In November 2020, the professional wrestling world said goodbye to multi-time champion Neils Gram, notoriously known by the name Spiral. In the statement released by his estate, he revealed that he and his deceased wife Jackie Moreau, whom he was rumored to have murdered, had a son named Nathan. Nathan was given up for adoption by his mother in hopes of hiding his existence from Spiral. Nathan Grey later changed his name to Jack Moreau in tribute to his birth mother. He is a professional wrestler signed to UPRISING.

Spiral also had a second child, a woman named Yelena Gorgo of Moldova. Unlike Nathan/Jack, she knew her father. Though her lineage was kept secret, he would visit her regularly and helped mold her into the woman she is today. This is her story.

unreliable narrator
1. (literary theory) A narrating character or storyteller in a literary or other artistic work—such as a novel, play, song, or film—who provides inaccurate, misleading, conflicting, or otherwise questionable information to the reader or audience.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SERIES ONE

O N E
A DOWNWARD SPIRAL

T W O
PRETTY LITTLE THING

T H R E E
HIS HOUSE

F O U R
MY BROTHERS KEEPER

F I V E
THE DEAL

S I X
CHOKEHOLD

S E V E N
THE WOMAN WHO LAUGHS

E I G H T
托鉢笠 TAKUHATSUGASA

N I N E
TOXIC

T E N
THE WHITE RABBIT

E L E V E N
NEO TOKYO

T W E L V E
ASCENSION

T H I R T E E N
RUMBLE

I N T E R L U D E
FACE THE MUSIC

I N T E R L U D E
FACE THE MUSIC
(EXTENDED CUT)

F O U R T E E N
THE PROPOSAL

O N E
THE NEGOTIATION

T W O
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

T H R E E
WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT?

F O U R
AMBITIOUS

F I V E
AN ABRIDGED HISTORY

S I X
SCAR

S E V E N
COFFEE TALK

I N T E R L U D E
ARI KATZ: PRIVATE DICK

E I G H T
HEART

N I N E
LOOSE END

T E N
HEAT

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
DECEMBER 12, 2024

CHARACTER CREDITS
(in order of appearance)

ANNIE THORISDOTTIR as YELENA GORGO

Gorgo is the daughter of decorated pro wrestler and mixed martial artist Spiral (birth name Niels Gram). To date her lineage is still unknown to the general public. She came to America to exact a manner of revenge against those who contributed to her father’s downfall while using a career as a wrestler as cover. UPRISING star Jack Moreau is her half brother.

Prior to his death, her father gave her a list of names and an accounting of their sins against him with one simple request: kill them all.

Gorgo sees and speaks with another version of herself which she refers to as the “Other Me.” This alternative Gorgo is always seen smiling and when she spears her voice is distorted, like her words have went through a grinder. Occasionally the Other Gorgo is allowed to share control of their body, during which time they refer to themself in plural.

MADS MIKKELSEN as SPIRAL

Born Neils Gram, Spiral was a professional wrestler who later expanded to less-than-legal cage fighting. His career began in the late 90s and over his two decades in the spotlight he held numerous championships and accolades in dozens of companies. He was married once to a woman named Jacqueline Moreau who took her own life by suicide in 2007.

In the late 2010s, Spiral was publicly accused of having killing Jacqueline by New Orleans homicide investigator Alexandra Dupin and the City Attorney. It was never proven in a court of law, but he was committed twice to Ascension Asylum, a notorious psychiatric hospital in Louisiana. Some still believe he might have killed her but most wrestling fans deny the authenticity. He died of brain cancer in early November, 2020.

AMY LEE as JACQUELINE MOREAU

A former wrestler, Jackie died by an apparently self-induced gunshot wound in 2007. It was ruled a suicide but some members of New Orleans law enforcement believed her husband, Spiral, killed her and staged the scene, most notably Alexandra Dupin. Jackie was the mother of Nathan Grey, who now goes by the name Jack Moreau in honor of his mother. After he was born, she quickly gave him up for adoption to a distant relative in Arizona in order to hide him from Spiral. She told her husband that she lost the baby while he was on tour in Europe.

VIGOR MORTENSEN as TIBOR PETROV

Petrov was a Russian mobster who ran The Circuit, a worldwide underground fighting league that catered to oligarchs and the wealthy elites who had grown bored with the humdrum of normal life and desired to see men and women beat one another to near death for blood money. He was later captured and convicted by INTERPOL, after which he turned witness. Spiral in particular blamed Petrov’s testimony as one reason for his imprisonment at Ascension. Fearing reprisal, Petrov attempted to have Spiral assassinated on two separate occasions, but failed both times.

