History Headscratchers / MarbleHornets

** Also, Troy has said before that Marble Hornets only works in the format that it's in. He's said that if he were offered a MH TV show (which he has), [[DoingItForTheArt he would turn it down because it wouldn't work with the ARG format.]]

*** I think the issue isn't that they're the only guests at the hotel (maybe it's just a small hotel in a town that doesn't get many tourists), but that in the context of them being the only guests, they have adjoining rooms (Jessica mentions when they discuss the creepiness of their situation "...and we have adjoining rooms"). The creepiness comes from the fact that [[spoiler: they aren't aware that they know each other, which having adjoining rooms when they have the whole hotel to themselves would imply.]] It's unlikely that the hotel staff would know anything [[spoiler: except that they checked in together, although without hindsight he wouldn't think to ask about that]].

* How does [[spoiler:Blasky]] beat Jay to his car in Entry #41/#42?

* Beforehand, Alex said [[spoiler: he didn't want Jay to know where he lived. Is THAT where he lived?!]]

** Entry 44 only muddles things further. [[spoiler: Alex gets visited by the Operator while he sleeps, and depending on your theories he either may have been protecting Jay or keeping him from snooping. Who can really say?]]
* In Entry #43, Alex indicates [[spoiler:the window he and Amy jumped out of; it's the only one on the third floor]]. Erm, what? Can humans do that without serious injury?

** [[spoiler:How did the tape get in the safe if this took place the night before Entry #27, and that the camera died with the tape in it? Why would Jay, in his unconscious state, replace the tape, put the other tape in the safe, put the videos on his hard drive, and somehow get the noentry footage filmed?]]

** [[spoiler:How did the noentry footage get onto his laptop? Even if it happened while he was unconscious, it seems incredibly improbable. There is evidence that there has been a lot of meddling involved, how did Jay not notice it?]]

** [[spoiler:What could possibly be in Jessica's safe? Where did it come from?]]

** 'noentry' is foreshadowing for when [[spoiler:Alex kills the guy, what with the pools of blood, and the bloody rock and shirt.]] It's clearly the tunnel Alex was seen sitting in!
*** That's not the headscratcher. The headscratcher is about when it was chronologically filmed and who filmed it. My theory is that it was Alex discovering the evidence of the guy he killed under Slendy's influence while he didn't remember. At no point in the season was Jay in the tunnel with both cameras while the blood and remains were there too. Jay passes through the tunnel in Entry #50 and the text cards even remark that nothing remained of the previous events there. Jay only got Alex's camera midway through Entry #52, so it either had to be filmed by Alex previously or somehow while Jay [[spoiler:was knocked out by The Operator, at which point in the video [[FreezeFrameBonus Jay's body is moved rapidly]] to an unknown location.]] He could have been teleported there but he doesn't mention it, leaving it to speculation.
* Why hasn't The Operator been shown moving since season 1? I mean, in entry #10 and entry #14 we saw him walking, and yet in season 2 he is completely inanimate. [[spoiler:Well, besides the arm movement for about two frames of Entry #52.]] And no, OffscreenTeleportation doesn't count.

*** [[spoiler: From what we see in Entry #76, it seems that Alex managed to track Jay to that hotel, Hoody and Masky got there first, and Masky chased Jay out of the hotel to save him from Alex.]]
* I might've missed it, but has it yet been explained what Alex was keeping in his satchel? In light of #52 [[spoiler:I'm inclined to think it's his gun.]]

* So Jay somehow survived [[spoiler:attacking The Operator head on]], then had his footage make its way to his safe, received new footage on his laptop, was safely transported to his bed with his camera strapped onto him, then before the camera was turned back on, something presumably was put into Jessica's safe we don't know about, clues were left in Jessica and Jay's rooms for how to access their own safes after the whole memory loss thing, and the entire hotel was emptied out so that only Jay and Jessica were left in the rooms. The implication seems to be that whoever arranged this wants Jay and Jessica to get together, open each others' safes, and get back on track so that the Operator induced amnesia wont slow them down for too long. Now lets look at two possible explanations for this:
** Masky arranged all this since he [[spoiler: saved Jay and Jessica from Alex]] just a few hours ago, has been seen actively fighting against The Operator, and managed to literally show up seconds after Jay finally took action, so he's the obvious first suspect. However, Masky attacked Jay as soon as Jessica and Jay showed signs they were ready to help each other, so it's unlikely he went to such detail to get them together.

