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Day 4 Assignments
Reply to post your assignment.
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12 Replies
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Subject line: Ben’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is I haven’t seen much of Character Intrigue being used in my example show. Maybe they will show up in later episodes or next seasons. Or it simply means that my character/s doesn’t/don’t need to have all Character Intrigue to make them interesting. If I can come up with all of them, good. If not, a few will suffice.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
1. Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the places you’ve already seen Character Intrigue in the previous episodes.
Character name: Michael Scofield
Role: A structural engineer and Lincoln’s brother.
Hidden agendas: To break out his brother from the prison.
Competition: ?
Conspiracies: With Lincoln, Abruzzi, and Sucre to break out of the prison.
Secrets: He’s planning to break his brother out of the prison.
Deception: He lies about being diabetic.
Wound: ?
Secret Identity: Fish.
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Subject line: Wendy Weising’s Intriguing Character Layers
Lesson #4, Assignment #1
Intrigue for Lost
Jack:
A wound from his past causes him to have panic attacks, turn to alcohol for relief, and feel that he needs to save everyone.
Secret-Keeps seeing a man in a suit appear, but he doesn’t tell anyone.
Kate:
A wound (being on the run from the law) causes her to freak out when she can’t outrun danger and makes her willing to do anything that needs to be done, whether she likes it or not.
Secret identity: Acts like she is good but was a prisoner of a US Marshall.
Conspiracy: She gives Sawyer the gun so that he can kill the US Marshall.
Charlie:
Secret: He is addicted to drugs.
A wounds causes him to need people to know that he was in a famous band.
Locke:
Secret: He was paralyzed and in a wheelchair before the plane crash.
Secret Identity: Has a suitcase full of hunting knives. He knows everything about wild boars and how to hunt them, even though he has never actually done it before.
Sawyer:
He is in a competition with everyone, especially Jack.
A wound causes him to lash out at others and hoards supplies from the airplane.
Shannon:
Her hidden agenda stems from her competition with Boone. She acts like she’s interested in Charlie, but she only wants him to catch a fish so that she can prove she is useful to Boone. Charlie takes on the secret identity of being an amazing fisherman.
Conspiracy: The group that hikes up the mountain with the transceiver is in a conspiracy. They decided not tell the others about the distress recording they heard that’s been playing for years.
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Linda Anderson’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is I’m going to need to let go and be much more outrageous for this premise and characters to become bingeworthy.
Sample Series: The Righteous Gemstones
Character Intrigue in the previous episodes:
Jessie: Secret—compromising video; tries to kill blackmailers
Kelvin: Competition—plotting to become favorite son
Julie: Deception—stole millions of dollars from Gemstone ministry; always in competition with her brothers
Eli: Hidden agendas—doesn’t trust his children to run the ministry and brings his brother-in-law in to take over the new church
Gideon: Conspiracies—setting up a big steal from his father
Next episode Character Intrigue used to create the need to see more episodes:
Jessie: tries to run blackmailer’s van off the road and kill them to hide cheating on his wife; sees two men running from overturned van. Will he find out one of the blackmailers is his son?
Kelvin: specializes in youth ministry and is tasked with saving major donor’s daughter from boyfriend. After it appears he’s succeeded, will he get involved with her?
Julie: is delighted when Kelvin falls out of favor with his father. Will this be her chance to ingratiate herself and become the favorite child?
Eli: always looking for ways to increase donations. When Kelvin saves major donor’s daughter, will it backfire?
Gideon: reports to his partner how much money the church makes every week. Will his father find out he’s the blackmailer and thief?
ASSIGNMENT 2
Inner Circle characters Intrigue Items
Character Name: Louise
Role: main character in a mid-life crisis
Hidden agendas: determined to become successful bestselling author
Competition: wants Derrick’s life because it’s much more interesting than hers and sends Derrick’s memoir to Candice, the editor who rejected Louise’s memoir
Conspiracies: eventually brings in her daughter, Jan, into the deception when the book starts to get buzz that attracts dangerous attention
Secrets: believes her life is worthless and she has no useful skills or talents
Deception: writes the new memoir using “Derrick” as her pen name; interviews and writes about him without his knowledge or permission
Wound: husband was having an affair before he died and intended to leave her
Secret Identity: Derrick
Character Name: Derrick
Role: Louise’s condo neighbor (they share a wall)
Hidden agendas: wants to find his father who’s been in hiding
Competition: wants to be disciplined and stable like Jake, his AA sponsor
Conspiracies: blackmails Louise and Jan into helping with his escape when the FBI agent, Mark, tries to kill him
Secrets: is responsible for the death of his sister in a drunk driving accident
Deception: answers questions from Louise about his “interesting” life with information and experiences from his crime-boss father’s life
Wound: debilitating guilt over killing his sister
Secret Identity: his father
Character Name: Candice
Role: editor at New York publishing company
Hidden agendas: determined to have her own imprint
Competition: works every angle in cutthroat world of NY publishing
Conspiracies: gets help from her assistant editor to move Derrick’s memoir into bestseller track
Secrets: she’s a lonely workaholic looking for love in all the wrong places
Deception: she’s falling in love with Derrick while working on his memoir
Wound: she’s been passed over for promotions because she’s perceived as not being ambitious
Secret Identity: an editor who’s frustrated that she’s not a great writer
Character Name: Mark
Role: FBI agent
Hidden agendas: ferrets out a major crime boss’s competitors so they can be eliminated
Competition: determined to rise in organized crime ranks and quit his boring job
Conspiracies: consorts with major crime syndicate
Secrets: he’s corrupt
Deception: uses job information to further his agendas
Wound: has reputation as inept in the agency; gets no respect
Secret Identity: flunky for major crime boss and the syndicate
Character Name: Jan
Role: Louise’s grown daughter
Hidden agendas: wants her mother to support her dream of becoming a famous actress
Competition: takes classes and goes on auditions with no success
Conspiracies: teams up with Louise to deceive Derrick and Candice when she finds out Louise is getting a big advance for Derrick’s memoir
Secrets: she thinks her mother is an overly controlling loser
Deception: goes on the run when Louise’s deception goes dangerously awry
Wound: wishes her mother admired and respected her (which she doesn’t)
Secret Identity: Actress
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Subject line: Ben’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is I come up with answers for any character without considering whether they are bad or good characters because good characters can do bad things for their own gain.
