Part 71: Blackwell Epiphany - Update 2 (Part 2)

Inside Karth House (Alternative)



Rosa decides to see if Durkin can help at all.

It's me again.
Uh huh. You find anything?
Did you ever hear of a theater group called the Gotham Collective?
Nah. Sorry. I don't go to the theater much.



While we have him on the line, Rosa decides to send the picture of Mary along. At least that will help them to confirm her identity. I love the way Rosa is still saying things like "Jane Doe" even though Durkin made it clear what he thought about that in Deception

Hold on. Too many people here. We can't talk about this now. Give me a shout tomorrow. You can fill me in then.
Sure. Fine. I'll call you back if I find anything.
Right.

However, Durkin tells her not to bother yet. He's obviously not that interested in Mary, again making me wonder why he bothered to send us here in the first place.



Turning instead to her trusty phone, Rosa finds a community forum discussing the Gotham Collective, which shows it to be a now defunct theater company. Did it's closing have something to do with Mary's fate?

There is a link there which Rosa can click on.

Gah. There must be hundreds of names on this list. I'll never find what I'm looking for just by reading it. I'll just save a copy to my notes app. Hopefully I can find something to cross reference it with.



Obviously, we'll cross-reference it with Mary's name, by combining the clues.

If Mary was a member of the Gotham Collective theater group, she's probably on this cast list.

Rosa quickly pushes a few buttons, and...

Gotcha. There's only one Mary who was a cast member.

Rosa's always so pleased when she is able to use her phone to solve mysteries

Mary Meehan - who was a cast member of a play called "The River Wall."



Not that I expected him to be.

Rosa amuses herself by combining clues while Joey returns to discuss what they've found.



Well, don't let me stop you. So Mary was definitely some kind of showgirl.
She was in a show called "The River Wall." That doesn't sound like a showgirl kind of name to me.
Maybe. Maybe not.

Joey is still a mixture of disdainful towards and impressed by modern technology.

So all those names are stored of that hunk of plastic?
On the memory card inside the hunk of plastic, yes. Any of these names ring any bells?
You kidding? I can barely read anything on that tiny screen.

Rosa is already thinking about something else, though.

"The River Wall." There was a famous old short story by that name. I wonder if that show was an adaptation.
Does it matter?
It might.

There is actually a "famous" short story called The River Wall from 1986, but it doesn't seem to be connected to this one. Perhaps there was more than one, but most likely Gilbert just came up with a name.



Joey tries to talk to Mary about the play, but she immediately gets worked up about it.

Oh GOD.
What?
Just don't. I... I just want to be a face, okay?
No more. I just can't.

Looks like we've found Mary's issue. Something to do with the play is consuming her.



No!
Why do this? Why?
I'm not doing anything, dear. Just a fan.
A fan. Sure.

She's seriously upset about this play.



Rosa tries searching for the play, and comes across a review from the City Post (Jeremy's former workplace, you may recall) that sheds some light on Mary's pain.

City Post Theatre Desk
The River Wall - a review
-------------------------------

You'd think one would be jaded after so many vanity projects by The Gotham Collective, but The River Wall, based on the 1923 short story, has finally taken it one step too far.

Setting aside the non-existent direction and lackluster set design - both of which can be forgiven due to the low-budget nature of the production - nothing can forgive the choice of casting Mary Meehan in the lead role of Pamela.

Displaying all the signs of an actress who took theater way too seriously in high school, she infuses her role with such over-the-top passion it becomes laughable rather than dramatic. Lacking any ambition or energy, I very quickly wished she would drown in the river alongside the play's titular wall.

Rating: * (1 star)

Ouch. I guess that's what happened. Mary received a big acting break and proceeded to stink up the joint. Perhaps she was even responsible for putting The Gotham Collective out of business altogether. Or, just as importantly, perhaps she just felt responsible for it.

Mary's Theme



Hopefully this will be enough to jolt Mary's senses.

Y-you did?
Yeah. I'm sorry.

Mary turns away in silent horror, unsure of what to say next.



I thought I could get away from it.
Become just another face in the crowd.
Is that something you really want?
No! Just... needed to get away.

Her frustration at the conversation starts to shine through in the form of anger.

It shouldn't have followed me here. Nobody should know me here.
Surrounded by people who didn't know me. It's good that way. Better that way.



Since Mary died before the police raid, in her mind, the drug addicts are all still here. Joey tries to take advantage of this to demonstrate the disconnect.

