Well look at that! Bright Falls actually shows up on Xbox Live on time this week. Hopefully that trend will continue next week. If they're sticking to the schedule they originally announced, the last two episodes should go up a week from today. In the mean time we've got the fourth episode, which is called "Local Flavor".
This player uses HTML5 and some other fancy nonsense. If it's too much for your browser to handle, watch it over on YouTube.
New to Bright Falls? Bright Falls is a series and this is episode four so you really don't want to start here. The other episodes are all online, so start from the beginning and make sure you don't miss anything. Episode 1: Oh Deer, Episode 2: Time Flies, and Episode 3: Lights Out.
After spending some time with Sam and Daniel last episode we're right back to following Jake. Local Flavor was notable for having a good deal of both funny and frightening moments, even though it was only four minutes long. Sometimes those moments even overlapped, which isn't an easy thing to do. It's a real testament to the series that it can pack so much into such a tiny package.
"The plot thickens!" is pretty much the Bright Falls motto - however, after three straight episodes of fleshing out the mystery, the pieces are finally starting to come together. Many of the characters are still a complete mystery, but the time lapse clues are droping right into place. With only two installments remaining, I think we're deep enough into the series to formulate some solid theories.
EPISODE SPOILERS BELOW
We're inside some kind of hardware store, and the clerk is telling Jake it's going to take six days to order it. Six days?! Outrageous! Just what Jake is trying to order is never stated. Our protagonist is looking incredibly worn out. He realizes the order request isn't timely enough and buys some duct tape. Naturally the question here would be just what is he trying to order? The very next scene shows the front of his car duct taped together. I think it would be safe to say he was probably trying to order a new headlight or something, but don't be suprized if this too is revealed to be part of some insidious plot.
At the diner, a woman is going crazy in the parking lot. It appears as if she's trying to knock out a light. A cop sees and arrests her. This is one of an increasing number of references we've seen to lights. While light and darkness continues to be a major theme in Bright Falls, there has been some very specific destruction of lighting fixtures. If you'll recall just last episode - which is even called Lights Out - Sam was replacing one of many broken lightbulbs outside the building.
It's possible that some crazy town person is killing the lights (maybe even this woman), but I think it's someone more bizarre. More on that in a second.
Jake tells the waitress Rose about the incident in the parking lot. They look outside, but there's no police car. Just as Jake is about to look like a mental patient yet again, the cop car pulls up outside the window. Jake sees the crazy woman violently flailing in the back seat and makes the connection. It's the woman from his psychotic flashes in episode 2! Have we seen this woman before though? Is it also the woman who was laughing behind him at the diner earlier in that same episode? If it is, it looks like she's been having a rougher time than he has.
As Jake watches the commercial for Deerfest, he starts to space out again. He has another psycho-montage, filled with just as many clues as before. If you can keep your eyes open through the terrifying nightmare imagery, here's what you'll see:
-Someone standing in the woods
-A car screech into a 180
-Someone being drug through the dirt
-A spinning fan
-The deer in the road
-A repetitive voice in the woods
-Red and blue lights on the wet highway pavement
The episode ends with the very opening of Bright Falls episode 1. The body pulled in from the lake is revealed to be Jake. What's that all about? I hope it's not blowing your mind or anything, because its about to get weirder.
I think it was Jake who attacked Sam last episode.
Let's examine the flashes we just saw. The person standing in the woods is probably Daniel. The framing of the shot is done carefully so as not to show his head, but it looks like the type of clothes he's usually wearing. The car and deer stuff is probably all from the accident. I think the red and blue lights are something yet to come, and the fan is from Jake's motel room. These are all things Jake has seen or likely will see. By showing us the scene with the crazy woman, Local Flavor also suggests this is true of Jake's last set of flashes.
The person being drug through the dirt is most definitely Sam. If you look at his clothes, there's no doubt there. The shot of the woods is ikely where Sam was attacked, and the sound we hear might even be Sam's laugh. Maybe this also suggests why Daniel is appearing in the flashes.
I think Jake is freaking out like that woman did. I think he was probably the one destroying lights at the motel, and I think he probably attacked Sam without knowing it, I'm careful not to call these flashes visions, as I think its possible that everything Jake has seen may have already happened. We know from the end of this episode that not everything we've seen has been in chronological order. He has these periods of missing time, and I think he's out doing crazy violent things without even being aware of it.