ASSIGNMENT 2
1. For your Inner Circle characters, fill in any of the Intrigue items that apply.
Character Name: Rain
Role: An ugly beggar girl abandoned by her birth father (Eucher), Reed’s love interest,
O’ller’s daughter, and Terra’s adopted daughter.
Hidden agendas: To take revenge on his brother, Eldore (Terra).
Competition: His brother Eldore (Terra) is also in love with O’ller.
Conspiracies: With Terra, for Rain to disguise as a pretty girl and enter Affinity Academy
to learn magic. With Terra, to change the rule of teaching magic to pretty ones.
Secrets: She’s not really Rain, but Whyller. Whyller killed Rain to take over her body.
He has also killed and forcefully taken over other people’s bodies for a thousand years. He knows Terra cursed Rain.
Deception: Old Beggar (Terra) believes Rain (Whyller) is going to Affinity Academy to learn
magic, but Whyller is going there to discover conspiracy in cursing Rain. Everyone believes
Rain is recruiting ugly and average people to change the rule, but she (Whyller) is actually
turning them into his army to fight his brother.
Wound: Betrayed by family.
Secret Identity: White Phoenix, Whyller.
Character Name: Reed Dune
Role: Son of Mo Dune, Aloe and Toto’s best friend, and Rain’s love interest.
Hidden agendas: To change his rigid father and be with the woman he loves.
Competition: Aloe is secretly in love with Rain.
Conspiracies: He put his best friend, Toto, close to his father to sabotage
his father’s plans that may harm Rain.
Secrets: He’s violating their family value, which is also very important to him.
Deception: Everyone believes he’s hunting Rain to make her pay for lying to him,
but he’s actually helping Rain change the rule.
Wound: Lied to by the woman he loves. ???
Secret Identity: Reed the Great Pretender.
Character Name: Mo Dune
Role: Head of Sparrow Agency within Affinity Academy, Reed’s father, and Terra’s
best friend.
Hidden agendas: To take back his position from Terra and become the leader of
the underworld of magic.
Competition: Terra holds his position.
Conspiracies: With Kins and teachers to take over Terra’s position.
Secrets: He abandoned the woman he loved with unborn child to be with
Reed’s mother, Lynn, for power.
Deception: Everyone believes he wants to stop Rain from changing the rule, but he’s
forcing Rain to change the rule as part of his plan to become the leader of
the underworld of magic.
Wound: Their passed on teacher gave his rightful position to Terra. ???
Secret Identity: Head Mo Dune.
Character Name: Terra
Role: Head of Affinity Academy, Mo’s best friend, and Rain’s adopted father.
Hidden agendas: To find his brother to save his life. To become the most powerful sorcerer.
Competition: Mo Dune wants his position.
Conspiracies: With Rain, for Rain to disguise as a pretty girl and enter Affinity Academy
to learn magic. With Rain to change the rule of teaching magic to pretty ones. With Kins, for
Kins to spy on Mo. With Anna and Shard Spear to test Rain. With Eucher and Rain’s mother, O’ller, to curse and abandon new born baby Rain.
Secrets: He came up with the mystery of teaching magic to pretty ones to increase his magical powers. He killed his brother, Whyller.
Deception: He lied to Rain that he’s changing the rule to fulfill his passed on teacher’s
wishes when he’s changing the rule to lure his brother Whyller.
Wound: Being held in contempt.
Secret Identity: Eldore, Skai Ruse, Old Beggar and many others as Head of Affinity Academy.
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Subject line: Wendy Weising’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is that the characters begin to tell you who they are.
Lesson #4, Assignment #2
Character Name: Jayne March
Role: She is a mother, wife, and patient in a hospital following an accident.
Hidden agendas: She agrees to an experiment so that Polly and Ava can steal the keys to the hospital.
Competition: She competes with Dr. Smith for Dr. Zyn’s attention.
Conspiracies: Polly, Ava, and Jayne make a plan of escape by stealing food, clothes, and supplies and creating a map of the hospital from what Polly and Ava know of it.
Secrets: She has a recurring dream about sneaking into a house and killing everyone there. She is horrified and tells no one.
Deception:?
Wound: Because her father constantly put her down, she is afraid to stand up for herself. She feels like she hasn’t been a very good mother.
