Character Relationship Map: Bad Things

Characters

• Ruthie Nodd (played by Gayle Rankin) — protagonist

  Ruthie is the central protagonist, inheriting her grandmother's abandoned hotel and returning there with Cal, Maddie, and Fran. Struggling with guilt, fractured relationships, hallucinations, and the...

• Cal (played by Hari Nef) — protagonist

  Cal is Ruthie's girlfriend and travels with her to the inherited hotel, hoping they can repair their troubled relationship. She pressures Ruthie to consider running the property, becomes suspicious of...

• Fran (played by Annabelle Dexter-Jones) — supporting

  Fran is a tagalong in Ruthie's group and has secretly been involved with Ruthie in an affair that Ruthie tried to end. After experiencing visions of former guests, Fran begs everyone to leave, but is...

• Maddie (played by Rad Pereira) — supporting

  Maddie is Ruthie and Cal's friend, though she privately expresses strong dislike for Ruthie and questions why Cal remains with her after the affair. She notices Ruthie's mental decline, investigates t...

• Brian (played by Jared Abrahamson) — supporting

  Brian is the hotel's groundskeeper and has a prior connection to Ruthie's estranged mother, who ended their relationship before leaving town. He returns to the property during the group's stay and is...

• Miss Auerbach (played by Molly Ringwald) — supporting

  Miss Auerbach appears in hotel-management videos that Ruthie watches and later seems to speak directly to her as her hallucinations intensify. Presenting herself as a consultant, she encourages Ruthie...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Miss Auerbach → Brian (Romantic Former Lovers) — Their relationship had ended before the group's stay at the hotel; Brian's disappointment reveals their prior romantic connection.

  Brian says he is disappointed that Ruthie's estranged mother, who had been staying at the hotel, ended things between them before leaving town.

• Ruthie Nodd → Miss Auerbach (Family Mother And Daughter) — Ruthie hallucinates Auerbach speaking to her through hotel-management videos. After the revelation of her mother's death, Ruthie returns to the hotel and sees her mother in a room with Brian.

  Maddie discovers Ruthie's mother's body and realizes it is Auerbach. The plot also states that Auerbach is ultimately revealed to be Ruthie's deceased...

• Ruthie Nodd → Fran (Romantic Secret Affair) — Their concealed affair fuels tension in the group. Fran returns to rescue Ruthie, but Ruthie pushes her from a window, killing her.

  Ruthie has secretly carried on an affair with Fran before attempting to end it. Maddie and Cal later find videos of Ruthie and Fran together.

• Ruthie Nodd → Cal (Romantic Girlfriend) — Their strained relationship worsens as Cal urges Ruthie to consider running the hotel, then grows suspicious of her and ultimately flees from her.

  The plot states that Ruthie is hoping to fix her and Cal's troubled relationship, and describes Cal as Ruthie's girlfriend.

Story Dynamics

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

• Maddie → Fran (Conflict Abandonment) — Maddie is part of the group that leaves Fran behind when they dismiss her plea to leave the hotel.

  After Fran begs the group to leave, they believe she is seeking Ruthie's attention and abandon her at the train station.

• Cal → Fran (Conflict Misidentifies As Threat) — Cal misreads Fran's return as a threat and attacks her, contributing to Fran's fatal fall after Ruthie pushes her through a window.

  When Fran returns to rescue Ruthie, Cal sees her and assumes she is threatening Ruthie, then attacks her.

• Ruthie Nodd → Brian (Social Acquaintances) — Their direct interaction is limited in the plot: Brian comes to the hotel, and Ruthie later finds his body.

  Brian arrives at the hotel as its groundskeeper, and Ruthie later discovers his body after he is murdered.

• Cal → Maddie (Alliance Allies) — They act together against what they believe is a threat from Ruthie, then attempt to escape her pursuit.

  Cal and Maddie notice Ruthie's decline, lock her out of the hotel, and later flee together after Cal realizes the truth.

• Ruthie Nodd → Maddie (Conflict Hostile Friends) — Maddie's distrust of Ruthie escalates into a deadly confrontation after she investigates the hotel and discovers Ruthie's mother's body.

  Maddie privately says she dislikes Ruthie and questions why Cal stays with her after Ruthie's infidelity. Ruthie later chases Maddie with a chainsaw a...

Story Analysis

Ruthie's return to an inherited hotel escalates through fractured relationships, hallucinations, and violence into isolation.

Plot Progression

1. An Inheritance Under Strain — Ruthie returns to the inherited hotel with Cal, Maddie, and Fran, hoping to repair her relationship with Cal. The buyer meeting and Brian's account of Ruthie's mother's breakup complicate the group's...
2. Visions and Abandonment — Fran sees disturbing visions and urges the group to leave, but they abandon her at the train station. Ruthie's hallucinations of Auerbach intensify as Cal and Maddie become wary of her behavior.
3. The Hotel Turns Hostile — Brian is murdered, and Maddie is attacked by a figure she believes is Ruthie. After finding videos of Ruthie and Fran together, Cal and Maddie lock Ruthie out, but she breaks back into the hotel.
4. A Deadly Revelation — Ruthie discovers Brian's body and is confined by Cal and Maddie. Fran returns, but dies after Cal attacks her and Ruthie pushes her from a window; Maddie then finds Ruthie's mother's body and Cal real...
5. The Empty Halls — Ruthie kills Cal and Maddie with a chainsaw in a strip mall parking lot. Back at the hotel, she sees her mother with Brian and is left wandering the halls alone.