Some other time in this blog, I mentioned how the backstories of the characters in video games give us a rich insight concerning the research that the developers went through while shaping them. Sometimes, said backstories involve details that may be offered randomly and thus pass unnoticed, until you get a clue to put them together: then it is like puzzle pieces that are placed in the right spots to form an image, thanks to which the character that they concern is set under a new, revealing light.

In The Assignment, one of the extra episodes of The Evil Within, where we get to play as Juli Kidman, we have the chance to view parts of the main game's story through her eyes. While literally floating in a state between reality and nightmare, Juli comes across some particularly nasty surprises in her way. The most revealing of them is having to fight Joseph Oda, who appears before her as a Haunted, determined to kill her. In her attempt to distract him so as to perform her attacks against him, Juli can resort to several diversions, one of them being turning on a film in a small cinema, which depicts Joseph as a Samurai, yielding a katana.

 

It is interesting that, although we are already aware from the main game that Joseph is the descendant of a historical family of Samurais, this is the first and only time that we see him literally paying homage to his heritage, and it is through an indirect means, in the distorted reality created by Ruvik in STEM. As Ruvik is exploiting the memories of his victims, blending them with his own so as to be able to control them, it becomes clear that the appearance of this specific film comes straight from Joseph's memory stash, serving as a way to confuse him at that point (because he is a Haunted, therefore not himself), while offering Juli the chance to stealthily attack him.

Joseph is described as a considerate and composed man, but it is hinted that he is constantly suppressing himself in order to comply to the norms and stereotypes of society. Coming from a strict upbringing, he feels forced - partly by his environment and partly by his own self - to keep his sensitivities and weaknesses hidden. This is something rather typical of the Samurai upbringing, so it is natural that Joseph, due to his family's historical past, had it too, to some degree at least. The film that we have the chance to see in The Assignment shows that he had been through Samurai training as part of his celebrated family's tradition.

Mostly known for his ritualistic suicide via "seppuku" (or harakiri), Yukio Mishima was nonetheless a multi-talented writer, considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. Both as an artist and a personality, he was obsessed with beauty, eroticism and death, as well as their becoming one. Mishima was a homosexual, but growing up in the extremely strict Japanese society of the 1930ties made it particularly tough for him to accept and express himself as far as his sexuality was concerned. In 1949, he wrote his now considered iconic novel "Confessions of a Mask" which, although not entirely autobiographical, narrates episodes and memories of its protagonist that are greatly connected to the author himself. Written in first person, the novel explores a young man's continuous agony as he struggles with his ever-growing and forbidden sexual desires while evolving in a society and a family environment that are not only particularly strict, but moreover guide their members towards very specific, predesignated paths from which it is quite hard - if not impossible - to divert.

The young narrator starts his confessions going back to his childhood and early teens, during which time he had his first sexual awakenings triggered by random visual experiences. Although not the very first, the strongest, most memorable and critical one was an image of Saint Sebastian that he saw in a book, a painting by Guido Reni which depicted the saint during his torture, tied on a tree with his body pierced with arrows. The hero describes with both precision and subtlety all the emotions that rushed through him while looking at that painting, resulting in a rather intense first experience of culmination which defined his subsequent view of people and the world and made him more than conscious of his sexual identity. However, living in a society that condemned such deviations from the accepted norms, he knew that he would be forced to live his life in disguise, always putting on a mask that would hide his true self from the rest of the world.

Joseph of The Evil Within has grown up in a similar environment - probably not so strict, but still the values and beliefs that characterized old-time Japan should have been ever present in the life of his family and surrounding environment. Apparently he took some important education, then trained to become a detective. We can see from his attitude and approach that he likes to dig into things, examine them deeper and he also has a notable combinatorial mind. He has a small notebook where he writes down everything that he sees or thinks that can be related to a crime case. He got married at a relatively young age and made his own family, but he still seems to be quite vulnerbale socially, despite his smartness and the choice that he made to follow a dangerous line of work. But maybe he chose the specific line of work for this reason: so as to give him inner strength and help him overcome his fears and anxieties.

 

Teaming up with Sebastian was a turning point in both his professional and personal/social life, as Sebastian was quite different as a person, and came from an equally different environment and background. Although he was not too open as a character either, he was much more free sentimentally and spiritually and, unlike Joseph, obviously not hunted by strict rules and norms. The two partners formed a close bond and became good friends, always caring for and helping each other. From a symbolic aspect, Sebastian was for Joseph what Saint Sebastian was for Mishima, a new force in his life which brought forward a mental strength that he always had but kept suppressed and maybe woke up in him some darker and forbidden desires (maybe towards Sebastian as well). Sebastian, aptly named after the saint, was in a similar way tortured - not literally like him, but psychologically broken - but he was also a hot-blooded, passionate man who would always show his feelings and never suppress himself. Although he too was positively affected by Joseph's presence in his life - the calmness and love for order that were due to Joseph's upbringing helped Sebastian have better control - the biggest influence was the one that he had on Joseph, something that the latter obviously came to realize while being trapped in STEM, during which time his subconscious took over and brought him face to face with new revelations about himself.

There are several instances in the game, where we can see a progression of this newfound self-awareness, albeit they all occur in the dream-like sequences that STEM creates. What triggers the initiation of this development is his succumbing to Ruvik's power and becoming a Haunted for the first time. This transition could very well symbolize the awakening of his darker side and all those elements that he kept hidden in the real, "civilized" world. During the sequences when Joseph is a Haunted, he seems to possess an insane power which makes him become extremely violent and lethal. Unlike any other random Haunted, however, he is totally aware of this transformation and seems to be able to control it, as he can go back to normal and vice-versa. In a most revealing scene at the start of Chapter 7, after he and Sebastian found refuge in an abandoned church, he acknowledges that he does like it when he turns, since this transforms him into someone that he cannot be in real life. Although it scares him, it also fascinates him, and this is one more reason why, in the previous chapter, he tried to put an end to his life. Embracing his dark side would mean accepting all that would come along, and this is something that can also be applied to his normal, real life. Just like Mishima, Joseph is in a constant struggle between faithfully following the rules with which he grew up and freeing himself from everything that keeps him enslaved

Elements of Classic and Contemporary Culture in Life Is Strange 2

Apart from its extensive references to JD Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye and its Resident Evil easter eggs, which I covered in two separate articles (here and here), Life is Strange 2 features many more references to both classic and contemporary culture, which are also worth exploring, as all of them are not simply there for the sake of it, but are moreover connected to the game's story and its characters in several ways. Some are more obvious while others require a bit more observation and search.