* In Entry 46, Jay is running for his life [[spoiler: from The Operator]]. Why did he take the time to steal a key on his way out? Especially since the interaction in Entry 47 leads me to believe he didn't even know for sure what it was for (though I fully acknowledge I could be wrong about that)?

* In entry #83 did Tim [[spoiler: kill Hoody with the pipe he picked up or did Hoody jump from the ledge in a desperate attempt to escape?]] The camera perspective made it look like Tim missed entirely.
** I feel the same way, [[spoiler: Hoody is too good of a [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] to just die like that.]] And if they really did decide to pull a stunt like that, then I'll be pretty disappointed.
** It seems to me that Tim didn't swing at all, he was just winding up to do it. [[spoiler:Hoody may have fallen off for several reasons: He simply lost his grip; he was trying to dodge the blow and hold on to the ledge at the same time, but failed; he was startled by Tim's attack; or he thought his chances of surviving the drop were much higher than they actually were. Fact is, he made a tactical error, and Tim backed him into a corner.]]
** Actually, when rewatching the entry, there's a brief third-person shot, showing [[spoiler:Hoody beginning to climb out the window]].

* If Alex [[spoiler:believes that knowing about the whole Operator business propagates the mayhem, shouldn't he realize it's too late for damage control?]] He does know that Jay has been plastering all his findings on the Internet, after all. Half the world has become aware of it by now.
** He had gone off the deep end a long time before that point, he's not thinking things through at all and wouldn't realise it. He might think that [[spoiler: you have to be directly connected to someone for the Operator to pop up. Even when Tim points this out to him he ignores it because as Tim states he's not in control anymore.]]
* I'm sure we're all thinking this, but [[spoiler: how long has Tim known Jessica was still alive? Judging by their conversation, it seems like it was a while. And if he's known since before Jay went rogue, why didn't he tell him?]]
** [[spoiler: He must have known for a very long time. He never told Jay because Jay's first instinct would have been to go to her and end up putting her in danger.]]

* [[spoiler: The Operator wasn't doing anything until Tim auditioned, then started following Alex. He then left Alex alone for a while, until his girlfriend started using the camera. Do videos cameras attract the Operator? If so, constantly filming things really backfired on everyone.]]

* [[spoiler: What gave Alex the idea that the Operator has a "source", with the source being a person?]]
** [[spoiler: Alex watches the entries too. It's likely that he came up with the "source" idea after watching Entry 60.5 and realizing that it was Tim who was initially showing signs of being influenced by The Operator. He states in Entry #85 that he initially thought he himself was the cause of The Operator appearing - which might have just been the only thing he could come up with, given there wouldn't have been much to tell him otherwise - so after seeing Entry #60.5, deciding that Tim was "the source" isn't much of a jump. And Alex probably isn't all that lucid and rational at that point to begin with.]]
* I don't understand why so much of the plot of season three revolved around [[spoiler: stealing Tim's pills. He was glad to help Jay get a prescription of his own, so presumably it's not some kind of very controlled medication that doctors will be hesitant to prescribe. It seems like it would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.]]
** Presumably this was to show us [[spoiler: how unhinged totheark had become. Later entries have Tim describing totheark/Hoody as a "shell of a person," implying that totheark doesn't really think along rational lines and is somewhat feral. Also, when Tim suggests that Jay get his own prescription, he seems to mean it in the context of Jay having to constantly visit the doctor, as evidenced by him saying that Jay needs to "get help." This doesn't seem like something totheark/Hoody would be willing to do. Plus it seems that to some extent totheark/Hoody just enjoys torturing both Jay and Tim, even if he is at times "helping" them.]]

* If those pills help so well against the Operator, then why don't Tim and Jay get them off the black market? It doesn't seem like they are so rare. As a matter of fact they could try to get a generic brand with the same working ingredient and form a huge stash. Their insanity and lives depend on it!

** Presumably this was to show us [[spoiler: how unhinged totheark had become. Later entries have Tim describing totheark/Hoody as a "shell of a person," implying that totheark doesn't really think along rational lines and is somewhat feral. Also, when Tim suggests that Jay get his own prescription, he seems to mean it in the context of Jay having to constantly visit the doctor, as evidenced by him saying that Jay needs to "get help." This doesn't seem like something totheark/Hoody would be willing to do. Plus it seems that to some extent totheark/Hoody just enjoys torturing both Jay and Tim, even if he is at times "helping" them.]]