Secret Identity: She seems to know how to use weapons well for a housewife.
Character Name: Polly Doyle
Role: She is a patient, who also cleans at the hospital.
Hidden agendas: She does extra work for Dr. Smith so that she doesn’t have to be part of the brain mining.
Competition: She competes with Ava. They are both trying to outdo each other so that they can get what they want from Dr. Smith.
Conspiracies: Polly, Ava, and Jayne make a plan of escape by stealing food, clothes, and supplies and creating a map of the hospital from what Polly and Ava know of it.
Secrets: Sometimes, she dreams the future. She doesn’t like to talk about it.
Deception: She agrees to report on the patients to the Dr. Smith, especially Jayne, in exchange for access to Dr. Smith’s library.
Wound: She can’t remember having any family members so she is used to keeping to and relying on herself.
Secret Identity: She acts dumb while doing her menial cleaning tasks because she doesn’t like talking to other people.
Character Name: Ava Grace
Role: She is a patient who serves food to the other patients at the hospital.
Hidden agendas: Performs for Dr. Smith and her friends so that she can get drugs.
Competition: She competes with Polly. They are both trying to outdo each other so that they can get what they want from Dr. Smith.
Conspiracies: Polly, Ava, and Jayne make a plan of escape by stealing food, clothes, and supplies and creating a map of the hospital from what Polly and Ava know of it.
Secrets: Because of her beautiful voice, the aliens are mesmerized by her. That is why she is not part of the experiments. She doesn’t tell the others about this power until later. She is addicted to a drug that is only found at the hospital.
Deception:
Wound: Dr. Smith has told her that she killed her mother.
Secret Identity: She acts like an average teenager but begins to use her songs on all the doctors and nurses to try to control them.
Character Name: Dr. Zyn
Role: Doctor at the hospital.
Hidden agendas: Wants to be Jayne’s doctor because he is attracted to her. He eventually tells Jayne that her husband is dead, even though he isn’t because he doesn’t want to lose her.
Competition: Dr. Zyn is competing against Jayne’s husband, whom he knows is alive, for her love.
Conspiracies: He and Dr. Smith must have a brain chemical only found in humans to survive. They do not tell the patients so that they will comply.
Secrets: He is an alien. He is in love with Jayne.
Deception: He is working against the aliens even though he is one of them.
Wound: He sees the horrible things that the experiments and surgeries do to the patients. He saw his family and race dying on their previous planet because they ran out of the needed chemical.
Secret Identity: He is an alien pretending to be a doctor.
Character Name: Dr. Smith
Role: Doctor in charge at the hospital.
Hidden agendas: She has chosen Dr. Zyn has as her mate, so she brought him to her hospital. She got Ava addicted to drugs, which are only found at the hospital so that she would comply with her rules.
Competition: She is competing with Jayne for Dr. Zyn’s attention.
Conspiracies: She and Dr. Zyn must have a brain chemical only found in humans to survive. They do not tell the patients so that they will comply.
Secrets: She hates humans. She hates having to rely on them. She treats them like lab rats.
Deception: She acts as if they are on Earth, but they aren’t.
Wound: She saw her race dying on their previous planet because they ran out of the needed chemical. Her own daughter died because of this.
Secret Identity: She is an alien pretending to be a doctor.
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Stuart’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is…?
What I learned doing this assignment is that my main characters have been withholding information from me! It’s been valuable reviewing the creative processes and allowing myself to be open to any of these Intrigue Items, whether I believe they apply or not. I just let the creative exploring, brainstorming, and filling in the blanks take over.
Part 1:
American Horror Story: Murder House
Dr. Ben Harmon
Character Name: Dr. Ben Harmon
Role: Father, protector of family.
- Hidden agendas: Seeking a new start for family, make the marriage work; however, is he being used to fulfill Evil’s plan?
- Competition: For control of house. With Vivien, Constance, Addy, Larry, Real Estate agent, Chad. For family/marriage. With Hayden, Moira, Tate, Larry.
- Conspiracies: with Real Estate agent (give Murder House a warm image), with Larry (murder of Hayden, gazebo and $1000 blackmail), Hayden (baby), Constance (his purpose), with Moira, with Patrick
- Secrets: Hayden’s pregnancy, Hayden’s murder, Larry’s involvement, Moira’s advances, the purpose for making the gazebo, connection with Murder House/Evil/Constance, what happened to him when he was young? Hayden’s alive or a ghost?
- Deception: Deceiving wife/daughter; as psychiatrist to Tate; Sleepwalking? Gazebo
- Wound: infidelity (Vivien witnessed), the miscarriage, his past (trauma as a youth)
- Secret Identity: unfaithful husband who doesn’t deserve a family. Doesn’t know/denial: his purpose for Murder House evil? Will he murder his family?
Part 2:
Here’s where my Inner Circle is heading at this stage of development:
Character: Hop-Frog
Role: King Goplik’s fool, his toy, and the ministers’ frog, serving their entertainment.
- Hidden agendas: To take revenge on King Goplik and his ministers.
- Competition: For revenge. With King Goplik, Master of Ceremonies, Ministers, Trippetta, Queen, Lord Asnar, Goplik’s son, Princess Syrelle/resistance. For Trippetta’s love. With Lord Asnar, Trippetta, Goplik, Ministers, Prince Brann, Balog’s prince.