There was a lot of good conversation last time in the comments, so I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of this theory. You can leave your ideas about this and anything else related to Local Flavor (like what does that title even mean?) in the comments below.
This player uses HTML5 and some other fancy nonsense. If it's too much for your browser to handle, watch it over on YouTube.
New to Bright Falls? Bright Falls is a series and this is episode four so you really don't want to start here. The other episodes are all online, so start from the beginning and make sure you don't miss anything. Episode 1: Oh Deer, Episode 2: Time Flies, and Episode 3: Lights Out.
After spending some time with Sam and Daniel last episode we're right back to following Jake. Local Flavor was notable for having a good deal of both funny and frightening moments, even though it was only four minutes long. Sometimes those moments even overlapped, which isn't an easy thing to do. It's a real testament to the series that it can pack so much into such a tiny package.
"The plot thickens!" is pretty much the Bright Falls motto - however, after three straight episodes of fleshing out the mystery, the pieces are finally starting to come together. Many of the characters are still a complete mystery, but the time lapse clues are droping right into place. With only two installments remaining, I think we're deep enough into the series to formulate some solid theories.
EPISODE SPOILERS BELOW
We're inside some kind of hardware store, and the clerk is telling Jake it's going to take six days to order it. Six days?! Outrageous! Just what Jake is trying to order is never stated. Our protagonist is looking incredibly worn out. He realizes the order request isn't timely enough and buys some duct tape. Naturally the question here would be just what is he trying to order? The very next scene shows the front of his car duct taped together. I think it would be safe to say he was probably trying to order a new headlight or something, but don't be suprized if this too is revealed to be part of some insidious plot.
At the diner, a woman is going crazy in the parking lot. It appears as if she's trying to knock out a light. A cop sees and arrests her. This is one of an increasing number of references we've seen to lights. While light and darkness continues to be a major theme in Bright Falls, there has been some very specific destruction of lighting fixtures. If you'll recall just last episode - which is even called Lights Out - Sam was replacing one of many broken lightbulbs outside the building.
It's possible that some crazy town person is killing the lights (maybe even this woman), but I think it's someone more bizarre. More on that in a second.
Jake tells the waitress Rose about the incident in the parking lot. They look outside, but there's no police car. Just as Jake is about to look like a mental patient yet again, the cop car pulls up outside the window. Jake sees the crazy woman violently flailing in the back seat and makes the connection. It's the woman from his psychotic flashes in episode 2! Have we seen this woman before though? Is it also the woman who was laughing behind him at the diner earlier in that same episode? If it is, it looks like she's been having a rougher time than he has.
As Jake watches the commercial for Deerfest, he starts to space out again. He has another psycho-montage, filled with just as many clues as before. If you can keep your eyes open through the terrifying nightmare imagery, here's what you'll see:
-Someone standing in the woods
-A car screech into a 180
-Someone being drug through the dirt
-A spinning fan
-The deer in the road
-A repetitive voice in the woods
-Red and blue lights on the wet highway pavement
The episode ends with the very opening of Bright Falls episode 1. The body pulled in from the lake is revealed to be Jake. What's that all about? I hope it's not blowing your mind or anything, because its about to get weirder.
I think it was Jake who attacked Sam last episode.
Let's examine the flashes we just saw. The person standing in the woods is probably Daniel. The framing of the shot is done carefully so as not to show his head, but it looks like the type of clothes he's usually wearing. The car and deer stuff is probably all from the accident. I think the red and blue lights are something yet to come, and the fan is from Jake's motel room. These are all things Jake has seen or likely will see. By showing us the scene with the crazy woman, Local Flavor also suggests this is true of Jake's last set of flashes.
The person being drug through the dirt is most definitely Sam. If you look at his clothes, there's no doubt there. The shot of the woods is ikely where Sam was attacked, and the sound we hear might even be Sam's laugh. Maybe this also suggests why Daniel is appearing in the flashes.
I think Jake is freaking out like that woman did. I think he was probably the one destroying lights at the motel, and I think he probably attacked Sam without knowing it, I'm careful not to call these flashes visions, as I think its possible that everything Jake has seen may have already happened. We know from the end of this episode that not everything we've seen has been in chronological order. He has these periods of missing time, and I think he's out doing crazy violent things without even being aware of it.