Finn's name nods to Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer's best friend from Mark Twain's famous novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry, best known as Huck, is a young boy who lives in the margins of society; son of a drunkard, abusive father, he found it was better to live in the streets. He is smart and cunning, sometimes gets misguided, but he has a heart of gold. Pretty much like Finn from the game, that is.

Finn with Sean (left) and Huck with Tom from a recent film adaptation of Tom Sawyer

Additionally, Finn's full first name is Finnegan, referencing Finnegan's Wake, the novel written by James Joyce which is considered the most complex work of fiction of British literature and the hardest to interpret. It is written in a bizarre, complex style which consists of puns, made-up words and idioms and its story is like a maze. Something which, to some extent, applies to Finn who may have an extrovert attitude and social charisma, but he is also multi-dimensional, with many secrets and unexplored paths in his character.

This is not the only case where James Joyce comes into play in the game. When Sean and Daniel enter Karen's room at the end of episode 2, they find one of her toys, a bear called Ulysses. Ulysses may be the legendary hero of Homer's Odyssey, but it is also the title of one of Joyce's most famous novels. Both the Odyssey and Ulysses narrate numerous adventures that their main heroes go through, just like Sean and Daniel do during their journey.

By the end of episode 3, Sean is seriously injured and loses his left eye. Later in episode 4, Karen gives him an eye patch to cover it with. Interestingly enough, James Joyce used to wear an identical eye patch over his left eye, since he had many problems with his vision and had undergone several operations for this purpose.

Sean (left) and James Joyce with their eye patches

Sean and his destroyed eye also allude to Carl Grimes from The Walking Dead, who lost his right eye after being shot. From that point and on, Carl is always seen wearing a bandage over his eye, just like Sean during the months after his injury.

Sean (left) and Carl, both with bandaged eyes

This resemblance alone might have been random, but it is not, as it is related to a few more Walking Dead easter eggs.

While Sean and Daniel reside in the abandoned cabin in the woods in episode 2, they (well, most probably Daniel!) carve the message "Keep out, Wolves inside". In the first episode of The Walking Dead, Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma at a hospital and, while wandering around the deserted, bloody halls, he arrives outside the Cafeteria, where someone has written "Don't open, Dead inside" on the padlocked doors. Since Daniel's fascination with zombies is well known, we can easily assume that he wrote the message on the cabin wall, inspired by the one in the series.

Additionally, after Sean escapes from the hospital to find Daniel in episode 4, he comes across two hostile locals in the desert, one of whom is particularly violent and when he realizes that Sean is Mexican, he attempts to humiliate him in any way he can think of. If you choose to obey to him to avoid trouble, in the end he forces Sean to sing a song in Spanish. This scene reminds of one in The Walking Dead, where the bloodthirsty villain Negan forces Carl to sing a song for him in private. Although Negan's motives are different from the evil guy's in the game, the sequence plays out in a similar way.

The scene from Life is Strange 2

The scene from The Walking Dead

When episode 3 starts, we do not know much about Finn yet, but as the story unfolds, we have the chance to learn about him and his habits. While exploring his friend's tent, Sean spots a copy of The Lord of the Flies, the famous novel by William Golding. The book tells the story of a group of students who find themselves stranded on a tropical island after their plane crashes, and are forced to find means to survive in an environment where the wild and the unknown are not the most dangerous enemies. Apart from the book's literary significance, it also relates to the story of the game as the group of drifters led by Finn live a solitary life out on the road and are called to face several dangers every day.

That said, there are also references to Jack Kerouak's novel On The Road, where the main characters are in the course of a road trip that follows a route similar to the one Sean and Daniel take, which also ends in Mexico. The drifters' bohemian lifestyle, smoking weed, traveling through the desert, getting to California, all this alludes to Kerouak's story, which is, to a high degree, autobiographical, although he has altered the names of the real people who correspond to his fictional characters.

Kerouak (top left) and his friends in Mexico City

One of them is Dean Moriarty, whose real life counterpart was Neal Cassady. Cassidy's name is partly a tribute to him, since her own attitude is laid back and carefree like his was. Her most significant reference, however, is to Eva Cassidy, a singer and guitarist who used to play and sing in the streets for a good amount of her life, but died very young. Since the game's Cassidy is a talented singer and guitarist, we can assume that she used to sing from an early age, and probably adopted her nickname to honor the famous but ill-fated musician. Or maybe her friends called her that way because she would always sing and play her guitar.

Cassisy (left) and real-life musician Eva Cassisy

Pennywise took his nickname from the penny he is wearing as a pendant, as a reminder of the dear friend that he lost and is desperately trying to find. If we attempt to analyze his nickname more thoroughly, it hints at his street wisdom, since he tends to express philosophical questions several times during the game. The nick itself, however, nods to It by Stephen King and its main evil character Pennywise. Of course the game's Penny is anything but evil; sharing a name with such a terrifyinh character is pure irony. Maybe he was a fan of King's horror stories, and besides he is the kind of person who tends to believe in conspiracy theories and urban legends.

Having a copy of The Lord of the Flies is not Finn's only exhibition of literary interest. If we take the time to look around the drifters' camp in the forest, we will come upon a tree with the words "Bonjour Tristess" (sic) sprayed on them. We can be sure it is Finn who wrote them, as they are made with the same style and the same colours that he used to spray the target on the tree near the lake, so that Daniel could practice knife-throwing. The words allude to the novel Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, which tells the story of a frivolous teenager who unwillingly causes a family tragedy. Though not directly related to Finn as a theme, the book and his life's story do have the tragic factor in common, only in his case the drama was caused by his father. But it's very likely that Finn didn't care much about the story of the book, and was more attracted to its pessimistic title (Hello sadness) which he liked to use as a quote, albeit he did misspell it on the graffiti. Or maybe he was directly quoting Paul Éluard's poem À peine défigurée, from which the phrase originally comes.

The scissors in the middle of the graffiti are also one more proof this was made by Finn, as he uses actual scissors a bit later in episode 3 to cut Sean's hair.