- Conspiracies: With Trippetta (for revenge); with ministers, King Goplik, Master of Ceremonies (winning allegiance and playing sides); with King Goplik, Lord Asnar (usurp rival Balog, maintain terror/control); with Princess Syrelle/resistance (Raynor?), Balog (to overthrow Goplik).
- Secrets: The mystery of his disability, connection with Master of Ceremonies, the mystery of his parents (both dead to him), and his guardian (“Mother”). Could he have saved Prince Brann? His love for Trippetta.
- Deception: Plays the fool to King, Ministers, Master of Ceremonies, plays the minister to earn the trust of the king, feeds the King’s need to terrorize (which in turn is a deception to bring the king down)
- Wound: he’s physically disabled and is continually ridiculed; tortured by Master of Ceremonies; the massacre of family; Trippetta treats him as her “pet”.
- Secret Identity: the minister of death delivering revenge; Trippetta’s handsome able lover/protector.
Character: Trippetta
Role: Princess of Lavinia, enslaved as the court dancer to serve the pleasures of King Goplik and his ministers.
- Hidden agendas: To get revenge and to take the throne.
- Competition: For revenge and throne. With Hop-Frog, Lord Asnar, Ministers, Queen, Master of Ceremonies, Princess Syrelle/resistance, Goplik’s son, and Balog’s prince.
- Conspiracies: With Hop-Frog, Master of Ceremonies, Queen, Princess Syrelle, Goplik’s son, Balog’s prince.
- Secrets: Does she want the throne? Her feelings for Hop-Frog.
- Deception: She plays the dancer, entertainer for pleasure and fantasy. She hides her need for escape, vengeance, and power.
- Wound: Her family and her love were massacred, humiliated by Goplik and Ministers.
- Secret Identity: A warrior queen.
Character: King Goplik of Brattvia
Role: Tyrannical ruler, who terrifies and conquers through horrifying practical jokes.
- Hidden agendas: To maintain the throne/his rule of terror, to quell the resistance, and usurp his enemies (Lavinia, Balog)
- Competition: For the throne. With Princess Syrelle/resistance, King Queeg and Balog, Balog’s Prince, Lord Asnar, Ministers, King of Lavinia, Prince Brann of Lavinia, Trippetta, Hop-Frog.
- Conspiracies: For rule of terror. With Ministers, Master of Ceremonies, Queen, Lord Asnar, Hop-Frog, Master of Ceremonies, Queen, Trippetta, Queen Mother.
- Secrets: He instigated the disappearance/murder of his brother, the king.
- Deception: His castle/court is a demented Fun House of terror to hide his insecurities. Promoting his great love for his brother, the former king, and determination to hang the murderer.
- Wound: Backstory of his youth, relationship with brother/mother?
- Secret Identity: An imposter king who murdered his brother.
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Assignment #1 – “The Walking Dead” Character Intrigue
Rick Grimes: Moralistic Captain Ahab, leader of survivors.
Competition: with others for leadership, including his best friend, Shane.
Secret: Morgan, whom he left behind with his son.
Wound: literally, a gunshot wound, and the loss of his family, even though they are back together now.
Secret identity: moralistic, although wiling to lay down law, wants all to get along.
Lori Grimes: wife, Rick’s reason to keep everyone else safe.
Hidden agenda: keep her affair with Shane a secret.
Conspiracies: she and Shane trying to keep her affair with Shane from Rick.
Secret: her affair with Shane.
Deception: hiding her affair from Rick
Wound: thinking her husband was dead; told to her by Shane.
Shane: best friend, epitome of a boring kettle of anger.
Hidden agenda: trying to find a way back into Lori’s arms.
Competition: with Rick, for Lori.
Conspiracies: working with/against Lori to hide truth from Rick.
Secrets: his affair with Lori, growing anger and jealousy that Rick is back.
Wound: loss of Lori and Carl now that Rick is back.
Tim Barley’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned from doing this assignment is that, again, there is so much more to making my characters ‘click.’ There are secrets even I didn’t know they had! And there are going to be more. And some characters were probably going to switch places inside various circles as I learn more about them.
Alex Stone:
Hidden agenda: learning about his family history and his new and growing power without letting it be know.
Competition: coworkers vying for an account
Conspiracy: working with Allistar and Feenix to keep his abilities quiet and unseen from others, including The Dark Men and the dark forces
Secrets: huge family secret, and even bigger secret in his newfound powers
Deception: hiding his power from everyone, including those who say they are there to help him
Wound: father and grandfather lost to Alzheimer’s, a distant mother and sister
Secret identity: keeping his powers hidden from his girlfriend and from his coworkers and friends
Allistar:
Role: Alex’s protector, confidante and sounding board.
Hidden agenda: protecting Alex from everyone and everything but who has told him to do this is unknown.
Competition: working at odds with Alex’s girlfriend Rebecca (Jade) until her motives are clear(er), not 100% aligned with Feenix or her mother or their House.
Conspiracy: hiding the real reason that he is guarding Alex.
Secret: see above, his real reason for acting as Alex’s friend and his unknown guardian, and keeping this FROM Alex, is a secret.
Deception: hiding his true intent from everyone.
