Under the Falls Characters

Tyler is the frontman of the band Stone Mountain, returning to his hometown after eighteen years despite his dread and guilt. He is haunted by childhood memories of his father's violence, the rope-swing accident that paralyzed Doc, and the limo crash that killed Jason. During the story he is held captive, struggles with opioid addiction and self-blame, and eventually buys Sacred Heart Chapel.

Arc: He begins by hiding his fear and lying about the past to keep the tour together. After Doc's death and the crash he stops escaping into performance, accepts the 'world of Is,' and takes responsibility for the harm around him. He returns to Stone Mountain, funds the dam restoration, and tells Curt the truth about Junior.

• Curt — his childhood best friend and Stone Mountain's police chief; they share a pinkie promise
• Freddi — his former lover, now Curt's wife; he slept with her in the chapel and may have fathered Curtis Jr.
• Beth Delaney — his romantic and songwriting partner and the other half of Stone Mountain
• Jason — his manager and bandmate who died in the crash; Tyler blames himself
• Doc — his old friend, paralyzed in the accident at the Falls; his death triggers the crisis
• Curtis Jr. — the young man who believes Tyler is his father; Tyler tells Curt that Curt is the boy's father
• Deb Washington — the officer who finds him in the wrecked limo and later saves him from an overdose
• Connie — his host and the part-time realtor who shows him Sacred Heart Chapel
• Everett Crenzal — his captor, who keeps him drugged in the chapel
• Eddie — his drummer on the reunion tour
• Jack — his bassist on the reunion tour
• Emma — the TV reporter who interviews him about his return

Freddi is Curt's wife, Doc's former nurse and assistant, and the mother of Curtis Jr. She was Tyler's first love and later slept with him in the chapel; she was also driving Doc's hearse on the night of the limo crash. Terrified of arrest, she works behind Curt's back, arranges the drug runs, and orders Everett to keep Tyler captive.

Arc: She begins by trying to manage the cover-up and protect the family finances, then grows more ruthless with Tyler's captivity. After Curt slaps her and points a gun at her, she tells him their son looks 'more like Tyler' and leaves the Mountain. She is missing by the time of the investigation.

• Curt — her husband; their marriage unravels over secrets and the crash
• Tyler Sinclair — her former lover; she has sex with him again in the chapel and keeps him captive
• Curtis Jr. — her son; she shows Curt photos and asks who the boy looks like
• Doc — the man she cared for as his nurse and assistant and was with when he died
• Everett Crenzal — her accomplice, whom she gives orders

Everett is a local handyman who repairs Doc's hearse, takes over Deb's old apartment, and becomes Freddi's accomplice. He keeps Tyler drugged and confined in Sacred Heart Chapel, bringing him food and a guitar while guarding him. He is wanted for questioning about the January 6 insurrection and eventually shoots Deb before being killed by her return fire.

Arc: He moves from a minor repairman and tenant to Freddi's enforcer, escalating from drugging Tyler to shooting a police officer. He dies in the chapel when Deb returns fire after he shoots her.

• Freddi — his accomplice and boss, who gives him orders
• Tyler Sinclair — his captive
• Curt — the man who paid him for the hearse repair and distrusts him
• Deb Washington — the officer he shoots and who kills him
• Curtis Jr. — the boy he dropped off at the lake

Curt is the police chief of Stone Mountain and Tyler's childhood best friend, the boy who found Tyler under the Falls and made a pinkie promise. He tries to protect his family and his sense of himself as a decent man while covering up Freddi's role in the crash. As the story goes on he is increasingly shut out by Freddi and Junior and fears he is losing everything.

Arc: He moves from managing the cover-up and keeping watch over Tyler to an existential crisis in which he slaps Freddi and shoots out the windows of his own house instead of shooting her or himself. He accepts that consequences are coming, tells state police he caused the accident, and finally brings his son home. He asks Tyler to confirm that he is not Junior's father, then breaks down in Tyler's arms.

• Tyler Sinclair — his best friend; Tyler left without saying goodbye and Curt saved his life when they were boys
• Freddi — his wife, who keeps secrets from him and later leaves
• Curtis Jr. — his son, whom he tries to protect and eventually brings home
• Deb Washington — his officer and trusted subordinate; he offers to make her chief
• Doc — an old acquaintance; Curt resented Freddi's closeness to him
• Everett Crenzal — a man he paid to repair the hearse and whom he distrusts

Beth is Tyler's romantic and songwriting partner and the other half of Stone Mountain. She watches Tyler's strange behavior on the reunion tour, tries to steady him after Doc's death, and survives the limo crash but is moved to a Boston hospital. She later stops speaking to Tyler before conditionally forgiving him.