Kerouak also has written a novel titled Tristessa, which narrates the story of a real-life prostitute from Mexico whom the writer had met, and gave her the name Tristessa in the book. See Mexico is ever present in the game, from the very beginning; and several reminders show up as we proceed.

 

A rather unforgettable sequence in episode 3 is right after Cassidy, Finn and Jacob find out about Daniel's power and they swear to Sean that they will keep it a secret. When all are back at the camp, the sub-section that begins is titled Paradise Lost, and it is when Sean has to decide whether he and Daniel will agree to go to Merrill's house to rob his money. The title of this section is borrowed from John Milton's famous poem which tells the biblical story of the fall of man. In this case however its significance is not religious but rather literal. It foretells how the drifters, and together with them Sean and Daniel, are about to lose their freedom, and subsequently the relatively happy days that they were living in the camp, since the heist is going to happen anyway.

The whole episode 3 is titled Wastelands, taken from TS Eliot's masterpiece The Waste Land, a long poem full of symbols and allegories which is one of the most important works of literature of the 20th century. The whole structure of the poem bears some resemblance to the specific episode from Life is Strange 2, but also to the game overall: it deals with themes such as disorientation, distress and disillusionment, it features several characters who talk about various themes in turn and in the end comes judgement. Additionally, it is split in five parts, like Life is Strange 2 has five episodes, and there is imagery in each of them that can be related to the game's story sequences.

The Catcher In The Rye and Life Is Strange

J.D. Salinger's masterpiece novel The Catcher In The Rye has inspired several themes in Dontnod's brilliant games of the Life Is Strange series and their universe. The book is narrated in first person by Holden Caulfield, a 17-year-old boy who is currently in an institution in California. A few days before, he had been expelled from his prestigious college in Pennsylvania due to bad performance and got back to New York where his home was, intending to spend a few days wandering here and there until his return for the Christmas holidays, as he did not want his parents to find out about the expulsion. He talks about himself, his family, his college, his schoolmates, his friends, in a form of consecutive abrupt confessions, while he several times refers to his three siblings - his older brother, D.B. a careless, successful author with whom he intends to live from now on, his younger sister Phoebe, a smart and intuitive girl, and his little brother, Allie, with whom he obviously had a strong connection and who died sometime ago. During his wanderings, he encounters several people, recalls memories and visits bars and hotels, while regularly going back in his mind to things that cannot leave him in peace. The novel is a unique piece of literature, written in a very distinct style, and is one of those stories that require very careful reading in order to become fully clear.

Max, the lead character from Life Is Strange 1, shares the same surname with Holden - they are both called Caulfield. Another notable reference is of course the boarding high school where Max is studying, nodding to the similar albeit much more elite school that Holden attends. There is also a direct easter egg, paying homage to the book and his hero. At some point, Max spots a red hunting hat, similar to the one that Holden is wearing for most part of his story, hanging from a rack in a corridor, and makes a comment referencing him.

Holden is notorious for his seemingly misanthropic attitude; and you got to love him for calling everyone and everything phony in any given instance. So there you have it, Holden; Max thinks your red hunting hat is phony. I bet that if he knew about this, he would definitely called her phony for calling him phony. There is also another major easter egg, spotted in Max's room in the school - there is a poster on a wall, probably of a movie called The Winger and the Cow. Both the title and the style of the poster resemble the cover of the original edition of The Catcher In the Rye.

But it is not only with tangible stuff that Life Is Strange 1 is conversing with The Catcher In The Rye. Major themes in the game's story, as well as character traits of its heroes, bring Salinger's iconic novel to mind.

In one alternate reality, Chloe, Max's friend, is severely injured in a car accident and later Max pulls her plug, helping her to rest in peace. Assuming that this alternate reality is what actually happened and that what we see in the game as taking place in present time is in fact an alternate reality, we are able to see Max under a different light: arriving back to her hometown, Max is overwhelmed by memories of her friend and her passing away, facts which she obviously, and naturally, cannot get over. Unable to come to terms with reality and move on somehow, she resorts to what possibly every single human being on earth has said or thought of at least once in their lives. She wishes that she could turn back time so as to change Chloe's fate. She probably wished this so many times that one day all of a sudden she made it happen. Because it would be impossible for her to go on with her life having experienced such a tragic loss, in which she also had a share, the only way to deal with it was to manipulate time and change the events. So it's a dream come true for Max, who is able to rewind time, keep whatever she wants from her peculiar flashbacks and then prepare a present and a future of her liking. But can it be that simple? Of course not. Since Max is not living alone on this planet, and since her actions affect not only herself and Chloe but also several other people, things are destined to escalate sooner or later.

In a similar way, Holden is trying to cover up his real anxieties and fears by dressing them up as contempt for people and society and constantly pretending to be something that he is not. He wants to pass as a bad student but in fact he is very smart and educated. He is supposed to be a misanthropist, but he constantly seeks the human presence around him. Holden's story is generally viewed as one of teenage rebellion, but in fact it is something completely different; reading between the lines, this becomes rather obvious to the trained reader, and it is intensified by the knowledge that Salinger was very protective of his hero and did not allow any adaptation of his novel, probably fearing there would be lots of misinterpretations - which indeed was and still is the case with this genuinely unique story.

Holden narrates his story from a bizarre point of view. We do not know from the start where he is or what he is doing, as he starts revealing fragments of his life that sometimes do not seem coherent. But there is a constant in his story: recurring phrases that appear regularly in several variations, but always in the same spirit: People always think something's all true, people never notice anything, people never believe you, people never give your message to anybody. Not only these phrases are spoken like a mantra, but they also sound as though Holden is trying, through them, to say something about himself using hints, because he may be too scared to talk about it directly. His recurring nightmare about trying to catch the children that are running in the rye field and are about to fall off a cliff symbolizes his inability to get over his little brother's death and his secret wish to be able to turn back time and save him somehow - which again brings us back to Max and her super power. It also hints at his desire to protect innocence, since he couldn't do it with his own.

