"Life is Strange" Episode 5--It Hurt my Brain and my Heart.

It has been a big week in gaming for fans of episodic story games.  The teen centered, sort of sci-fi drama Life is Strange wrapped up it's final episode as did TellTale's Borderlands themed series Tales from the Borderlands.  I haven't quite had enough time to delve into Tales, but I spent my evening last night finishing up Life is Strange.  I'm still recovering physically and emotionally--the final episode managed to give me a headache while simultaneously ripping out my heart.

Please note that from this point forward there will be nothing but spoilers about Life is Strange episodes four and five.  If you haven't completed Life is Strange you should go finish it.

Episode four really left us with some crazy cliffhangers--we learned that Mr. Jefferson, the hipster photography teacher, is also the psycho responsible for drugging, kidnapping, and possibly killing students from Blackwell Academy.  We're also faced with the reality that Chloe might actually be dead since Jefferson has drugged Max thus preventing her from using her rewind powers.  This set the stage for an epic episode five--what was Jefferson going to do with Max?  Is Chloe dead?  These questions are answered in episode five, but you have to navigate a sloppy maze filled with meta-physical nonsense in order to finally get to the emotional main course.

Episode five opens with Max waking up in the creepy "dark room" that she and Chloe discover in episode four.  As she struggles to regain consciousness she realizes that she's not alone and that Victoria Chase has also been kidnapped by Jefferson.  As you look through the objects in the room, Max sees a table with one of the photographs taken of her while she was unconscious.  Using her powers she is able to focus on the picture and leap back to a previous point in the "dark room."  (Get comfy with the "dark room" because you're going to be spending an annoying amount of time there) This time Max finds herself on the floor and being actively photographed by Jefferson.  It's at this point that you really want to stab him.  He won't shut up!  For some reason the developers felt the need to have him run through this very long and very tedious monologue explaining his weird motives behind drugging and photographing the girls.  We get it, the dude is a total creeper!  I found myself wanting him to shut up and also getting very bored (getting bored at this early juncture of the episode wasn't a promising start).  The good news is that eventually he shuts up and leaves Max long enough that she can find her diary and focus on the selfie she took in Jefferson's classroom (in episode one).

Finding herself back at the beginning with her newfound courage, Max decides to take action.  She texts David Madsen and informs him that Jefferson is the kidnapper.  As she makes her way to the front of the classroom she has a nice, "I've got your back" moment with Kate.  In this reality she submits a photograph for the "Everyday Heroes" contest--but not before a very satisfying moment of putting Victoria Chase in her place (that's a rhyme!).  In the next beat Max wakes up on a plane headed to San Francisco.  Her photograph won the contest and she's on her way to be a part of the show.  At the gallery you can wander around and look at all the other photographs and there are some nice moments as Max realizes that she's a talented artist.  Max breaks away from the admiring throngs to check her phone and is shocked to discover that she has several missed calls.  Checking her voice mail reveals that Chloe has been leaving panicky messages because the giant tornado Max witnessed in episode one has hit Arcadia.  Chloe is trapped and is going to die.  Max has no choice but to use her winning photograph to jump back--and out of what felt like a very positive reality.

The winning photo!

