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Day 4 Assignment
Reply to post your assignment.
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11 Replies
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Assignment 1:
What I learned doing this assignment is that we must dig deeper into our characters to find additional layers. This will not only make them interesting, but allow more of the audience to relate with them and to intrigue them enough to follow characters not just through the first episode (pilot) but throughout the season.
Jack Young’s Intriguing Character Layers
Character: Harry Gardener
Role: Screenwriter, husband, and father
Hidden agendas: Harry has found a way to become a successful screenwriter that involves a magic pill
Conspiracies: Harry has entered a conspiracy with the town vampires to get what he wants (success).
Secrets: Harry is hiding from his family the source of his inspiration to now write masterpieces rather than the stale shit he was writing before.
Deception: Harry is deceiving his agent that he has newfound natural writing talent when it comes from a magic pill provided by vampires.
Wound: Harry has failed in the industry and is no more than a mediocre screenwriter at best and can be easily replaced.
Secret Identity: Harry discovers that with the help of the magic pill he is such a magnificent writer that famous directors want to direct his work for free.
ASSIGNMENT 2:
1. The journey of my show: From a man living in a doomed society (no-birth) who lost his job (insider trading), has a broken marriage (affair), and discovers he has terminal cancer to a man who can give his life to enter an energy that could possibly save mankind.
2. The main characters in the show: Michael Walker and Cronus.
A. Role in the show:
Michael: A 35 year old man who is tortured by the death of his brother and is dying from terminal cancer.
Cronus: A human/alien hybrid that is the ruler of the City of Seals on a planet in the middle of the universe.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
Michael: Expertise: Doesn’t feel that he has any, but he will discover it’s actually his love for his family and his ability to lead others and put everything on the line to protect them.
Purpose: To enter an energy stream that is stealing all of the souls from Earth (“No Birth” epidemic) and stop it to save mankind.
Irony: On the surface, Michael is not a religious man, and definitely not the person to risk his life, but his actions say otherwise.
Cronus: Expertise: Cronus is evil. He has power not seen until now and has learned to create technologies to enslave and torture mankind.
Purpose: To open six gigantic seals beneath the City of Seals that will bring on the end of mankind.
C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface?
Michael: He is having an affair with a prostitute that started just after his brother’s death and has a warrant out for his arrest for insider trading, for which he has jeopardized his job and all of his savings. He is also hiding the fact from his wife that he has constant headaches.
Cronus: Because Cronus has human DNA in his makeup, he has human complexities (Weaknesses) and likes/dislikes. He is a flawed (and sometimes unpredictable) adversary bent on Michael and mankind’s destruction.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
Michael: Michael has wanted to end the affair (a crutch for his brother’s death) and knew that the stock deal he got involved with was illegal.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Michael: With each step, Michael comes to discover that someone larger than him is at work and that everything that has happened has done so for a reason – to force him to enter the stream and stop Cronus.
Cronus: Cronus can be reckless and emotional due to his human DNA.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
Michael: He is a good father and deeply committed to taking care of his family. He has inoperable brain cancer.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Jack Young.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by
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Madeleine Vessel’s Intriguing Character Layers
Doing this assignment, I learned how to discover and uncover intriguing character layers.
Assignment 1:
Example Show: SUPERNATURAL
1. Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the places you’ve already seen Character Intrigue in the previous episodes.
– Secret: Both Sam and Dean keep secret what happened to their mother and to Sam’s girlfriend, Jessica.
– Secret: The siblings also keep hidden who their father is, a hunter of demons.
– Hidden Agenda: The siblings father is missing, but he has left a trail of breadcrumbs for the siblings to follow. We sense he has a hidden agenda. We wonder if he is dead.
– Competition: The siblings are in competition with different demons at every stop.
– Conspiracy and Deception: The siblings conspire together to investigate various unsolved murders, hiding their true identities, often pretending to be law enforcement officers.
– Wound: Both siblings are wounded from the loss of their mother to a terrifying demon and by their upbringings as hunters of demons. Sam is also wounded by the loss of his girlfriend to a demon.
2. Watch the next episode and see how Character Intrigue is being used to create the need to see more episodes.
– Deception: Dean and Sam pose as Home Security Agents.
– Wound: Sam can’t sleep because he has nightmares about his deceased girlfriend. The demon they’re trying to exorcise says it knows how Sam’s girlfriend died and tries to use that information to weaken Sam, but Dean steps in and puts Sam back on track with the exorcism.
– Secret: Dean reveals that he’s afraid of flying a few minutes before they are set to exorcise a demon in the sky.
– Hidden Agenda: They find out that the man who asked them for help contacted Dean because when he called the siblings’ father’s cell phone, the voice message said to call Dean at such and such a number.
Assignment 2:
Character Name: SophieRole: She is the heroine. Hidden agendas: On the surface she is an art history professor. Beneath the surface she is trying to find the art thief who was responsible for putting her father in the hospital and murdering her father’s fiancée.Competition: She is in competition with an art thief, who is also a murderer. She also is in competition with Bill, her father’s handler, who is trying to keep her safe.Conspiracies: She conspires with Bill to move forward with her plan to catch the thief and murderer.Secrets: Her secret is that she is using a false identity.Deception: She breaks the rules of witness protection to find the thief and murderer.Wound: Her mother did not defect with her and her father. She has abandonment issues.Secret Identity: She goes by the name Sophie Wolf, but her real name is Sofia Volkova.
Bill:
Character Name: BillRole: His role is to handle Zhora and protect Sophie.Hidden agendas: He uses Zhora as an informant in the Russian community, trying to eliminate the Russian crime organizations.Competition: He is in competition with Zhora, Sophie, and the art thief.Conspiracies: He conspires with Sophie to identify the art thief and bring him to justice.Secrets: On the surface, he is an organized Russian crime agent. Below the surface, he is handling a Russian informant and protecting the informant’s daughter, both of whom are in the U. S. witness protection program.Deception: He enters Russia as an expert on organized crime, hiding his true identity as an F.B.I Agent.Wound: His wife was killed by a hit and run accident while she was riding her bicycle.Secret Identity: An expert on organized crime who lectures for Interpol.
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Paula’s Intriguing Characters
What I learned from this assignment: There are many unexpected plot twists and inquiries into the main character’s (in Gossip Girl) motivations. For my characters, I learned about their backgrounds, needs, quirks and passions. Some of the conspiracies and deceptions seem untruthful to me but I guess I’ll learn more about them as the story progresses.
Serena in Gossip Girl – How is she intriguing?
She tries to cover up her passion for Nate and betrayal of Blair by running away without telling anyone where, why, or when she will return.
Cover up and hidden agenda: She is obviously in competition with Blair, shown by her hurting her on the soccer field and honing in on her discussion with the Yale rep. and not understanding why she was removed from her perch as the “It” girl. When Blair reveals that Serena is holding the secret of having slept with Nate, the other characters turn against her – secrets and conspiracy. Also, she pretends to like Dan when she really is still attracted to Nate – Deception. Secret Identity- We still don’t know where Serena is coming from, what her purpose is there, and if she really wants to re-unite with Blair or if that is just a front.