In a most revealing scene, which is full of hints and innuendos that are mistakenly taken literally, Holden visits a professor of his, Mr Antolini, and, having nowhere else to go since it is very late, decides to stay the night in his apartment. Mr Antolini is an intelligent and educated man, but obviously leads a somewhat strange lifestyle: he is married to a much older and rather unattractive woman, with whom he seems to have no real emotional connection. Still the couple throws parties regularly, as if trying to convince society of their marital happiness. The lady offers Holden some coffee and disappears in another room, leaving him alone with her husband. Moments later, Holden begins to feel dizzy, as Mr Antolini starts a bizarre lecture about intellectuality and how Holden should not resist it and embrace it. His words are carefully chosen so as to hint at his real subject matter which, of course, is far from being educational. Still feeling inexplicably dizzy, the young boy falls asleep only to wake up in the middle of the night to see that Mr Antolini is sitting right next to him, admiring his long legs and stroking his hair. Holden leaves the apartment in panic and, once out on the street, he realizes that his vision is blurred and that he cannot walk straight. Obviously that coffee was not that innocent after all. He manages to collect himself somehow by sort of summoning his dead brother in his thoughts. 

Mr Antolini brings to mind the perverted Mr Jefferson from Life Is Strange 1, the charismatic but twisted professor of photography who was obsessed with capturing the loss of innocence with his camera. Mr Antolini looks and sounds like a toned-down version of Mr Jefferson - toned-down only because back in the times when he lived, he could not freely express his secret desires. But just like Mr Antolini attempts to seduce Holden, Mr Jefferson leads Max to his lair and ties her down, planning to turn her into one of his themes and, subsequently, victims. Unlike Max, however, Holden cannot rewind time so as to change reality. Max manages to effectively have Mr Jefferson arrested by using her super power to plan her moves, while Holden ends up in a mental institute, trying to come to terms with himself and all the secrets that he feels forced to keep.

Life Is Strange 2 moves in a different path story-wise, but again focuses on themes that were explored in the first game. This time the lead characters are two young brothers, Sean and Daniel Diaz, who are forced to abandon their normal life after their father is shot dead and the two of them are accused of murder. They embark on a journey from Seattle to Mexico in a race against time, while having to deal with Daniel's telekinesis, a new-found power which can potentially destroy them or save their lives. Brotherhood, trust, friendship and loyalty are among the cornerstones of the story, but the motifs of the loss of innocence, unavoidable change and maturity, both physical and emotional, play a major role in the game.

So it is no surprise that Holden Caulfield is present in this game too, albeit in a more elaborate and complex way. You may not be able to automatically connect Sean with him, as the overall setting of the story, Sean's background and the odyssey he has to go through with his brother look like they have no common ground with Holden's story or his character, but there is a key chapter in the game, the third one which is titled Wastelands, that is, in reality, a story inside the story: an epic tale of struggling with adolescence, adulthood, love and sexuality, centered around a tumultulous but powerful brotherly bond, which marks Sean and Daniel's coming of age in the form of a painful rite of passage. This chapter has a very special atmosphere and development that is pretty similar to Salinger's novel, although again this may not be that obvious on first look or if you play the game in a haste or read the book superficially. The Life Is Strange games are very much alike with Salinger's stories: they have so many layers that each scene, each phrase, each word even, may mean many different things.

Like in Life Is Strange 1, here too there are references to the Catcher In The Rye that are more or less direct. For example, Sean can be seen very early in the game wearing a red beanie and smoking a cigarette, reminding the most common depiction of Salinger's hero, that shows him with his red hunting hat and a cigarette in his mouth.

There is also a mural outside the garage at the basement of Sean's home, made by him, that depicts a kraken. The overall drawing style and colours again look similar to the original cover of The Catcher in the Rye, just like Max's poster did.

In the first pages of Sean's sketchbook, there is a drawing that he made depicting a baseball glove with a ball. This too nods to Holden, who used to carry with him a baseball glove that belonged to his deceased brother, Allie.

 

 

Another easter egg referencing Salinger's novel that may pass unnoticed because it is somehow hidden can be found in the house of Sean and Daniel's grandparents. In there, Sean watches the aquarium and comments that he has not seen any fish yet. He asks Daniel to lift a log that is blocking the bed of the tank and reveal the goldfish that had been hiding behind it.

D. B., Holden's brother, is a writer who became successful with a book that he wrote, titled The Secret Goldfish.

But the references that are contextual and have to do with the essence of the story are the most important. There is a recurring theme that shows up in the second chapter, Rules. In a segment in The Catcher In The Rye, Holden is sitting on the backseat of a taxi that drives through New York on a cold winter day. He keeps wondering what happens in winter to the ducks that swim in the Central Park lagoon in the spring; where do the ducks go when the lake freezes. Of course it is a question that no one can answer, because no one cares about the ducks; but for Holden, it is essential that he knows about them, as they stand for several things in his mind. The cycle that the ducks follow, appearing in spring then somehow disappearing in winter, is like the circle of life and the inevitable changes that come as time passes. As Holden sees the lake frozen with no ducks, he fears that maybe a spring will arrive one year, when they will not appear again. In other words, he has lost his innocence already, and he is afraid to grow up and accept himself for what he is, come to terms with his bad experiences and proceed to adult life and maturity. Another parameter has to do with his grief for the death of Allie, his little brother, which he obviously has never gotten over. There are also the incidents from the past years that never stop haunting him: the murder or forced suicide of a fellow student who was obviously gay, the confession of a close friend who was probably sexually abused by her stepfather; and of course Allie's death.

In Life Is Strange 2, in the second chapter, Rules, Sean and Daniel find shelter in an abandoned house in a forest in Oregon. It is December, the heart of winter, and there is snow everywhere. There are several interesting things in the house, but the most intriguing one is the picture of a duck hanging on the wall above the makeshift bed where the two brothers sleep. Not so coincidentally, there are flying ducks depicted on Daniel's sweater in this section.

Later on, in their grandparents' house, where Sean and Daniel find refuge for a while, in one of the rooms there is a wooden box with a duck painted on it, and on the box sits a red cap.

And there are three sculpted flying ducks decorating the wall near the glass door which leads to the backyard of the house.

Of course the duck images are not randomly placed there. The second one is much more direct, as it is accompanied by the red cap which nods to Holden's hunting hat. But both of them are there as a reference to Salinger's novel and as a symbol in the game, in connection to their original symbolism in the book. And maybe it is also an inside joke that answers Holden's question: the ducks that disappear from Central Park in winter, are kept in Oregon.