ALEX HØGH ANDERSEN as NATHAN GREY

Nathan, who professionally went by the name Jack Moreau, is the only son of Spiral and Jackie Moreau. As a baby, Jackie gave him up to distant relatives to raise as their own in order to hide him from his real father. He didn’t learn who his real parents were until Spiral’s death, after which the estate released a statement stating that Nathan Grey was his son and heir to his fortune. He himself suffers from schizophrenia, for which he has to take medication. During his first entry into UPRISING he was not doing so, leading to bizarre and troubling behavior. He recommitted himself to his mental health and changed his in-ring name to honor his mother after winning the UPRISING championship to prove he was not his father’s son. He remained unaware of Gorgo’s existence until she signed with UPRISING, and even still, did not know they were blood related.

In November, 2022, Nathan, heavily under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs, stepped in front of a bus in downtown Las Vegas. He suffered several life threatening injuries but survived, if you can call it that. He is now wheelchair bound and unable to communicate without aid of an eye-tracking computer or letterboard.

He recently regained the ability to speak but remains bedridden. His doctor, under the direction of Gorgo, has withheld treatment for his schizophrenia, leaving him locked in a near constant state of hallucinations and delusions.

PARKER POSEY as ALEXANDRA DUPIN

Former New Orleans homicide detective turned true crime author Alex Dupin crusaded against Spiral ever since Jackie died. She still does not believe it was a suicide and has spent considerabe effort trying to convince the world that Spiral was the definition of evil. In the weeks following his death she released a nonfiction novel presenting what she believed happened between Spiral and Jackie. The book itself was successful, even briefly appearing on the NY Times bestseller list, but many critics came out to condemn the book, claiming it to be a smear campaign over sour grapes by members of the New Orleans law enforcement community. Her follow up book, Pretty Little Thing, was a flop, leaving her desperate for a familiar subject to write about and willing to risk everything to get it.

Her life came to an end when Gorgo lured her into Spiral’s fault beneath his old house in New Orleans. She was left to die alone in the dark, sealed in a tomb surrounded by thousands of Spiral’s notebooks to help her pass the time if she dared to read.

VICTOR GARBER as MR. QUINLAN

Jack’s estate attorney who orders the DNA test to prove Gorgo is, in fact, his half-sister. When the results came back conclusive, he oversaw the transition of Jack’s estate, including power of attorney, to Gorgo, giving he total control over the massive fortune her brother inherited from their father.

TOM ELLIS as RICK RAVENSWOOD

Mr. Ravenswood is a successful businessman with an ax to grind. In order to swiftly take control of UPRISING, he made a deal with Gorgo to devalue the company’s stock so that he could buy it for the cheap from the beleaguered Larry Gowan. However, once the transaction was complete and Rick had exactly what he wanted, he no longer needed to keep his promises to Gorgo.

THEO ROSSI as ASH DEVEREAUX

The Head EMT of UPRISING is one of those people that everyone likes and no one has a bad word to say about him. Unfortunately, everyone has secrets, and Ash has helped conceal a massive lie.

KAYLEY CUOCO as GRETCHEN DEVEREAUX

Ash’s wife and lead interviewer for UPRISING.

REGINA KING as JAMARIE MONÁE

Nathan’s live-in nurse and Gorgo’s occasional lover. She cares for Nathan and his well-being and despite her several concerts regarding his treatment plan she remains his primary care provider.

HIROYUKI SANADA as SHŌGUN FUKUYAMA

The mysterious Shōgun Fukuyama claims to be a businessman but clearly wields power greater than what he claims. He summoned Gorgo to a meeting the night before signing her new contract with Miracle Galaxy Pro to call in a debt owed by her father. Fulfill his promise, and Gorgo will receive his support in her new career in Japan. Refuse, and he may prove a dangerous enemy.

HENRY GOLDING as KAITO

Kaito is Fukuyama’s emissary and translator. He speaks impeccable English with a general American accent, hinting to an education abroad.

RINKO KIKUCHI as YAPONCHIK

Yaponchik’s history is blood soaked and brutal. She originally crossed path’s with Gorgo’s father in the late 2000s when he was part of the international underground fight ring called The Circuit. Yaponchik at the time worked for Russian mobster turned informant Tibor Petrov. After the Circuit’s collapse she disappeared for several years, only to turn up as Fukuyama’s most deadly enforcer.