** Prostitution

** The videos have ads in front of them. Jay's a YouTube partner.

* The fact that J thought going to the house at night was a good idea in the first place. Sure, it makes sense in Movie Logic Land, where it's 20 times scarier to be there at night, but thinking as a real person, would YOU go to someone's house at night when something's stalking him/possibly you?

** Because she specifically mentioned that his name sounded familiar, and he's never given his full name in an entry?

* Why are we supposed to be afraid of Slendy? Apart from looking creepy and occasionally appearing in places he's not supposed to be, he hasn't done anything bad. How do we know he's not actually [[EpilepticTrees Alex's guardian angel who's just really bad at his job?]]
** Well, if you go by the rest of the mythos, there is that little issue with the long history of gruesome murders and MindRape. Outside of that context, though? Yeah, mostly just that he's really freaking creepy, since [[NothingIsScarier he doesn't do much on-camera]].
** Thinking about it, having someone - even a normal human - stalking you and randomly appearing to stare at you from a distance would be pretty scary in RealLife.
** Fear and paranoia are sometimes cited as side-effects of Slendy's presence. There may well not be any real reason for it.
** That's completely skipping over Entry #11, where he sneaks into Alex's room and leaves him bloody, or the fact that he makes you physically sick, induces amnesia, can make you his puppet slave, and turns houses into [[EldritchLocation Eldritch Locations]]. That and the pools of blood we keep on seeing everywhere...
** Entry #49 full stop.
*** Actually, it's implied that The Operator has killed at least two people. [[spoiler: Seth in #22 and Brian in #51.]] He also seems to "eat" people. However, it would appear he's just randomly creepy and uncanny.How does it feel to be watched everywhere you go while you are almost completely oblivious?
** From what I can tell: Slendy doesn't ever do anything on camera, sure. But that time Jay attacked him? He woke up with ''no memory of the past 7 months''. We don't SEE what Slendy does, and that's the scary thing - we have no idea '''what''' he does, and it's obvious he's doing ''something''.
* The scene with the hand at the door in entry 33, it is utterly scary, I am not saying it isn't... but even so, It just me who felt as a "cheap" and obvious way to cause terror? It happens exactly when the camera is facing the door (reminding us that this is a scripted story). Plus what is the point of doing so?
** In the scene in question, Jay seemed to have purposefully put the camera down to keep filming himself, as he's clearly shown to do at many other points in the series (Note how he looks at it as he's putting it down). The "just at the right time" thing isn't much different from many of the other scares in the series, Entry #27 in particular is full of them.
** The scene is actually scary if you consider the totheark videos telling Jay that he is losing control.
** It gets scarier if you consider that Jay just happened to get lucky getting the hand in the frame. Just think how much action must happen out of frame. I think the scariest part about when Alex films himself constantly is that it's simply impossible to cover every single angle with one camera. How many hands were not recorded by the cameras?

* Is it just this troper, or does the fact that [[spoiler: Tim]] survived somewhat ruined the impact in Entry 35?
** No, because [[spoiler: it confirmed that he is in fact Tim, explains the limp in his attack at the hotel, and establishes that Alex got pretty violent since the last time he and Jay met.]]
* I've rewatched Entry [[spoiler:15]] at least ten times by now, and I just can't see it. I mean, the fact that [[spoiler:Masky is Tim]] was pretty much EverybodyKnewAlready, but...I just can't detect anything. No hint of being totally batshit insane, no sense that there's anything more to this guy and his role in the plot. I don't know why I'm dwelling on this, but I can't help but feel like there had to have been ''some'' clue to tip us off, even if it can only be seen in hindsight, and there's just...nothing. It's so jarring, and I'm sure that was the point...but still. Something just feels off about it all.
** Can't remember exactly, but there have definitely been clues regarding something being off about him. He starts freaking out when J mentions Marble Hornets, he displays the ominous cough & feeling of coldness (aka some degree of Operator influence) and is shown to be taking some pills that later ended up in the house where Masky was. If anything, I'd complain that revealing that Masky was actually [[spoiler:in-universe Tim]] as opposed to just being portrayed by the same actor was a bit predictable and took a bit away from the sense of mystery regarding the masked figure, but it's only been one entry and I'll retract all my complaints if they use Insane/Possessed/Whatever [[spoiler:Tim]] as Mr.Exposition who'll expand(or really, establish) the mythos.
*** Most of that was in the tapes, though. I mean, I can believe that there was something going on with him, but the coughing and all that, that was years ago. I'm focusing mostly on [[spoiler:#15]], the only time we see him (as himself) in the "present", and as hard as I try I just can't pick up any nervousness or tell he's hiding something. Maybe it's just me, I guess.
**** Well, to be fair, we don't really see his face much. Besides, if everything was TOO off and we noticed and Jay didn't, then it might lead to fandom to conclude that he's an idiot.
*** I figured the operator was influencing or right out mind-controlling Tim as Masky, with Tim having no recollection of it. For all we know, he might have been doing something similar to Jay in parts of the 7 months jay can't recall. Maybe other times to Alex may have grown immune, or at least aware of the fact that the operator is capable of taking control of him.
*** I'd suggest having another look. Tim's a little fidget-y throughout the interview, but this goes into overdrive when Jay asks him about any on-set troubles and if he remembers "a guy in a business suit" hanging around. Soon after, he ends the interview. This troper always thought this was a sign Tim was a little more uncomfortable with that line of questioning than he wanted Jay to know.
*** Well there were those sideburns... Those were a pretty good clue along with the same jacket as Masky had in Entry #18. He also had the same pills.

