Character Relationship Map: The Wave

Characters

• Frank (played by Justin Long) — protagonist

  Frank is an insurance lawyer whose pursuit of a promotion is disrupted after he takes a hallucinogen at a party. As clocks, phones, and other objects transport his consciousness through time, he confr...

• Aeolus (played by Tommy Flanagan) — protagonist

  Aeolus is the man who provides the hallucinogen at the house party attended by Frank and Theresa. After Frank spends much of the story searching for the source of his visions, he returns to the party,...

• Natalie (played by Katia Winter) — supporting

  Natalie is one of the women Frank and Jeff meet at El Madrid. She later appears while the men are waiting at the club and joins them because she claims to know the drug dealer connected to the party....

• Jeff (played by Donald Faison) — supporting

  Jeff is Frank's co-worker and friend who invites him to celebrate before the insurance presentation. He accompanies Frank through the search for Aeolus, helps him while he is hallucinating, and is cap...

• Theresa (played by Sheila Vand) — supporting

  Theresa is the woman Frank meets at El Madrid and later accompanies to a house party. She criticizes his corporate work, agrees to try the hallucinogen with him, and administers it through a kiss. Fra...

• Cheryl (played by Sarah Minnich) — supporting

  Cheryl is Frank's wife, and their strained marriage reflects the couple's reckless overspending. She angrily confronts him about perfume, their finances, and their emptied accounts. When Frank asks he...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Frank → Theresa (Romantic Attraction) — A brief but emotionally significant attraction complicated by the hallucinations.

  Frank is attracted to Theresa at the club. Theresa later administers the hallucinogen to Frank with a kiss, and they meet again in an ethereal field.

• Frank → Jeff (Professional Coworkers) — Their workplace relationship develops into practical cooperation during the crisis.

  Jeff works with Frank and invites him out before Frank's presentation to the company board. Jeff later helps Frank search for Aeolus and takes him hom...

• Frank → Cheryl (Romantic Spouses) — A strained marriage damaged by financial pressure and Frank's behavior.

  The plot explicitly identifies Cheryl as Frank's wife. They argue about their overspending, his perfume-smelling shirt, and their emptied accounts.

Story Dynamics

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

• Natalie → Theresa (Social Party Acquaintances) — They are acquainted through the club and party group.

  Natalie and Theresa are among the two women who share drinks with Frank and Jeff before the group goes to the house party.

• Theresa → Aeolus (Social Party Associate) — They are connected through the party and the hallucinogen.

  Theresa is present at the house party where Aeolus offers the hallucinogen, and she participates in the drug experience with Frank.

• Frank → Aeolus (Narrative Drug Provider) — Aeolus is the source of the substance driving Frank's temporal and spatial experiences.

  Aeolus offers the hallucinogen at the house party. Frank later searches for him and finally finds him at the previous night's party.

• Jeff → Natalie (Alliance Travel Companions) — They cooperate as members of the temporary search group.

  Jeff and Natalie remain with Frank during the attempt to reach the dealer, and Jeff later drives Natalie back to El Madrid.

• Frank → Natalie (Alliance Search Partners) — Natalie becomes a temporary ally in the search for the drug's source.

  Natalie joins Frank and Jeff after saying she knows the drug dealer connected to the party. The trio travel together to find the dealer.

Story Analysis

A financially pressured corporate lawyer is forced through a hallucinatory time journey that exposes the moral consequences of his choices.

Plot Progression

1. A Promotion With A Cost — Frank discovers information that could secure a promotion through a $4M insurance claim. His financial pressure and tense marriage lead him to accept Jeff's invitation to celebrate.
2. The Party And The Drug — At El Madrid and a house party, Frank meets Theresa and agrees to take a hallucinogen offered by Aeolus. The drug causes a blackout and begins Frank's unstable journey.
3. Clocks Become Portals — Frank's conflict with Cheryl triggers teleportation, and his workday becomes a series of visions and temporal disruptions. He returns to the club with Jeff and joins Natalie in searching for the drug'...
4. Balance In The Abyss — After an accident, Frank encounters Theresa in an ethereal field and receives a message about universal balance. His attempt to identify the drug instead leads to imprisonment and a threat against Nat...
5. The Moral Return — Frank finds Aeolus, uses temporal portals to secure money, and frees the group. He finally rejects his corporation's cruelty by naming the fireman's widow as the policy beneficiary, then returns to th...