| Gwendolyn Hayes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name: | Gwendolyn Hayes |
| Title: | High ranking member of Codex Titan Auntie Gwen |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Born: | Unknown |
| Dies: | May 8th, 2020 |
| Originally From: | Mission City, California, USA |
| Current Location: | Unknown |
| Husband: | None |
| Interests: | Science Technology |
| Parents: | Unknown |
| Family: | Ellen MacGyver, née Hayes (Sister/Deceased) Angus MacGyver (Nephew) |
| Children: | None |
| Education: | MIT Harvard |
| languages: | Numerous |
| Affiliations: | Codex |
| Physical Description | |
| Height: | 5’10 |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Episode Count: | 3 |
| Character Information | |
| First appearance: | Father + Son + Father + Matriarch |
| Portrayed by: | Jeri Ryan |
| GALLERY | |
"If we do nothing everyone dies. If we act, yes we'd lose millions but we'd save everyone else. The time for playing heroes is over Angus. We have to be gods now, which sometimes means doing the unthinkable. Once you accept that, the rest will be much easier. Every cause has an effect my boy. It is time to unleash the hurricane" Gwen Hayes Father + Son + Father + Matriarch
Gwendolyn Hayes was a former U.S. covert operative of the Department of External Services (DXS) and the former Second-in-Command of Codex, a centuries-old scientific secret society/think-tank. She is the maternal aunt of Phoenix agent Angus MacGyver, the younger sister of Angus MacGyver’s mother and the former sister-in-law of James MacGyver. A brilliant physicist, Hayes was once one of the top scientific operatives for DXS, rivaled only by her elder sister and her soon-to-be brother-in-law James; she was to the DXS what Angus is to the Phoenix Foundation today. Despite her successes with DXS, Hayes became disillusioned with the agency due to the continuing degradation of the world at large and the blatant misuse of science. This caused her to be targeted by Codex for recruitment which she accepted, bringing with her a number of other operatives including her sister who with them had formulated a secret blueprint plan to topple civilisation and reset humanity, a plan which Codex seized upon. This resulted in Hayes and her associates being targeted for assassination though Hayes managed to secretly escape the attempt, whereupon she devoted herself completely to Codex and her sister's plan. At the end of season 4, She loses trust in Leland when he orders the deaths of multiple Codex agents to eliminate Angus Macgyver and Riley Davis after discovering him communicating with Russ Taylor. When Codex attempts to detonate a nuke beneath the dam at Yellowstone National Park so the pressure will trigger an eruption that will cause famine killing millions of people that was a part of File 47. She stays behind to manually turn it off foiling Codex's plan.
Background[]
Gwen was born in Mission City, California on an unknown date to unknown parents as their second child. Nothing is known about her early life other than that she was very close with her elder sister, with whom she shared a passion for science. Her bright mind, apparent from an early age, enabled her to study at some of the top institutions in the world, allowing her to become a top-of-the-line physicist with specialties in astrophysics and experimental physics.
Due to her impressive scientific credentials, Hayes was courted by the OPI shortly before it's transition into DXS as was her sister. With training she quickly became an invaluable asset to the agency with an impressive reputation for success. However, Hayes eventually became unsettled by the agency's direction of science towards military applications as well as the continuous degradation of the world due to the selfish actions of humanity, a sentiment her sister shared.
In the late 1980's, her sister caught the eye of DXS legend James MacGyver, whom she went on to marry and with whom she had a son Angus. Though Hayes loved and cared deeply for her nephew, she remained convinced that humanity had to be reset in order to survive and give the world a chance to heal itself, thereby allowing for a redirection of science away from warfare and subversion. She and her sister gathered around themselves a small group of like-minded DXS agents with similar leanings and secretly discussed ways of resetting humanity. As a result, Hayes' sister formulated a thought-project code-named File 47, a sophisticated albeit apocalyptic brain-storm scenario in which a series of engineered natural disasters would be triggered at so-called pressure points around the world which would cause human society to crumble and allow it to be rebuilt anew. Unbeknownst to the group, the secret scientific conglomerate Codex had caught wind of their plans and was getting ready to target them for recruitment.
In and around 1995 however, through unknown circumstances, the cell's existence became known to the then DXS Director of Operations James MacGyver who immediately informed the CIA but insisted that his wife be spared any repercussions in return. The CIA, alarmed by the group's plans and their capabilities, ignored James' pleas and decided to put an end to the entire splinter cell once and for all. Each one in the group was targeted for assassination by way of staged accidents, including Hayes and her sister. Though her sister was killed in a car crash, Hayes survived her staged plane crash though official records stated that she died in the accident. Following this, she was saved, healed, co-opted and recruited by Codex, whom she saw as humanity's only hope for survival. She also brought with her File 47, which Codex enthusiastically adopted as official company policy.
Now free of restraint and filled with rage over James' betrayal, Hayes gave herself over entirely to Codex and worked around the clock to prove her worth, which caused her to ascend the ranks of the organization rapidly. By 2018, Hayes was the second-highest ranking official in Codex and, under her tenure, stepped up the plan outlined in File 47.
