Lot's to discuss. I like the idea of your distillation, however, the content is not necessarily accurate. This may be an artifact of the method, given short snippets of conversation in which to convey a broader point, and my lack of writing skills (or thought skills) to come up with appropriate conversation for the underlying issue I had in mind.
First:
Dream-Vincent:
feels entitled to a taste of life Above
In the larger sense of injustice that to keep anyone from experiencing life who possesses a good heart is unfair
has always wanted to enjoy life Above
has always wanted to experience sunshine, lying in the grass, lakes, mountains, etc.
is resisting a habit of refusal to let Catherine do good things for him
not a habit, but a concern for 1) safety and 2) independence by the community to make their own way and not depend or expect on the largess of others for other than necessities
needs Catherine to give him the courage to dare to leave a place of safety
not to get courage from Catherine, but perhaps to find reason enough in his own mind to engage in the argument with Father to do something with risk that he knows ahead of time what Father's reaction will be
thinks of relationships as social transactions
not sure what you mean by this
does not think about safety and danger the way a hunted creature would think of these things
I don't think of Vincent as a hunted creature, as to be hunted, one must be known about to be on the lookout for, or have been spotted, and then trailed. When he was careless (in NIBAC, upset after closing the relationship with Catherine for her to go to Providence, he was caught; this would be a planned event, every consideration for safety made that could be made.)
feels a secret resentment toward his father
Not resentment, per se, more a chafing against. Parental concern on one side, establishing boundaries that the adult child feel either no longer necessary or needlessly restrictive, and the adult child desiring to establish new boundaries with adult understanding of his personal issues and decision-making acknowledged.
thinks of himself as a caged and trapped animal who is trying to be a man instead
sees himself as caged and trapped Below (his tomb comment toward the end of season 2, eg) and see first statement above and I believe he does see himself as more human than animal, most of the time.
resents his community, his obligations, and his future prospects Below
resents the expectations thrust upon him with what seems as little choice on his part
suspects Catherine will abandon him unless he makes her happy
he knows what Catherine must sacrifice to make the decision to tie her life with his and does not wish to present any more detractions to himself, his life, Below, that he must so that her decision can be made on the most realistic knowledge and assessment of those things
believes his community takes advantage of him
yes, at times, they do and I am sure he does
believes he is unworthy of Catherine's love
see above comment under Catherine abandoning him
must convince himself to express his regard for Catherine
since he mostly goes with more indirect references (poetry, flowers, etc), then what better way than to allow her the pleasure of organizing such a gift for him
fears Catherine's freedom
not sure where this one is coming from, but no, not fear her freedom but perhaps be a tad envious
fears his father
not fear, but in parent-child relationships there are patterns and scripts often followed, where topics or behaviors from one produce all to known reactions in the other, yet to disrupt the pattern is often more painful because it is rarely done with finesse at changing the pattern, so hurt is likely to happen on one or both sides. So the child often acquiesces, avoids, or whatever can be done to prevent the expected interaction. Vincent has heard safety all his life, probably ad nauseum. As if Father cannot believe Vincent has learned from him, and so must be reminded at every opportunity.
feels caught in a self-centered life that offers him few privileges
no, and not sure where this comes from in the conversation. He must focus on his life to an extent, that is, be safe. If dreams are considered privileges, then yes, few of those get fulfilled.
I do like Vincent, you know! You asked for some thoughts on what these other characters meant if it was Vincent talking to himself, so I tried to come up with something that could logically be tied into the original dialogue. I'm not saying I believe it all, just that it could be. I think I see him with a little more human frailty than you do, but I grant that he is one more head-screwed-on individual than I probably am.
Dream-Catherine:
offers Vincent a Topside-style privacy that is superior in quality to the privacy of the Tunnels lifestyle
only superior in terms of the privacy being located in sunshine, wooded areas, mountains, etc that are not available below and to which Vincent has dreamed of seeing for himself
doubts Vincent's sincerity
no, except perhaps when it comes to his (or Father's) sense of duty speaking for him
believes anything is possible more than Vincent does
no, but just having had AHL where she truly makes the commitment to Vincent and does believe that anything is possible, he sees this in her, coupled with his beliefs, believes that together, this could be possible
can grant Vincent happiness with her wealth and status
only in this instance, because of the type of arrangements needed (the cost) and the ability to arrange it in short order (who you know)
is on a mission to improve Vincent's self-esteem
because she is in love, she would like nothing better than to make his dreams come true, which could include walking anywhere he chose without the danger of being rejected/hunted for who or what he is (as Vincent himself has said, he cannot walk beside her and take her to places she is used to going)
trusts that the world Above will not harm Vincent
trusts that she can do everything she can to reduce the risk to an acceptable level, and has experienced others who have not harmed and even helped Vincent, so may choose to believe encountering those are more likely with precautions than without
assumes that the world Above will not harm herself
not at all, she herself has been harmed, but has done what she could to protect herself as well as she can
does not overtly manipulate Vincent into capitulating with her designs for him, but asks pointed questions for Vincent to answer
I guess I can agree with this, she is a lawyer!
