What happened to Rachel Amber? [Contains Spoilers From Episode 2]

[Baseplate]

Could Rachel Amber have killed herself?

When you and Chloe arrive at Chloe's secret lair, she gets Max to collect five bottles. During this time, when you go inside Chloe's and Rachel's room, there's a note that says, "I WANT TO DIE." Who the writer of the note is is a mystery, but during the first episode of Life Is Strange, Daniel says to Max that as a rumor, Rachel could have jumped off a cliff.


Who is the man that Rachel was last seen with?

In Episode 1 of Life Is Strange, Chloe tells Max that Rachel had told her she found a guy that changed her life... Could it be Frank? The Homeless lady in Episode 2 reveals to Max that she had seen Rachel with an older man that could possibly be her dad, but the homeless lady is uncertain as to who the man is. Frank was last seen with Rachel's bracelet so it could be possible.

By the end of the game, the red binder or photo album we saw of Rachel is seen for Kate. One can assume an album is being made. Could it be Evans and is he connected to Rachel going missing? The style of the album is similar where the photo of Kate is in black and white and if you had the opportunity to look through Evan's album in Episode 1, Evan only takes photos in black and white and organizes his photos nicely. Or could this album or photo of Kate be connected to Principal Wells as you'll see a cup of alcohol next to the photos. Max states in her journal she smelled alcohol from Wells' breath and he is seen drinking in his office by the end of the first episode.

Or is the older man Mr. Jefferson? He is a photographer and as a photographer, one can assume he creates his own albums of his work. In episode 2, when you enter Kate's room, her tablet is resting on the couch. When you read it, there's a message from Jefferson about an assignment, to which Kate appears to have already read. In Episode 1, Stella claims to have heard Rachel Amber having sex with Jefferson, but it can be assumed that Rachel was used as a model by Jefferson for his work. After seeing Kate cry and walking away from Mr. Jefferson in Episode 2, Mr. Jefferson tells Max he needs to take this call. If you stick around by Mr. Jefferson, you can eavesdrop on his conversation. He repeatedly tells the person on the phone that he needs to go because he has a class to teach, but he later states, "Because I can't have this conversation with you right now, okay." What could the conversation be about that is too private to be discussed in public and who could is the person on the other line?

I do not believe Rachel committed suicide, but one of the theories I think is possible to have happened to Rachel is her having the same abilities as Max because most of the people you talk to and ask about Rachel give fairly positive comments about her and the actions you're doing as Max is not so different from what Rachel has been described to do. Another is perhaps she was kidnapped or murdered, but I hope she's not dead, but as the discussion title states, what do you guys think happened to Rachel?

[symbiote]

I think its Mr.Jefferson and Madsen is helping him take pics. I wish i could tie Rachel and Kate but I cant make a connection.

[himmatsj]

Originally posted by Symbiote:

I think its Mr.Jefferson and Madsen is helping him take pics. I wish i could tie Rachel and Kate but I cant make a connection.:LIS_poker_face:

That badass guy at the junkyard had Rachel's bracelet.

[Kiwi Bug]

It's hard to really blame anyone right now. Though I doubt it is Evans. The only connection you can make is the portfolio. But a lot of artists shoot in black and white and many art students would have a porfolio simiar to his. Its just not a strong enough connection.


I don't think it's far-fetched that Rachel commited suicide, or maybe attempted it. I'm not completely convinced but it is a possibility.

What really gets me though are the signs that Rachel probably went through the same thing Kate did.

In the hideout you also find a flyer for a Vortex party an Max comments on it being shortly before Rachel disappeared. You also get from Hayden that she did party with the vortex club.

There is also several pieces of grafitti about Rachel (including the Rachel is a ♥♥♥♥♥ one in the girl's dorm bathroom) much like there is for Kate. Kate's and Rachels graffitti really seem more prominent than any others. Maybe there was a video made of Rachel after being drugged at the vortex party?

[Lestrad]

Rachel Amber was more than likely accidentally murdered by the rich twit (whose name escapes me currently).

I'm guessing that the "rental cop" is taking pictures in an investigation into the Vortex Club. Rachel Amber was part of the Vortex Club. Kate was invited to the party and...well, bad things happened as a result of the rich twit. I think he tried to do the same thing with Rachel Amber and she was not lucky enough to escape (or more likely she tried, he panicked and killed her).

That's probably why he seems especially off/paranoid/jumpy. On top of issues he already has, he's trying to cover up that he killed someone. His family more than likely knows and helped clean up with their plethora of money. This makes even more sense by the fact that all the photo albums are female and they couldn't care less about their son waving a gun around in school.

It would also explain why there is absolutely no talk, whatsoever, of a police investigation into the disappearance of Rachel Amber. None. Plus the comments about rich brat's family "owning the town" and "owning the police".

I think the step-dad is investigating because, while he may seem like a total jerk, he's doing it to help (or at the very least give closure) to Chloe. Like he states in episode 2. He's not a complete jack a**, he just gets carried away sometimes but he really does care about Chloe. Even if she doesn't know it.

