Character Relationship Map: Submerged

Characters

• Jeff Cort (played by Coolio) — protagonist

  Jeff Cort leads the divers who arrive at the sunken 747, but they are accomplices of Richard Layton seeking the Thunderstrike computer. Cort turns on Layton, fatally shooting him with a spear, and sho...

• Agent Jim Carpenter (played by Maxwell Caulfield) — supporting

  Jim Carpenter is a CIA agent hired to escort the passengers to Hawaii. After the plane crashes, he is wounded when Jeff Cort shoots him, and the survivors tend to his injury aboard the submerged 747....

• Richard Layton (played by Fredric Lehne) — supporting

  Richard Layton murders the 747's pilot and takes his place, then kills the copilot as the aircraft takes off and crashes the plane into the ocean. He is connected to the divers' plan to steal the Thun...

• Buck Stevens (played by Dennis Weaver) — supporting

  Buck Stevens owns the Thunderstrike satellite and is Tiffany's father. He travels with her and the other passengers on the 747 carrying the computer for the satellite's launch. During the rescue attem...

• Agent Wendy Robbins (played by Yvette Nipar) — supporting

  Wendy Robbins is an ATF agent who tracks down Karen, an accomplice of Owen Cantrell. Karen escapes, and the resulting car chase ends with her vehicle crashing; Wendy and Mack Taylor believe Karen has...

• Owen Cantrell (played by Tim Thomerson) — supporting

  Owen Cantrell is an arms dealer involved in the plot to use the Thunderstrike computer. After fatally shooting Jeff Cort during their flight, he later joins Frank Ewing and Karen at his mission to att...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Owen Cantrell → Agent Jim Carpenter (Conflict Indirect Enemy) — Cantrell's scheme places Jim's protected passengers and mission at risk.

  Cantrell's operation depends on stealing the Thunderstrike computer from the aircraft that Jim is assigned to protect.

• Agent Wendy Robbins → Owen Cantrell (Conflict Investigator Against Suspect) — Wendy supports the law-enforcement pursuit of Cantrell's operation.

  Wendy tracks down an accomplice connected to Cantrell and later assists in the raid on Cantrell's mansion.

• Buck Stevens → Jeff Cort (Conflict Opposing Interests) — Cort's theft operation threatens Buck's property and technological project.

  Buck owns the Thunderstrike satellite, while Cort's divers attempt to steal the computer used to launch it.

• Agent Jim Carpenter → Buck Stevens (Alliance Protector) — Jim serves as Buck's assigned security escort during the disaster.

  Jim is hired to escort Buck Stevens and the other passengers to Hawaii, then helps organize survival efforts after the crash.

• Richard Layton → Agent Jim Carpenter (Conflict Adversary) — Layton's hijacking places Jim and the passengers in direct opposition to him.

  Layton murders the pilot, kills the copilot, and crashes the aircraft while Jim is escorting the passengers.

• Owen Cantrell → Jeff Cort (Conflict Betrayer) — Cantrell turns against Cort after using the divers' operation.

  After the divers fly toward Cantrell's mansion, Cantrell betrays Cort by fatally shooting him.

• Jeff Cort → Agent Jim Carpenter (Conflict Enemy) — Cort directly attacks the agent protecting the passengers.

  Cort shoots Jim after fatally attacking Layton during the underwater operation.

• Jeff Cort → Richard Layton (Alliance Former Accomplice) — Cort and Layton initially cooperate in the theft operation.

  Jeff Cort leads the divers who are revealed to be Layton's accomplices in the plan to steal the Thunderstrike computer.

Story Analysis

A hijacked aircraft disaster becomes a struggle to survive, expose betrayal, and prevent the Thunderstrike weapon from being misused.

Plot Progression

1. A Mission Above the Ocean — The Thunderstrike satellite is launched, and its owner travels toward Hawaii with an assigned security escort. The flight appears routine until the pilot is murdered.
2. The Aircraft Goes Under — The hijacked aircraft crashes into the ocean and sinks to the seabed. The passengers survive, but their isolation becomes a life-threatening trap.
3. Betrayal Beneath the Waves — Divers arrive claiming to help, but they intend to steal the Thunderstrike computer. Cort turns on Layton, and Cantrell later turns on Cort.
4. A Fragile Way Out — The survivors send an emergency beacon and attract a naval rescue effort. The aircraft is lifted, but the rescue balloons fail and the wreck sinks again.
5. The Weapon Is Stopped — Cantrell's operation attempts to use Thunderstrike against multiple locations. A law-enforcement raid interrupts the firing sequence and recovers the computer.