How is character intrigue being used to create the need to see more episodes?
This episode shows many sides of Serena. First, she helps her get the model job from her mother and seems to support her at the first shoot after she hears the photographer criticize Blair. Then we see her reveling in doing the shoot when she replaces Blair, although it is not of her own doing. It is questionable whether she really feels bad for Blair, or if that is just a show, because, as Blair’s mother says, “you love the spotlight; you always have.” She also blows off her date with Dan to stay with Blair. Is this to manipulate him to show him “who’s boss” or is it just a sincere mis-step? Serena always wants to come up smelling like a rose, but she does some really hurtful things to her so-called friends. We’re always left guessing at her real motivations.
Assignment 2: My Characters
Name: Tess (changed from Jessie), a tutor, college drop out in her 40’s, (changed age), looks for acceptance in the gang, desires Tony, a student in his late 20’s.
Hidden Agendas: She has a mad desire for Tony, and has a perfectionist, narcissistic mother who she is always trying to please subconsciously. Always labeled a nerd, she still wants to get with the cook kids, no matter what it takes. Calls herself a strong woman, wants to be financially free, convinces herself that by laundering money for the gang, she will get there
Competition: The myriad girlfriends of Tony, especially Bianca. Also John, Tony’s best friend, who is his fan and confidante.
Conspiracies: She tries to get Tony’s sister on her side, because the rest of the family and extended family hate her. She promises her gifts and money if she sides with her against them.
Secrets: Her baby brother has Down’s Syndrome, which fractured the family, the mother wanting to abandon him and the father and Tess standing by him. She also pretends she has a husband.
Deception: She continues to fulfill the nerd label as the thugs think it’s funny and degrading, but it keeps them from sexualizing her and raping her. She also keeps her feelings for tony hidden nad pretends she’s just doing the money laundering for her own profit.
Wound: that she never really had a normal baby brother that she could do things with and talk with.
Secret Identity: FBI Informant
Character Name: Tony
Role: In his late 20’s, baby-faced Latin drug dealer, risk-taker, the object of Tess’s affections. He’s a bad students, has no ambition outside the gand world and drugs. Has done prison time. He manipulates Tess to open tutoring business to launder drug money. Fearless.
Hidden Agendas: Wants to return to the Dominican Republic to live with his mother after he marries and makes a lot of $$. Has no plans to be with Tess in any way.
Competition: He does not entirely trust his best friend John, who is a raging coke addict. He fears he might try to take over the business, or at the very least, steal drugs for himself.
Conspiracies: Makes un of Tess with the other members of the gang and his various girlfriends. Calls her racist names behind her back and humiliates her for lack of sex appeal and for not being a drug addict.
Secrets: He only plays the role of tutoring student because his family wants him to. Meanwhile, he is always scheming as to how to get the next batch of coke. Knowing that Tess like him, he is seductive with her during the lessons.
Deception: He pays the childish Latino guy with almost everyone, so he appears innocent, but carries a pistol and thinks nothing of robbing people at gun point and breaking and entering. He first did time in juvie for breaking and entering and petty theft.
Wound: His father was a drug dealer and got killed in a gunfight which he witnessed when he was five.
Secret Identity: His real name is Eduardo, his parents are his adoptive parents, and his real mother is still in the Dominican Republic. He sends her money, telling her he has a well-paying job.
Name of Character: Bianca
Role – Tony’s on-again off-again girlfriend from his early teens.
Hidden agendas: She is a glam Latina in her 30’s and manipulates men to get material things, tries to manipulate Tony to let her be partner in drug ring. Tries to hide her extra-curricular sexual activities (prostitution) from everyone.
Competition: Tess, because she knows Tess is much smarter and business-savvy, and tries to ridicule her for her looks but is secretly jealous and scared she will win Tony away.
Conspiracies: With other Latina young women, and one older one who is a drug mule, she makes fun of Tess and paints here as a sexless coward, making it hard for Tess to interact with the gang. She calls her an old loser and makes everyone beieve it. She is also close with Tony’s parents who all oppose Tess anyway.
Secrets: Without a lot of make up and tight clothing she is just a plain, aging woman. So she has to always keep up the mask.
Deception: She appeaers to be a bimbo addict, but she has a fierce determination to marry Tony and live off his money and his family’s $$ for the rest of her life.
Secret Identity: sales rep for a jewelry company, from which she gets all her bling.
Character Name: John
Role: Tony’s best friend and confidante. In his 40’s.
Hidden Agendas: We are never sure if he is plotting to take over tony’s drug ring although he seems to be loyal to him. He likes hanging out with the gang because it gives him access to girls, which he can’t get on his own because he is socially awkward and shy.
Competition: Tess, who increasingly wins Tony’s favor with her shrewd business sense and accounting ability. He is suspicious of her because she’s not a greedy addict like the others. Sometimes he does fantasize about taking over the drug ring, but knows he will also have to deal with her.
conspiracies: Since he’s a long-time friend of Tony, he can go to Tony’s parens’ home to get the the latest gossip and hateful talk about Tess, and sometimes sees Bianca there also dishing about her. He can use this as fuel if she ever gets into trouble, and badmouth her to Tony.
Secrets: He’s a coward, and if he were ever in a violent situation, he would run rather than protect his friends or the stash.
Deception: Without the camaraderie of the gang, he would have no friends. He tries to appear macho, but is really a nerdy, spineless, aging man with no future.
Wound: His alcoholic father sexually abused him when he was a young child.
Secret Identity: He is bisexual and has a thing for Tony.
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George Petersen INTRIGUING CHARACTER LAYERS
What I learned doing this assignment is that by making your characters more intriguing, plot ideas seem to jell more naturally.
The Americans:
Character Name: Phillip
Role: Russian Spy
Hidden agendas: to dispose of the body of his wife’s spycraft trainer
Competition: Stan, the neighbor who is an FBI agent
Conspiracies: to work with fellow Russian agents to uncover American secrets
Secrets: drives around town with a trapped spy in his trunk
Deception: pretends to be a normal neighbor
Wound: not being able to speak one Russian word for fear of slipping up and revealing his true identity
Secret Identity: Spy
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The Red Ballot
Pinkerton:
Character Name: Alan Pinkerton
Role: owner/operator of a small detective agency in charge of making sure the President delivers his inaugural address on time and in one piece
Hidden agendas: to uncover the KGC plot to assassinate the President
Competition: the Chief of Police of New York, who is conducting a parallel investigation for political fame
Conspiracies: heads his team of spies trying to uncover the plot to assassinate the President
Secrets: he is the amicable businessman out to disrupt, imprison or, if necessary, kill those out to assassinate the President
Deception: he disguises himself as a jovial wealthy businessman who buys drinks and spreads his money around freely with the intention of getting people to talk
Wound: being forced to secretly leave Scotland because of his involvement in pro democratic activities
Secret Identity: Spy
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Kate
Character Name: Kate Warner
Role: the first female detective
Hidden agendas: to uncover the KGC plot to assassinate the President
Competition: Pinkerton. As they work their way through Baltimore high society, she’s out to discover more secrets than Pinkerton
Conspiracies: heads her own team of women spies.
