- “You've always been a slave, Justine. You just couldn't see the chains.”
- ―Wesley Wyndam-Pryce[src]
Justine Cooper was a vampire hunter and follower of Daniel Holtz.
Biography
Justine Cooper was a young woman who became a bitter vampire hunter and borderline alcoholic after her twin sister, Julia Cooper, was killed by vampires. Unable to cope with the death of Julia, Justine turned to alcohol and roamed graveyards at night, killing any vampire she encountered.
She was the first vengeful soul that Holtz recruited in his battle against Angel. After having her hand impaled with an ice pick for hours, she reluctantly joined the cause and formed a bond with him. Justine sought out others that, like herself and Holtz, lost loved ones to vampires and were consumed by their desire for revenge. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, who was meeting in secret with Holtz in order to protect Connor, tried to reach out and turn Justine away from Holtz. Instead, Justine deceived Wesley and slit his throat in order to kidnap Connor and deliver him to Holtz.
Justine under Holtz' wing
After a standoff amongst the members of Wolfram & Hart, Angel, and Sahjhan, Holtz abandoned Justine and jumped into the hell dimension, Quor'toth. Justine, amazed and saddened, rallied the remaining members of Holtz's militia to kill Angel. She failed, but hours later, she imprisoned the demon Sahjhan in a Resikhian Urn as revenge for trapping Holtz in Quor-Toth.
Upon his return to Earth, Holtz was found Justine and prompted her to kill him. She stabbed him in the throat with an ice pick, making the wounds resemble a vampire bite mark. Following Holtz's last wish, she framed Angel for the killing by telling Connor that Angel was the one who killed Holtz. She then aided Connor in his plan to trap Angel at the bottom of the ocean.
In the following months, Justine was kidnapped by Wesley, who imprisoned her in a closet, bound and gagged, with only a little food and a bucket. Reluctantly, she helped him find the metal box in which she and Connor put Angel, while at the same time, Justine taunted Wesley by telling him he had turned to evil, "banging the enemy and keeping slave girl in his closet". Wesley countered by telling her that she had been a slave to Holtz and to her own desire for revenge. Wesley had broken Justine to the point of being capable to dissuade her from attacking him by threatening to take away her bucket.
Justine in Wesley's captivity
Back on land and with Angel released, Wesley cuffed Justine to a railing. She taunted Wesley once more, telling him Angel would turn on him. Wesley merely threw her the key to her cuffs and told her she had the choice of moving on with her life or continue to be a slave. Presumably, she chose to move on with her life, as she did not cause trouble for Angel Investigations afterward.
Behind the Scenes
- Justine Cooper was portrayed by Laurel Holloman.
- The character was created because Elisabeth Röhm, who had portrayed Kate Lockley in Season 1 and 2, was unavailable.
Apperances
- "Dad"
- "Provider"
- "Loyalty"
- "Sleep Tight"
- "Forgiving"
- "Benediction"
- "Tomorrow"
- "Deep Down"