Just like Holden, Sean and Daniel are in the process of moving extremely fast from childhood/adolescence to adulthood. Like Holden, they too have lost their innocence, and acceptance of themselves and maturity await for them around the corner. The first duck, the one in the abandoned house, has pale colors, while the second one is bright red; they may very well stand for the "winter" ducks and the "spring" ducks respectively, in Holden's ramblings, while Sean and Daniel get closer to breaking free and moving on. The cabin in the woods and the grandparents' house in Rules, the two places where the ducks can be seen, are like passages, leading to the next major step that Sean and Daniel will eventually make when they hop on a train headed to California. Which brings us to Wastelands, the aforementioned chapter, where essential changes begin to happen, affecting both themselves and those around them.

Like Holden grieves over his brother's death, Sean has a constant fear of losing Daniel: at first, he is afraid that they will get separated, then he is worried all the time about him maybe not being able to control his power, therefore putting himself in danger. This fear inevitably becomes reality in episode 4, Faith, when Sean loses Daniel after a dramatic incident, and subsequently risks everything, including his life, until they are reunited.

This development is foreshadowed in an ominous dream that Sean has at the start of the fourth episode, where he sees himself sitting with Daniel at the top of a cliff, and suddenly Daniel tells him that he is alone and falls off, in a sequence that is one more vivid reference to The Catcher In The Rye, as it is connected to Holden's dream about being in a rye field, trying to catch the little children as they are about to fall off the cliff so as to keep them safe, and hence the innocence that he lost, and his inability to deal with Allie's death.

In this specific context, Sean identifies with Holden, as he himself becomes the "Catcher" who is desperately trying to save little Daniel from falling off the cliff. In the same context, Daniel has his literal identity as Sean's brother, symbolizing the blood link that connects them and that Sean fears of losing, but he also represents the lost innocence for both himself and Sean, identifying with the allegory of the children in Holden's dream.

Miasmata and Lord of The Flies

As an iconic, futuristic novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954) can be considered a major example of symbolism and allegory in literature. Set during an undefined war period, the story follows a group of boys who find themselves stranded on a tropical island after their airplane crashes somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Two of the boys, Piggy and Ralph, form an unlikely friendship despite them having absolutely nothing in common, while Ralph seems to be respected by the majority of the other boys, who establish him as some sort of leader. At first, the boys seem to enjoy their freedom, but soon their primitive survival instincts come forward, resulting in unavoidable tragedy just before salvation arrives. In the meantime, they develop a weird obsession about a monster that lives in the deep forest, which in fact represents their own fears and manias.

James Aubrey as Ralph in Peter Brook's adaptation of Lord of the Flies (1963)

Although the story of Miasmata (2012), the beautiful game by IonFX, is quite different from Lord of the Flies, we can identify several themes that are either prominent or implied in the book. Miasmata takes place in a tropical island, where the protagonist arrives in a boat. The island is a haven where several scientists, now deceased, had been working on a cure that could defeat a deadly plague that had infested the so-called civilized world. The protagonist has to search the whole place and find the ingredients (flowers and plants) that, when mixed together, will produce the cure. While at it, he is being stalked by a strange and vicious creature that chases him relentlessly while he is practically unable to defeat it.

The first theme that is common in both stories is the setting: the tropical island which looks like Paradise on Earth. In relation to this, comes the second theme, that of the representatives of the civilized world who are unexpectedly forced to live in primitive conditions, devoid of all the luxuries and benefits of their past lives.

Here the two stories deviate, as in Lord of the Flies this theme becomes highlighted from the moment that it establishes itself in the plot, while in Miasmata its role is secondary, since the protagonist is alone on the island, therefore his survival is easier and he has no one to compete with about a potential leadership.

The most prominent theme that is common in both the book and the game, is that of the "monster", the unidentified threat, the vague hostile force that is there around somewhere and becomes a recurring element that indirectly pushes the plot forward while every time it marks a notable progression in the characters' plunge to insanity.

The "creature" that stalks the protagonist in Miasmata

In Lord of the Flies, the "monster" is finally revealed to be the disfigured corpse of a pilot who got killed in an attempt to jump on the island with his parachute. In Miasmata, it is a strange creature that looks like a combination of a bull and a cat, which may appear several times during the hero's quest and depictions of which can be seen in one of the cabins of the deceased scientists. As the story of the game reaches its conclusion and the protagonist finds the cure and uses it to heal himself from the plague, the monster disappears, implying that it was a figment of his imagination, as well as a figment of the imagination of all the other scientists who had been on the island before him.

In both stories, the unknown enemy gradually becomes some sort of reverse driving force: its existence, mostly in the minds of the characters and less as a tangible threat, intensifies their darker instincts (in Lord of the Flies) and their agonizing uncertainty about what comes next (in Miasmata). This results in inevitable dramatic consequences as the characters get trapped in their own perception of that threat, which blinds them, preventing them from seeing and facing reality.

In Lord of the Flies, the climax of the drama occurs when the boys, under the influence of Jack, Ralph's rival awe who at some point, in a coup-like move, becomes the leader, kill Piggy, just before a ship arrives that will lead them back to civilization. In Miasmata, the protagonist, after healing himself with the cure, manages to swim to the boat that will lead him to salvation, only to commit suicide just there.

In a most moving twist of fate, we realize that the cure will never reach the civilized world, seeing that several injections containing the healing mixture, including the one of the protagonist, are lying on the bottom of the boat; which implies that all the other scientists before our hero managed to arrive to the boat but never left the island. In a parallel allusion, the boys in Lord of the Flies do go back to their home, but after what they had to go through on the island, they will never be the same again. In Miasmata, the shot, which is literal, heals the protagonist but leads him to realize that some secrets need to be preserved at any cost. In Lord of the Flies, the shot is metaphorical: the ominous atmosphere of the island injects itself in the minds of the boys and shows them what monstrosities they are capable of.

True Detective and The Evil Within

Seeing how many things the Evil Within has in common with the first season of True Detective is not much of a surprise. A video game and a TV series, respectively, that are both masterful works, of the kind that cannot be imitated in any way and will always remain unique and unforgettable. Although their subject matters are different, they are similar in many ways that may not always be that obvious. True Detective's Season 1 is a grim and gloomy tale about love, friendship, loyalty, betrayal and the extremes that the human mind can reach. The Evil Within is a dark and nightmarish adventure that is centered around the grey matter and all the evil that it can cause when used the wrong way, while placing a strong friendship in the whirlpool of uncotrollable events.

