I have this theory that there is something going on in terms of character archetypes in stories.

I have this theory that there is something going on in terms of character archetypes in stories. We see five of them over and over again: Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster.

The Protagonist represents a forward-moving dynamic, a character or characters most often driven by a conscious goal.

The Nemesis represents an oppositional dynamic, a character or characters pushing back against the Protagonist. Typically, this is the source of the story's central conflict.

The Attractor is a character most associated with the Protagonist's emotional life, someone or something connected to their heart.

The Mentor is a character most associated with the Protagonist's intellectual life, someone or something connected to their mind.

The Trickster is a shapeshifter, switching from a

Protagonist's ally to enemy... enemy to ally. They pursue their own ego-needs. If that aligns with the Protagonist's goal. great. If not, so be it.

Here is my take of the key characters in Luca:

Protagonist: Luca.

Nemesis: Ercole (lead), Ciccio, Guido (minions). Ercole is not only a bully toward Luca and Alberto, he also provides a threat (he intends to win a prize by catching sea monsters) and an opponent (in the local triathlon competition, the Portorosso cup).

Another Nemesis: Massimo's grumpy cat Machiavelli who actually sees Luca and Alberto transform into sea monsters, and thus, represents an ever-present threat.

Mentor: Alberto. This character knows -- and when he doesn't actually know, he pretends -- all about the above-world.

Attractor: Giula. This character offers an interesting spin on the archetype. The Attractor is a character most closely associated with the Protagonist's emotional development. In imparting knowledge to Luca she learns at school about the stars and the above-world universe, this feels like Mentor territory. However, Luca has such passion for the subject matter Giula shares with him that it fuels Luca's desire to pursue that passion into his own life-path.

Trickster: Daniela (mother) and Lorenzo (father). They are supportive and loving parents (ally), but also provide a threat to Luca as he attempts to find his own way. Once they make their way into Human Town, their intention is to find Luca, take him back below sea level, and end his foolish fantasies about living amongst the humans. Interestingly, they experience a bit of trickster activity toward them: They do not know what Luca looks like as a human, thus, mistake random young boys as their son. This dynamic reverses as the sea monster parents use soccer ball kicks to knock children into the town fountain in an attempt to find Luca.

Massimo, Guila's father also plays the role of a Trickster, a threat given his job (a one-armed fisherman), but also supportive of the boys, especially Alberto who becomes a worthy fisherman.

Befitting the theme of transformation (see tomorrow's article and my comments), characters evolve from one archetype to another. For example, Alberto goes from Mentor to Trickster to Nemesis to Co-Protagonist. Even the cat Machiavelli shifts from Nemesis to Trickster (ally).

The characters are compelling in part due to the way in which they support the story's central theme, something we will discuss in tomorrow's article in the series.