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 The Tomorrow War:
Protagonist: Dan
It's his story. He's the one at the center of the narrative. All the other characters are connected to him. Plus critically, he's the character who undergoes the most significant personal metamorphosis (psychological).
Conscious Goal: Save the world.
Nemesis: Whitespikes
Attractor: Dan's family members, most notably Muri (daughter) and Emmy (wife). In Act One, Emmy reaches out to Dan to be present for his family, in essence to reconnect with his heart. But it's really the relationship with Adult Muri (between 75-113) which provides the emotional "bridge" for Dan to rediscover his love for his family.
Mentor: There are the usual suspects like Hart and Dodd, who provide all the exposition setup about the war in the future, but notably there is a surprising figure who plays a key role in saving the day: Martin, the science geek introduced in Act One, a guy who is obsessed with volcanoes. His insight provides the big clue which helps Dan and team to locate the buried alien spaceship.
Trickster: I think there are two of them. First is Dorian. He switches from cynic to team member, evolving from selfish to selfless. Then there is Dan's father James. He is an "enemy" to Dan in that due to his father's alcoholic behavior, Dan is determined to achieve something "great" to separate himself from his father's own life-path. Unfortunately, by following that path, Dan sets himself up to replicate his own version of being a failed father, his obsession with "saving the world" and what that external validation will (supposedly) mean to him leading him away from the very thing he needs most: his family. However, James becomes an "ally" (quite literally) as part of the team who goes to destroy the aliens aboard the spaceship. Indeed in the end, James becomes part of the family as he meets his granddaughter for the first time.
One final note: There are a bunch of team members who get introduced upon the story's shift into the Future. Even though they are each given a distinct personality, the simple fact is fundamental narrative function for these characters is to get whacked by the aliens. See: Star Trek's "red shirt" meme.
Next: Themes.