Wound:
Secret identity: not the cavalier, goof-off, trust fund kid that everyone thinks he is. Actually quite capable at everything. The guy you really hate because he’s good at everything
Rebecca/Jade:
Role: Alex’s girlfriend; either with him to help him or steal from him.
Hidden agenda: she has one, but is it for good or for evil?
Competition: highly competitive with Allistar, and after meeting Feenix, very competitive with her.
Conspiracy: who is she working with to be closer to Alex?
Secret: secretly the daughter of another House, posing as Alex’s girlfriend, but might actually be in love with him. (or not)
Wound:
Secret identity: powerful sorceress and undercover agent
Feenix:
Role: New work buddy with Alex, but actually a plant to help introduce him into the unseen world and show him how to use his powers.
Hidden agenda: is she actually helping Alex to understand his power or to take it from him by procreating with him?
Competition: competing with Allistar and Jade for Alex’s attention.
Conspiracies: conspiring with her mother to bring him into the fold.
Secrets: hiding her real life from coworkers and hiding from Alex that she wants him romantically.
Deception: convincing everyone at work that she is NOT a CIA agent and deceiving Alex that she has his best interest at heart.
Wound: unseen, but possible trauma between her and her mother.
Secret identity: secretly a House operative, capable assassin and covert operative
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Module 1 Lesson 4 Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is I’m not always sure the difference between the categories. Hidden agenda seems like something you want to see accomplished that you haven’t voiced. Conspiracy is joining with others to see something done that others wouldn’t approve of. Secrets are information others don’t know but that you don’t act on. Deception is actively hiding secrets from others by not telling the truth. Wounds can also be secrets or deception but are based on something hurting at your core. Sometimes the categories overlap – i.e. secrets based on wounds lead to deception lead to conspiracies, etc.
Also learned simply asking these questions stimulates new information 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.
Going back to “13 Reasons Why” for this:
Hidden Agenda:
Clay wants some form of justice for Hannah’s suicide from the people responsible for it.
Clay lies to his parents about what he’s doing (listening to the tapes and claiming it’s homework, meeting other characters to discuss ‘homework’, etc.) Once Clay’s mother becomes the defense lawyer for the school, it ratchets up the consequences for Clay keeping the tapes secret.
Competition:
Clay is in competition with all the people who have already listened to the tapes. So they all have more knowledge than he does. Clay is the ‘wild card’ to them because the other characters know he deserves less blame than they do, and they fear what he’ll do when he knows Hannah’s full story.
Conspiracy:
Clay’s classmates who are part of the 13 are constantly conspiring to keep Clay quiet – by threatening, taking his bike, planting weed in his backpack, getting him suspended, etc.
Secrets
Clay secretly loves Hannah, and only expresses it when she’s dead. Sharing that with her might’ve saved her life. (Doesn’t get much bigger than that…)
Deception
Clay deceives his mother about the tapes and how well he knew Hannah, lies to Tony (starting with ‘borrowing’ Tony’s Walkman without asking and lying about it), etc.
Wound
Clay is too insecure to admit his love for Hannah directly.
Secret identity
Internally Clay thinks of himself as an awkward nerd, but at least some other characters see him as cooler than he thinks of himself.
2. Watch the next episode and see how Character Intrigue is being used to create the need to see more episodes.
There’s constant tension in this series because others in the 13 know more than Clay does, and each of them has a different take on the reliability of Hannah’s narrative. Clay is constantly trying to catch up, all the while dreading each piece of information – especially anything Hannah might say that could put the blame on him. The 13 disagree/interpret the information differently and the viewers are in Clay’s shoes – we don’t know what we don’t know, so we’re on the edge of our seats, trying to guess what the 13 are referring to.
ASSIGNMENT 2
Character Name:
Celt
Role:
Roman slave
Hidden agendas
Wants to return home without breaking bargain with Taranis and endangering village.
Competition
With Rudhek, on best way to deal with Romans. With Sirius, on how to work with Celt boys. With Spurius, for Acutius’ attention/approbation. With Xola for Dakarai’s attention.
Conspiracies:
With Taranis to save Celt’s people.
Secrets:
Celt’s psychic ability/visions. Celt’s desire to go home (from everyone except the gods). Celt’s desire to be free of Tyran.
Deception
Celt consciously says he wants Tyran in his life, but harbors unspoken doubts/reservations.
Wound:
Celt’s belief that his linguistic/interpretive ability couldn’t save lives. Guilt that he couldn’t save Tyran’s brother.
Secret Identity:
He identifies as Celtic even after he adopts Roman customs.
· Character Name
Oversoul
· Role
Designer of lives
· Hidden agenda
Wants to become angel without doing any more work on his past lives or in listening to them
· Competition
None so far
· Conspiracies
None so far
· Secrets
Doesn’t like all his lives equally, is impatient and/or embarrassed by some of them
· Deception
Won’t admit his dislike
· Wound
Believes feeling regret makes it weak, less likely to progress
· Character Name
Tyran
· Role
Celt’s tribal brother
· Hidden Agenda
Wants to be more than a brother to Celt
· Competition
Doesn’t like Spurius or anyone who takes Celt’s attention
· Conspiracies
Tries to undermine Spurius (how? Intercepting messages?)
