Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Lacuna

Lacuna is the source of the conflict here, since Joel is fighting against the erasure of his memory. It's Howard and Stan (and maybe even Joel himself, since he initiated the process) who are truly the source of Joel's plight. Of course, we have to acknowledge that without Lacuna, Joel may have never realized he had memories worth fighting for in the first place; it's really a double-edged sword.