Secrets: she is an attractive, fun loving young socialite out to disrupt, imprison or, if necessary, kill those out to assassinate the President
Deception: she disguises herself as a fun loving young socialite who hangs out at prestigious hotels and restaurants. She’s fond of wearing a dress covered with Confederate flags, complete with a matching umbrella. At a plush restaurant, she will publicly call out Pinkerton as a Yankee sympathizer in order to gain the confidence of her targets.
Wound: recently widowed and worried about her independence, she’s determined to prove that women make better spies than men.
Secret Identity: Spy
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Ferrandini the Barber:
Character Name: Cipriano Ferrandini
Role: head of the Baltimore chapter of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a secret society dedicated to the promotion of an international federation of slavery encircling the Gulf of Mexico.
Hidden agendas: to make certain, one way or another, that the President doesn’t make it through Baltimore alive.
Competition: competes against the disorganized, violent gangs of Baltimore for dominance over the plot to assassinate the President
Conspiracies: works secretly with KGC members to assassinate the President
Secrets: while he cuts your hair, he persuades you to reveal your deepest secrets. He’s the center of secret information in tinderbox Baltimore. Also, he has a history with pro fascist movements in Italy, which he hides.
Deception: he organizes a secret ballot, the winner of which will assassinate the President. Who will select the red ballot? No one is to ask or tell who the lucky winner is until after the killing. The lucky winner is to keep his status secret, so as to protect the integrity of the enterprise. It is in this context that he, unknown to anyone else, puts 8 red ballots into the drawing.
Wound: formerly arrested and ridiculed for a failed anti democratic conspiracy. Now he wants to get even, prove how smart and powerful he is.
Secret Identity: Spy
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Rafal’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is that asking absurd questions about the characters might give reasonable answers
ASSIGNMENT 1:
Madeline- Competition/ conspiracies organising Disney on Ice trip during Amabella’s birthday to compete Renate <div>
Celeste (secrets/ wound )- beating her husband
Jane (secret/ wound ) – she does not know her son’s father, she was abused
Renate (competition) – she makes Amabella distributing invitations for her birthday to every pupil but Ziggy on the first day of school.
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ASSIGNMENT 2
Character Name: Arcadia
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Role: „dying” grandma
Hidden agendas: bring her a depressed grandson Chris to a state where he will be independent and, as the heir of the clinic, he will stand up to his parents who run it, without them knowing it
Competition: she competes with her daughter for a her grandson love and for sympathy of the clinic patients,
Conspiracies:
she conspires with her son in low and friends, against her daughter
Secrets:
she was like her daughter, tough and rigid manager of the clinic, and like her son in low – cheating on her husband.
She believes she can talk to her husband who is an angel in heavens now.
She is suffering of her diseases and her treatment experiments tooDeception: hiding that she is not taking the official treatment, hiding her lectures, meetings and spreading her methods of self treatments among the patients. Hiding that she knows that her daughter is lying to her. Lies to Chris to prevent disclosure, pretending perfect relations to her daughter
Wound: She believes that it is her removal from work in the clinic that cause her illness, and that it was her daughter Eve doing
Secret Identity: saint in heaven with all the sins forgiven and supporting her grandson as a young manager in the clinics board.
Character Name: Chris
Role: super intelligent and oversensitive grandson and son
Hidden agendas:
to commit suicide in a way that will make his parents feel very guilty till the end of their live
Competition:
with grandma, for who is more ill and whose life makes less sense,
with Monica’s boyfriend for Monica’s loveConspiracies:
he conspires with his grandma against his mother
Secrets:
he is in love with Monica, his school girlfriend, yet he is bullied by her boyfriend Deception:
he hides his love for Monica,
Wound:
Father cheating on mother, parents making him lying about it to his grandma and hide the family breakdown.
being bullied by Monica’s boyfriendSecret Identity: avenger
Character Name: Eve
Hidden agendas:
to get the full ownership of the clinic by inheriting shares from the mother and suing her husband for cheating on her, and only then taking care of her son
Competition:
she competes with her mother for a her son love and for sympathy of the clinic patients,
Conspiracies:
she conspires with her husband and son, against her mother
Secrets:
as a doctor she made many treatment decisions considering more the clinic incomes than wellbeing of her patients.
Deception:
hiding that she has already split with Matthew. Hides to Chris that they deceive Arcadia to inherit shares from her
hiding her resentment on being cheated by MatthewWound:
Being cheated by Matthew
Loss of her beloved father due to her wrong diagnosis Secret Identity: health ministerCharacter Name: Matthew
Hidden agendas:
divorcing Eve and leaving the family with his new lover.
Competition:
he competes for his wife respect with her memories of his father in low
Conspiracies:
he conspires with his wife and son against Arcadia
Secrets:
he is sympathising with Arcadia,
Deception:
hiding that he has already split with Eve. Hides to Chris that they deceive Arcadia to inherit shares from her
hiding his love affair from Chris and Arcadia
hiding his schedule of leaving the familyWound:
He feels like that for Eve he was always just a substitute of her beloved father,
Secret Identity:
narcissus
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Leybe Díaz – Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is that as a writer I need to remain open and explore the characters without judgement; I’ve also learned how to use this model to accomplish that exploration process.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
1. Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the places you’ve already seen Character Intrigue in the previous episodes.
Scandal
Character Name: Olivia Pope
Role: Former campaign advisor to the president, best fixer in D.C. and founder of Olivia Pope & Associates.
Competition: With Cyrus.
Secrets: Olivia is full of secrets about herself, her associates and a lot of people she has helped.
Deception: She is not as tough as she needs to be seen by others.
Wound: Loving a married man. There seem to be other secret wounds.
2. Watch the next episode and see how Character Intrigue is being used to create the need to see more episodes.
Hidden agendas: Amanda seems to have her own hidden Agenda.
Competition: Cyrus is against Olivia. The president is going after Olivia Pope & Associates.
Conspiracy: Amanda seems to be conspiring with someone about something. Amanda got abducted from Olivia’s apartment.
Secrets: Amanda is not telling Olivia everything. Cyrus is keeping information from Billy and Olivia. Quinn is not telling the reporter she’s now dating, all she knows about Amanda.
Deception: Fitz seems guilty of having an affair with Amanda, but is he guilty?
Wound: Abby was a battered wife.
Secret Identity: Who is Quinn? What are the other Olivia’s associates hiding about their identities?
ASSIGNMENT 2
Character Name: Emma
Role: Emma: Hispanic. 30 year old. Waitress in desperate financial need, takes a job as a home attendant to assist Flora.
