reach her husband Mark on the phone, and she relayed this information to him, and let him know that she was okay too.

She cut off the call as a seriously injured 8-year-old boy was wheeled into the hospital by paramedics. Bryce arrived while she was being debriefed by the EMT's, and she testily ordered him to get into his scrubs and meet her in the ER. She reassured the boy that everything will be okay, to which he replied, "I know, Olivia," much to her surprise and confusion.

In the ER, Olivia and Bryce tended to the boy's injuries, and despite some touch-and-go moments, they were able to stabilize him. She complimented Bryce and told him to close the boy up, but let him know that he still wasn't off the hook for missing work the previous day.

Later, she watched news coverage of the blackout event where they described the nature of the visions that everyone had experienced. Tight-lipped with concern, she texted her husband another love note: "I hope I never see you again."

That evening, Bryce updated her on the boy's condition, and told her that his mother died on the freeway and they have not yet been able to contact his father, Lloyd Simcoe. She pessimistically worried that the boy would end up an orphan.

In an effort to lift her spirits, Bryce confided in her about his own experience. He told her that the reason he missed work is because he had been depressed, and was contemplating suicide when the global blackout occurred. But the vision, he explained, renewed his hope for the future, upon seeing that he was alive in six months. He said that these visions were a gift, but Olivia told him that that wasn't the case for her. Bryce asked what she saw and she replied, "The end of my marriage."

After she arrived home that night, Olivia and Mark lay quietly together in bed. She asked Mark about what he saw in his vision, and he described investigating the case of the flashforwards, and sensing that he was in danger; he omitted his use of alcohol. When he asked what she saw, she resisted telling him at first, but then tearfully confessed that she saw herself with another man, someone she doesn't know, but for whom she had "intense feelings" in her flashforward. She insisted that she would never betray him like that. Mark tried to comfort her, suggesting that perhaps this future is not set in stone, which seemed to reassure Olivia, at least to some degree. ("No More Good Days")

After a quarrel erupts at Charlie's school due to a game based on the blackout, Olivia and Mark are called to Principal Byrne's office, where the principle worries about Charlie's unwillingness to share the details of her flashforward. Olivia and Mark suspect Charlie might have seen the man Olvia was sleeping with in her flash, and the two decided they should strong together, for their family's sake. Olivia returns to the hospital, with Charlie, where she promises she will fix her ripped toy. As she is working on the toy, Lloyd Simcoe enters, and thanks her for saving his son's life. Seeing his face, Olivia realizes he is the man from her flash. Olivia avoids answering any of Lloyd's questions, and refers him to her colleague, Bryce.

Olivia and Charlie are about to leave the hospital, when they walk by the Simcoes' room. Olivia asks Charlie is she recognizes Lloyd, to which Charlie declines; on the other hand, Charlie recognizes Dylan, and expresses her concern on his visibly injured state, demanding to know who tried to hurt him. Olivia shares the recent events with Mark, and reassures him that the flash did not last long enough for Lloyd to see her face, thus not recognizing her as the woman who was sleeping with him. As Olivia is about to leave the hospital, she comes across Lloyd, who is too nervous to speak to his son, as he is the only parental figure he has. Olivia simply advises him to tell Dylan that he loves him. Back at home, Olivia asks Mark if telling him about her flash was the right thing to do. Mark assures her that it was, believing they should not keep anything from one another. Olivia notices Mark started a fire in the fireplace, not noticing a burning friendship bracelet - one that Mark was wearing in his flashforward, when he was clearly back to his alcoholic days. ("White to Play")

When Mark leaves for Germany to question a prisoned Nazi who claims to answers, Olivia is having lunch with Stan's wife, Felicia, discussing their husbands and their visions. While Felicia shares what she was in her flashforward, Olivia remembers her own grim future. Olivia later attends a memorial service for the officers killed during the blackout. ("137 Sekunden")

Olivia and Bryce receive Edward Ned, a survivor of a bus crash which occurred during the blackout, claiming that in his flash he saw himself with a dark skin, much more confident and happy than he is in his life before the blackout. While discussing his case, Olivia is annoyed with Bryce's rambling about the man's flash, and confronts him about missing his meeting with the psychiatrist Olivia arranged him to meet with. As Olivia threatens him that he will be let go of if he does not attend him meetings, a tray with food is tossed outside one of the rooms, with Lloyd running after it, covered with coffee. He simply apologizes, with Olivia walking away, demanding from Bryce to make sure Lloyd's son is moved to physical therapy, and out of her section. She instructs him to preform Ned's scanning if no one else in the hospital can do it.

In the cafeteria, Olivia comes face to face with Lloyd, who apologizes again about Dylan's behavior, and shares with her the difficulties of taking care of Dylan and his lack of sleep. Olivia comments that he should not be sleeping at the hospital, and Lloyd further reveals that the police gave him his late wife's house keys. Olivia suggests Lloyd should visit Dylan's room, in an attempt to learn more about him. Just then, Bryce arrives and reports the completion of Ned's scanning. Olivia yet again instructs him to move Dylan to physical therapy. Olivia receives the results of the scan, and recognizes Ned's disorder as hematoma. While Bryce objects, referencing to Ned's description of his much darker skin in his flash, Olivia ignores him. After a quick research, Bryce concludes that Ned suffers from Addison's disease, which can cause a person's skin to turn darker. After an argument outside the operation room, Bryce comments on Olivia's ignorance of the flashes because of what she saw in her flash; Olivia dismisses him from the OR due to his comment. Midway through the surgery, Ned's blood pressure drops, causing his pulse to stop. When all the attempts of reviving him fail, Olivia decides to trust Bryce's conclusion, and orders her fellow doctors to inject Ned with hydrocortisone, due to his adrenal crisis. This last moment decision saves Ned's life.

After the surgery, Olivia and Bryce agree they were both wrong with the decisions they made. Olivia asks again about Bryce's emotional condition, and Bryce assures her that he is alright. ("Black Swan")

After hearing a conversation between Mark and Aaron, who advised him to attend the AA meetings, Olivia questions Aaron regarding Mark's alcoholism. Aaron reminds her that if she cannot trust Mark, she cannot trust anyone. Later that day, Olivia receives an anonymous text message, revealing to her that Mark was drinking in his flashforward. ("Gimme Some Truth")

Trivia[]




Main Characters of FlashForward
Mark BenfordDemetri NohLloyd SimcoeBryce VarleyNicole KirbySimon CamposAaron StarkStanford WedeckOlivia BenfordJanis Hawk
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