Content Warning: This section contains graphic depictions of violence and presents mental health conditions through a stereotyped and exaggerated lens.

The protagonist of We Used to Live Here, Eve Palmer is a complex and dynamic character who experiences a dramatic character arc after being thrust into a new reality and forced to confront her fears. Eve is a classic antihero because she’s deeply flawed in many ways but readers nonetheless root for her success. Eve is initially timid, anxious, and heavily reliant on Charlie to assert herself in the world. She has a voice in her head that she calls Mo after a precious childhood toy, and it constantly communicates paranoid thoughts to her. Eve hates disappointing people and despises conflict, and this leads her to reluctantly let Thomas and his family into her house that Friday night. One of Eve’s early strengths is her ability to notice seemingly meaningless details in people and objects around her; this trait helps her stay above Thomas’s deception and maintain her connection to her identity, supporting the theme of Knowing and Staying True to Oneself.

As Thomas invades Eve’s home and warps her reality, she slowly loses her fears.