Character Relationship Map: Ghostboat

Characters

• Jack Hardy (played by David Jason) — protagonist

  The only surviving member of the original Scorpion crew, Hardy was rescued by German sailors in 1943 but cannot remember the mission's final days. He joins the 1981 expedition with designer Alan Cassi...

• Captain Byrnes (played by Julian Wadham) — protagonist

  Byrnes is the captain of the submarine on the mission to retrace Scorpion's disappearance, while Commander Travis oversees the operation. After a supposed Soviet submarine is destroyed, Byrnes tries t...

• Cassidy (played by Tony Haygarth) — supporting

  Cassidy is one of Scorpion's designers and joins Jack Hardy on the mission to investigate the submarine's disappearance. He discovers that the practice torpedoes he supervised fitting have become live...

• Travis (played by Ian Puleston-Davies) — supporting

  Travis is a naval intelligence officer in charge of the mission to retrace Scorpion's final days, with Captain Byrnes commanding the submarine. He insists the mission continue after Byrnes tries to ab...

• Soviet Naval Captain (played by Max Bollinger) — minor

Canonical Relationships

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

• Captain Byrnes → Travis (Power Command Dispute) — Their authority conflict escalates from strategic disagreement to direct coercion.

  Travis is in charge of the mission, while Byrnes captains Scorpion. Byrnes tries to abort the mission, but Travis convinces him to continue and later...

• Cassidy → Travis (Professional Mission Subordinate) — Cassidy works within the mission directed by Travis.

  Cassidy joins the mission while Travis is in charge of it as a naval intelligence officer.

• Cassidy → Captain Byrnes (Professional Crew Specialist) — Cassidy contributes technical expertise within Byrnes's command structure.

  Cassidy, one of Scorpion's designers, serves on the mission under Captain Byrnes, who captains the submarine.

Story Dynamics

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

• Jack Hardy → Soviet Naval Captain (Conflict Prevented Enemy) — Hardy's actions prevent the operation from reaching the Soviet naval command.

  Hardy gets the crew off Scorpion and sabotages the torpedo controls before the submarine can complete its attack on the Soviet fleet.

• Captain Byrnes → Soviet Naval Captain (Conflict Potential Combatant) — Byrnes's submarine becomes a perceived threat to the Soviet naval command.

  Byrnes commands Scorpion before the submarine proceeds toward Soviet waters, where Soviet officers detect the vessel and prepare for nuclear war.

• Travis → Soviet Naval Captain (Conflict Military Adversary) — Travis's operation places the Soviet naval command in direct military danger.

  Modern Soviet officers detect Scorpion and begin preparations for nuclear war while Travis and the submarine continue an attack on the Soviet fleet.

• Jack Hardy → Travis (Conflict Mission Opponent) — Hardy opposes Travis's attempt to continue the supernatural military mission.

  Hardy learns that Travis's real mission is to discover and exploit the force that preserved and returned Scorpion. Hardy later works to prevent Travis...

• Jack Hardy → Captain Byrnes (Alliance Crewmate) — Hardy serves aboard the submarine under Byrnes's command.

  Hardy joins the Royal Navy crew commanded by Captain Byrnes for the mission into the Baltic Sea.

• Jack Hardy → Cassidy (Alliance Mission Partner) — They work together to uncover what happened to Scorpion and resist the submarine's destructive mission.

  Jack Hardy and Cassidy join the Royal Navy mission to retrace Scorpion's final days. They later investigate the unexplained attack and the altered tor...

Story Analysis

A recovered wartime submarine carries its crew into a temporal and supernatural conflict that threatens a modern naval catastrophe.

Plot Progression

1. The Returned Submarine — Scorpion reappears in the Baltic after disappearing during the Second World War. Its perfect preservation and empty interior lead British authorities to reopen the mystery.
2. Retracing the Lost Mission — Hardy and Cassidy join a Royal Navy expedition commanded by Byrnes and directed by Travis. As Scorpion enters Soviet waters, the crew begins to absorb the identities of its dead predecessors.
3. The Past Reawakens — A supposed Soviet submarine disappears without wreckage after being torpedoed. Hardy connects the event to 1943, while Cassidy discovers that the practice torpedoes have become live weapons.
4. Mutiny Beneath the Waves — Travis insists on continuing the mission despite Byrnes's objections. Impossible wartime aircraft appear, Byrnes dies, and suspicion grows that Travis engineered the change in command.
5. The Final Torpedo — Apparently possessed by Scorpion's former captain, Travis directs an attack against the Soviet fleet. Hardy evacuates the crew and sabotages the torpedo system, sinking the submarine and ending the th...