Hidden agendas: Find all the scatted sticky notes at Flora’s home to get as much information as she can before her job ends.
Competition: With Isaac and Linda. She secretly competes with her two very successful siblings, especially with her brother.
Conspiracies: With the neighbor.
Secrets: She’s not telling her family that she’s a waitress with financial troubles or that she’s a home attendant.
She’s hiding the valuable information she’s discovering from Flora from Isaac and Linda.
Deception: She’s deceiving Isaac and Linda and everyone else around her. Doesn’t trust anyone.
Wound: feels rejected and abandoned by her mother. Doesn’t have a good relationship with her family.
Secret Identity: She has super human cognitive abilities.
Character Name: Flora
Role: Flora: Wealthy, 50 years old woman who is our guide deep into the obscure world of her mental illness and brain dysfunction and the hidden criminal enterprises she was involved with along with some rich and powerful people in her circle.
Secrets: Flora is full of secrets about important and powerful people in her circle, including her brother and herself. As her memory was starting to leave her she wrote a lot of these secrets down on sticky notes, the information shows her fragmented mind and faulty memory at the time of writing.
Conspiracies: She was part of a big conspiracy (pre show / pre illness)
Deception: Her illness is deceptive. She was deceiving everyone around her ( pre show / pre illness)
Competition: There’s always been rivalry with her sister in law Linda.
Wound: Her two sons despise her.
Character Name: Isaac:
Role: Isaac: Flora’s brother and the restaurant’s customer who hires Emma.
Hidden agendas: To get rid of Flora.
Competition: For Flora’s money and total control of the family business. (against Flora’s long time personal attorney.)
Conspiracies: With his wife Linda and a lot of other people.
Secrets: He’s involved in criminal activities.
Deception: He’s deceiving his family, Flora, his associates and many others.
Wound: Rejection by his father.
Secret Identity: Criminal.
Character Name: Linda
Role: Linda: Isaac’s wife. Isaac’s first hand, secretly hates Flora.
Hidden agendas: To get rid of Flora. To leave Isaac. To secure her own separate financial future and position in society.
Competition: For her own independence and power.
Conspiracies: With Isaac to get rid of Flora. With the younger man she’s having an affair with and many others.
Secrets: Her extramarital affair.
Deception: Always deceiving Isaac, her family and everyone else.
Wound: Married for money and social status.
Secret Identity: A powerful, independent woman.
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Cathryn Atkinson’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is more about my characters, I learned to focus on their deeper motivations and created more intrigue that can develop a series further. Focussing on what can keep viewer interest.
Already in Mr Robot:
Hidden agendas – Elliot spies on people and manipulates their live “to protect them.”
Competition – He wants to be the best at hacking or fixing hacks.
Conspiracy – He is part of a conspiracy of hackers fsociety in order to fight corporate conspiracy by eCorp
Secrets – Family secrets, hacking, drug addiction, imaginary friends
Deception – Deceives lots of people to get what he wants and to stay hidden – boss,
Wound – Dead father, horrible mother.
Secret Identity – He keeps his background hidden. He is a secret hacker.Character Intrigue in episode 4 is being used to create the need to see more episodes.
Character Name – Eliott:
Role: Cybersecurity expert, nihilist hacker.
Hidden agendas: Addiction and trying to get off, carry out destruction of evil corp’s servers,
Competition: Competes with Mr Robot,
Conspiracies: Hacking and destroying Steel Mountain with fsociety.
Secrets: Still on drugs, withdrawal. Social anxiety.
Deception: He knows the EvilCorp CTO.
Wound: Addiction, Mother’s abuse, much of the episode is heroin hallucinations about his life. He is alone.
Secret Identity: Carrying out sabotage but his junkie problems emerge.<div>Run Angelita – Inner circle characters:
Character Name: Angelita
Role: Protagonist – Teenage migrant escaping from El Salvador to US.
Hidden agendas: She is running away from the cartel who killed her brother and grandmother. She wants to kill the man who killed them, who she thinks is Dario. When she finds out about the money she wants to keep it for herself, but then changes her mind. To stay alive, free.
Competition: Competes with Chance, to show she is badass.
Conspiracies: With Chance and Veronica, to secure the money and keep both the cartel and the FBI away.
Secrets: She figures out where the money is early on but doesn’t trust the others at first.
Deception: She hides information about herself, and her connections to Cartel.
Wound: Her parents are dead, she sees her remaining family killed, she loses her way of life/future and becomes a refugee.
Secret Identity: She is a trained killer.Character Name: Chance
Role: The American teen who helps Angelita escape and goes with her.
Hidden agendas: He fancies Angelita, he is getting revenge on his father.
Competition: Anyone who looks like they might hurt Angelita.
Conspiracies: He doesn’t like big government. Doesn’t like his father’s role in locking up kids. A fugitive with Angelita.
Secrets: He beat up a racist kid at his high school after a party and accidentally killed him.
Deception: He lies to his father about what he is doing.
Wound: His mother is dead from cancer, his father abuses him.
Secret Identity: Has PTSD from the abuse.Character Name: Veronica
Role: The journalist who helps Angelita and Chance, and travels with them.
Hidden agendas: To her this is the biggest story of her career.
Competition: Competitive as a journalist. Her boyfriend and editor is messing around on her and she suspects it, which makes her want to “win his love back”.
Conspiracies: Illegally helping fugitives.
Secrets: Wanting to write the story about Angelita and Chance.
Deception: Gathers evidence about Angelita and Chance as she gets to know them. Has a choice to make about handing them and the money in to the FBI.
Wound: Feels unloved because of bad relationships
Secret Identity: Former Marine is actually former CIA.Character Name: Dario
Role: Cartel Assassin
Hidden agendas: He wants to leave the cartel. He’s burnt out.
Competition: Everyone in the cartel. His deputy, who wants to oust him.
Conspiracies: Everything about being in a cartel is a conspiracy.
Secrets: He is the oldest brother of Angelita, and the brother of Luis. He didn’t kill Luis and Nana, his deputy did.
Deception: He tells his cartel boss that he will kill Angelita and find the money digital key, but he really wants to find her and run.
Wound: He thinks he killed his parents when he was a teenager. He left the family because his grandmother thought so, too.
Secret Identity: Angelita’s brother, who wants her to work with him as a contract killer.
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Eric Humble’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is: that there can always be more layers for a character, which can have a huge impact on the story. This was an eye-opening exercise. While I won’t be using everything I brainstormed here for my two concepts, I was able to envision the potential for a massive amount of story and plot twists simply by thinking about what these characters may be concealing. My main characters were designed with some layers of intrigue at the outset, so some of these were easy to discover, but it was interesting to see what happened when I pushed deeper with my questions for them. The real eye-opener was on the peripheral characters in my inner circle, the two characters in each story which aren’t the direct protagonist or antagonist. I hadn’t given these characters any thought until now, but now that I’ve done the assignment, they are coming into focus as deep characters whose intrigue layers will have huge implications for the story.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
1. Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the places you’ve already seen Character Intrigue in the previous episodes.