There was a lot of good conversation last time in the comments, so I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of this theory. You can leave your ideas about this and anything else related to Local Flavor (like what does that title even mean?) in the comments below.
May 12, 2010 8:13 AM
I think that the Deerfest commercial is interesting - Music, Fun, Bring a Buck Get in Free - and when the rifle scope's crosshairs touch the buck's eye, Jake spaces out again. He opens his eye in the dark inside the body bag. Wondering what the connection between Jake, the buck, and spacing out are...
May 12, 2010 8:56 AM
I love that you see Alan Wake's run-in with the press on the television with the deerfest commercial!
May 12, 2010 10:02 AM
One other observation - I think that Ellen may have asked Jake to leave town not because "she knows what's going on" but because (1) she seems to know Jake's wife Libby, (2) Libby didn't originally know Jake was going to Bright Falls (see Episode 1) though "she does now", and (3) Ellen told Jake to leave after they got a little too close with the hug...Also, Rose in the Oh Deer Diner mentioned that Ellen doesn't normally wear make-up to the diner...Hmmm...
May 12, 2010 12:27 PM
Hi. I'm from Alan Wake forum, and my nick there is Wake Lestat 360. Here is my "theory" :
On the first episode, we see some guy taking a body bag off the water. The body on the bag was Jake. So, who is the man? For me, is the man who enters on the market, on episode four. He's looking for some equipament to get a fish. How Jake had go to the bag... well, i don't know.
On the first episode, Jake hits a deer with the car... the deer starts to screaming when Jake pick the flashlight and check the deer. It's clear the Dark Presence.
On the second episode, we meet the other 2 characters of this mini-series, Sam and "The Kid". They are the owner of the Inn. Sam has a lot of guns and ammo... for what? The episode 3 has cleared this... i will talk about this later. Jake ask if Bright Falls is so quiet to Sam, and he's answer with "It's quiet and you need to worry about". Another clue about : Sam knows about the Dark Presence. And the lobby on the Inn was full of Deer's Heads...
When Jake goes to bed, he's going with the keys. And, when Jake open the eyes and go check the windows, the keys is on the table. So, for me, it's pretty clear that Jake left the cabin at some point... and he doesn't remember. After the creppy scene on the Lodge of the Dr. , Jake is in his car, driving and calling to Hall... and so, he's note that he write (or some other person) strange things. Sure, this is strange... but, what is most strange, in this scene, is the tunnel. Wait, before the tunnel has a sign pointing to the other side... and the tunnel is going for the right. It's some signal? Like, "TURN BACK NOW JAKE!" ? Or is like "DON'T ENTER ON THIS TUNNEL?!"?
On episode three, we see Jake waking up in the middle of.. the forest! And, with the hands covered with something red. And, someone remember the flashs on Episode 2 ? In one flash, has show a hands diging... and this hands has a silver ring... the same of Jake. So, yeah, it was Jake diging...
I will continue in the next post
May 12, 2010 12:28 PM
So Jake wake up on the middle of the forest, with something red on his hands... and also "The Kid" (really... i don't know his name!) is there, watching him. Jake goes to The Bright Falls records to talk with his ex, and when he reachs there, a guy is speaking something funny... about a rabbit? Maybe this has some connection with the rabbit on the flashs-scene? On episode 2. Jake has a fast talk with his ex, she knows something.
After that, Sam and "The Kid" is coming from the forest, with some "cleaning equipaments". What they are cleaning? On the forest? Strange.
Here, we know that Sam and "The Kid" has some way to talk with signs. Sam looks to "The Kid" and make some signla. "The Kid" run to the house to pick the rifle and that hunter jacket. It's like "Kid, you know what you have to do, so DO IT NOW!".
When Sam goes to the employee area, to change the lamps, we know that he has problems with something on his weist. Maybe he's injured from some fight against the Dark Presence...
When Sam enters on his house to take the rifle, WTBF has notted something that i don't have see : Someone has passed behind the window, in the outside of the house... maybe is the thing that has caught Sam. Some mystical fog has appeared. Sam enters on the forest. Sam shoot one time, like a warning shoot. When Sam was reloading, the thing has appeared.. Sam looks to the thing. He's face it was like "You? Oh no...". When he hit the floor, he start's to laugh... like "Oh, i'm ****ed (again)... so come on!".
