Character Relationship Map: The Discovery

Characters

• Will Harbor (played by Jason Segel) — protagonist

  The central protagonist, who travels to his father's research mansion, resents his father's discovery because it contributed to his mother's suicide, and seeks to stop further suicides. He investigate...

• Isla (played by Rooney Mara) — protagonist

  A woman Will meets on a ferry and later rescues from suicide. She reveals that her son died while she was asleep, grows close to Will, and is shot during an attempt to stop the machine's revelation. I...

• Dr. Thomas Harbor (played by Robert Redford) — supporting

  The scientist who proved the existence of an afterlife, triggering a massive suicide rate. He continues researching in an isolated mansion, using a machine to record experiences after death. After wit...

• Toby Harbor (played by Jesse Plemons) — supporting

  Will's brother who picks him up and brings him to the research mansion. He helps conduct the experiment with the machine, interrupts Will and Isla's private moment, and later tries to revive Will afte...

• Interviewer (played by Mary Steenburgen) — supporting
• Lacey (played by Riley Keough) — supporting

  One of Thomas's aides at the mansion. She tells others that the machine test failed, is confronted and expelled by Thomas, and later shoots Isla during Thomas's planned speech, claiming that she has r...

• Cooper (played by Ron Canada) — supporting

  One of Thomas's aides at the isolated mansion, where he is introduced as part of the research team assisting Thomas's experiments.

Canonical Relationships

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

• Dr. Thomas Harbor → Interviewer (Professional Interview Subject) — The interviewer publicly challenges Thomas about the consequences of his discovery.

  The interviewer questions Thomas about proving the afterlife and whether he feels responsible for the resulting suicides.

• Dr. Thomas Harbor → Cooper (Professional Employer And Aide) — Cooper supports the operation surrounding Thomas's experiments.

  Cooper is introduced as one of Thomas's aides at the mansion.

• Dr. Thomas Harbor → Lacey (Professional Employer And Aide) — Lacey works directly within Thomas's research operation.

  Lacey is introduced as one of Thomas's aides at the mansion.

• Will Harbor → Isla (Romantic Partners) — Their romance becomes the emotional center of the story.

  Will and Isla grow closer, share a kiss, and repeatedly try to save one another.

• Will Harbor → Toby Harbor (Family Brothers) — The brothers share family history and collaborate during the investigation.

  Toby picks Will up from the ferry and drives him to their father's mansion.

• Dr. Thomas Harbor → Toby Harbor (Family Father) — Thomas is the father of Toby and relies on him during the research.

  Toby is identified as Will's brother and works closely with their father at the mansion.

• Dr. Thomas Harbor → Will Harbor (Family Father) — A strained father-son relationship shaped by grief, blame, and eventual cooperation.

  Will is explicitly identified as Thomas Harbor's son and confronts him about the consequences of his discovery.

Story Dynamics

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

• Will Harbor → Lacey (Conflict Opponents) — They occupy opposing sides of the struggle over the machine's consequences.

  Will tries to stop the consequences of the research, while Lacey later attacks Isla after Thomas's decision to destroy the machine.

• Interviewer → Dr. Thomas Harbor (Social Questioner) — The interview frames the public moral controversy surrounding Thomas.

  The interviewer asks Thomas whether he feels responsible for the extremely high suicide rate.

• Lacey → Isla (Conflict Attacker) — Lacey becomes the direct physical threat to Isla at the climax.

  Lacey shoots Isla during Thomas's speech and claims that she has 'relocated' her.

Story Analysis

A grieving man confronts the consequences of proving the afterlife and learns that another life may be defined by different choices.

Plot Progression

1. The Cost of Discovery — Thomas's proof of the afterlife has triggered widespread suicide. Will meets Isla and returns to the mansion determined to challenge his father.
2. The Mansion of Second Chances — Will confronts Thomas's research and rescues Isla from suicide. Thomas reveals a machine intended to record experiences after death.
3. Evidence from Another Life — The group tests the machine using a corpse, and Will uncovers a strange hospital recording. He and Isla begin to suspect that the device records alternate memories.
4. Love Before Relocation — Isla shares her grief with Will as their relationship deepens. Thomas experiences an alternate version of a family tragedy, confirming the danger of the discovery.
5. The Loop Beyond Death — Lacey shoots Isla, and Will enters the machine in despair. Isla reveals the afterlife loop, after which Will reaches another reality where he may find her again.