Elliot
Role: Cybersecurity expert by day and hacker “protector” by night
Hidden agendas: He is helping Mr. Robot take down E Corp even as, by day, he’s protecting it from hacking.
Competition: He is in competition with Darlene to be the head hacker in Mr. Robot’s organization. A natural competition exists between them.
Conspiracies: He is conspiring with Mr. Robot’s hacker organization to take down E Corp.
Secrets: Secretly hacks everyone he knows and everyone else they associate with and plays God with their lives ostensibly to protect those closest to him from harm
Deception: He deceives his boss that he has left one of the servers corrupted and that he’s given them false data to frame the dead of IT security at E Corp.
Wound: His father died of cancer contracted at his job at E Corp, where he worked. He wants to take down society because of this.
Secret Identity: Cybersecurity tech by day but an expert hacker by night
Mr. Robot
Role: Mysterious leader of “FSociety,” a hacker ring out to redistribute wealth by toppline E Corp
Hidden agendas: His grand plan is known only to him, and he manipulates Elliot by only parceling out small pieces of the plan.
Competition: He’s competing with Elliot’s boss for Elliot’s loyalty and honesty.
Conspiracies: He is working with his hacker group to destroy various aspects of E Corp one by one.
Secrets: His grand plan, motivation, and ultimate plan for Elliot are secrets he keeps to himself.
Deception: He acts as both friend and foe to Elliot, messing with his mind to ultimately gain his trust and obedience.
Wound: His father was a thief who was caught and arrested. He aims to live a life of true freedom where being caught isn’t an option.
Secret Identity: He pretends to be a wino begging for change around the city but is actually a master hacker outlaw.
2. Watch the next episode and see how Character Intrigue is being used to create the need to see more episodes.
Each of the intriguing aspects of these characters creates open loops, suspense, and reveals that draw us in further. Every time we learn more of Mr. Robot’s plan, we’re fascinated to watch whether it happens – especially when his plan goes from justifiable (the tech exec is fatuous and a jerk, so it’s somewhat justifiable for him to be set up) to horrific (he plans to blow up an oil pipeline to destroy the neighboring E Corp offices without regard to the workers there or people living in the surrounding area).
Similarly, every time Elliot becomes a hacker “protector,” we wonder if he’ll be found out by his friends, who will likely be appalled and shun him. We are empathetic to his dual loyalties to fsociety’s mission and to his company’s mission, and we empathize with his motivations for wanting to destroy E Corp… but his hidden agenda makes him vulnerable to exposure and puts him at real risk of being in the crosshairs of a powerful organization. Every action he takes with regard to intrigue demands that we watch another episode to see either whether it will work, whether he’ll be found out, or what the true layer actually is.
ASSIGNMENT 2
1. For your Inner Circle characters, fill in any of the Intrigue items that apply.
CONCEPT ONE: An oncologist discovers there’s a strain of DNA in a small group of people which is the key to curing cancer, and Big Pharma has known about it for decades… and has been systematically hunting down and exterminating these people, because cancer is big business.
Character Name: Jude
Role: Oncology researcher trying to find a cure for wife Catherine’s inoperable cancer
Hidden agendas: Joins the staff of Marks’s pharmaceutical company in order to use their resources to find Dres
Competition: Has to beat Marks for the Board of Directors’s favor in order to be awarded access to the company’s unrestricted database
Conspiracies: Jude and Marks’s wife, who is also gravely ill with a disease other than cancer, conspire to wreck the major acquisition deal he’s working on… to humiliate him in front of the Board and get him fired from the top job.
Secrets: He’s keeping his wife’s terminal diagnosis a secret from her.
-He discovers a cure for Marks’s wife… but keeps it a secret from her, Marks, and the world because revealing it would take him out of consideration for the records job that will allow him to track Dres.
Deception: Makes Catherine believe her illness isn’t cancer—that it’s something treatable.
-Makes Dres believe he works for a drug company conducting trials that will pay her if she’ll be a part of them (even before he gets the job at the Pharma company)
-Fakes his research findings to get the job at the Pharma company
Wound: Brother committed suicide when they were in high school because he was being bullied by a gang of kids in masks… and blames himself because he couldn’t figure out who they were. Has an obsessive need to figure out impossible problems and identities of people up to no good.
Secret Identity: Acts like he’s an advocate for free health insurance for all… but is secretly in the pocket of the Big Pharma and Big Insurance companies and has been gouging patients to get kickbacks. Even Catherine doesn’t know about this.
Character Name: Marks
Role: CEO of Big Pharma company who is secretly a member of a cabal out to eradicate the carriers of DNA that can cure cancer
Hidden agendas: Marks wants to solidify his hold on the cabal by making his Big Pharma firm the biggest conglomerate in the world… by seducing the female CEO of a burgeoning tech firm whose IP will be industry standard in the next ten years.
-Marks is planning to abduct Dres and experiment on her to develop a cure for his own wife instead of killing her as is his mandate.
Competition: Marks wants to overthrow the Grand Leader of the cabal – because he wants total, exclusive access to the data on lineages containing the DNA.
-Marks is competing with another in the cabal, who is in charge of exterminating the lineage DNA holders in Europe. This other member is viewed as more powerful and efficient, and thus is first in line to succeed the leader of the cabal, a position Marks needs in order to unlock all of the cabal’s secrets and hopefully save his wife.
Conspiracies: Marks is tasked with finding and exterminating the last two in the United States who hold the lineage DNA – Dres and another, who is unidentified. He
Secrets: He has experimented on Dres’s blood and discovered that the cabal is lying to its own members… the DNA doesn’t just hold the cure to cancer, but to all diseases, including Marks’s wife’s. He knows this, but isn’t divulging that he knows to anyone, especially the cabal’s other members.
Deception: He seduces the CEO of the tech firm into thinking he’s in love with her and will marry her as soon as his wife dies, but he’s actually just using her to make his company more powerful – and thus gain the favor of the cabal leader.
Wound: Marks comes from poverty, of which he’s ashamed. He left his poor family behind – he has a mother, father, and sister who live in poverty and squalor down south, whom he pretends don’t exist… but his father needs money for an operation, and his sister has surfaced here, hounding him for it.
Secret Identity: Pretends he’s faithful to the cabal, but he actually is the one who is secretly leaking information to Jude – hoping to have Jude do the legwork to find Dres and expose the cabal so that Marks can get access to the data on all the lineages when the cabal falls.
Character Name: Dres
Role: Homeless petty thief and con artist who is targeted by the mysterious cabal for reasons unknown to her.
Hidden agendas: She wants to con Jude out of his money… and sets up a sting to do so… only to change course once she realizes he has an in with the Big Pharma company – and instead uses the con to get him to spy on Marks from the inside for her.
Competition: Dres and her con artist cohort are both after Jude – she wants him to spy on the company for her so she can get an in with Marks, her associate wants Jude’s money and is still after the original con. She needs to undercut her associate, who in turn is trying to “out” her!
