What do you call a protagonist's friend?

I

ICD Films

Well-known member
Well, just wanna check if there's an english name for it? "Sidekick" is something else? Think of it like, Sam and Frodo, but much more equal to the hero and kind of the "moral compass" for Protag. Bah, or something.

Just wondering if there's a word for these types of characters, of course it's made clear if you actually read the script, but anyway. Thanks
 
Ally, friend, sidekick (though to me that connotes more of a fellow cowboy from the 1800s, lol), bro', compadre. Technically, as I have read in many screenwriting books (e.g. Billy Mernit, Michael Hauge), especially when writing romantic comedies (romcoms), the sidekick is called "The Reflection (or, The Reflection character)" because s/he serves as a moral compass to steer the protagonist on their path, cause protag to reflect on their actions or decisions, provide dialogue conflict, etc. Often in romcoms the two reflection characters (one for each of the romcom protagonists) fall in love as a subplot (e.g, in Failure to Launch).
randall
 
In mythic structure lingo a friend is usually an Ally but could embody any of the archetypes.
 
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