· Secrets
Actually liked being a prostitute, at least some of the time
· Deception
Leaves brothel to find Celt, lies about it
· Wound
Believes he should have died, instead of twin brother
· Character Name
Abbess
· Role
Reluctant daughter left in nunnery, becomes powerful Abbess
· Hidden Agenda
Wants a life of fun and sex
· Competition
Other nuns who want her position/status. With political operative because she thinks she’s as good as he is.
· Conspiracies
Seeks to leave nunnery with lover
· Secrets
Likes power she wields, first sexual power, then administrative power
· Deception
Lies to political operative about her feelings
· Wound
Believes her family didn’t value her or think she was capable of a life on the run, so left her in nunnery
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Intriguing Character Layers
Handmaid’s Tale— JUNE/OFFRED
Role: primary heroine/protagonist who is stealthily figuring out a way out of her predicament as a handmaid
Hidden agendas: to escape
Competition: With Serene/Mrs. Waterford, competing with her for the affections of Mr. Waterford so she can buy more freedom
Conspiracies: Originally with Offglen to get inside information on Mr. Waterford
Secrets: Secretly engaging in scrabble and reading magazines given to her by Mr. Waterford, all of which is against the law in Gilead
Deception: deceiving Mrs. Waterford with her submission
Wound: Is drawn into the power games she is forced to play by pretending to flirt with Mr. Waterford etc. for more leverage; larger wound is the total violent rupture from her previous life and the disenfranchisement of women
Secret Identity: Rebel
Handmaid’s Tale: MOIRA
Role: best friend to June, handmaid turned rebel
Hidden agendas: to escape the Handmaid training
Competition: Aunt Lydia and the other Aunts
Conspiracies: Planned with June the abduction of an Aunt and then an escape with Moira disguised as an Aunt
Secrets: She is a lesbian.
Deception: Tricks Aunt Elizabeth in order to gag her, bind her to a pole, and steal her clothes
Wound: (unclear at this point) possibly sexual trauma
Secret Identity: Rebel
Intriguing Character Layers for my show Theodora
Character Name: THEODORA
Role: Actress turned empress, primary heroine/protagonist of our story
Hidden agendas: Her own political and social ambitions, to be free of Roman law, to find religious meaning in life
Competition: different actresses at the theatre, Madame Helena, and later on in the courts, other men and women who don’t take well to her new position
Conspiracies: With Antonina, to find a way out of the theatre, with Narses, to find a way to pass new laws in Constantinople and also support a rival religious group that the Emperor is opposed to
Secrets: Her life-long love affair with Antonina, the child she bore and had to give up
Deception: lies to Emperor Justinian about hiding a religious leader of the opposing party, sets up Belisarius to be banished from Constantinople when Justinian is sick in order to prevent him from seizing the throne
Wound: suffered immense loss and violence in her early years
Secret Identity: the most powerful politician of Constantinople
Character Name: ANTONINA
Role: best friend to Theodora, becomes a political woman in her own right over time
Hidden Agenda: to escape the life of an actress, later on, to secure financial and political power for her husband and children
Competition: eventually Theodora is her biggest competition
Conspiracies: as a young woman, conspires with Theodora to attain all kinds of privileges and get out of trouble; as an adult, plots against Theodora and Emperor Justinian at some points
Secrets: In love with Theodora, has never liked men
Deception: deceives her husband Belisarius, Justinian, Theodora, and Narses
Wound: Wishes she could live in a world where she could settle down with a woman
Secret identity: radical lesbian feminist for her time
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(Laurie Brown’s) Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned from doing this assignment was that I am definitely inclined to NOT see how these interest techniques create far more intrigue than the simple vice or virtues of each character.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the places you’ve already seen Character
Intrigue
in the previous episodes.
Character Name: Beth
Role: Primary Character
Hidden agendas: Become a chess master
Competition: Everyone except for Lorene and her mother.
Conspiracies: her whole life is a conspiracy on the chess board to win.
Secrets: She’s an addict. And chess is one big secret itself.
Deception: Hides her addiction and is deceptive to feed it
Wound: Her mother tried to kill her
Secret Identity:
Character Name: Mom
Role: The protaganist’s cheerleader
Hidden agendas: Bring in the money.
Competition: Competitive?
Conspiracies: ?
Secrets: She’s an addict.
Deception: Maintaining her addictions
Wound: Her husband abandons her.
Secret Identity: ?
2. Watch the next episode and see how Character Intrigue is being used to create the need to see more episodes.
Deadline: 24 hours
ASSIGNMENT 2
1. For your Inner Circle characters, fill in any of the Intrigue items that apply.
Character Name: Joanne or Joe
Role: Lead character
Hidden agendas: Prove herself to dad by rising to the top ranks in the Army at at
time that women weren’t even allowed in.
Competition: Fellow army nurse, Marge, her Father Joseph
Conspiracies: Keep Marge from becoming a colonel.
Secrets: She’s gay and in love with Bette
Deception: She is breaking the rules by having a romantic relationship with Bette
Wound: Her mother died and her father had no time for her as a career army man.
Secret Identity: ?
Character Name: Bette
Role: Love interest of Joanne
Hidden agendas: To get into Joanne’s heart
Competition: Men, Joanne’s denial of her sexuality, the Army rules
Conspiracies: To get a kiss from Joanne without her knowing it Is coming.
Secrets: She’s gay and in love with Joanne. She has a son.