Conspiracies: She conspires with another thief in her circle to con Jude by making herself out to be an FDA investigator looking into his off-the-book kickbacks from Big Pharma and insurance companies – trying to get him to isolate his earnings into a separate account that she and her cohort will then empty for themselves.
Secrets: Dres is immortal, as are everyone who has this same lineage. She, like her mother before her, isn’t a descendant of a 14th century plague survivor – she is the survivor. And as such, she has life experience far beyond what any living person has.
Deception: She pretends to be the CEO of a Big Tech firm and allows Marks to seduce her, in order to merge their companies… but she’s actually using him to access the cabal so she can kill them.
-She pretends to accepts Jude’s help – but is actually using him to access the cabal so she can kill them.
Wound: Her mother was murdered – by the same cabal! She wants revenge, and is blinded in pursuit of revenge.
Secret Identity: Acts like she’s the CEO of the boutique tech firm who has fallen head-over-heels with Marks, acts like an unwitting patient with Jude, acts like an FDA agent auditing Jude… acts like a homeless petty thief who suffers occasional delusions, which she is – but unbeknownst to even her close associate in the con artist world, her delusions are real – she has lived countless lives over the course of seven hundred years.
Character Name: Catherine
Role: Jude’s wife, dying of cancer but doesn’t know it
Hidden agendas: Catherine discovers that Jude has been making a huge portion of their income through off-the-books kickbacks – and must move the money before her own firm discovers she’s the pinnacle of the very thing she’s trying to stop in this industry.
Competition: Catherine wants to stay the head of her small activist organization, but her protege is out to usurp leadership now that she’s ailing. She has to retain her position even if it means cutting down the woman who has looked up to her for years – and vice versa!
Conspiracies: Catherine and Dres conspire to find out the identity of Dres’s would-be assassin, who dies attempting to kill her in Catherine’s office.
Secrets: Catherine agrees to undergo a radical new drug therapy Marks is spearheading, without telling Jude. Jude doesn’t know she suspects her sickness is as serious as it is.
Deception: Catherine has to deceive the police when she and Dres kill the would-be assassin in her office. They cover up that they were the ones who killed him… and she covers up from Dres that she believes she was target, not Dres!
Wound: Catherine was once the lover of the Grand Leader of the cabal, when he was a much younger man, but he used their relationship to find and kill one of her kin, whom he believed to be the last of the line. She doesn’t accept lying in a relationship, even from Jude, whom she trusts and loves above all others.
Secret Identity: Catherine appears to be exactly who she is – but she’s actually the second target of the cabal… and she also has been walking this earth for eight hundred years! But now she’s dying of this cancer… and doesn’t understand how that’s possible, since the DNA strain has been the reason for her immortality.
CONCEPT TWO: Just as an FBI agent is about to arrest a mob boss, an anonymous website sets up a full-out Presidential campaign for the mob boss and raises billions of dollars, making him the heavy favorite to win… and shielding him from prosecution until the election is over.
Character Name: Darren
Role: Ethical FBI agent whose op — and career — are destroyed when Scoleri runs for president.
Hidden agendas: Joins the sitting president’s campaign team as an advisor with the overt agenda of taking down Scoleri—while also revealing to the voting public his own candidate’s policy as the reason a mass-murdering gangster can go scott free just because he’s running for President.
Competition: He’s competing for the job of chief of staff with the current chief of staff—and has to backstab and manipulate his way to get the President’s ear.
Conspiracies: Darren enters into a conspiracy with Bender to use a confidential informant to disinform Eco about a rival gang, sparking a gang war to make Scoleri show his true, murderous colors.
Secrets: Darren made one misstep during the otherwise by-the-book operation… while tailing the mob lawyer who could have blown the whole op, he ran off the road — and Darren could have saved him but instead watched him die.
Deception: Darren deceives the President into publicly supporting Scoleri’s rival in the primary race to spur him to show his more ruthless side… but puts the president in
Wound: Dad was an undercover FBI agent killed by the mob when his cover was blown. When it comes to agents in danger, he makes reckless decisions to keep them safe… something Scoleri figures out about him.
Secret Identity: Acts like a seasoned political advisor, but is actually on a mission to take Scoleri down publicly and ruin the president’s reelection chances when the public realizes the danger his law has put them in.
Character Name: Scoleri
Role: mob boss forced to run for President and win to stave off imminent arrest
Hidden agendas: seeks to expand his criminal empire overseas using the connections with prominent world leaders he suddenly has access to, even while laboring to appear law-abiding to the public
Competition: is competing with the front-runner for his party, who is well-know, entrenched, and well-funded by the political establishment… to defeat him to win the party’s nomination, he must outwit him at every turn—and win over his backers
Conspiracies: Scoleri and Eco conspire to destroy his rival for the party’s nomination, not by finding a weak point in him, but by finding dirt on everyone in the party leadership supporting him and squeezing them to abandon him.
Secrets: Scoleri is keeping it secret that he personally killed a rival thirty years ago… who was his young protégé’s grandfather. It’s a cold case a reporter is just now sniffing into.
Deception: puts up a legitimate front for his empire and has to constantly dodge a reporter who is uncovering that his business isn’t what he says it is.
Wound: Scoleri grew up poor like his protege in the small town… and was ruthless in his rise. When anyone takes advantage of someone poor but ambitious, his fierce anger at his upbringing causes him to be overly violent and unpredictable.
Secret Identity: projects an outwardly law-abiding image as a successful businessman but is actually a mob boss
Character Name: Eco
Role: Scoleri’s mob lawyer tasked with running the crime empire and the Presidential campaign — and erasing any trace that Scoleri is a criminal.
Hidden agendas: Eco is establishing a legitimate front for the empire but his agenda is actually to expand the crime empire into the European drug market.
Competition: Eco is competing with Scoleri’s son, who wants a bigger role in the family business.
Conspiracies: Eco conspires with a Secret Service agent to take down Scoleri’s primary rival by revealing that he frequents a strip mall massage parlor for sexual services – by staging a robbery at the strip mall while the rival is inside… a big enough story for all the media to cover it.
Secrets: Eco is (and has been) an FBI informant, ratting out small aspects of the business to be able to deal his way out of arrest should the day come.
Deception: Eco is deceiving an independent watchdog organization looking into Scoleri’s business dealings – hiding all of the criminal enterprises with legitimate business fronts.
Wound: The uncle who raised Eco was murdered for ratting to the Feds. Eco is paranoid about being found out for being an informant, and moves to shield “rats” he discovers within the organization so that they won’t be found out and executed by Scoleri.
Secret Identity: Eco is a mob lawyer who acts outwardly like a campaign and business manager and tax attorney.
Character Name: Bender
Role: FBI agent and best friend to Darren who is assigned the shelved Scoleri case when Darren leaves.