Dream-Father:
does not trust Catherine
he does grow to trust Catherine, but as this is Vincent speaking, he may believe in times of stress for Father that distrust creeps back into his thinking
does not trust Vincent
see parent child discussion above; letting go is hard, or so Vincent may be thinking
regularly browbeats, deceives, and manipulates Vincent into submission
uses parental tools to get his point across and see above comments
upholds a malign understanding of humility and self-love
not sure where this is from, but I would say that one person's definition for themself is not necessarily that of another, so that Vincent may think that what Father would want him to do out of humility comes across differently to Vincent
seeks to imprison his son
seeks to keep his safe, and in Vincent's mind, may be a bit too cocooned in his attempts
does not love his son
does love his son, but is not a perfect man or parent
deprives his son of freedom, self-determination, and happiness
infringes upon his son's freedom, self-determination and by those instances, perchance his happiness; not all the time, but has his moments
wields the authority to forbid Vincent to do something
yes, he can forbid Vincent as either a parent or as leader of the community; that doesn't mean that Vincent complies.
I do like Father, too! I did read a quote from Roy recently (in the early, if not first year of the show) where he freely admits he is the fly in the ointment in Vincent and Catherine's relationship. So I don't think my imagined conversation of Vincent's psyche perspective of Father is too out of line!
Perhaps I should acknowledge that this technique comes from the hidden conversations we are having in our heads when engaged with someone whereby we are telling stories to ourselves about what the other is saying, guessing at the motivation or reasoning behind what is being said. So, it isn't very often that we are making up positive stories! Perhaps you were meaning to come from the positive side, and if so, my apologies. With Vincent as such an enlightened character, it was fun for me to imagine the more shadowy side.
So given all the above caveats, I can somewhat agree with Catherine being seen as a liberator here, and Father the prohibitor. I don't agree with the cowardice, rather would say he is torn between two people he loves, and wanting to do right by each of them when it is virtually impossible to do so.
I like your framework, but I would not have come up with that on the basis of what you asked.
Scene 1 - Chamber of the Falls:
Catherine = Vincent's wonder and curiosity about the larger world beyond the City of New York
Action = Vincent's curiosity gradually overrides his caution
Costly Choice = Vincent decides to satisfy his curiosity at the expense of his security
I am not comfortable with either your phrasing (costly choice) or conclusion. We do not have the information necessary to know his security would be purchased at the cost of going. Vincent roams far and wide over the city, in populated areas, and causes Father to worry, but not to react in such a harsh manner as envisioned by dream-Vincent. So without knowing exactly what plans Catherine puts together, I am less inclined to agree with the choice.
Scene 2 - Father's Chamber:
Father = Vincent's sense of connection and interdependence with his Tunnels community
Catherine (in absentia) = Vincent's power to risk his present well-being in the hope of gaining future well-being
Action = Vincent's stabilizing desire to belong to the underworld community he loves conflicts with his risky desire to belong to the upperworld woman he loves
Costly Choice = Vincent decides to nurture his relationship with the woman he loves at the expense of his relationship with the community he loves
I am beginning to think that Internal/External Forces might be a better label than Action, and Decision for Costly Choice. The adverb must wait for the outcome to judge whether it is costly or not. And I would rephrase the Decision thusly:
Vincent decides to nurture his relationship with the woman he loves rather than his relationship with the community he loves
Can you tell me about Vincent's motivations in each scene, based on the landmarks listed? Why does he make these choices?
I'm not sure I can, but here goes. In Scene 1, I can surmise that Vincent sees in Catherine an ally to help him, much as Devin was a help, to make it possible to experience what here-to-fore has been only a dream. She is a lawyer, he knows her mind, so to have her think of possible ways to go safely means something to him. So he is ready to let go a bit of his personal control to her to make a dream possible.
In Scene 2, I would consider this a more normal motivation of cultivating a new balance in his life as before he mostly had relationships with the community, and now has a relationship with a woman. So there are times when one will be chosen over the other when there are conflicting needs, wants, or desires.
Pat