These people. Lost people. Like me. Alone but not alone.
Mary. I hate to tell you this, but there's nobody here.
What are you talking about?

At last, we have an opening here.

Look around. Carefully. There's nobody here but us.
I don't... see what you mean.
Yes you do. Nobody's been here for months, at least.



Mary looks around, realising Joey is right.

They wouldn't have just left me here. Would they? Alone?
I'm afraid they did. But you're not alone now. We're here.

Mary is not comforted by Joey's words, however.

No. It can't be empty. That was the whole point. I can't be alone here. I can't!



In desperation, Mary flees from the room in search of the other residents of the Karth House. We're almost there now.



Noticing Rosa, Mary calls out to her.

Hey - do you know where everyone is?

In our first three-part choice of Epiphany (and it should be said that there are much fewer of them in this game, and they tend to be confined to pivotal scenes), Rosa can respond in multiple ways. She can say that they were taken away:

They were taken away. This wasn't a good place for them.
That didn't happen! That couldn't have happened.

She can simply say that they are gone:

I'm afraid everyone's gone.
Gone? Why would they be gone? And without telling me? Without me knowing?

Or she can tell Mary she's unsure:

I don't know where they went. I'm sorry.
This makes no sense! Where did they GO?
HOW did they go? Dozens of people don't just vanish!

Either way, Mary becomes incensed at their disappearance.

I would have remembered. I would have NOTICED.



With Mary's emotions peaking, Joey takes advantage.

What did you notice, Mary?
Huh?
You weren't thinking too clearly before. You are now. Come on.
Get away from me! I don't belong here. Not anymore!



It sounds like Mary doesn't want to be here anymore - which is the best possible result for helping her to move on. She shoots downstairs, with Rosa and Joey in pursuit.

We probably should get after her.



As Rosa and Joey enter the lobby, the telltale sound of ghostly wind can be heard. Mary has become aware of her death.

Yeah.
I remember now. I was cold, then warm, then... nothing. I feel absolutely nothing. That review. It seemed like it was everything. Now it's just nothing.
To die over nothing.

Sure enough, she confirms her recognition.



Joey picks up on it too, as does Rosa.

I'm ready when you are, Joey.



Help me? How? I can't seem to leave this place.

Let's get this done.

Mary? I'm going to have to ask you take this.
What is it?
Just trust us, Mary. We're here to help.
...okay.

The Void



Joey whips out his magic tie, and as she's done so many times before, Rosa pulls the ghost into the void. Notably, Rosa stays on her feet the whole time, walking through the portal naturally. I guess she retained that mental control from her episode with Gavin.

Meanwhile, Mary is feeling a bit better now that she's entered the void.

Is it right? Is it right that this place should feel so... good?
It's where you need to be, Mary. That's all.
I thought the Karth House was where I needed to be. After that review.
Maybe... I would have been okay?

Rosa again has three choices. She can ask if Mary is alright now:

I don't think it matters. What matters is - are you okay now?
Yes. I've never been so sure of anything before, but yes. I'm okay.
Listen to me. I'm dead, but I'm okay.

She can say that she doesn't know:

I can't answer that. I'm sorry.
No. Of course not. It's just...
*sigh* I guess it doesn't matter now.

But by far the best option is for Rosa to let loose with a stinging criticism of the reviewer

That critic was an idiot.
That's nice of you to say, but you didn't see me perform. I was awful.
Doesn't matter. I used to write reviews. I know these things. The critic was an idiot.
Really?

That's right, Rosa did write reviews around the time of Legacy. Nice callback! She continues to fire up.

He said you "had no ambition" but you also "took it too seriously?" How is that even possible?
...
And how can you "show too much passion" and "lack energy" at the same time?
I... I never thought of it that way.
I'm sorry. I know it doesn't do much good to hear this now, but...
No. No. It's good to hear it.

Way to go, Rosa



But I'm listening now. So thank you.

With that off Rosa's chest, it's time to finish the task at hand.

It's time to go, Mary.
Yeah.



With nothing left to say, Mary heads into the light, and Rosa heads back to reality with only a moment's reflection to halt her stride.



Joey checks in on her to make sure she's all fine.

I'm fine. Did I fall?
No. You're still standing.
Don't sound so surprised, Joey.
Mental control. That's all it takes.
Yeah. Sure.