Even from these short descriptions, it is easy to sense the similarities that the game shares with the series and vice versa. It is always fascinating to find references to other forms of artistic expression in video games; and in most cases such references are anything but random. If you take a quick tour in the realms of various fandoms, you will surely notice that the fans of certain games tend to like more or less the same movies, books, music or series. Many fans of the Resident Evil game series, for example, are also avid watchers of Hannibal (the HBO TV series) and love heavy metal music. While this is not something that can be taken as a general rule, still the percentage is way too big to be seen as a simple coincidence. In a similar fashion, the developers of video games, while putting their stories together and giving shape and substance to their heroes, are naturally inspired and influenced, albeit sometimes subconsciously, by things that they themselves are fans of. If you think about it, most of them are not much older than most of us, the generation who saw video games blooming and evolving into what they are today.

Starting from the lead characters, in both cases we have a pair of detectives who are as different as day and night. Rusty and Marty in True Detective are such strikingly opposite characters that their ends inevitably meet and they get attached to each other in a dramatic, star-crossed way (something which becomes almost literal if you contemplate a bit on the rather ambiguous finale of their story).

Sebastian and Joseph of The Evil Within are completely different characters as well; one could never imagine that a man like Sebastian would be such close friends with someone like Joseph. Both pairs simply prove the physics rule that opposites attract, as well as the fact that some things are meant to be - whether it is destiny, fate or karma.

Both heroes of The Evil Within have elements of Rusty, who is quite possibly one of the most charming characters ever conceived. Sebastian is wrecked and desperate like him, a man who has lost his family and is closed off to himself, yet someone extremely strong, decisive, brilliant and efficient. In a similar way, his reserved manner can be seen in Joseph's attitude, as well as his hidden passions and his tendency to note everything down during investigation.

It is more than implied that the tumultuous bromance that goes on between the members of each pair is way more complex than it generally shows - although their reactions betray far too many things.

The differences between Rusty and Marty are exactly those that bring them together; it is as if the one complements the other. If you consider the general social stereotypes, it would be impossible for a man like Marty to befriend a guy like Rusty. Marty, being a smart but more or less conventional detective, buried in a dazed family life which could have been lovely if he wasn't so ardent to prove his masculinity by constantly cheating on his wife, a man who likes to pose as the typical dominant male yet deep inside is shockingly insecure about hismself, would "normally" feel contempt for the hermit-like, deeply intellectual and solitary Rusty. Yet he finds himself somehow trapped in Rusty's natural mental charms and he becomes his close friend without even realizing it.

Sebastian and Joseph are equally, albeit not so strikingly, different. Even so, they are also like two sides of the same coin and they need each other so as to feel balanced. Sebastian's passionate and firey temperament can only be toned down thanks to Joseph's mild and controlled attitude. But it goes the other way round too: Joseph's timid and somewhat confused character finds major sentimental support in Sebastian's strong and confident company.

The story of The Evil Within may not be exactly centered around Sebastian and Joseph, however it is full of dark undertones concerning the two guys. It is not random that they are reunited in a pivotal point of the plot, in Chapter 6, promptly entitled "Losing Grip On Ourselves", and they remain together until its end. This chapter is the hardest of the whole game, and it is as if it follows Ruvik's messed up memories, as well as Joseph's and Sebastian's who are both in a sedated state inside STEM, although at that point they do not know it. Interestingly enough, another thing that dominates in this chapter is the church, mainly as a literal place but also as a symbol.

The church is prominent in True Detective, and there are several depictions of it and themes connected to it throughout the story. From the simple crosses that can be seen in the opening credits and Rusty's apartment, to the ruined church with the disturbing drawings, to Theriot's revival, to Tuttle's luxurious but cold organization.

In The Evil Within, the church is a recurring theme and symbol; there is a ruined church in Chapter 6, a cathedral of sorts in Chapter 7 which leads underground, and there are also Juli Kidman's childhood memories that are connected to religion and the church both as a place and as an institution. In Chapter 6, we can also see priests and nuns that have become Haunted and are extremely vicious in their attacks. Although there is no specific reference in Ruvik's story concerning the role of the church in his life, there are hints that he might have been related to a local cult. Joseph finds some symbols at some point that are relevant and he and Sebastian later locate some sort of sacrificial room hidden below a secret entrance at the cemetery.

Stand-alone objects related to the church, the female statuettes that are spotted in the adandoned school in True Detective, also have their counterparts in The Evil Within. In the series, Rusty sees them when he goes to investigate the place on his own at the end of the captivating Episode 5 (The Secret Fate Of All Life). There are a few of them scattered around, usually standing on higher spots, somehow guiding him to find a valuable clue.

In the game, Sebastian finds several statuettes, called 'goddess statues' in the story. Those can be seen anywhere - among rocks, hidden behind rubble, on rafters, hanging from the ceiling. Sebastian can break them or shoot them and they reveal keys that were hidden in them, with which he can open lockers with bonus items back in the safe room. In that light, the staues in The Evil Within act in a more or less similar manner as the ones in True Detective: they are some kind of guides, leading the characters towards a right path.

The statuettes are not the only items that are found in both the series and the game. While not main plot points, the masks seem to play their role in both True Detective and The Evil Within. A most disturbing evidence concerning the activity of the murderous group in True Detective is a photo showing a blindfolded girl being watched by a man with a creepy mask covering his face. This mask is connected to the Voodoo worship in the area of New Orleans, where the story takes place.

In The Evil Within, some of the enemies that Sebastian encounters are wearing masks too; those masks look like a twisted blend between the Comedy mask and that of a circus clown. Said enemies are sometimes stronger than their standard counterparts and most of the times are carrying guns or other lethal weapons. Moreover, the mask automatically renders their face invulnerable to hit, nullifying the possibilities of a successful headshot when Sebastian is standing face to face against them.

