The Motive story
Crime-obsessed best friends Tommy and Richard discuss Tommy's theory that motiveless murders cannot be solved. In order to prove this theory, Tommy decides to murder a random person that Richard picks out from a phone book. After the murder is done, Tommy discovers that the victim is the man that Tommy's ex-wife had left him for; Richard picked him on purpose for revenge, as Tommy had once stolen the same woman from Richard. Directed by: Robert Stevens. Story by: Rose Simon Kohn.
8 total · 1 choice · 3 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| murder | choice | Tommy murdered an unsuspecting man in cold blood in order to prove his pet theory for how to murder someone and get away with it. |
| betrayal | major | The story culminated with Richard revealing that he'd manipulated his old pal, Tommy, into committing a murder out of a desire to settle an old score. |
| false friend | major | Richard manipulated his old pal Tommy into committing a murder that he knew Tommy would get arrested for to get back at Tommy for having once stolen his love interest. |
| how to murder someone and get away with it | major | The story turns on Tommy as he puts his pet theory for how to commit the perfect murder is to the test. |
| inebriated interaction | minor | A drunken Tommy explained his theory of the perfect murder to an uninterested female visitor with great enthusiasm. Later, a still drunken Tommy and his apparently drunken friend plotted how to put Tommy's theory into practice. |
| law enforcement | minor | The police came to arrest Tommy for murder at the story's conclusion. |
| science | minor | Richard made a pointed remark about how Tommy needed to put his theory for how to commit murder and get away with it into practice in order to prove it. |
| the desire for vengeance | minor | Richard manipulated Tommy into committing a not-so-perfect murder to settle an old score. |