** Actually, I had the opposite JustBugsMe: he should have trusted her ''more''. In the situation he's in, he's going to have to take ''some'' risks if he doesn't want to just keep running. Besides, whoever (or whatever) he's running from can already track him down no matter how much he runs, so them knowing his full name isn't going to make much difference.

* Having credits at the end of the first "season". Sure, we know it's fiction [[ParanoiaFuel (or do we???)]], but they could have at least not fucked with the immersion until after the series was over.
** Its not on the main account, anyway. You can easily avoid the credits if you so desire.
** Sometimes, you just have to give in. People were complaining that there were no updates and thought that the ARG was dead. Look at what happened Blog/JustAnotherFool having NoEnding. As the troper above said, at least it was on a different channel.
** Troy has stated that that original plan was for the series to only last for one season. So the end of the first season was originally supposed to be the ''final'' ending, with the credits signifying that the viewer's experience (in the "Game" as it were) is over as well.
*** Then again, there ''is'' [[TheEndOrIsIt tearing in the credits....]]

* In Entry #33, Masky gives Jay a pretty wimpy slap. I'm not sure how seriously I can take him after that... Their previous scuffle at Alex's old house was pretty intense, but that slap... Creepy as Hell, yeah I can give him that. Something to be afraid of? after wimpy slap? I don't know...
** There's a bit of debate on who hit who. To me, it looks like Jay might've smacked him one with the flashlight.
** I can see the flashlight hit for sure. and remember Masky was going with only one good leg. Call it a try for grabbing him on the way down instead of a slap.
** That mask by itself is enough to give this troper chills! *shudder*

* So, Entry #40. Jay is sitting around in a parking lot, waiting for Alex, who is late. Okay. He calls Alex's cell phone; he doesn't pick up. Okay. So, [[IdiotBall naturally]], he decides to ''go for a walk in the freaky woods''. '''''What?''''' That'd be a dumb idea even if it wasn't for our skinny friend; with Slendy in the equation, I can't help but wonder if Jay was ''high''.
** If Intermission is to be believed, Totheark baited him to do it.

* Here's a meta-headscratcher. Why do people insist on getting every question, plot twist and ambiguity spelled out for them here? It's a JigsawPuzzlePlot, answers don't get spelled out instantly.
** Because it's fun?
** Because people are selfish and lazy and don't like mystery since their brains aren't strong enough to handle a complex plot like this one.
** Because humans have a primal fear of that which refuses to be categorized and understandable. (This fear is slightly lessened when we can all come together and try to make some sense of it. Though that tends to make the paranoia worse in the long run ...)
** The same reason for all Headscratchers: it gives you perspectives you wouldn't normally consider. Personally, I didn't even know Slendy was called the Operator in this series til I came here. It's not gonna take much mystery out of things (other tropers don't have all the answers), so mostly it's just about catching up on things you may have missed, or trying to figure out little things that don't (seem to) make sense.

* The season finale of Season 2, Entry #52, doesn't explain or even address the "noentry" video from Entry #29, explaining everything else but leaving a glaring PlotHole there. Actually, there are a few more with this entry.