The mask is of course a universal symbol that represents a series of things, notions and ideas; mostly and above all, it symbolizes everything that is concealed and ususally hides something negative. In both the series and the game, it is exactly this and as far as True Detective is concerned, in particular, it stands for the human hypocricy that uses a shiney and seemingly impeccable facade (Tuttle's Church) so as to open the way for all the twisted and gruesome activities that the mind can conceive. There is human hypocricy in The Evil Within as well, only it is expressed in a different way. Its victim is, surprisignly enough, not the good hero (Sebastian) but the antagonist (Ruvik). The game's arch-villain became a physical and emotional wreck because, as a child, he was the victim of hyporcicy and deceit, coming first from his own father (whom he eventually murdered) and later the doctor whom he trusted, and who had him killed.

This brings us to yet one more theme of the series that can be traced in the game. That of the victimized child who became a serial killer in his adult life. Both Billy from True Detective and Ruvik from The Evil Within were marginalized as kids, which made them develop an antisocial and solitary attitude that later led them to extremes.

Billy, the deranged serial killer in True Detective who was also Tuttle's illegitimate son, expressed his ruined childhood through a series of disturbing drawings on the walls. Near the conclusion of the story, Rusty and Marty locate his hideout in the woods, where there is a cabin "decorated" with such drawings, depicting the "Yellow King" and / or his own victims.

Similar drawings can be found in Ruvik's family mansion in The Evil Within, when you play as the Executioner in the episode with the same name. There are gory murals on the walls of the house illustrating the state or the fate of several characters involved. There is a depiction of Joseph, another one of Sebastian, as well as others of Zehn and Neun, the Amalgam Alpha, even the very same Executioner. Who is behind those drawings, it is not clear; but it could very well be Ruvik himself (because they all have the same style) in a morbid attempt to mock his victims by imitating a child's drawings while producing themes that are not appropriate for a child at all.

The countryside as a background setting with its gloomy, dusty colours is an essential protagonist in both the series and the game. In True Detective, the initial murder scene is in the field, while the resolution of the story takes place out in the open. The compelling shots of the vast and swampy plains of Louisiana only increase the atmosphere of anxiety and terror; you can almost smell the disturbance in the air. It is as if the heroes are constantly being watched, as if there are eyes following them from everywhere - even from below the ground.

The equally strong imagery of The Evil Within stresses the feeling of nausea and mislocation, which are more than literal as the characters are in a sleeping state, unable to control themselves while wandering inside Ruvik's memories. Two major plot sequences take place in the country: the first is in Chapter 6, where Sebastian reunites with Joseph and the two of them move through the numb countryside encountering all sorts of nightmarish monsters, and the second is in Chapter 9, where Sebastian reaches the root of Ruvik's traumatic memories, which is his family's sunflower field.

In both the series and the game, the notion of the open air signifies insecurity and uncertainty, but also the inevitable revelation; things cannot stay hidden out in the open - once exposed, they will become known sooner or later. The killers in True Detective are revealed in the fields; and Ruvik's deeper motives in The Evil Within are made clear when Sebastian exits to the sunflower field.

Similarly, during Sebastian's and Joseph's quest in the countryside in Chapter 6, several things come to the surface, and it is while there that Joseph says to Sebastian that he wishes to kill himself so as to not suffer from his developing change. As a continuation to this, at the beginning of the following chapter in yet one more church, he confesses that some part of himself wants to become a Haunted, resulting in him being in a state of constant battle that is mental, emotional and, above all, physical, and which remains open to several other interpretations as well.

Echoes of Resident Evil: Code Veronica in Guillermo del Torro's Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak, Guillermo del Torro's unforgettable thriller about an intellectual heiress who falls in the trap of a downfallen degenerate aristocrat and her charming brother, seems to share many essential plot elements with the epic Resident Evil: Code Veronica. Del Torro does not cite the game among his influences and inspirations for the creation of the film, but still the similarities are way too many and way too obvious to pass unnoticed.

The plot in Crimson Peak is centered around Edith, a girl who lives with her father, a wealthy businessman, in 1887's New York. Edith is an aspiring writer and likes to write scare stories, haunted by certain childhood experiences during which the ghost of her dead mother would visit her and warn her about a mysterious Crimson Peak, in what seemed to be a verge between dream and reality. One day she meets Thomas Sharpe, a young baronet from England who claims that he is an inventor and is looking for investors to support his work. Thomas is always accompanied by his sister Lucille, older by two years, who seems rather cold and crypic in her behaviour. Soon after Edith's father denies to invest on Thomas's invention, he discovers some interesting info about the Englishman and his sister and, seeing that Edith is falling in love with the young man, he orders the siblings to leave as soon as possible by offering them a generous check. On that day, however, Edith's father is brutally murdered by a mysterious stranger and Edith, emotionally crushed, finds support in Thomas's presence. It is not long before the two get married and Edith follows her husband in England, in their mansion which is located on an isolated mountainous area called Crimson Peak.

Edith finds out that the mansion is in a really bad state, derelict and with no means to keep it going. Meanwhile, her marriage with Thomas is never consumated, as Thomas claims that he wants to respect her mourning for her father's death. Edith starts discovering several frightening things about the house, like ghosts roaming its corridors at night and a creepy basement with several locked cauldrons. One day when the couple are in town on business, they get snowed in and they spend the night in a host house where they finally make love. When they return home the other day and Lucille learns about this detail, she gets infuriated and nearly attacks Edith. At some point, Edith realizes that she is being slowly poisoned by Lucille, who secretly adds poison in the tea which she offers her every day. She finds out that Lucille and Thomas are lovers, maintaning an incestuous relationship ever since they were in their early teens. However this is only half the truth. In reality, it was the psychopathic Lucille who first dragged her innocent brother into this, not hesitating to kill her austere mother when the old lady found out what was going on. Later, she urged Thomas into seducing and marrying wealthy girls from whom they took all their money and later killed in due time. However in Edith's case things didn't work out that well, because Thomas fell in love with her and because her childhood friend Alan came looking for her. Lucille, who was also the one who killed Edith's father, murders her brother out of jealousy but Edith manages to defeat her, avenging both her own torture and her husband's death.

Althrough Crimson Peak's plot is not related to the storyline of Code Veronica, there are several interesting details that bring the game to mind as you are watching the film.

The evil siblings

Admittedly not exactly the same case, but quite similar from certain aspects. Lucille and Thomas in Crimson Peak had devised a cunning and twisted plan which they had been following for several years, so as to keep their incestuous relationship going. In fact the plan was Lucille's, who had developed an unhealthy obsession with her brother and was emotionally and physically attached to him.

