In Lockwood & Co., George befriends Pamela Joplin, but he is unaware that the person he trusts is the mastermind behind the theft of the bone glass. Joplin is played by Louise Brealey.
Lockwood & Co. are approached by two people, Joplin and Saunders, to handle an unmarked grave that might contain a Type Two ghost at the Kensal Green cemetery. The agency takes the assignment because it sounds adventurous to Lockwood and they need funds.
Pamela Joplin is a researcher. When she meets Lockwood & Co. for the first time, she instantly hits it off with George, as they are both researchers who do not like the database at Fittes. With time, they realize they have a lot in common.
At the cemetery, Joplin’s job is to look at burial records to look for traumatic causes of death in order to judge the chances of ghosts arising in graves.
Joplin’s relationship with George
When George and his friends open the casket and contain the source, Joplin comes there to see if there are any identifying markers in the casket that would help her discover the identity of the person whose grave they have dug up.
George takes her inside the iron circle, something that he should not do with a client. The whole situation excites her because she craves to be a part of a team. She, along with George, might have been hurt if it was not for Lucy, who saved them.
When George goes to the archives to learn more about Bickerstaff, he runs into Joplin. She is on the board and gets him entry, even though the archive is full. Later, she invites him to have dinner at her apartment.
George recognizes the artifacts in her house. He likes it there because he feels like she understands him; he can show off his knowledge when he is with her.
They discuss their research subjects, and Joplin reveals that she never had talent. She would have loved to experience what George has with his friends, but she can only study it.
George has not talked to anyone about looking at the mirror, which is the bone glass, but he opens up to her about it. She admits that she wants to look again and know more, just like him.
As George completely trusts her, he invites her over to help him with Bickerstaff’s papers. He chooses to stay back and study with her instead of going to the ball with his friends. He even tells her about their plan to get the bone glass.
Joplin meets George at a time when he is vulnerable. He feels like a third wheel when he is with Lucy and Lockwood. Then Joplin, who is very similar to him, comes into the picture and makes him feel accepted.
It is no wonder that George opens up to her easily, as he is under the influence of the bone glass and has been feeling lonely.
Joplin’s involvement in the theft
Joplin is furious when the bone glass gets stolen by relic men. However, her involvement only becomes clear when George calls her instead of taking the bone glass to Barnes.
He meets her at the cemetery, but he still has his doubts. Joplin uses his weakness again by saying that his friends might be more talented, but he is the only one who will go down in history for experimenting on the bone glass with her.
When Kipps interrupts them, she takes him hostage. George realizes that she had planned to use him for the experiment if Kipps had not shown up.
She brings Bickerstaff’s body there to let him watch the experiment. He always wanted to see what lies beyond the world of the living, but he had used adults for his experiments, not knowing that only young people have the ability to see it.
When she comes to know that Kipps has lost his talent, George sees a dagger in his hand that looks exactly like the one that was used to stab Jack Carver. George knows that it was one of the Mughal daggers that come in pairs.
George finally puts the pieces together at the same time when Lucy and Lockwood realize that Joplin has been driven insane by the bone glass. She had hired Jack Carver to steal the glass for her and stabbed him when he sold it to Winkman instead.
She would have killed George in her experiment if Lucy had not sacrificed herself to save him. Joplin agrees to use Lucy, as she is more talented than George.
George ruins her experiment by pushing aside the glass to save Lucy. Joplin finally looks at the glass and sees something that she describes as beautiful, wonderful, and extraordinary. The bone glass seems to pull her into it.
When the spirits escape the glass, it breaks, and the resulting blast kills Joplin, who has completely lost her sanity at this point.
Joplin looks like an unassuming and harmless woman; no one suspects her at all. She is a person who lives in the books. Apart from the glass’ influence, her curiosity to learn more might have played a part in her fanatical efforts to get a glimpse of the eternal.
Also Read: Lockwood & Co. ending explained: What happens to the bone glass?