character beat

plural character beats

1. The elucidation of a character's motivation in regards to a specific action or reaction.

   . Character beats are more complex than story beats as each character involved in a story event has their own character beat.

   2012, Eugene Doyen, Novel Writing: Imagination on The Page, page 77

   1 more example

   As Puss comes to realize his legendary status is not a substitute for interpersonal connection, his interactions with Kitty and the therapy dog start to take on a surprising amount of weight, while Goldilocks serves as a well-realized foil who has more in common with Puss than is at first apparent. None of these character beats slow the film down or distract from the spectacle, but rather enhance the film into a true example of all-ages entertainment that doesn’t condescend to its audience.

   2022 December 20, Leigh Monson, “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish review: Antonio Banderas leads the best film yet in the Shrek franchise”, in AV Club