Arc: At first she is anxious about Tyler and begins writing songs on her own, wondering if she can succeed without him. After the crash and Jason's death she cuts Tyler off. Nine months later she has conditionally forgiven him.

• Tyler Sinclair — her romantic and songwriting partner
• Jason — the man who loved her and died in the crash
• Doc — his death affects Tyler's mental state

Doc (Tim Dockery) is an old friend of Tyler's from Stone Mountain, paralyzed by the rope-swing accident at the Falls. He gives an unguarded TV interview with Tyler, takes him to the old campground, and confronts him about guilt before apologizing. He dies of a blood clot on the night of the concert, and his hearse becomes central to the crash cover-up.

Arc: He is cheerful and confrontational during the reunion, telling Tyler he should never have pulled him out of the water, then dies hours later. His ambiguous final words and the blame Tyler feels define the rest of the story.

• Tyler Sinclair — his old friend and interview subject
• Curt — another friend present at the rope-swing accident
• Freddi — his nurse and assistant, who was with him when he died
• Emma — the TV reporter who interviews him

Jason is Tyler's manager and Stone Mountain bandmate who arranged the comeback show and tries to keep the tour on track. He is in love with Beth and dismissive of Tyler's emotional state, telling him to man up after Doc's death. He dies in the limo crash, leaving Tyler crippled with guilt.

Arc: He has no development; he vanishes from the limo during the crash and is dead by the time Tyler wakes in the hospital.

• Tyler Sinclair — the artist he manages and a bandmate
• Beth Delaney — the woman he loved; he stayed with the band because of that love

Deb is a Stone Mountain police officer who discovers the crashed limo and finds Tyler alive inside. She is the chief's trusted subordinate, gradually suspicious of his muddy pants and the cover-up, and later shoots Everett to save Tyler. She is offered the chief's job and considers law school.

Arc: She starts as the lowest-ranking officer trying to prove herself, then resigns out of disillusionment, though the chief refuses it. After killing Crenzal she is traumatized, but she still tells the chief she believes he is a good man.

• Curt — her police chief and boss
• Connie — her mother
• Tyler Sinclair — the crash victim she finds and later saves from overdose
• Everett Crenzal — the man she shoots and kills

Connie is Deb's mother, an insomniac who distrusts police and works at the Drop Inn. As a part-time realtor she shows Tyler Sacred Heart Chapel, hosts him on her porch, and later alerts Deb to his strange goodbye call. She wants Deb to leave law enforcement and go to law school.

Arc: She remains a steady, warning presence throughout, judging Curt and trying to protect her daughter. She is the one who realizes Tyler's call sounds like a goodbye.

• Deb Washington — her daughter
• Tyler Sinclair — her guest and the buyer of the chapel
• Horace — her employer at the Drop Inn

Curtis Jr., called Junior, is Curt and Freddi's son and a grieving young musician who idolizes Tyler. He wants to meet Tyler, but at the hospital he is terrified, says 'Sick,' and vomits; later he watches Tyler from the shadows and disappears. Tyler comes to believe Junior may be his biological son.

Arc: He moves from eager hope about meeting Tyler to terrified avoidance and silent watching. Curt brings him home, and Tyler tells Curt that Curt is his father.

• Tyler Sinclair — his idol and the man he believes may be his father
• Curt — his father
• Freddi — his mother
• Doc — someone he recently lost

Eddie is the drummer for Stone Mountain on the reunion tour. He jokes about the Kinks, says musicians don't have homes, and feels at home at Doc's run-down property. After the chaos he brings Tyler his acoustic guitar with its neck snapped.

Arc: No significant change; he participates in the reunion tour and reacts to the night's events.

• Tyler Sinclair — his bandmate, frontman of Stone Mountain
• Jack — his bandmate

Jack is the bassist for Stone Mountain. He points out that the Kinks only knew three chords, criticizes Tyler's comment about the locals as cold, and compares the wrecked stage to a Who concert.

Arc: No significant change; he appears as a member of the band during the reunion.

• Tyler Sinclair — his bandmate, frontman of Stone Mountain
• Eddie — his bandmate

Emma is the TV reporter who interviews Tyler and Doc at Doc's trailer. She repeatedly tries to shape Tyler into a feel-good hero, asks about the accident and 'The Long Fall,' and admires Doc's cheerfulness.

Arc: No significant change; she appears only in the interview sequence.

• Tyler Sinclair — her interview subject
• Doc — her interview subject

Horace is the owner of the Drop Inn, where Connie flips burgers on weekends. He is mentioned only as her employer and takes no direct part in the story.

Arc: No arc; he appears only in background.

• Connie — her employer