The Remedy Connected Universe is a huge, rapidly expanding monster that is hard to keep track of. It has grown bigger with Alan Wake 2 which intersects with the world of Control in interesting ways.
To understand the Remedy Connected Universe better, it’s useful to follow Saga Anderson and Alan Wake’s story in the sequel. It’s also worth looking at the conclusion to see how the story ties all the elements together for the ending.
WARNING – there are heavy Alan Wake 2 spoilers ahead.
Saga Anderson
Saga Anderson is a new character introduced in Alan Wake 2. She is a detective for the FBI, and she works alongside Alex Casey. Though she is very dedicated to her job, she still makes time for her family which includes her daughter named Logan.
In Remedy’s latest game, Saga travels with Alex to Bright Falls to investigate strange cult murders that have been taking place. She’s pretty good at her job because of her ability to travel to her Mind Place, which is a room in her head where she can sort out case clues and build profiles on people.
The longer you spend with Saga, the more it becomes evident that there are supernatural forces at play. Her ability to piece together clues and profile people goes beyond skillful and it becomes positively prescient. As is explained later, this is a gift she inherited, and Odin has a similar ability.
Remedy seems to have drawn heavily from Norse mythology when sculpting her character. Her name is related to the Old Norse verb sjá which means to see which suggests that she may be a prophetess. Within mythology, Saga is associated with Odin, and they both are said to drink from Sökkvabekkr.
Alan Wake 2‘s Saga also finds herself inextricably intertwined with a body of water – this time Cauldron Lake. Her daughter drowns after getting lost in the woods near Cauldron Lake, or at least that’s what everyone believes. Through the novel Return, Mr Scratch has been altering reality, bringing about terrible events in Saga’s life including the death of her daughter. To stop the changes from becoming permanent, she has to stop Mr Scratch.
Water is a recurring theme in the franchise, not least of all because of Cauldron Lake. In Mr Scratch’s version of Return, Saga and her daughter are from Watery, and in the game’s last chapter Ahti ominously mentions that “what water brings, it takes away.” This isn’t too much of a surprise to hear from Ahti, who is named after the Finnish sea god.
Saga crosses paths with the Federal Bureau of Control who are also investigating the cult murders. Initially, the FBC wants Saga to stop interfering with the case. However, Kiran Estevez realizes that she is an asset, and she begins to rely on her more.
Alan Wake
In the sequel, we discover that Alan has been desperately trying to write himself out of the Dark Place since 2010, but to no avail. In a twisted version of New York within the Dark Place, he finds himself on a television set hosted by a liminal being named Mr Door. He is interviewed about a book called Initiation, but he doesn’t remember writing it.
He gets some help from Ahti, and he eventually finds the Angel Torch which allows him to alter the environment, getting him one step closer to finally escaping the Dark Place. He races to find Scratch who wrote Return and is attempting to bring about a twisted ending.
The FBC, with the help of Saga Anderson, is able to trap Mr Scratch who has possessed Alan. However, Mr Scratch breaks free from his containment, suggesting that the Dark Presence is one of the most powerful paranatural entities around.
With the help of Saga Anderson, Alan rewrites the story to save Alex Casey, Saga Anderson, and her daughter. However, as they are in a horror story, the hero has to pay a terrible price, so he writes Saga killing him while he is possessed by Scratch.
Alan Wake 2 ending explained
Alan Wake 2‘s ending may have left some uncertain regarding the fate of Alan and the RCU. When Alan returns to the Dark Place to stop Mr Scratch, he discovers that the villain has changed reality, making everyone obsessed with Return.
To prevent this reality from becoming permanent, he races to Valhalla Nursing Home where his writing room is. Here, he hopes to finally write the ending that will rescue as many people as possible from the Dark Presence.
Working in collaboration, Saga and Alan rewrite the story, and Saga uses the Clicker to turn the story into reality. Because it is a horror story, this means that Alan must be killed. The game ends on a cliffhanger as Saga calls her daughter and waits for her to answer. A post-credits scene reveals that Alan is not truly dead and that he is being helped by his wife, Alice, who faked her death. Alan concludes that he’s not stuck in a loop, but rather a spiral.
This is likely a reference to theories by mythologist Joseph Campbell who is frequently referenced in both Control and Alan Wake 2. Campbell theorizes that many of the world’s myths follow the structure of the Hero’s Journey. The stages of this journey are the titles of Alan’s books – Departure, Initiation, and Return.
Within the Hero’s Journey, the hero faces many challenges which often result in them being slain and facing a descent into death. The hero then journeys through a world of unfamiliar yet strangely intimate forces, some of which severely threaten him, some of which give magical aid. Fortunately, the suffering does not last forever and after they have overcome a great ordeal, they gain a reward in the form of an ascension.
Remaining questions regarding the Remedy Connected Universe
At present, it appears that Alan, Saga, and Alex are all in the Dark Place. It also seems that Mr Scratch has been defeated by the Bullet of Light, though nothing is certain. Alice’s message to Alan is a hopeful one suggesting that is spiralling ascension could help him eventually leave the Dark Place. How this will happen is still a mystery. We’re also left wondering whether Logan is okay or not.
There are still plenty of questions surrounding Mr Door and Tim Breaker. Mr Door is able to shift between worlds, and he has appeared in several of Tim’s dreams. It’s not yet clear what Mr Door’s alignings are and how he is connected to the Anderson family. Questions also surround Ahti, who has shown himself to dwell in more places than just the Oldest House.
We may get to discover more about the Remedy Connected Universe with the upcoming Alan Wake 2 DLCs. The first one, Night Springs, is slated for Spring 2024.
Published: Nov 7, 2023 06:04 am