On episode four, Jake is at the market doing something (i don't know what is). Some guy enters on the market (the same guy that i think it's the man who takes Jake body off the water), and Jake get his tape. Tape fix everythin, huh Jake?
The crazy fat lady, who is on the dinner on the second episode (and also on the flash-scene, on episode 2 too), is trying to broken the lamp. So, well, maybe this crazy fat lady is the same who has broken the lamp on the Inn? No. I think that it was Jake. The crazy fat lady is under Dark Presence influence, like Jake.
And that is other flash-scene, that is, for me, when everything has been cleared :
In the first flash, Jake is walking back from something. On the second flash, Jake car is turning back. Someone remember on the second episode, when that tunnel is going to the right, and a U turn signal is pointing from the left? I think Jake has turning back. Wrong decision Jake.
On the third flash, we see Sam. Sam is dead. Who killed? Jake... at last is what i think that was. Jake is the shadow who has passed outside the house, when Sam get the rifle. Jake is the person in the forest, who get Sam. Jake has the guy who has broken the lamp, in the Inn.
On the 4º flash, we see when Jake hit's the deer... or was a car? When Jake enters on the dinners, something has happen with him? It was a Deer or a Car? Oh no... Jake is getting crazy... or Jake was dead, and the Dark Presence has making his turn to life?
On the 5º flash, it's Sam laughing. The laugh turn into some diabolic and then, the lake on the first scene of the Web-series has showed up.
On the 6º flash, we see a car stopped, and some lights reflected on the asphault. A blue and a red... blue and red? A cop?Yeah, a police car.
And finally, Jake wake's at the body bag. The guy on the boat pick the flashlight and point to him... and he escape.
Are you afraid of the light, Jake??
I will continue in the next post
May 12, 2010 12:29 PM
I know, maybe this is crazy but... that is what i have get :
Jake is dead. Yeah, he don't have hit the deer, he has hit a car. In some point, betwen the dialogue with Hall and the "Happy Birthday", the Dark Presence has get Jake. I think that this Dark Presence get the people slowly. The first signal is "Get Crazy", like "The Old Crazy Lady"... and then, the fear of the light.
Jake killed Sam, and that "red" thing on his hands is mud with blood. On the flash scene, the hands digging... it was Jake, diggind the body of Sam. Is this why Sam was just "OMG... IT's YOU!".
What you think about this, guys?
May 12, 2010 2:26 PM
@デビッド Good question! The Deerfest video was weird...it went up on YouTube earlier this week Deerfest.
Last time Jake flipped out was looking at a painting of the woods. Maybe it has something to do with seeing depictions of the woods?
May 12, 2010 2:34 PM
@Informante º1 Sounds like you have a good handle on things, but here's a few questions -
Who's on the boat at the end of the episode? Is it the guy who dropped Jake off there looking back at him? Is it a police boat?
Is the car screech in the episode flashes from hitting the deer? It almost looks like it's unrelated. Maybe it's a U turn. Maybe Jake was trying to leave town and something made him come back unexpectedly.
Nice spotting the guy at the hardware store. I was wondering about him. Usually Bright Falls is a little better about showing us people who matter, so I don't know if I'd say that's the guy who dropped Jake off by the lake.
May 13, 2010 7:16 PM
November 20, 2010 5:48 PM
Jake has the sypmtoms of a person with MPD(multiple personality dissorder). Severe amnesia and blackouts and some of the symptoms. The painting of the woods caused him to flip out, maybe he associated the painting with some traumatic incident. The flashes he had, the one that struck me the most was the one about the crazy lady. Why did he have a flashback about something he didnt even see yet? My hypothesis is that he was a living an endless loop in his so called "life". People would ask him about his wife and he would answer the same thing: "shes the same". Dont know what else to write here so, everyone , feel free to elaborate or make up a new hypothesis.
February 28, 2012 2:42 AM
After playing Alan Wake, I'm inclined to think the boatman is Thomas Zane. One comes to wonder if, from the conversation with Rose at the Diner, Jake has not written himself into the story and failed to end the evil where Alan succeeds.