The next jump finds Max back in her room taking her prize winning photograph.  She knows that the reality with the photograph can't exist so she chooses to tear it up.  Then she wakes up in the "dark room"....again.  There's more of Jefferson blah, blahing but it's here that Max realizes in this reality he has burned her diary--that means no more leaping back to the beginning.  This time it looks like Jefferson is going to kill her.  He fills a syringe with a large dose and prepares to finish her off.  He hears the noise of someone else entering the bunker and stops (phew!).  Remember how Max texted David Madsen?  That's about to pay off.  Jefferson grabs a nearby folded tri-pod and presses himself up against the wall to ambush David.  Max can rewind and warn David but this requires some good timing--too early and Jefferson will smash Max with the tri-pod, too late and he will knock David unconscious and proceed to kill Max.  I rewound multiple times and every time resulted in David being knocked unconscious.  Just when I was starting to get annoyed I rewound all the way to the beginning before David entered.  A new dialogue option opened up allowing Max to ask Jefferson to grant some type of last request before he kills her.  If you pick the right one it will allow David to enter without being heard.  After a couple of different tries I picked the option that allowed him to enter unnoticed.  It's not a straight up solution as now Jefferson pulls a gun that he has hidden in a nearby cabinet.  Boom!  David Madsen is dead.  Hmmm....rewind.  Max can tell David what to do!  Kick that table!  Boom!  David Madsen is dead.  Warn David that Jefferson has a gun.  Boom!  David Madsen is dead.  (This happened so many times that I was laughing--how many times do I have to watch this guy die?)  Eventually you choose the right thing (Max can pull on a lamp cord with her freed foot and knock it over causing Jefferson to move away from his hidden gun).  David, the guy who you possibly accused in the previous episodes, ends up saving Max.  Max explains what is going on and in the process has to make the choice about whether to tell him that Chloe was killed by Jefferson.  I opted to tell him (I had blamed him in the Kate Marsh incident and also not backed him up at Chloe's house when the argument about surveillance ensued--I pretty much wrecked his fictional life) and that result of that choice was watching him break down over Joyce, Chloe, and his general jerkiness.  He loses his temper and shoots the unconscious Jefferson, killing him.

Max then realizes that although she lost her diary and all the pictures that Warren still has the photograph from the Vortex Club party.  All she has to do is get that photograph and jump to the night of the party.  As she emerges from the bunker she calls Warren only to realize that the tornado is in full swing and is devastating the town.  Warren is hunkered down in the Two Whales diner and agrees to meet Max to give her the photo.

Once Max hits downtown Arcadia you get to realize the full extent of the damage from the storm.  Much of the town is in ruins and Max has to navigate through a devastated landscape filled with debris from the storm.  As Max is making her way through the wreckage she encounters many of her classmates from Blackwell who have been trapped by the storm.  Max can save them or choose to book it directly to the diner (I opted to save them--who cares if this is an alternate reality, you can't leave them to die).  Once Max reaches the diner she finds that Joyce is taking care of a wounded Frank.  You can have some lengthy conversations with both Joyce and Frank.  The conversation with Frank includes telling him that Rachel Amber is dead and witnessing his devastated reaction.  When Max makes it to Warren she has a brief conversation with him and then asks for the photo.  As she starts to focus on the picture Warren interrupts her and there is an interaction where you can choose whether Max hugs, kisses, or just simply leaves.  I chose to friendzone poor Warren and just gave him a friendly hug (this choice has some impact on the ending).

After focusing on the picture from the party Max finds herself back outside the Vortex Club party.  She tells Chloe what is going on and you have to navigate some different dialogue options to convince her that you don't need to go running off to the junkyard.  It took me a few tries but I finally convinced her that they should hide out at Chloe's house and avoid the junkyard.  And here begins the most tedious part of this episode.....

The next scene opens with Max and Chloe standing on the beach viewing the massive tornado heading toward Arcadia Bay.  Max knows that she needs to head toward the lighthouse and both girls start heading that way.  Max has really abused her rewind and focusing powers and it has taken a huge toll on her.  She passes out as they start heading up the trail towards the lighthouse.  Max wakes up back in Mr. Jefferson's class in Blackwell but there's no one in the room....  She walks out into the hallway but everything is happening in reverse--people are talking backwards, the text for selecting objects is backwards.  Something weird is happening.  Max heads down the hallway into the bathroom where she initially witnessed Nathan shooting Chloe and discovered her rewind powers.  As she opens the door to the bathroom she finds herself in the hallway to the dormitories.  The hallway is lit by eerie candles and Kate Marsh is crouched down outside her room.  As Max approaches Kate she opens the door to her room and appears to jump off a ledge.  Max follows her through the door only to discover that she's back at the entrance to the dorms again.....  There's this irritating sequence of figuring out which doors to go through as you keep finding yourself at the entrance to the dorms.  After a few times Max turns into Victoria Chase (I'm still not sure why), then she turns back but into Max wearing Rachel's clothes...then you finally escape the weird dorm part of the nightmare.

