Alan Wake dies.

In this essay I will-

... actually try my hand at a relatively objective examination of and discussion about why Alan Wake 2 ending with Alan's death would, and would not, make sense. I even used proper capitalization for once to emphasize how serious I am /hj. This has been kickstarted by this post by @stuckinthedarkplace; lately I've been thinking a lot about how AW2 could possibly end, and I feel like this possibility should be talked about. So. Let's not pad this out any further.

Pro #1: Alan’s death would make for an excellent tragedy and/or further reinforce the concept of him dying a martyr if they make his death vital to defeat the antagonist for good (who- or whatever it might be). After a years-long torturous fight, the hero sacrifices himself in unwavering bravery to do one last thing for the greater good. A selfless act, ensuring that even if he can’t make it, his loved ones will. Something like that. Plus, I imagine the majority of us players would like to see him walk away from it all alive; taking this away from us might elicit a rather emotional response, which is what every storyteller wants, right?

Contra #1: All these aforementioned years might feel like they have been for nothing. The lengths Alan went to to fight, to persevere, to endure, to survive, for more than a decade – in vain, pointless. Remedy themselves have stated that Alan has “wished he had died many times” – but all this time he held on, not letting go of the fickle hope that he can come back, come home, to Alice, Barry, Sarah. Remedy making an effort to explain what Alan was up to, in Night Springs during the events of American Nightmare and during the setup and unfolding of AWE, and them securing all the rights to the IP for good back in 2019; Alan as a character seems a bit too big, too important to just kill.

Pro #2: Him dying would leave few loose ends. Alice has lived under the presumption that he died for a few years anyway, probably until Mr. Scratch showed up at her doorstep at least, but if we assume that he’ll be taken care of over the course of the game while Alan does not escape, then him biting the dust would be the next most logical option. Saga and Alex either finish their mission knowing they failed to take him in alive, or even be forced to abort it, maybe because of unforeseen complications or lack of results. Alan has been living in hell for so long, by dying he’d finally escape it. It would be over, and if other characters could be made aware of his definitive passing maybe they too could move on, find peace, be done with the nightmare.

Contra #2: Alan is Sam Lake’s baby. Would he really kill him off for good? I certainly don’t think it’s beyond him, at this point I think he could write anything and it would somehow fit, but... Alan is Sam’s baby. Sam has been fighting to bring him back for this entire time. Somehow I have my doubts he’d throw that away, throw him away. (cf. Contra #1.)

Pro #3: Alan has killed Casey in The Sudden Stop. If Sam killed Alan, his story would directly mirror Alan’s and Casey’s; this would add another excellent meta layer on top. Kill your darlings or something. Let’s hope Sam doesn’t get writer’s block and plan to travel to some cabin on a lake anytime soon.

Contra #3: It might feel cheap and unimaginative. It’s an ancient trope, almost older than It-Was-All-Just-A-Dream. Can’t figure out an ending? Don’t know where to take the story next? Looking for a straightforward way out? Kill the protagonist. Better yet, just kill everyone. Boom, job done. I’m exaggerating of course, but I speak from experience. Don’t look for my old fics.

Pro #4: The story of AW1 was, at its heart, about the creative process and a lot of the feelings and mental mechanisms behind it. Stories end, lives end. Death feels final. Inevitable. A dead writer at the end of the story... there’s a ring to it. (contradicts Contra #3.)

Contra #4: Remedy would make it harder for themselves to expand further on their connected universe, which they have said was their goal for the next project(s). At this point I imagine AW is a very precious asset for them. Granted, I’m sure they’d always find a way to expand anyway, this is Sam Lake we’re talking about but... I still doubt that it would feel quite right. I mean, hell, they used to call AW2 “project big fish”. That’s gotta count for something, right?

So. Which side are you on?