Hidden agendas: Bender is acting compliant with backburning the Scoleri case… but is scheming to reignite the case by putting the heat on a rival mob to spark a gang war, which will bring Scoleri’s operation back into the limelight.
Competition: Bender is competing for the organized crime beat with another FBI agent sent in to reorganize the division – and he has to hurt the guy’s reputation or make a major bust the same size and scope of the Scoleri case or he’ll lose it to him.
Conspiracies: Bender conspires with a private security firm to attack the rival mob in mysterious ways that point toward Scoleri – so that they will retaliate and start a gang war!
Secrets: Bender has a gambling addiction, which no one knows – not even Darren.
Deception: Bender is trying to appear disinterested in organized crime, and more focused on a spate of hate crimes he’s supposed to be investigating… but is using this investigation as a cover to continue rounding up Scoleri mob associates and getting information out of them.
Wound: Bender lost the family savings at the casino and covered for it by saying they were victims of identity theft… resulting in the arrest and conviction of a known identitiy thief. He’s sensitive to this case – and will do anything to avoid the thief’s release or the truth to come out.
Secret Identity: Bender is secretly aiding Eco – who has erased a serious gambling debt so long as Bender shields one aspect of the Scoleri empire from the Feds… they control import/export licenses for one freighter that brings in heroin from Asia. No one in the FBI knows about this except Bender.
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David Quinn’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is that I need to constantly “restart” myself — I found myself falling back on old habits of sensing my way toward the character intrigue, but nudged myself to keep using our approach (ie, step outside the box and permit creativity, if there is nothing there, put something there) which has been liberating.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
Character Intrigue in Jessica Jones:
Character Name: JJ
Role: Wounded Failed Hero<div>
Hidden agendas: despite her trauma, and her denial that she is a hero, she behaves as if she wants to be a hero with everyone in her life – Luke, Hope, Trish, Malcolm…. even dabbles with “saving” kilgrave
Competition: with Kilgrave for control of their adversarial “couple” relationship; with Hogarth and Simpson for control of her crusade to stop Kilgrave
Conspiracies: Secrets: she enjoyed herself and sometimes chose Kilgrave, something she eventually admits when she realizes his manipulation of her was not complete
Deception: hides her true motives from everyone, including police
Wound: trauma of her childhood accident and assault on her mind and body by KIlgrave
Secret Identity: Hero
Character Name: Kilgrave
Role: Traumatized Victim</div><div>
Hidden agendas: wants his parents to love him?
Competition: against the whole world for control of Jessica’s attention and response
Conspiracies: attempts to control Hope and Malcolm to get close to Jessica, attempts to force Hogarth into owing him her allegiance
Secrets:
Deception: hides in plain sight
Wound: His parents traumatized him, even though it extended his life – but it imprisoned him in the role of the manipulating sociopath
Secret Identity: Sociopath
Character Name: Hogarth
Role: mercenary lawyer, ally for hire</div><div>
Hidden agendas: manipulates – or tries to – everyone close to her
Competition: everyone
Conspiracies: attempts to use kilgrave and almost gets killed for it
Secrets: faithful only to herself
Deception: faithful only to herself
Wound:
Secret Identity:
Character Name: Trish
Role: Friend</div><div>
Hidden agendas: wants to be a hero, not a spoiled rich former child star
Competition:
Conspiracies:
Secrets: addicted to trouble and risk but hides it
Deception: willing to take on much more danger and risk than expected
Wound: survived abusive addict stage mother
Secret Identity: Savior
ASSIGNMENT 2
Blythe: Nightvision
Character Name: Blythe
Role: Assassin of monsters – one of their hidden sisterhood, herself</div><div>
Hidden agendas: Desires the Allegiance / Love of the creator of the creatures despite her vow to destroy him for revenge
Competition: with the sisterhood and any other adversary in the night (all creatures compete for Ian’s favor)
Conspiracies: covertly triggers internal warfare between creatures to divide and conquer
Secrets: Wants Ian all to herself, must hide her fear of weakness and fear of losing control; willing to expose her own rage but not her own pain
Deception: Passes as human but only uses them (vampire ish)
Wound: loved Ian, who raped her and transformed her, and her sisters
Secret Identity: human heart
Character Name: Ian
Role: Devil</div><div>
Hidden agendas: manipulates legions of clandestine monsters to do his bidding
Competition: hunters both human and inhuman
Conspiracies: triggers internal war between creature sisters to foil Blythe’s agenda of revenge
Secrets: did he ever care, did he ever love, or is he a sociopath? Did he really believe his virus would make humans augmented hunters, or was he playing god?
Deception: hides from the world
Wound: must face the fact that his experiment was a failure
Secret Identity: Failure?
Brooklyn The Barbarian
Character Name: Brooklyn/Gus
Role: smart but socially subterrean law student, boy who would become the reluctant king</div><div>
Hidden agendas: despite internal protests that he does not belong here, wants no part in this, just wants to be left alone… he has never felt so alive
Competition: everyone – law students, professors and Flatbush locals; fantastic creatures, pirates, mercenaries, courtesans, barbarians, wizards, demons and monsters in the Realm
Conspiracies: ditto
Secrets: if he actually declares that he will be king, or that he wants to be a couple with Jane, he might fail – and that scares Gus shitless
Deception: lived a life of acting like he doesn’t care, head down, as invisible as possible; also, how far will he go in this savage world outside the law
Wound: if he actually declares that he will be king, he might fail – his stubbornness is an even more dangerous weakness
Secret Identity: king, creator of his own unique life and legend
Character Name: Jane
Role: companion and advisor</div>
Hidden agendas: resents being a companion and advisor
Competition: everyone and everybody – even Gus
Conspiracies: manipulates indirectly
Secrets: – secretly wants to change the world, secretly lusts to lose herself in her relationship
Deception: loudly insists that she is a free woman, fears that she is a slave to her desires
Wound: struggles heroically with romantic relationships where she will lose her individuality, her dignity, her independence, her truth
Secret Identity: queen, creator of her own unique life and legend
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Christine Dadourian- Intriguing Character Layers #4
What I learned during this assignment:
Each scene in this fast- paced show engages with layers of character intrigue. Some scenes engage multiple layers of character intrigue at once. For example, a character may be deceiving another while being deceived. Reveals can later move the story forward.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
SCANDAL: First three episodes
Character intrigue: Olivia
Hidden Agendas: Covert plans to spy (Hidden from some characters and not others).
Why did Olivia hire Quinn? This may be a hidden agenda. Mellie has a hidden agenda with Olivia and Fitz. Whoever sent the audio tape recording of Amanda and Fitz must have a hidden agenda. Blackmail? Who sent it?
Competition: Olivia and the DA compete over access to clients involved, information, etc.
Olivia also competes with Cyrus. In her internal world Olivia experiences sexual competition with Amanda for Fitz (and possibly for the baby). She can’t sleep at night.
Conspiracy: Olivia and Fitz conspire to secretly meet after the party (not knowing that Mellie set it up, or that Cyrus would prevent it). Olivia makes a covert plan with Cyrus, Amanda and Fitz.