Pretty much like Lucille, Alfred Ashford in Code Veronica was sentimentally attached to his genious sister Alexia, and went as fas to dress up and act like her after her death.

An imposing but derelict mansion

Allerdale Hall, the family home of the Sharpe siblings, once was a glorious and imposing mansion but now, with no means to preserve it, it has become a cold and unfriendly place with snow falling from its ceiling holes.

The private mansion of the Ashfords, well-hidden at the back of the main house, is also in a decadent state. Its garden is in ruins, with fountains that have frozen and there is no water in them, and the house itself is adandoned and hostile.

A snowy scenery

Edith arrives in Allerdale Hall in winter, and soon the whole place is covered with snow. The white scenery adds to the unsettling atmosphere that this hostile place creates, while at the same time acting as a symbol foreshadowing death and all that is buried and lost.

Nearly half the plot of Code Veronica takes place in Antarctica, where the snow and cold naturally dominate. The stillness of the frozen environment accentuates the feeling of fear and isolation that is following the lead characters throughout the whole story.

The attic

The Allerdale Hall has an attic that Thomas has turned into his personal sanctuary: it is the place where he makes his inventions and creates his dolls.

The Ashford mansion also has an attic; it is hidden above one of the bedrooms and it is a private study where Alfred keeps his collection of books and stuffed butterflies.

The moths

There are black moths in abundance in Allerdale Hall. Moths are fluttering around the house because of the humidity and moss that grows in there, but they are also used as a symbol for the evil Lucille.

When Claire and Steve find themselves in the secret Umbrella facility in Antarctica, one of the most dangerous enemies that they encounter are huge, poisonous moths which like to grab onto their victims' back and bite them relentlessly.

The imagery of voracious ants

Early on in Crimson Peak, after Edith befriends Thomas and Lucille, the three go for a walk in the park together. There Lucille and Edith have a conversation which, for Lucille's part, is full of cryptic messages and allegories, and it is about the dying butterflies that are devoured by ants. We even get a close-up of the described scene.

As Claire wanders in the Ashford main house, at some point she needs to operate a film reel machine to open a secret passage. The scene that plays shows young Alfred and Alexia ripping off the wings of a dragonfly, then placing it in a bowl full of ants that attack the helpless insect and devour it.

In both cases, the imagery is particularly strong, as it carries major symbolisms that relate to the characters involved.


The red jewel

When Thomas proposes to Edith, he offers her a ring with a red stone, which was his mother's. Later on, as Lucille is in the process of eliminating Edith, she can be seen wearing the ring herself.

Alexia in Code Veronica has a trademark jewel, which is a choker with a red stone attached to it. This stone is actually the key to solving one of the many puzzles in the mansion.

A lullaby

Lucille likes to play the piano and her favourite piece is a melancholic lullaby which she used to sing to Thomas when they were little.

An equally wistful lullaby is the theme that plays from Alfred and Alexia's music boxes, as well as from a mechanical piano in the main house. In Game of Oblivion of The Darkside Chronicles, which is a retelling of the Code Veronica story, Claire and Steve also see and hear Alfred singing the lullaby while impersonating Alexia.

An intimidating portrait

In the Allerdale Hall, the huge portrait of the late matriarch of the house, the mother of Lucille and Thomas, is hanging on a central wall. The angry and judging gaze in Lady Sharpe's eyes makes her look like she could come to life any moment.

Alexia's portrait is in the same way imposing itself in the main house of the Ashfords. In the painting, Alexia looks extremely tall and can be seen wearing her favourite purple dress.

The family story in pictures

One of the first things that Edith notices when she arrives at the Allerdale Hall is a mural depicting two young children playing. She is distracted before being able to realize what it is, but in fact the children are young Thomas and young Lucille.

In the office of the main house of the Ashfords, there is an antique music box which has to be operated so that the secret passage leading to the hidden manor will be revealed. In Game of Oblivion, this part is a bit more complex, with Alfred challenging Claire and Steve to solve a riddle that says "the boy and the girl, destined to be one, will reveal the path". This riddle is connected to the music box which features a mini game where Claire and Steve have to shoot several obstacles, allowing a boy and a girl to meet each other. Of course the boy and the girl depict Alfred and Alexia.

Additionally, again in Game of Oblivion, Alfred can be seen holding a snow globe featuring a snowy scenery with two blonde children, who also symbolize himself and his sister.

Dolls and their symbolism

Thomas Sharpe has a hobby: he creates dolls and he is actually quite talented. Dolls in his case symbolize his lost childhood; he keeps creating them in a subconscious attempt to go back to the innocence of those years, that he was not allowed to have.

Alfred's mansion is full of dolls; some are in a good state and some look creepy as hell. For Alfred, dolls symbolize his attachment to the past and his emotional state which is still that of an immature child that refuses to grow up, although he is in his late 20ties.

Haunted corridors

The family home of the Sharpes is the residence of the souls of all the victims of Lucille and Thomas. Edith, who has the ability to see ghosts, bumps onto them several times while wandering in the mansion's corridors at night.

The whole Ashford residence is inhabited by zombies and monsters, which are lurking around every corner and, unlike the tormented ghosts in the Allerdale Hall who in reality want to alert and warn Edith, these ones here are extremely hostile and bloodthirsty.

Ghosts of the past

Among the ghosts that Edith sees in the mansion's corridors, the most terrifying one is that of Lady Sharpe, the mother of the siblings, whom Lucille murdered with an axe when she found out about the incestuous relationship of her children. Lady Sharpe keeps wandering around the house, as her soul is unable to find rest.

Alfred had trapped his father, Alexander, and started testing on him a virus that was created by Alexia. As a result, Alexander eventually mutated and became the horrifying Nosferatu, who was kept locked in the basement of the Antarctica facility until the day when he managed to break free. This happened while Claire and Steve were still there, struggling to find a way out, and he went on to attack them.

A cruel murder

When Lucille finds out that Thomas is in love with Edith and that he is trying to help her escape, her jealousy and sick passion overwhelm her and she kills him.

In Game of Oblivion, Alfred wakes Alexia up from her slumber of 15 years, and she comes back as a vicious monster who attacks her brother and crushes him with her lethal tentacles.

It is notable that in the original story of Code Veronica this does not happen; instead, the awakened Alexia holds the body of her dying brother in her arms while planning her revenge.