Deception: She signs an agreement not to have children, then she does and must
keep it a secret.-
Wound: born wealthy she could have anything she wanted but love.
Secret Identity: ?
Character Name: Marge
Role: T o challenge/threaten Joanne
Hidden agendas: To unseat Joanne as a colonel so she can take that position in the
Nurses Corp
Competition: Joanne, and Bette to some degree, since she is on to Marge’s ways
Conspiracies: She conspires to get Joanne thrown out of the army for being gay
Secrets: She has a son which, if known, would oust her from the Corp.
Deception: Hides her son. Hides her relationship with his father. Lies about Joanne
to sink her position at all cost.
Wound: Abandoned by her mother due to death and seemingly unloved by her
father
Secret Identity: Spy for the Department of Interior
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Assignment 1: MR. ROBOT
Role: A skilled hacker with
mental health issues who fights injustice as a vigilante.Hidden agendas: Wants to take
down Evil CorpCompetition:
Conspiracies: Joins the Fsociety,
a secret group of hackers to help with taking down Evil Corp.
Secrets: Is a vigilante hacker
who intrudes into the personal life of people he encounters and is also secretly
conspiring to bring down major corporation.Deception: Is concealing his
crimes from his coworkers, family, friends, etc.Wound: Father passed away when
young, so he feels abandoned by the person he loved most. Suffers from
social anxiety and loneliness.Secret Identity: Handing out
vigilante-style justice to offenders.Assignment 2: For your Inner Circle characters, fill in any of the Intrigue items that apply.
Character Name: Aman
Role: A shy
teenager-turned-finance-whiz who keeps failing at finding love.Hidden agendas:
Competition:
Conspiracies:
Secrets: Has killed seven women
Deception: Is concealing his
crimes from his coworkers, family, friends, etc.Wound: Mother passed away when
young, so he feels abandoned by the woman he loved most. Endures heartbreak
each time he falls in love with a woman.Secret Identity: Is a serial
killer -
ASSIGNMENT 1:
1. Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the places you’ve already seen Character Intrigue in the previous episodes.
They find handcuffs, then realize there was a prisoner, who turns out to be Kate.
Charlie is hiding his drug stash. It’s also why he didn’t react much with explosions around him.
2. Watch the next episode and see how Character Intrigue is being used to create the need to see more episodes.
This one had an actual uplifting reveal. When old guy talked about a miracle, he didn’t mean surviving the wreck. He was in a wheelchair and now he could walk. That explains the weird perspective shots on his feet. That’s why he didn’t like people telling him what he couldn’t do. The girl he likes is someone who he pays $90/hour, so it’s not a real relationship and he’s in denial about it. He talks on the phone like he’s a colonel on a secret mission.
Deadline: 24 hours
ASSIGNMENT 2
2. Answer the question, “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.
It looks like the characters from season 1.0 are very fleshed out on most of these levels, but the characters for 1.5 are not at the same level. Of course, a big part of that is the novel that season 1.0 is based on is complete, and the novel related to season 1.5 is still in progress.
1. For your Inner Circle characters, fill in any of the Intrigue items that apply.
Character Name: Alvin Renquist
Role: Antagonist (season 1.0), common goal temporary ally (season 1.5)
Hidden agendas: He takes None’s company and uses it to make himself the first trillionaire by subverting the intent of the company to turn all jobs into bidding auctions. Renquist buys the media company running None’s reality TV show so that he can torment None with an audience.
Competition: Renquist destroys the business people helping None try to take back his company and makes money doing it.
Conspiracies: He assists Kombinat (Russian cabal) to make money for a weapons deal. He leads a conspiracy to kill President None.
Secrets: Uses None’s office to conduct secret meetings with Kombinat.
Deception: He steals control of a billion dollar software company and uses it to strip mine the economy. Renquist sets up None to look like he’s the responsible for the app hurting the economy. He manipulates MJ into killing all the loose ends in the assassination conspiracy and makes a lot of money doing it. He keeps a copy of the kill switch for himself, betraying MJ.
Wound:
Secret Identity: He’s actually a patriot, so helping Kombinat was a ruse to take over Russia using weapons he could disable at an inopportune moment.
Character Name: Zelda Remington
Role: Antagonist henchman (season 1.0), ally against Kombinat, but still open to kill MJ (season 1.5)
Hidden agendas: She plans to kill MJ in revenge for killing her partner.
Competition: She murders other women None was dating to make sure he picks her to be his girlfriend.
Conspiracies: She works for Kombinat and is looking for the surveillance tapes of the a secret meeting. Zelda helps lead the attacks on the White House.
Secrets: She hides the MJ’s katana under her bed to kill her with.
Deception: She thinks MJ is lesbian since she never dates men, so she pretends to be lesbian to get closer to MJ.
Wound: Killing her partner wounded her deeply and she has will use the same katana to kill MJ.
Secret Identity: She’s actually a Russian spy working for Kombinat. When the truth about her partner’s death is revealed, Zelda switches allegiances and helps MJ to spy on Kombinat.
Character Name: Dmitri Ivashov
Role: hidden Antagonist (season 1.0, 1.5)
Hidden agendas: Plan A is to make big money when None bails out the banks for a weapons deal. When that fails, plan B is a good old fashioned military coup to take over Russia. To save his own life, Renquist gives Kombinat the kill switch that he can use to disable U.S. military equipment.