Olivia and Jane conspire to have Jane’s son confess and decide to have him arrested.
Secrets: Olivia and Fitz have been lovers. Other secrets about her exist but are yet to be revealed. She hides vulnerable feelings.
Deception: Helen deceives Olivia. Helen was not assaulted. Olivia is deceived by a client who withholds information that he had assaulted someone before. Olivia deceives herself about Jane’s enabling. Olivia deceives herself that Helen can be made whole through money. Olivia participates in deceiving the judge as to why her client is not yet in court.
Wound: Olivia perceives other characters’ wounds: Helen lost her closest friend to suicide after assault and injustice. Olivia is betrayed by her lover. Olivia identifies with Amanda who is also wounded by betrayal.
Secret Identity: What will be revealed about Olivia?
ASSIGNMENT 2
FORESHADOW
Chris’ Characters
Character Intrigue: Maggie
Hidden agendas: To escape from her traumatic family legacy. To be valued by her parents today. To solve the mystery of her altered state (Is it lethal? Is it happening to others?)
Competition: With herself. Avoidant of competition. For her father’s recognition of her over his PTSD preoccupations. Historically with Jack.
Conspiracies: With Sam to learn more about “the poison” and symptom meanings. With Jack
to discover more about her ancestor’s paintings.
Secrets: She has nightmares. She has vivid, energizing dreams. Wants to simplify and empty her mind. (Quirk: hangs out at waterfalls)
Deception: Deceiving self in that she seeks expertise in history to avoid her own history.
Wound: Overwhelm. Nearly drowned as a child. Friend died high school/fall. Taught about genocide. Vulnerable to social anxiety.
Secret identity: Truth seeker
Character Intrigue: Sam
Role: Director lab in the Physics Department
Hidden Agenda: Connect with Maggie. Solve health problems. Mind expansion.
Competition: Academically competitive. Competitive with Jack.
Conspiracies: Created a team doing further research on a covert government project from ten years earlier related to consciousness.
Secrets: Left medical school after two years and questions his decision.
Deception: Deceiving the university about the agenda of his team.
Wound: Family history German. Family survivor guilt. Should they have done more?
Secret Identity: History maker (positive). Nobel Prize winner.
Character Intrigue: Jack
Role: Colleague in Art History. Museum Exhibitions Officer, NYC. Art appraiser and curator.
Hidden Agendas: To enter elite circles in the art world. Black market dealings.
Competition: Professionally, with Maggie’s mother. He represents the new generation.
Competitive with Sam for Maggie. Competition with Maggie. Also competes with other international art appraisers and racketeers.
Conspiracies: Conspires to connect to black market art in Armenia and elsewhere.
Secrets: Hidden past with Maggie. Still loves Maggie. Adopted. What happened to his parents?
Deception: Deceives himself re: choices and ongoing deception of others.
Wound: Unrequited love with Maggie, unknown family of origin (DNA?)
Secret Identity: Black market art trader.
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Eloise Healey’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learnt from this assignment is that this is a quick and effective way to generate conflict that will provide plenty of story. Great assignment!
NO MAN’S LAND – ELOISE HEALEY
EMMA RICHARDSON
Role in the show: The leader – a scarred ex-convict who craves personal freedom.
Hidden Agendas – does she keep her plan for the settlement to have no men a secret until they get there? Or until they’re on the ship? Because she’s worried the other women won’t go?
OR does she keep her plan to never return to prison a secret from the other women?
Competition: With Ruth, Ann and James for control of the settlement.
Conspiracy: Possibly with Ruth or Ann to kill James.
Possible secrets: She escaped from prison instead of getting ticket of leave. She is in love with Mary. She would rather die than go back to being under male control.
Deception: Hides just how hard the crossing/setting up camp may be. Pretends there are more people coming to join the camp than there are. Claims she’s seen guards looking for James when she hasn’t.
Wound: She’s been so damaged by men she doesn’t want them in her life anymore. But that’s incredibly difficult to achieve, and impossible without the participation of other women – and so her lies and omissions are all to placate this wound, to create a safe space for herself, but it unravels when the other women feel betrayed and hold her accountable.
Secret Identity: Control freak
MARY WINTHORPE
Role in the show: The innocent – a naive ex-convict who trusts Emma to be her protector.
Hidden Agenda/s: To protect James in the hope he will be her lover.
Competition: With Ann, for James’ romantic interest, with Sarah and Ruth for the role of Emma’s 2IC.
Conspiracy: With Sarah and Ann to undermine Emma’s authority so James can stay.
Possible Secrets: She and James are romantically involved, she is pregnant (James’ baby or a guards?), she has a marriage proposal from a guard as a back-up plan if the settlement goes wrong.
Deception: Goes along with Emma even when she disagrees because she doesn’t like confrontation. Lies about/hides James. Hides the truth of Emma’s plans to the others when she’s trusted with Emma’s agenda.
Wound: From a poverty-stricken family, Mary was cast into the world way too young. She longs to feel protected and loved – so she’ll put her faith in people who might offer that, even if they haven’t earned her trust.
Secret Identity: The ultimate betrayer of Emma. The fiancé of a guard with an easy life ahead of her.
JAMES SHELDON
Role in the show: The unwanted arrival – an escaped male convict in need of help to survive and evade capture.
Hidden Agenda: To gather evidence of illegal settlements to truncate his prison sentence.
Competition: With Emma, Ann and Ruth for control of the settlement. Pits the women against each other to strengthen his position.
Conspiracy: Planning to run away with Mary? Planning to turn the women in to British soldiers?
Possible Secrets: That he plans to dob all the women in to the military; he plans to kill Emma/others; he plans to run away with Mary; he’s committed murder to escape; he’s not as wronged as he makes out.
Deception: Lies about why he was transported. Lies about not hurting guards to escape. Hides his true intentions to truncate sentence. Pretends to love Mary because it helps his agenda.
Wound: Prison is brutal and it’s broken him. James doesn’t want to ever go back – he can’t survive it. It emasculated him and he’d rather kill than feel that way again.
Secret Identity: A spy for British soldiers to end the illegal camps.
RUTH MARTIN
Role in the Show: The Elder – an older woman who doesn’t like taking orders from anyone.
Hidden Agenda: …?
Competition: With Emma for the good of the community. With Sarah and Mary to be Emma’s 2IC.
Conspiracy: With Ann – to let Ann take over leadership of the settlement?
Possible Secrets: That he plans to dob all the women in to the military; he plans to kill Emma/others; he plans to run away with Mary; he’s committed murder to escape; he’s not as wronged as he makes out.
Deception: Lies to Emma when she thinks Ann would make a better leader/be better for the settlement. Refuses to give information to Ann when she changes her mind and backs Emma instead.
Wound: Feels cast away by society for being old – she tries to pretend she likes it as she’s no longer subject to the male gaze but she hates being dismissed by other women.
Secret Identity: Could she be a trans-man?
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