...And find yourself in a surreal landscape that mashes together the different areas from each episode.  Initially you are in a a gallery-like space and Jefferson is searching for Max.  You have to avoid Jefferson and find your way through this weird meta-physical maze.  Once you've done that Max finds herself in a locker room type of area similar to the pool area from episode 3 (or maybe 2?).  Now it's David Madsen looking for Max....you avoid him and move into another area and it's Warren looking for Max....you avoid Warren and you're in the junkyard and it's ALL of them and Frank shining flashlights and trying to find Max.  If you're caught by any of them you have the opportunity to rewind and avoid them, but overall it's another irritating sequence of sneaking.  Max finally reaches an area that is outside the lighthouse and can sit down on a bench.  While sitting Max finds that she's actually in a snow globe sitting on the mantle in the Price's house.  She witnesses the scene where William receives the fated call to go pick up Joyce.  Then you're back in front of the lighthouse but there's another path.  As Max walks up this path she witnesses a series of still scenes from the past episodes.  This serves as a re-cap of all the choices you made in the different episodes--I suppose it's a nice reminder, but by this point I was so tired of the whole nightmare sequence that I just wanted to move ahead.  I didn't spend much time stopping to witness each scene.

Max finally reaches the lighthouse and opens the door to find herself waking up.  She's with Chloe and they're at the actual lighthouse with the storm raging out in the ocean.  Max is exhausted after the experience of all the different realities.  Even with all the rewinding the storm just keeps happening.  There just doesn't appear to be any way to avoid the storm hitting Arcadia Bay.  It's Chloe who finally realizes that the storm is somehow tied to Max messing with destiny...it's destiny that Chloe has to die and the only way to avoid the storm is to rewind back to the beginning and let Nathan kill her.  This realization was like a karate kick right to the heart.  Max has to choose...she can sacrifice Chloe and save the entire town of Arcadia Bay or they can let the storm rage destroying Arcadia Bay but saving Chloe.  I let the screen sit on this decision for an agonizing amount of time.  In the end I decided that it was unfair to sacrifice the entire town to save one person...even if that person was your best friend.  Chloe hands Max the butterfly photograph from the first day and makes Max swear that she will remember her.  They hug and Max focuses on the photograph.

Back in the bathroom from the beginning...but now it just feels depressing.  Max sees the blue butterfly and photographs it.  She then slides to the floor and listens the the exchange between Nathan and Chloe.  While her tears drip on the floor she hears the gunshot that ends Chloe's life.  (This is where I started tearing up) The photo series runs by with the pictures of all of Max and Chloe's exchanges burn away and new photos of Nathan Prescott being arrested replace them.  The final scene sees a large group of black clad mourners heading to the cemetery for Chloe's funeral.  Joyce and David hug and cry.  Due to my friendzoning of Warren he stands awkwardly next to Max.  Then the small blue butterfly lands on the coffin.  Ugh, what an ending though!

So, what's my final verdict?
If you've played your way through the entire series there is no way that you can't play the final episode.  This final episode is all over the place and you'll most likely find yourself getting annoyed at all the physicy/time-travelly/timey-wimey nonsense that is woven throughout.  It really chops the episode up so much that I found myself getting bored (which didn't happen much in the previous episodes).  I get it that we need to be reminded that Max is travelling through alternate dimensions but the whole "many doors" thing has been played out (think BioShock:  Infinite's ending).  The fact that the ending basically tells you that all your choices didn't really matter is also pretty disenfranchising.  I was also irritated at the concept of the collectible photographs in the last episode and actually only completed about half of them.  I really wanted it to be over and had no desire to go back and find those minor opportunities for achievements.  I think if this episode had been done with less nonsensical stuff that it could have been really great.

As for the ending itself...(the one I chose anyway) the emotional impact was fantastic.  I think if a game can make you feel actual emotions that it has achieved something.  I felt connected to the friendship between Max and Chloe and it was really beautiful.  Although I haven't seen the alternative endings, I have read about them in other reviews.  Apparently if you spurn Warren's advances and opt to jokingly kiss Chloe in episode 2 or 3 and then choose to let the storm destroy Arcadia Bay you will see Max and Chloe in a romantic relationship.  This kills me and my concept of their beautiful friendship!  I never got the idea that there would be a romance between them.  Chloe is clearly in love with Rachel Amber and the possibility of a romance with Max seems almost perverse.  I don't really know why the developers felt the need to go there but it just feels so wrong (I just don't understand it and maybe other people got a much different feeling).