45 Master Characters (41 page)

The Nemesis in action:

Mimi in
The Drew Carey Show
.

Carla in
Cheers
.

Newman in
Seinfeld
.

The Investigator is always butting in when she's not wanted or needed, always asking questions and driving the hero crazy. The Investigator is very insecure. She has to know every minute detail of a situation before making a decision on what to do. She's afraid of taking chances because she's afraid of being wrong. She may have a need to do everything “by the book” because she's so afraid of getting into trouble with the law.

She tries to control and manipulate the hero into doing what she wants her to do. She's very jealous of the hero accomplishing her goal because she may have a similar one. To see the hero do what she wishes she could do is painful for her, so she can't let the hero do it without facing all of the Investigator's fears for her. She uses questions such as “Well did you think about this . . ?” to throw doubt at the hero, implying the hero needs her.

At first the hero welcomes the questions as helpful, but at some point they grate on her nerves. She realizes what the Investigator is doing and tries to get rid of her.

The Investigator sometimes feels like the whole world is at stake and the hero owes it to everyone to be sure about her actions and decisions. The Investigator worries so much she stops everyone from taking a stand and acting.

The Investigator can cause conflict for the hero:

By constantly throwing questions at her every step of the way, slowing down her progress.

By sapping so much of the hero's energy by pulling her in different directions. The hero makes a decision and then the Investigator keeps making her run around in circles, changing her mind back and forth over it.

The Investigator in action:

Danny's (John Candy) overbearing mother in
Only the Lonely
.

In
The Awakening
, Madam Ratignolle reminds Edna that she cannot live completely free of social constraints — that her actions have consequences.

The Pessimist challenges the hero with his constant disapproval of the hero's actions. He has a “nothing will work” attitude and doesn't bother to ask questions like the Investigator. He knows nothing will go the way it should so he doesn't even try. He's the master of inaction and loves to see his doubts take over the hero's thoughts. When the hero is unsure of himself the Pessimist feels justified in feeling bad about everything. “He can't, we can't, it's impossible” is his mantra.

He doesn't know how to look at the bright side of things. He has no hope and thinks the hero is stupid for not worrying about outcomes. He says things like, “You could walk outside and get hit by a car and die for all you know and then what happens?” Risk taking isn't part of his routine unless he has a death wish. Then he takes risks hoping for a bad result.

The Pessimist can cause conflict for the hero:

By shooting down every idea the hero has one by one until the hero has no ideas left.

By causing the hero to doubt every action he has taken or will take.

By making the hero feel defeated before he has even begun to fight.

By making the hero make the wrong decisions.

By persuading the hero to not take any action until the stakes are raised so high he has to do something.