Character Relationship Map: Excision

Characters

• Pauline (played by AnnaLynne McCord) — protagonist

  Pauline is a disturbed, delusional high school student who dreams of mutilation and aspires to become a surgeon. She has sex with Adam, attacks Adam and Natalie after their encounter causes conflict,...

• Phyllis (played by Traci Lords) — protagonist

  Phyllis is Pauline and Grace's controlling, strongly Christian mother, whose marriage to Bob is strained. She worries about Grace's illness and the possibility of a lung transplant. After finding Bob...

• Grace (played by Ariel Winter) — supporting

  Grace is Pauline's younger sister and suffers from cystic fibrosis. Her worsening condition leads her doctor to place her on a waiting list for a lung transplant. After Grace experiences a severe coug...

• Bob (played by Roger Bart) — supporting

  Bob is Pauline and Grace's father and Phyllis's husband. He is part of the strained marriage within Pauline's dysfunctional family and discusses Grace's transplant prospects with Phyllis. Pauline late...

• Natalie (played by Molly McCook) — supporting

  Natalie is Adam's girlfriend. After Pauline approaches Adam and alludes to their sexual encounter, Natalie breaks up with him. She later joins her friend in throwing toilet paper and spraying profanit...

• Adam (played by Jeremy Sumpter) — supporting

  Adam is the boy with whom Pauline decides to lose her virginity. Pauline deliberately has sex with him while menstruating because of her fascination with blood, then imagines violence during orgasm an...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Phyllis → Bob (Family Spouses) — Their marriage is dysfunctional and emotionally strained.

  The plot describes Phyllis as sharing a strained marriage with Bob.

• Pauline → Bob (Family Daughter) — Pauline's relationship with Bob collapses into coercion and violence.

  Bob is Pauline's father, and Pauline drugs his tea before tying him up.

• Pauline → Grace (Family Older Sister) — Pauline and Grace are sisters whose relationship drives the final surgery.

  Grace is identified as Pauline's younger sister and suffers from cystic fibrosis.

• Adam → Natalie (Romantic Boyfriend) — Adam and Natalie are romantically involved before their breakup.

  Adam is with his girlfriend Natalie when Pauline alludes to their sexual encounter, causing Natalie to break up with him.

• Bob → Grace (Family Father) — Bob is part of Grace's immediate family and medical crisis.

  Bob is identified as Pauline's father within the family containing Grace, and Phyllis discusses Grace's medical treatment with him.

• Phyllis → Grace (Family Mother) — Phyllis is protective of her seriously ill daughter.

  Phyllis searches frantically for Grace after Grace suffers a severe coughing fit.

• Pauline → Phyllis (Family Daughter) — Their mother-daughter bond becomes central during the final confrontation.

  Phyllis is Pauline's mother and later finds Pauline in the garage.

• Pauline → Adam (Romantic Sexual Partner) — Their sexual encounter is shaped by Pauline's fixation on blood.

  Pauline decides to lose her virginity to Adam, and they have sex.

Story Dynamics

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

• Pauline → Natalie (Conflict Rival) — Natalie becomes directly involved in the consequences of Pauline's encounter with Adam.

  Pauline exposes her encounter with Adam while he is with Natalie, and later assaults Natalie at school.

Story Analysis

Pauline's pursuit of surgical mastery turns family desperation, alienation, and delusion into a horrifying domestic operation.

Plot Progression

1. Blood Dreams And Family Strain — Pauline's disturbing fantasies and surgical ambition are introduced alongside her dysfunctional family. Grace's illness and Phyllis's controlling behavior establish the domestic pressure.
2. A Sexual Experiment — Pauline initiates sex with Adam while menstruating and reacts to the encounter through violent fantasies. Adam's disgust exposes the gap between Pauline's desires and social expectations.
3. Public Humiliation — Pauline reveals the encounter to Adam's girlfriend, causing their breakup. Retaliation at Pauline's home and her assault at school result in expulsion.
4. The Desperate Solution — Pauline learns that Grace may need a lung transplant and witnesses Grace's worsening condition. She responds by restraining Bob, incapacitating a neighbor, and drugging Grace.
5. The Garage Surgery — Pauline performs an unauthorized lung transplant and preserves Grace's diseased lungs on ice. Phyllis discovers the scene, and Pauline's pride collapses into hysterical grief.