Character Relationship Map: Disturbing Behavior

Characters

• Steve Clark (played by James Marsden) — protagonist

  Steve Clark is a high school senior who has recently moved to Cradle Bay and is still struggling with a devastating family loss. He befriends Rachel Wagner, Gavin Strick, and U.V., investigates the Bl...

• Rachel Wagner (played by Katie Holmes) — protagonist

  Rachel Wagner is one of Cradle Bay's rebellious outcast students and becomes Steve Clark's closest ally. She recognizes the dangerous behavior of the Blue Ribbons, helps Steve uncover their implanted...

• Gavin Strick (played by Nick Stahl) — supporting

  Gavin Strick is an outcast student who warns Steve Clark that the Blue Ribbons are being brainwashed and lobotomized. He gathers evidence, carries a gun to defend himself, and is forcibly transformed...

• Dr. Edgar Caldicott (played by Bruce Greenwood) — supporting

  Dr. Edgar Caldicott is the school psychologist and the mastermind behind Cradle Bay's Blue Ribbon program. With parental approval, he implants teenagers with brain-control devices to make them obedien...

• Newberry (played by William Sadler) — supporting

  Newberry is a janitor who befriends Steve Clark and becomes an important adult ally during the investigation. He witnesses Chug's reaction to the high-pitched rat-repelling device and later attaches s...

• U.V. (played by Chad Donella) — supporting

  U.V. is one of the rebellious students who befriends Steve Clark and Rachel Wagner. She remains involved in their effort to flee Cradle Bay after the truth about the Blue Ribbon program is discovered....

• Lorna (played by Crystal Cass) — minor

  Lorna is a Blue Ribbon student who has been tutoring Lindsay Clark in the Clark family home. She attempts to seduce Steve Clark, but her sexual arousal triggers a violent episode in which she repeats...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Gavin Strick → Dr. Edgar Caldicott (Power Program Subject) — Caldicott's program controls Gavin's behavior and identity.

  Gavin warns that Caldicott has brainwashed teenagers, later appears transformed into a Blue Ribbon, and remains programmed in the final scene.

Story Dynamics

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

• Lorna → Steve Clark (Conflict Violent Adversary) — Lorna demonstrates the program's dangerous reaction to sexual arousal.

  Lorna attempts to seduce Steve, then enters a violent episode, smashes a mirror, and attacks him with a shard.

• U.V. → Rachel Wagner (Alliance Escape Partner) — U.V. helps Rachel leave the island with the surviving group.

  U.V. arrives with the truck, and he, Rachel, and the others head toward the ferry after escaping the programming facility.

• U.V. → Steve Clark (Alliance Escape Ally) — U.V. supports Steve's resistance during the final escape.

  U.V. arrives in a truck during the escape and helps the group rush toward the outgoing ferry.

• Newberry → Dr. Edgar Caldicott (Conflict Sacrificial Adversary) — Newberry's final resistance directly damages Caldicott's forces.

  Caldicott shoots Newberry, but Newberry continues driving and takes most of the Blue Ribbons over the cliff.

• Newberry → Rachel Wagner (Alliance Rescue Ally) — His intervention creates Rachel's opportunity to reach safety.

  Newberry uses his car and the attached rat-catching devices to disrupt the Blue Ribbons while Rachel heads toward the ferry.

• Newberry → Steve Clark (Social Protective Friend) — Newberry becomes Steve's older and decisive ally.

  Mr. Newberry befriends Steve, witnesses the boiler-room incident, and later drives to the roadblock to help the teenagers escape.

• Rachel Wagner → Dr. Edgar Caldicott (Conflict Investigation Opponent) — Rachel's search for evidence places her in direct danger from Caldicott.

  Rachel joins Steve in investigating the mental hospital and is later captured with him by Caldicott's operation.

• Steve Clark → Dr. Edgar Caldicott (Conflict Primary Opponent) — Steve directly challenges the authority controlling Cradle Bay.

  Caldicott tries to enroll Steve in the program, imprisons him for programming, and later struggles with him at the cliff.

• Rachel Wagner → Gavin Strick (Alliance Outcast Ally) — Rachel shares Gavin's outsider position before the investigation separates their paths.

  Rachel is introduced as one of the three outcast students who join Gavin and Steve's social circle.

• Steve Clark → Gavin Strick (Conflict Friend Turned Opponent) — Their relationship changes from skeptical friendship to painful opposition.

  Steve initially befriends Gavin and listens to his brainwashing theory, but Gavin later joins the Blue Ribbons and delivers the final blow when Steve...

• Steve Clark → Rachel Wagner (Alliance Trusted Ally) — They become the central resistance partnership against the Blue Ribbon program.

  Steve and Rachel investigate the mental hospital together, return to rescue Steve's younger sister, escape programming, and flee Cradle Bay with their...

Story Analysis

A grieving newcomer uncovers a community-wide behavioral-control program and leads a desperate escape from its architect.

Plot Progression

1. A Newcomer Among Blue Ribbons — Steve arrives in Cradle Bay and forms a friendship with Gavin, U.V., and Rachel. Caldicott introduces the Blue Ribbons program while Gavin warns that the clique is controlled.
2. The Friend Who Changed — Violent behavior exposes something abnormal beneath the town's perfect surface. Gavin investigates, but after his parents enroll him, he returns transformed and attacks Steve.
3. Evidence Beneath the Surface — Rachel survives another violent episode and joins Steve in searching a mental hospital. They discover that Caldicott uses brain implants and that the program has a dangerous hormonal side effect.
4. Escape from Programming — Caldicott's operation ambushes Steve and Rachel and takes them to the programming facility. Steve wounds a technician and escapes with Rachel before they can be reprogrammed.
5. The Cliffside Rebellion — The fugitives encounter a Blue Ribbon roadblock while trying to reach the ferry. Newberry disrupts the implanted technology, sacrifices himself, and gives Steve the chance to defeat Caldicott and leav...