I love this It's been a year since Gavin taught her the skill, but she's still grinning about it, much to Joey's discomfort.

Let's get going.
After you.

And that's a wrap... or is it?



Despite having finished solving the case and helping Mary move on, it seems Rosa and Joey's night is not over. A strange masked man stands on Horatio Street, seemingly waiting for them.

Hello? Can I... help you?

Murderer on the Loose



JESUS Without warning, the man whips out a pistol and fires right in Rosa's direction. She puts up her hands in a desperate attempt to protect herself, but realises quickly that the bullets were not directed at her. Another man, blood streaming down his chest, collapses next to her. It's not at all clear whether the gunman was waiting for Rosa at all, or if she just happened to appear at precisely the right (or wrong) moment.



The gunman runs away, ignoring Rosa's yells.



Unsure of how to react, Rosa whips out her phone and rings the first number on her speed dial - Durkin.

It's me. You need to send someone here right away. Someone's been shot.

Even the normally unflappable Durkin is put offside by this.

Shot? Who was it? What happened?
I don't...

George is Killed



Mid-sentence, Rosa's attention is distracted by the shot man's ghost separating itself from his body. It's not clear if this is something unusual, or just an artistic choice - so far the only time we've seen a ghost appear from a fresh corpse, specifically Gavin's, he just kind of morphed into view. In any event, Rosa quickly hangs up and addresses the ghost.

Um. Sir? Hello?
Are... are you...?
We're here to help. Don't worry.

I guess it's too late to save his life, but at least Rosa and Joey are in the right place to help this poor guy move on to the next world.



However, he's hysterical, wide-eyed with fear and babbling incoherently. Other than Gavin, who was a special case, we haven't witnessed a new ghost taking form, so perhaps this is a natural response to becoming a ghost?

Even Grace is not safe.

Unsure of who "Grace" is, Joey tries to calm him down.

I'm sorry, friend. But whoever Grace is, you're past worrying about her now.
No! You don't understand... you don't!
You'd be surprised what we understand.
You... no!



"The Bestower?" Hang on. That's definitely different.

Bestower? You know about... Bestowers? About us?
I know enough, but not enough to save me.

The man isn't making any sense so far, and it's clear that Joey just thinks this is the normal runaround you get from spooks.

Well, it's your lucky day. We just happen to be in the saving business.
You don't understand. THEY WILL FIND ME.
I hate to break it to you, but I think they already did.
No. NO!

He gets more and more frenzied, until...



...in a hideous scene, his spirit bloats and tears in half, accompanied by a ghastly ripping sound and the man's blood-curdling scream. Jesus Christ Rosa covers her eyes, while Joey gawks on, horrified.

Did you see that? What was it?



This is clearly something very new.



And with that extremely dramatic climax, we reach our scene transition animation.



Things have been shaken up very suddenly here in Epiphany! Who is the gunman, and whose soul was torn apart? Why did it happen? Does Durkin know anything about this? Was Rosa's appearance there just as it happened more than a coincidence? There are plenty of questions right away. We'll see what Epiphany has in store for us next in tomorrow's update.

Finally, if you want to see the last scene, I've captured it as a video here:

http://www.polsy.org.uk/play/yt/?vu...v%3DQ6ITsv3YtuM




In keeping with yesterday's gentle pace, today's Word of God will only be a minor thing, but we'll have some more interesting reveals as time goes on, promise! Besides, today's update was already quite long and had an awesome climax, so we'll go light on the Word of God update.

Even though most of the locations in the Blackwell games are based on actual Manhattan destinations, the Karth House obviously isn't one of them. I spent quite some time trying to figure out where the name came from, and worked out what I felt was a very solid theory. In 2012, when Gilbert was knuckling down to design the game, there was a short film starring actress Robyn Adamson called The Karth's House, about a man getting trapped in a supernatural event. Robyn Adamson had been an editor for a film one year previous, "Water Under The Bridge", which you might recall was the name Gilbert used for the film which Frank Lyons died while filming all the way back in Convergence. My theory was that Gilbert found out about the movie, clicked through links, liked the name of The Karth's House, and figured it would serve him well for a fictional location in Epiphany.

It turns out my theory is completely wrong. Gilbert has confirmed that the Karth House was actually just named after Carth Onasi, from Knights of the old Republic. Apparently he's quite the fan! But you know what? I like my version of events better

See you all tomorrow!