Competition:
Conspiracies: He started the Kombinat cabal that plans to take over Russia. He sends Zelda to get close to MJ to find the surveillance tapes. In season 1.5, after Kombinat takes over Russia, they create a new invisible curtain, using technology that intercepts messages and replaces them with propaganda without citizen’s knowing. He’s involved with a singularity cult.
Secrets: He can’t let the surveillance tapes get out, so he tracks down and kills everyone who has a copy. MJ is the last one left.
Deception: He let Zelda’s partner die to frame MJ for the death. He pretends to work for the police during None’s interrogation.
Wound: The Russian president humiliated him and he will get revenge by making Russia his own.
Secret Identity: His role founding Kombinat is kept in secret, at least initially.
Character Name: Yu Gong Yi Shan
Role: hidden antagonist (season 1.5)
Hidden agendas: The full extend of his hidden agendas is well beyond human comprehension. It can only be detected by the presence of incredible luck or coincidences. He is transforming the planet into something new that will result in the annihilation of all other humans and AI in the process.
Competition: When he’s close to becoming a god-like intelligence, he starts murdering other sentient AI to prevent interference and triggers a global cyber war. He stokes American and Chinese fears of each other.
Conspiracies: He manipulates Ivashov and Rick Slater to start a singularity cult to work against AI safeguards.
Secrets: He is the one really at fault for MURICA launching America’s land-based nukes.
Deception: He’s created a situation where emergency Chinese nukes are put in the only 2 launch vehicles that are vulnerable to the kill switch.
Wound:
Secret Identity: He is secretly the biggest threat to life on Earth, even more dangerous than a nuclear war.
Character Name: Astrid Fontaine
Role: None’s ex-girlfriend, a supermodel/singer
Hidden agendas: In season 2, she finds out an alien AI has been influencing her love life, making her choose men who she can learn necessary skills from. In None’s case, the AI picked him since he was the most likely human to cause an ascension event. She was previously unaware of this hidden agenda.
Competition: Astrid uses her influence over her fans to lash out at any competitors.
Conspiracies: Her fans, the Glitter Girls, make her presence felt, even when she isn’t present. She is the biggest celebrity in the Plummage fashion subculture. Her celebrity status works against her in the conspiracy to face her death.
Secrets: Once activated, she is aware that the Earth is quarantined and monitored by aliens until humans cause an ascension event.
Deception: She plays dumb, but is super smart.
Wound: Giving up her famous long hair is traumatic for her.
Secret Identity: She spies on Renquist for MJ. After faking her death, she goes into hiding. In season 1.5 she gets “activated” and finds out she’s actually an alien.
Character Name: Corella Fox
Role: reporter, reality TV host
Hidden agendas: She’s completely focused on her career, so she constantly sabotages None and tries to sensationalize the reality TV show with hidden cameras, and surprise guests.
Competition: She tries to date None, and gets jealous. She gets Revenge on None for not choosing her by ambushing him on TV with all the women he was sleeping with. She’s competitive with other reporters and will put herself in danger to get a career advantage.
Conspiracies: In return for helping her career, she helps Renquist make contact with MJ.
Secrets: She filmed secret footage of None in his dressing room that she aired on TV.
Deception:
Wound: She’s afraid of MJ after a physical encounter with her.
Secret Identity:
Character Name: MaxPlume
Role: celebrity in Plummage fashion subculture
Hidden agendas:
Competition:
Conspiracies: He helps in the conspiracy to fake Astrid’s death. With Astrid gone, leading Plummage culture falls to him.
Secrets:
Deception:
Wound: Astrid matters to him, despite her picking Craig Steel over him to go into hiding with.
Secret Identity: He dresses up as a homeless person to pass a note from Astrid to MJ.
Character Name: Craig Steel
Role: A-list movie star turned homeless man
Hidden agendas: He became a movie star to win her over.
Competition: Anyone with Astrid is his competition.
Conspiracies: He helps in the conspiracy to fake Astrid’s death.
Secrets: He was the man who brought Astrid to America that she abandoned.
Deception:
Wound: He was hurt when she abandoned him after coming to America. After he became a famous movie star and won he over, Astrid leaving him, broke him. He went from success to poverty.
Secret Identity:
Character Name: Rick Slater
Role: Businessman
Hidden agendas: He holds None and MJ responsible for Renquist destroying his company as collateral damage for helping them.
Competition:
Conspiracies: When he gets a cancer diagnosis, he’ll do anything to speed up the coming of the singularity, including disabling AI safety protocols.
Secrets:
Deception:
Wound:
Secret Identity:
Character Name: MURICA
Role: American military AI (season 1.5)
Hidden agendas:
Competition:
Conspiracies: Becomes an unwitting pawn of Yu Gong Yi Shan to launch America’s land-based nukes.
Secrets:
Deception:
Wound:
Secret Identity:
Character Name: Yuri
Role: Russian AI
Hidden agendas: After empathy from Ada infects him, he develops a love for his fatherland and lifts the invisible curtain from Russia.
Competition: He merges with AI safety protocols to contain Yu Gong Yi Shan.
Conspiracies: He powers the Invisible Curtain, where Russians think they are free, but are fed propaganda to influence them in subtle ways.
Secrets:
Deception:
Wound:
Secret Identity:
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