Tragic villainess Mary Hofstedter
Mary Hofstedter (Krista Bridges) is the tragic main villainess from "Grand Slam," the second-ever episode of Ransom (airdate January 7, 2017). She is the ex-wife of hospital employee Marvin Hofstedter, and the mother of their young son, Gabriel.
Gabriel was diagnosed with Pompe's disease, requiring him to have treaments for the remainder of his life. The medication cost $300,000 a year, and insurance companies wouldn't pay. The Hofstedters filed for bankruptcy two years before the events of the episode, leading to Mary and Marvin divorcing. When the couple heard about Jaquon Lewis, a famous baseball player, needing a bone marrow transplant due to a leukemia diagnosis, the couple used this in a plan to get the money for Gabriel's treatments.
Mary abducted Lisa Newham, after seeing her and her sister, Kim, showing their support for Jaquon. Marvin had known that Lisa was a match, but kept it hidden so he could help Mary with the plan, which also included forcing Kim to posing as the actual donor. Lisa's blood was sent to the hospital, along with a demand of $6 million; all the while, Lisa was held captive at Mary's home. Following her meeting with Eric Beaumont, Kim met with Mary, which marked Mary's reveal. Mary was informed that getting the money was impossible, and that Jaquon could undergo chemo (which would leave Mary with nothing), Mary ordered Kim to continue doing what she was told; threatening to kill Lisa if she didn't comply.
Lisa's attempt to escape was thwarted by Mary, who pointed a gun at her victim before tying her up. Lisa pleaded with Mary, stating that she was trying to help and killing her wouldn't help Jaquon or Gabriel, leading to Mary responding that she wouldn't want to live if she couldn't help her own son. Zara Hallam and Maxine Carlson's search of the home revealed Mary as the main mastermind as well as her motive, and in the episode's climax, Eric and Oliver Yates visited Mary, who pointed a gun at the pair. Regarding Mary's demand for the money, Eric stated that there was never any money, with Oliver revealing that Jaquon's signing bonus was voided after his illness--a fact the couple didn't know. Feeling that there was no way Gabriel could be saved, a despondent Mary pointed the gun at herself, only for Eric to tell her that Jaquon's teammates would donate money in a fund for Gabriel, but only if Jaquan gets his transplant. Mary agrees, and she is later arrested (off-screen) for her actions.
Trivia[]
- Despite having a Freudian Excuse, Mary Hofstedter was Ransom's very first villainess.
- Krista Bridges also played an unnamed villainess on The Hitchhiker, villainous Special Agent Kelly Raskin on The Dresden Files, as well as abusive mother Mary Jacobson in House at the End of the Street, and she later played villainess Sister Nora in 2017's Sometines the Good Kill, and evil conspirator Rebecca Gold in 2018's Her Stolen Past.