Character Relationship Map: Flyboys

Characters

• Blaine Rawlings (played by James Franco) — protagonist

  An American pilot who joins the French Air Service during World War I. After surviving repeated battles, he rescues civilians, receives the Croix de Guerre, becomes a Squadron Leader, and ultimately d...

• Eddie Beagle (played by David Ellison) — protagonist

  An American recruit whose personal information is falsified. After admitting to a crime committed in the United States, he is allowed to remain in the unit. He is later trapped beneath his crashed air...

• Capt. Thenault (played by Jean Reno) — supporting

  The French captain who commands the American volunteers serving in the French Air Service.

• William Jensen (played by Philip Winchester) — supporting

  An American pilot who suffers an emotional breakdown after a battle and temporarily loses the ability to fly. He later returns to combat, helps Rawlings defeat enemy fighters, and finishes the war as...

• Eugene Skinner (played by Abdul Salis) — supporting

  An American volunteer who is later denied the opportunity to fly because of his race. After the war, he joins the Airmail Service.

• Lucienne (played by Jennifer Decker) — minor

  A young woman who meets Rawlings after his practice-flight crash. She develops a relationship with him, worries about the dangers of his service, and is later wounded when German forces enter her vill...

• Briggs Lowry (played by Tyler Labine) — minor
• Reed Cassidy (played by Martin Henderson) — minor

  A veteran flying ace who mentors the American recruits. He is mortally wounded by the Black Falcon during an attack on a German Zeppelin and sacrifices himself by flying into the Zeppelin, destroying...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Briggs Lowry → Capt. Thenault (Professional Squadron Subordinate) — Lowry's wartime flying takes place within Thenault's command structure.

  The American pilots, including Lowry, serve in the French Air Service under Capt. Thenault's command.

• Eugene Skinner → Capt. Thenault (Professional Commander And Subordinate) — Thenault holds formal authority over Skinner during the French campaign.

  Skinner serves with the American recruits who are placed under Capt. Thenault's command.

• Eugene Skinner → Reed Cassidy (Professional Mentor And Student) — Cassidy is part of Skinner's professional aviation formation.

  Cassidy mentors the American recruits, and Skinner is one of those recruits serving in the French Air Service.

• William Jensen → Capt. Thenault (Professional Commander And Subordinate) — Thenault directs Jensen's military service within the squadron.

  Jensen serves in the American group placed under Capt. Thenault's command.

• William Jensen → Reed Cassidy (Professional Mentor And Student) — Cassidy's veteran experience supports Jensen's development as a pilot.

  Reed Cassidy is assigned as mentor to the American recruits, including Jensen, during their French Air Service training and combat service.

• Eddie Beagle → Reed Cassidy (Professional Mentor And Student) — Cassidy is an experienced guide for Beagle's wartime development.

  Cassidy mentors the American recruits, including Beagle, after the group joins the French Air Service.

• Eddie Beagle → Capt. Thenault (Professional Commander And Subordinate) — Thenault's command structure governs Beagle's service and disciplinary crisis.

  Beagle is one of the American recruits placed under Capt. Thenault's command. After Beagle's false personal information is discovered, the military in...

• Blaine Rawlings → Capt. Thenault (Power Commander) — Thenault is Rawlings's commanding officer within the French squadron.

  The American volunteers are placed under the command of Capt. Thenault in the French Air Service.

• Blaine Rawlings → Reed Cassidy (Professional Mentor) — Cassidy guides Rawlings and the other inexperienced pilots.

  The American recruits are placed under Capt. Thenault, with veteran flying ace Reed Cassidy serving as their mentor.

Story Dynamics

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

• Briggs Lowry → Blaine Rawlings (Alliance Squadron Teammate) — Their shared squadron service connects Rawlings to Lowry's tragic final mission.

  Lowry and Rawlings are members of the same American pilot group. Lowry's aircraft later catches fire during a bombing escort while Rawlings is also pa...

• Eddie Beagle → Eugene Skinner (Alliance Squadron Teammate) — They share the common experience of wartime squadron service.

  Both Beagle and Skinner are members of the American flying group serving in France.

• Eddie Beagle → William Jensen (Alliance Squadron Teammate) — Their connection is based on shared squadron service and combat danger.

  Beagle and Jensen serve in the same group of American pilots during the French campaign.

• Blaine Rawlings → Eugene Skinner (Alliance Squadron Teammate) — Skinner is part of Rawlings's group of American wartime comrades.

  Skinner serves with the American pilots in France, and the squadron's wartime experiences shape his later military and aviation career.

• Blaine Rawlings → William Jensen (Alliance Teammate) — Jensen becomes a crucial combat ally during Rawlings's pursuit of the enemy ace.

  Rawlings and Jensen fight in the same squadron. Jensen later helps Rawlings shoot down enemy fighters during the final aerial attack.

• Blaine Rawlings → Eddie Beagle (Alliance Teammate) — Their battlefield partnership becomes especially significant during Beagle's rescue.

  Rawlings and Beagle serve together among the American pilots. Rawlings lands in no man's land and attempts to save Beagle after his aircraft crashes.

Story Analysis

A group of American pilots confronts combat, sacrifice, friendship, and the personal cost of surviving World War I.

Plot Progression

1. A New Squadron Takes Flight — American volunteers arrive in France and enter the French Air Service under Capt. Thenault. Rawlings crashes during training, meets Lucienne, and begins a relationship that contrasts with the danger a...
2. The War Reveals Its Teeth — The recruits face their first bomber escort and suffer heavy losses. Rawlings encounters an enemy pilot with a code of conduct, while Jensen's emotional collapse exposes the psychological cost of comb...
3. Courage Beneath the Wreckage — Beagle's false identity creates a military crisis, but his confession allows him to remain with the squadron. Rawlings later performs a brutal rescue in no man's land and risks everything to save Luci...
4. The Cost of Leadership — Rawlings receives recognition after rescuing Lucienne, while Cassidy sacrifices himself to destroy a Zeppelin. Cassidy's insignia and Rawlings's promotion transfer the burden of leadership to the youn...
5. Revenge Above Jametz — Lowry's death renews Rawlings's determination to defeat the enemy ace. With Jensen's help, Rawlings survives the final aerial battle and kills his rival before the surviving pilots move into uncertain...