An interesting instance where the psychological journey directly impacted the outcome of the plot was the Matrix. In the vein of "Similar But Different," The Matrix follows a hero's journey structure to a T in many respects (A call to adventure, denial of the call [that lasts for a while]; The dichotomy of the mundane world vs. the World of Adventure; Tricksters; Mentors; Allies— the gang's all here). However, it takes a different tack in that the mundane world is actually the world of adventure--you just have to see it with the right eyes. Throughout most of the movie, "Mr. Anderson" constantly professes that he's "just a guy," and he's got no superpowers, or is anything special at all (almost like a protracted Denial of the Call). And, as long as he remains in this psychological state of denial and disbelief, he remains just a guy in the world of the plotline--he bleeds, stumbles around, and fails the "Jump" program test. He's often unsure of this strange new world of the Matrix, and always maintains an unconscious belief of the old world—and it's limitations—that he was used to. Psychologically, it's more comforting to think you'll awake in your bed and it will all have been a bad dream. As long as he maintains this belief, he remains "just a guy." But as soon as he makes the psychological transformation into believing that he is, in fact, special, that he's The One, then he instantly becomes The One in the Plotline. Forget about "Jumping," now he can fly. The end of his psychological journey and how it dovetailed with his plotline creates a really stirring climax.

Can we talk about TV here, given that TV shows are inherently character driven? I've been thinking about a protagonist for a TV show: a woman just released after 15 years in jail. Now she's out, she wants revenge, but things are more complicated than they seem. She's basically an anti-heroine: i.e. someone whose journey will transform her from a bitter ex-con into a reluctant heroine. For a movie, it's pretty straightforward to chart her psychological arc through an act structure. But for TV, things are a little harder, because a lot of the tension in the show would come from that journey. You'd only want to start that transformation in the pilot, and let it play itself out over the course of a season, but I'm uncertain how to chart it out. Do I just impose a 3 act structure over the whole season? How would I go about doing that? Can I even have an anti-heroine as a TV show protagonist?

This is similar to Kal Bashir's stance on a start-state, in-between states and target-state. His State of Perfection Loop is just fantastic!