Played by: Tom Riley

First Appearance: Touched

Augustus Bidlow is Lavinia’s younger brother, a mild‑mannered aristocrat whose turn allows him to exchange minds with corvids — first slipping into their perspective, then eventually commanding entire flocks with unsettling ease. Augie’s connection to birds began long before the Galanthi’s arrival: childhood outings with Lavinia and Hugo, teenage obsessions with ornithology, and a lifelong fascination with avian behaviour. When the Galanthi’s light touched him in 1896, he collapsed like so many others, forgetting the event entirely. But the dreams followed — dreams of flight, of black wings, of seeing the world from above — until one day he woke to find the dream was real. His mind was in the sky, and the crow beneath him obeyed.

By 1899, Augie is a Touched man who refuses to recognise himself as one. He is frightened by the crows gathering outside his window, embarrassed by his connection to Mary Brighton’s song, and deeply conflicted about his place in a society that views the Touched as curiosities or threats. His relationship with Penance Adair is tender but fraught: they bond over invention and wonder, yet Lavinia’s warning — that Penance’s reputation, heritage, and status make her unacceptable — crushes Augie’s courage. He retreats, ashamed, and later confesses his guilt to Penance in a moment of vulnerability that reveals how deeply he longs for connection. His friendship with Hugo Swann is equally complicated, as Hugo manipulates Augie’s good nature to secure the Bidlow name for the Ferryman’s Club, pulling him into a world he barely understands.

Augie’s journey becomes more decisive as the conflict around the Touched intensifies. He sends flowers for Mary’s funeral, helps Penance investigate the truth behind her death, and ultimately chooses sides when the Orphanage splits between Amalia’s mission to reach the Galanthi and Penance’s plan to rescue Maladie. Augie follows Amalia, using his corvids to scatter soldiers and protect the drilling team beneath the Royal Military base. His power, once a source of confusion, becomes a tool of resistance. Yet he remains gentle, hesitant, and painfully aware of the moral weight of every choice he makes. In a world defined by fear and manipulation, Augustus Bidlow stands as one of the Touched who never sought greatness — only understanding — and whose quiet courage emerges not from strength, but from finally deciding who he wants to be.

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