Angie

Angela Cortland is a major character. She was a regular character in Season 1, and later returned as a recurring character in the shows Sixth Season. Angie is Adam's half sister, and the mother of Danny, as well as the first Mystery Character to appear on the show.

Development
Angie was one of the first characters idealized for the show. Angie was written as a head strong, independent female lead, who would do anything to protect the ones she loves, with the layers unravelling as time went on. Written as an outsider, her story was to try to adapt a normal life, whilst hiding from her past, yet not getting to close to anyone as she could disappear at any moment. The idea was to bring two characters together (Jake and Angie) who were very different, but also very similar. She was written as the First Seasons mystery, and though her sole storyline takes place in the first season, the intention was to have her story and actions follow in subsequent seasons - though this was only followed through in the Second and Sixth Seasons. She was also written to act as a surrogate mother for Jake. Originally Angie was written as a mute character, and have a husband who was on the run with her, but the writers decided to change this as they wanted to bring Jake and Angie close together, and thought having her be alone would make her more inclined to open up to someone else. Angie was always intended to be on the run from Patrick, though the details as to why were changed on multiple occasions. First it was due to an explosion, then because she had lied about Danny being his child, until finally the bank robbery was settled on.

During her development, the writers toyed with the idea of her being an undercover police officer, with the intent of bringing down a syndicate. It would be in the Season One finale when Patrick was killed, federal police agents would swarm her house, and take her and Danny into protective custody and disappear. She would then appear in the final season once it was deemed safe for her to return. However, due to the logistics behind this, and the fact it would make it harder to bond with Jake, they decided to go back to their original idea.

The writers felt a constant struggle writing her storyline with Jake due to their age gap. Realistically, a grown woman with a dark secret could only confide so much in a young teenager, so they had to get creative in how to make it seem realistic. To do this, they made sure Angie was apprehensive to let anyone into her life at first, but once she realised Jake could be a good asset, she would start to open up to him. Jake's negative outlook on life would draw him into Angie's web, as he didn't see much point to life, or see anyone as his family. Though not written into the show, the writers have said that Angie initially planned on using Jake for his money if she ever was troubled, but soon started caring for him once he opened up to her.

Trivia

 * The connection between Adam and Angie was always apparent on the show. The writers carefully picked out the names and actions for both characters to see if any of the fans were able to make he connection between the two before it was revealed.
 * The first clue was that both characters names began with the letter A.
 * The second clue was when Adam moved into Angie's house after she left.
 * The third clue was that each character was the first adult character Jake befriended in their respective seasons.
 * The fourth clue, and the most obscure one, was that by cutting, turning, and rearranging the letters in both "Adam" and "Angie", the names "Angie" and "Adam" could be built from both names, respectively.
 * The fifth and final clue was within their last names, Angie's being Cortland, and Adam's being Apple - a cortland is a type of apple.
 * Originally, Angie was going to be a mute character, and have a husband.