** [[spoiler:How did the noentry footage get onto his laptop? Even if it happened while he was unconsious, it seems incredibly improbable. There is evidence that there has been a lot of meddling involved, how did Jay not notice it?]]

*** So they left some questions for next season. I don't see the problem with that.
**** There's a difference between questions and {{Plot Hole}}s.
***** Except for the typos, though, these don't seem like actual errors. Totheark managed to hack Jay's Website/YouTube account for enttry 37, I don't think someone uploading footage to his laptop is that big a stretch. The hard drive and Jessica's safe are probably hooks for the next season. Likely one of the Maskies replaced the tapes in the safe, strapped the camera on Jay, and started up the camera--neither of them appear to be on Alex's side, and they might not be completely hostile to Jay.
****** It wasn't that they didn't solve "noentry", [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief I can't expect that out of]] [[MindScrew a series like this]], it's that they didn't even acknowledge it. If there simply was a slide that said "I still don't know where 'noentry' came from", everything would've been fine, and we'd know that Troy/Jay hadn't forgotten about it completely.

* So...does this sum up the series? [[spoiler: So the Operator was tied to/'infected' Tim from childhood for...some reason, then he went away for a while, then Tim auditioned for Marble Hornets, which for some reason woke the Operator back up, who then started stalking the crew, which drove Alex nuts and made him destroy the tapes, except he gave a bunch of them to Jay for some reason, which drew him into this mess, and then there was a whole big mess with Jay and the Marble Hornets crew and the Operator screwing with all sorts of stuff, and when it was all over most of them were dead and there was no purpose behind anything beyond 'This crazy entity be mean, yo'?]] Because even with the whole 'true horror means not knowing every detail' factor, that's kind of lame.
** Don't forget, the guys still have an upcoming movie planned out.

** There are several differences between the original Slender Man & the Operator from Marble Hornets. The version of Slender Man from the SomethingAwful forums (where the concept/character was created) had tentacles, a face that was supposedly different for each viewer, a growing cult surrounding him/it, a draw towards water/fire/children, & a history of rearranging people's organs. The Operator has no face/fingers, teleports off-camera, messes up people's memories, & does a lot of standing around. While the Operator is clearly inspired by the original Slender Man, they are effectively two different characters. A lot of the confusion stems from the fact that the Operator's "name" wasn't revealed until the series was well under way, coupled with the relative obscurity of the original Slender Man meme. Marble Hornets largely popularized the meme, even though the Operator only superficially resembles the root idea.

* Why have the creators of this not been hired by a movie or TV studio? This series is much better than the majority of "found footage" films that come out in theaters, and certainly better than many of the {{Lost}} clones populating TV. Obviously the format would have to change once it moved off a web medium, but still. The talent!

*** Actually, it's implied that Slenderman has killed at least two people. [[spoiler: Seth in #22 and Brian in #51.]] He also seems to "eat" people.However, it would appear he's just randomly creepy and uncanny.How does it feel to be watched everywhere you go while you are almost completely oblivious?

** Can't remember exactly, but there have definitely been clues regarding something being off about him. He starts freaking out when J mentions Marble Hornets, he displays the ominous cough & feeling of coldness(aka some degree of Slenderman influence) and is shown to be taking some pills that later ended up in the house where Masky was. If anything, I'd complain that revealing that Masky was actually [[spoiler:in-universe Tim]] as opposed to just being portrayed by the same actor was a bit predictable and took a bit away from the sense of mystery regarding the masked figure, but it's only been one entry and I'll retract all my complaints if they use Insane/Possessed/Whatever [[spoiler:Tim]] as Mr.Exposition who'll expand(or really, establish) the mythos.

* Do I have to watch other Slender mythology series in order to understand this one?
** Nope, it's pretty much stand-alone. I don't know if it's supposed to be in the same "continuity" as other Slender works.

** It's probably supposed to be Slender's backstory, based off the original creepypasta in the Something Awful forums.

* I don't understand why so much of the plot of season three revolved around [[spoiler: stealing Tim's pills. He was glad to help Jay get a prescription of his own, so presumably it's not some kind of very controlled medication that doctors will be hesitant to prescribe. It seems like it would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.]]

** The crew said during panel interviews that Jay might have a trust fund, or be using [[BoringButPractical Student loans.]]