As far as the bullying, I think he was trying to find out what she knew about the Vortex Club because he found out she was involved due to the viral video. He was probably hoping to find out what happened to Rachel Amber because nobody else would investigate. It's his pride at stake as a security guard (he says it himself how seriously he takes the student's security). I don't think he can deal with the disappearance of Rachel Amber happening on his watch and what that disappearance did to his step-daughter.

Bottom line, if she had committed suicide, someone would have talked, someone would have found a body. Family members, etc. There wouldn't just be complete and total "Steven King" style disappearance. Someone would have said something.

In the end we see rich brat going after the premadona, to whome bad things are more than likely going to happen to next.

[Lussuria]

I tend to agree with the Jefferson theory.

When Max and Chloe are laying on the train tracks and Max asks if she thinks her and Rachel would have been friends Chloe indicates that Rachel was also artistic - making me think that a famous photographer with Jefferson's personality could have manipulated her very easily.

I also think that the red folders are likely his as they appear clean, organised and meticulous. Not like the "Janitors" collection of photos of the girls in his shed, which are the messy disorganised photos of a creeper.

But whether or not Jefferson is a good or a bad guy, I have no real thoughts on yet, but my gut tells me he's a bad guy.

[Draikin]

Originally posted by TG Bravo 2 Zero:

In Episode 1 of Life Is Strange, Chloe tells Max that Rachel had told her she found a guy that changed her life... Could it be Frank? The Homeless lady in Episode 2 reveals to Max that she had seen Rachel with an older man that could possibly be her dad, but the homeless lady is uncertain as to who the man is. Frank was last seen with Rachel's bracelet so it could be possible.

I also got the impression that the person who changed Rachel's life was indeed Frank. In the letter Max found, she mentioned that this person "experienced some serious ♥♥♥♥". I don't think that matches Jefferson. Also, when Chloe asks why he has Rachel's bracelet, Frank first says he got the bracelet from a friend, but when Chloe questions him further, he says it was a gift. I don't think that was a lie. In the ending, he's also shown with his dog, looking out to the sea with a rather depressed look on his face.

Originally posted by TG Bravo 2 Zero:

I do not believe Rachel committed suicide, but one of the theories I think is possible to have happened to Rachel is her having the same abilities as Max because most of the people you talk to and ask about Rachel give fairly positive comments about her and the actions you're doing as Max is not so different from what Rachel has been described to do. Another is perhaps she was kidnapped or murdered, but I hope she's not dead, but as the discussion title states, what do you guys think happened to Rachel?

It seems to me that a lot of people know more about Rachel's disappearance than they care to admit, and there's definitely some kind of conspiracy going on, but I think nobody was directly responsible for Rachel's disappearance. Max seems to be retracing her steps to the point where I find it likely that she'll end up in the exact same situation that caused Rachel's dissapearance, and it'll probably be related to the time-travel powers. I'm also hoping Rachel isn't dead, I don't think the story needs that at this point. I'd like to see Max, Chloe and Rachel meet each other at some point, and the game does hint at that possibility (Max saying "now we're officially a trio" while writing down her name next to that of Chloe and Rachel's, then later her asking Chloe if she and Rachel would be friends). I think it'd be odd if we don't see Max meet her at some point.

[BudTheBroken]

I have to agree, I think Rachel had the similar if not the same powers as Max, especially since everyone seemed to like her (save for Victoria). A little part of me wondered if Rachel saw Chloe die and just couldnt stand to see it happen. I can't say I have anything to really back it up. But I remembered somewhere (in comments around forums or something) somebody mentioned how characters that have determinant deaths tend to die anyways in games like these. Due to the plot's nature, we've saved Chloe more than twice now (including at her makeshift shooting-range). But I wonder if she'll eventually have to die. Perhaps Rachel didn't want her to die, and so instead she sacrificed herself, hoping to "fix it"? Maybe she even caused the tornado in doing so (abusing her power and keeping Chloe alive) and she reached out to Max for help to warn about the tornado (since she's close to Chloe as well) I guess that theories full of holes, so it looks like I have more snooping to do. I'm looking forward to see how this plays out. I really hope Rachels not dead.

[Stronkie]

I think Rachel knew that Chloe could not be saved. If she would have saved Chloe , with the same powers as max , I think the tornado will destroy the town.

So in order for max to save the town , she needs to rewind to the toilets scene and let Chloe die as she should have done in the beginning....

Chloe herself keeps saying that by saving her life twice or more.. she ♥♥♥♥♥♥ the basics of the universe....

So this whole game is about Max comming to the conclusion , she will cause the destruction of the city and has an hard choice to make to let Chloe die...

[Ну я убил и что?]

Originally posted by The Big Sleeper:

I think Rachel knew that Chloe could not be saved. If she would have saved Chloe , with the same powers as max , I think the tornado will destroy the town.

