Thoughts about Chapter 4 (Spoilers)

[Rallania]

Every time I play/think about this game I always come across/remember a detail that sends me spiralling into theory mode, but a few thoughts about episode 4 keep recurring and I would like to discuss to see what other people think.

So, Wayne was definitely the trigger for Reese's transformation right? No matter how you look at it the dude (entity?) quite literally activates a primal fight or flight response in Reese the second he shows up and ACTIVELY aggravates him more if you choose to follow him out of the basement (like he initiates a full on monster fight if you happen to be talking to him in the side room). And obviously, it was inevitable that Wayne would show up at some point (he's straight up stalking the MC and appears in every single episode), plus on a surface level it makes sense that he'd try to rescue the MC if he thought/perceived that they were in danger given how he perceives himself as the MC's guardian.

But the more I think about it, something about the timing of Wayne's interruption feels...off. If you think about it, Reese really wasn't a threat to the MC. Like, at all. Even transformed he fully believes both that he's protecting the MC and that they're on his side, which was instinctual on his part (again, fight or flight). And if Wayne truly thought he was an active threat, why didn't he warn the MC after they met Reese in Chapter 3? Why wait to intervene until after you and Reese were stuck together? Sure, there's a possibility that he only picked up on Reese's supernatural vibes at the same time a Mystical MC would've, but REESE STRAIGHT UP RECOGNISED HIM (from his nightmares but still), and the hatred Wayne genuinely has for Reese feels way too personal for just 'an abomination' (he legit admits he aims to kill him in the future). Moreover, if Reese really was that dangerous, why does he only make a show of fighting him when you're upstairs? Why not try to kill him while the MC is safe in the basement? Why ONLY scare him off when comes back to the basement in Beese mode?

Did Wayne react preemptively because he assumed the worst? Did Wayne specifically choose to intervene at that specific moment? Was he deliberately trying to make Reese seem like more of a danger than he was? WAS HE TRYING TO PLAY THE HERO FOR THE MC???

God I love this game.

[Skyzthelimit]

This genuinely broke my brain in my last play through. My first thought was that he was the father since he appeared in dreams but Dr.Kelly would have recognized him right? Unless he was possessing someone else? The text is the same, and the parallels are amazing. But then why would he still want to romance the MC? So many questions.

[Dallar]

Reese doesn't transform because of Wayne, Reese transforms because he's off the 'meds'. The process starts before Wayne even shows up, MC with Mystic traits can notice the unnatural changes. This is presumably why Wayne intervened at all, because the cousin is suddenly locked up in the room with a monster, and there is no reason to assume that this monster is friendly.

And, well, Wayne had never warned us about mine or a ghost either, it's just not what he does. And that fight wast a stomp, Reese fought back, so he simply couldn't easily kill him or control his movement.

So all in all, that's an interesting theory, but my rotten blorbo has a perfectly legit explanations to his actions.

[Rallania]

Originally posted by Dallar:

Reese doesn't transform because of Wayne, Reese transforms because he's off the 'meds'. The process starts before Wayne even shows up, MC with Mystic traits can notice the unnatural changes. This is presumably why Wayne intervened at all, because the cousin is suddenly locked up in the room with a monster, and there is no reason to assume that this monster is friendly.

And, well, Wayne had never warned us about mine or a ghost either, it's just not what he does. And that fight wast a stomp, Reese fought back, so he simply couldn't easily kill him or control his movement.

So all in all, that's an interesting theory, but my rotten blorbo has a perfectly legit explanations to his actions.

Oh I absolutely understand that Reese was going to change no matter what, like that was inevitable. What I mean is I feel Wayne definitely sped up the process through scaring him into ‘do or die’ mode lol (therefore triggering said transformation early).

I do see your point about Wayne not warning about the mines or the ghost, although I would like to counter with the fact that he does try and warn you in Chapter 2 (though tbf it’s very generic, so I do get what you mean). I wasn’t trying to imply that he could’ve overpowered Reese to stop him, it’s more that I find it strange that he only makes an effort to fight him in front of the MC when they go upstairs to see what’s happening (he just strolls down into the basement after Reese does his thing and scares him off if you stay there lmao), given how it’s implied by his dialogue afterwards that he does intend to kill Reese at some point; I apologise for not being clear about it.

