Character Relationship Map: The Wave

Characters

• Rainer Wenger (played by Jürgen Vogel) — protagonist

  Rainer Wenger is a political sciences teacher who leads an experiment to show how easily students can be manipulated by authoritarian methods. He creates The Wave, loses control as it becomes fascisti...

• Tim (played by Frederick Lau) — protagonist

  Tim is the class outcast who becomes deeply attached to The Wave after finally gaining acceptance and friendship. He protects the group with a pistol, offers to serve as Rainer Wenger's bodyguard, and...

• Marco (played by Max Riemelt) — supporting

  Marco is Karo's boyfriend and a committed member of The Wave whose judgment becomes distorted by the movement. Pressured to control Karo, he blames her for the water polo riot and slaps her, but is di...

• Karo (played by Jennifer Ulrich) — supporting

  Karo is a student who resists The Wave from its early stages, refusing its uniform and criticizing its attack on individuality. She distributes anti-Wave flyers with Mona and is ostracized by her clas...

• Mona (played by Amelie Kiefer) — supporting

  Mona is a student who challenges The Wave's conformity from the beginning, arguing that its uniform will erase individuality. She leaves the project group after recognizing its fascistic direction, la...

• Sinan (played by Elyas M'Barek) — supporting

  Sinan is a former bully who appears to reform through The Wave, helping protect Tim from anarchists and creating the group's distinctive logo. His loyalty later becomes aggressive: during the water po...

• Dennis (played by Jacob Matschenz) — supporting

  Dennis is a member of The Wave who speaks during the final rally after Rainer Wenger announces that the movement is disbanded. He argues that its positive elements should be preserved, but Wenger expl...

• Bomber (played by Maximilian Vollmar) — supporting

  Bomber is a former bully who becomes part of The Wave and helps protect Tim, while also creating the group's salute. At the final rally, he repeats that Tim's pistol contains only blanks and tries to...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Karo → Marco (Romantic Girlfriend And Boyfriend) — Their romantic relationship is strained by the Wave.

  The plot identifies Marco as Karo's boyfriend, and the two are reunited after the Wave collapses.

• Rainer Wenger → Bomber (Professional Teacher) — Wenger is Bomber's teacher within the project.

  Bomber is a student in Wenger's class and participates in the Wave's activities and final rally.

• Rainer Wenger → Sinan (Professional Teacher) — Wenger teaches Sinan during the experiment.

  Sinan is a student in Wenger's class and helps develop the Wave's logo.

• Rainer Wenger → Dennis (Professional Teacher) — Dennis participates in Wenger's class experiment.

  Dennis is a student involved in Wenger's Wave project and speaks during the final rally.

• Rainer Wenger → Marco (Professional Teacher) — Wenger is Marco's teacher and the person Marco turns to in crisis.

  Marco is one of Wenger's students and approaches Wenger to request that the project be stopped.

• Rainer Wenger → Mona (Professional Teacher) — Mona is Wenger's student and an early critic of the experiment.

  Mona is in Wenger's class and objects when he proposes a uniform that removes individuality.

• Rainer Wenger → Karo (Professional Teacher) — Wenger is Karo's teacher, while Karo becomes a prominent dissenter.

  Karo is a student in Wenger's class and challenges the rules of his Wave project.

Story Dynamics

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

• Bomber → Marco (Alliance Movement Teammate) — Their alliance exists through group membership.

  Bomber and Marco are both Wave members present during the rally and the movement's collapse.

• Sinan → Marco (Alliance Movement Teammate) — They are connected through shared participation in the Wave.

  Sinan and Marco attend the Wave rally and are among the students affected by the movement's escalation.

• Dennis → Tim (Alliance Movement Teammate) — They share membership in the same student movement.

  Dennis and Tim are both members of the Wave and are present at the final rally where the movement is dissolved.

• Karo → Mona (Alliance Allied Dissenter) — They form the central opposition to the movement.

  Karo and Mona both protest the Wave, and they work together to distribute anti-Wave flyers at the water polo competition.

• Sinan → Karo (Conflict Movement Opponent) — Sinan represents the movement Karo rejects.

  Karo opposes the Wave, while Sinan remains an active member who helps promote its logo and participates in the violent competition incident.

• Sinan → Bomber (Alliance Teammate) — They operate as allied members of the Wave.

  Sinan and Bomber are former bullies who reform together and protect Tim from the anarchists.

• Tim → Bomber (Alliance Teammate) — Bomber initially helps Tim gain security and belonging.

  Bomber helps protect Tim from the anarchists, and Tim later remains connected to Bomber within the Wave.

• Tim → Sinan (Alliance Teammate) — Sinan supports Tim as part of the Wave group.

  Sinan and Bomber protect Tim from two anarchists demanding that he sell them drugs.

Story Analysis

A classroom experiment in authoritarianism grows into a violent movement that destroys its leader's control and a student's life.

Plot Progression

1. A Classroom Experiment — Wenger begins an experiment to show students how easily authoritarian behavior can emerge. Formal address, disciplined answers, marching, and uniforms create early group cohesion.
2. The Movement Takes Shape — The students name their group the Wave and create a logo and salute. Tim finds belonging, while Karo and Mona begin resisting the movement's rejection of individuality.
3. Conformity Turns Violent — The Wave spreads through propaganda, exclusive parties, and intimidation. Tim's pistol and growing dependence on Wenger reveal how group belonging has become dangerous.
4. Resistance At The Match — Karo and Mona distribute anti-Wave flyers at the water polo competition. The response becomes violent, and Marco's assault on Karo finally pushes him to seek Wenger's intervention.
5. The Movement Collapses — Wenger turns the rally into a test and then dissolves the Wave, explaining that fascism cannot be separated from its destructive elements. Tim responds with murder and suicide, leaving the class traum...