So in order for max to save the town , she needs to rewind to the toilets scene and let Chloe die as she should have done in the beginning....

So this whole game is about Max comming to the conclusion , she will cause the destruction of the city and has an hard choice to make to let Chloe die...

Thought about this theory but no. Max had that "flashback" before she saved Сhloe:
Flashback(tornado)-->girl died-->she saved that girl(She didn`t knew it was Chloe)-->another flashback(tornado)

So Chloe couldn`t cause tornado or she must have died earlier and somehow she made it alive. Maybe because of Rachel and maybe because of Max. something like 4th demension, she has stopped the time flow and it was only in secong episode, just imagine what she can get in the last one:P

[Venti]

I'm shocked nobody mentioned David! When you check on his surveillance room in episode 1, you can see red binders showing just a bit to the side of the TV. Also, he was seen taking pictures of kate as she left school in episode 2. He does have some sort of problem with stalking people to figure out what's up with them, so I don't think its too farfetched that he's majorly involved in this too.

Samuel had a few photos of Rachel as well if you look into the janitor room outside the girl's dorm in episode 2 I believe. Pretty suspicious...

[Draikin]

It does seem more than a coïncidence that Max ended up saving Chloe from death again in Episode 2. And what stood out even more to me was in episode 1, Max got the second vision/nightmare of the tornado immediately after Chloe says she wants to destroy Arcadia Bay. I'd be surprised if that wasn't intentional. So there are definitely more than a few hints there.

Here's one problem though: if they do in fact use a "reset" in the end, which isn't uncommon in time travel stories, it would mean that all the choices we've made would be (more or less) meaningless. For a story that focuses so much on decision making, that would be an odd move. If Chloe was destined to die anyway regardless of what Max does, it would go against the premise of the game that our choices matter. So while I do think Chloe's survival is linked to the origin of the tornado, I'm not convinced she'll inevitably have to die in order to save the town.

If Chloe doesn't wish to destroy Arcadia Bay anymore, perhaps that would be another way of preventing the tornado from happening. The developers did state that the supernatural events we're seeing in the game are actually methaphors for the inner conflicts of the characters. The tornado representing Chloe's state of mind would be rather fitting. The time-travel ability may be methaphor for Max's doubts and lack of confidence. The game starts out with Max saying the photo she took is "crap" and how she can't show it to Jefferson. That same photo is also in the preview for Episode 5. It's difficult to tell where the story is going to go, but I imagine the focus will continue to be on the characters, and not the events surrounding them.

[Dziewczynka]

In episode 2 i walked up for Mr.Jefferson camera at his desk (while he was talking with someone on the phone out the class), and Max said that he must have paid like 20 grands for this. I was so angry that i couldn't look at what he's recorded, cus im sure he was the one recording. At the end scenes we see Principal arguing with Jefferson in his expensive car. He is an artist - artist do drink too ;). Another thing that got me concerned was girl's things in a box in a janitor's room which belongs to Samuel (but he might actually find this stuff while cleaning up the dormietories) - well in the end Samuel is quite weird. Rachel might fallen for Jefferson, but he took advantage of her just like did with Kate. The thing about Rachel bracelet on Frank's hand - he might have told the truth, look at him sitting all alone with his dog at the beach in the end of the ep. - he doesn't look like he wished any harm to Rachel - and dogs can sense bad people. Can't wait how this goes down, but hey, do you remember how Heavy Rain got us all shocked by finally revealing who was the murderer? ;)

[Baseplate]

Someone posted about the Prescotts being responsible for Rachel's disappearance as the police don't seem to be actively searching for Rachel or at least posting up fliers about her being a missing person, aside from Chloe. Seeing that the Prescotts practically own Arcadia Bay monetarily, there could be a chance that the police were bribed into remaining silent or off the case.

[Dagegen]

These discussions about what happened to Rachel always make me think of the funeral scene from Twin Peaks. There one of the characters has a breakdown and blames everyone in the town for having killed the dead girl, because they all knew that she had problems, but didn't try to help.
I think there could be a similar situation with Rachel. It seems like everybody knew her and looked up to her, but her only true friend was Chloe, who had a crush on her and might have gotten jealous when she met that older guy (whoever that is).
Maybe she just had enough of everyone and ran away, or killed herself / let herself allowed to be killed.

[spookysempai]

It could be David that makes the binder of Kate at the end of episode 2 but I don't think its to do any harm. I think he's trying to help but he's stuck having this militant attitude because of his time spent in the war and also he most likely has PTSD because of the medication you find in the drawer in Chloe's house's bathroom.

I'm kinda inclined to believe that if Rachel Amber had the same powers as Max, she is somehow connected to the deer and stuck in an alternate timeline trying to warn Max about something. Maybe its the spirit of Rachel Amber because she used her powers so much she "erased" herself from reality. And maybe the same thing is happening to Max and that's why the deer fades out?