Goop man absolutely does have his reasons for doing what he does, I’m admittedly just slightly biased because I personally find him to be incredibly shady (in a good way, he’s an interesting character and I like trying to figure his motives out).

[Nyx~]

I've now done two runs with the whole Reese transformation and Wayne in general is just really weird. (I still genuinely can't tell if the dudes alive or not). I feel like it is on part triggered by Wayne because it kinda doesn't matter what you choose, Wayne shows up, Reese goes Jersey Devil mode. The thing I don't quite understand is why doesn't Wayne just use the front door or just appear inside of the room. It's like he's stalling. You get to understand how he gets in with the talk to animals trait, a raccoon tells you you can sneak into the house through the roof basically. But it doesn't make any sense for him to do that. The rest of the time he just appears and disappears as he pleases but in a situation where he himself thinks the MC is in danger, he takes the long way around. Like is he bound to the physical world or is he not?

[Cliff]

Wayne and Reese clearly have some kind of history, and Reese is straight up terrified of our fav goop man. Another interesting thing is if you just sit and wait in the basement, Wayne will casually let Reese eat Dr Kelly, come back to the basement and get hugged/punched/romanced/whatevered by the MC, and only then break it up and scare Reese away, *after* dude's already calmed down and feeling less murdery.

And Wayne is pretty dismissive of literally everyone that isn't the MC. Almost makes me wonder if he's some kind of spirit or whatever that a previous Scarlet summoned or something, what with all his comments about bonds and ties. At times you almost have to wonder if eventually the MC might need saving FROM Wayne? Wild speculation but hey, that's what forums are for lol!

I also think Sibil might be a bit cowed by him too, I forget exactly how I got the dialogue but at the end of the ghost hunt I think he low key threatens her towards the end?

[Spaz]

It took me quite a few play-throughs to finally come to a decision on Reese.
After reading all the dialog with multiple traits, I think I am finally settled on how I feel.

1. Yes, Doc really screwed up by not communicating with Reese and working with him.
2. Sybil has her hand in this as well. I think we can all agree Sybil is a duplicitous character.
3. Wayne hates Reese for some reason, but Reese straight up points out Wayne is EVIL.
4. Reese's transformation occurs at different moments depending on how you play that scenario; however, generally he doesn't change and become murderous until Wayne shows up.
5. An uncontrolled Reese is truly a terrifying prospect.
6. Doc knew what scientists would do to her son, she knew how society in general would react, she completely thought out how things would go if Stella and Kaneeka knew of his condition. She really did think everything through as logically as she could under the impossible circumstance she faced.
7. She loved the son she gave birth to and desperately wanted to protect him.
8. She is the ONLY doctor in the town.

So, after very careful consideration, if I do not have the hot trait to talk Reese down, I will always opt to tranquilize him and later ask Doc if I can at least come back to visit him - to which she is relieved to hear and says "yes". We don't know how the future chapters will play out and I'm hoping we will get another chance to help heal their relationship, and work out a way for Reese to have more freedom. I can't shake the idea tho that releasing him will come into play in a future chapter and he might save our life. Yet, that is so selfish a reason for letting him kill his mother. I also can't help but think after killing his mother, the conflicted anguish he would feel might just destroy him too. So, I have decided to opt for saving Doc (for now) and hoping it was the right thing to do.

[stone.fire.smoke]

Wayne sees Reese as a threat or at the very least a potential interference in his plans; Wayne opts to remove any possibility Reese could be a problem. Wayne only cares about "protecting" the MC, all others are expendable. He implies he might remove your other friends but Reese is (so far) the only character Wayne feels the need to destroy sooner rather than later.

Letting Reese kill the doc was a no-go for me (my MC has white knight syndrome, saved Duke & Gretchen, got all the kids out of the mine, didn't let Tabby sacrifice yrs) but I was already into another romance option and wasn't sure letting unrestrained Reese run wild was a good option so I assisted in tranqing him to keep him alive.