Season 4[]
Soccer + Desi + Merchant + Titan[]
The Merchant had a meeting with her at a soccer game where he promised to win money for Codex from gambling. The Merchant sneaked a decoy of Titan who was actually a gentleman as a diversion. This caused Bozer and Russ to attack him only to find out it was a decoy while in the bleachers The Merchant and Titan talked about the funds. When the plan to use Desi to sabotage the team failed Titan and The Merchant fled. However, the Phoenix Foundation looked at cameras and saw Titan looked like Matilda Webber.
Right + Wrong + Both + Neither[]
While Russ interrogated Matty, Riley discovered the computers were hacked and the footage was affected. Riley claimed Codex was trying to turn the Phoenix agents against each other.
Father + Son + Father + Matriarch[]
Gwen is finally shown after capturing Angus and James MacGyver aling with Elliot Mason.
Personality[]
Gwen possesses a very sassy and snarky personality. Outwardly, she is very friendly, outgoing, pleasant, mischievous and witty, even when talking to people she is holding captive. Like many trained operatives however she is very controlled and level-headed even in crisis situations. She is a natural leader as evidenced by Codex operatives following her instructions without question or hesitation. Unlike James who tends to be blunt with people, Gwen prefers to psychologically manipulate to lull people into a false sense of security. Her loyalty to Codex is absolute as is her belief in their philosophy regarding science and humanity. As a scientist, she is a determined boundary-pusher, convinced that scientific advancement for its own sake is the only way forward, even referring to it as the MacGyver/Hayes family business.
Underneath however, Gwen is a cold, calculating, merciless sociopath who holds a profound hatred for humanity for not just abusing science but for destroying the natural world and then silencing those who seek to fix it. She genuinely believes that killing millions to save billions is the morally right thing to do without any regard for the suffering caused by such action on innocent people. She views scientists as gods who must make hard decisions in order to keep humanity from killing itself, disdaining the view that scientists should be heroes, saving the world but not actually changing it. She also doesn't hesitate to threaten the lives of people she holds captive. Ultimately, Gwen sees herself and Codex as a force for good and claims that she doesn't actually want to hurt any innocents at all but she is willing to if it means saving the world.
Gwen cares deeply about her family in the biological sense; she shared a strong bond with her sister and she still loves and cares deeply for her nephew Angus but no so much for her brother-in-law James. Gwen admires Angus' intellect and scientific abilities and seeks to turn him against the Phoenix, thus priming him for membership with Codex and having him by her side as they enact File 47 together. She tries to get him to see the logic in her plan by showing him scientific data proving her assumptions about the fate of the earth and of humanity if left unchecked; essentially using science as a tool to manipulate her nephew.
Skills and Abilities[]
- Peak of Human Physical Conditioning: As a veteran intelligence agent, Gwen is in top physical condition and possesses great levels of physical strength, endurance, stamina and agility.
- Genius-Level Intellect: Gwen possesses an extraordinarily potent intellect which is rivalled only by her sister, Elliot Mason and the MacGyvers. Possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of every conceivable branch of physics, Gwen has proven smart enough to trick, outwit and out-think the MacGyvers numerous times as well some of their smartest opponents and create point-perfect contingency plans for any situation.
- Multiligual: In addition to English, Gwen can speak several other languages including French, Spanish, German, Portugese, Italian, Russian and Chinese.
- Explosives Expert: Because of her exemplary scientific knowledge Gwen is an expert in explosives, not only able to diffuse intricate explosives, but also make them by knowing what materials are needed to create an explosive reaction.
- Master Spy: Due to her years of espionage experience, Gwen is a world-class spy operative and a master of deception, infiltration, sabotage, role-playing and concealment.
- Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Due to her many decades of experience with DXS, Gwen is an extremely formidable hand-to-hand combatant.
- Master Strategist/Tactician/Leader: Gwen is a master of tactics, formulating strategies on any scale to bring down individuals and/or organizations at a moments notice and leadership judging by her successes with Codex.
Trivia[]
- Her use of glasses indicates that she is far-sighted.
- Although being the head of Codex, when Angus MacGyver was born she was once against File 47. Most likely she flipped in honor of her late sister, Ellen MacGyver.
- She is very fond of the myth of Icarus.
- She has been watching over Angus his whole life similar to his father.
- Gwen's callous treatment of James indicates that she was not particularly close with him despite him being her brother-in-law.
- Her Codex code-name is Titan.
- She does not drink alcohol.
- She is ambidextrous.
- Gwen sucessfully set a trap to capture both of the MacGyvers and Elliot Mason in one go, a feat previously thought impossible even by those in Codex.
- She is 7 years younger than Angus' mother.
- MacGyver producer Craig O'Neill described Gwen as "Mac's long-lost maternal aunt who is the closest thing to a mother that Mac has left" and "a former star of DXS who grew sick of being ordered to build bigger and better weapons for humanity when the world clearly needed saving from humanity; a die-hard science-purist who is fully prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure humanity and the world survives in the long run".
- Gwen has 2 PhDs.