Line #68 Fridge/BendyAndTheInkMachine


1	'''As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
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3	!Fridge Humor
4	* The Ink Demon has throne in his lair in Chapter five, but if you ignore the dangling chains and pipes wedged into the top, it looks rather like a large, somewhat ostentatious chair. Now realize that Joey’s office lacks any chair at all for his desk, it’s very close to the lair, and of course Joey would only buy such a nice chair for himself. The Ink Demon ''stole'' Joey’s chair! Talk about petty revenge.
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6	!FridgeBrilliance
7	* Compared to Bendy in his many forms, Boris is quite friendly to Henry. That's because in the cartoon linked to the trailer, the most malicious thing he does is take Bendy's lunch. While he appears indifferent about the lunch belonging to Bendy, he thinks TheSnackIsMoreInteresting.
8	** Another possibility is the Ink Machine warps the toons into their own antithesis: Bendy ceases to be a cute demon to chase Henry around the studio and Alice - an ''angel'', mind you - becomes so AxeCrazy she dismembers many toons to remain "beautiful". If Boris is supposed to be a {{Jerkass}} in the cartoon, of course he's going to be nice to Henry.
9	** Another theory is that Boris is supposed to be Bendy's SitcomArchNemesis: if Bendy hates Henry's guts, then Boris ''has'' to be nice with Henry. It's a matter of balance.
10	** OR... it's because Boris is a copy. We don't even know Alice's mannerisms in the cartoon, but she's insane and callous towards Henry and Boris. Maybe it's just that things aren't how they seem to be...
11	* Why exactly is Alice so angry during their jumpscare in Chapter 3, then mostly calm (if unhinged) with Henry for most of the rest of the chapter? The room you're in might have something to do with it, or more precisely, the song that's playing in it. It seems to be pre-recorded, and the audio logs in the chapter indicate that Susie is the woman who has 'become' Alice. However, remember that Susie was replaced as Alice's voice actress before any lines could be recorded, and as such any recorded audio lines found of Alice are likely performed by the replacement VA, Alison. Susie-Alice's interjection might be less of a case of "I'm '''Alice Angel!'''", and more a case of "'''I'm''' Alice Angel!", establishing that ''she'' is Alice, and ''not'' the person singing!
12	** Actually, the one singing ''is'' Susie. However, her jumpscare may be a desperate shout of frustration as ''she'' recorded the song, not Alison, and ''she'' was Alice, in a "how dare you take this away from me, Joey" sort of way.
13	* Henry is the real creator of Bendy! Listen to the audio recording in Chapter Three's ink saturated room, and you get to hear Henry complain about how Joey does nothing but dream, then ends it claiming that he has an idea that will help the studio. He means Bendy!
14	** Actually, while Henry did create Bendy, that tape is not referring to Bendy, who was revealed in the books to have been created before the studio was even created.
15	* Of course "Alice" is bad news, just look at her halo: it's ''lopsided'' and unfinished, while her horns are very much present. On the other side, the Alice who appears to help you in Chapter 4 has broken horns but a perfectly shaped halo, underlining her status as the good one.
16	* The Bendy amusement park is no longer working and out of order. The first Disneyland and most theme parks suffered technological difficulties upon opening.
17	* Sammy does not look like the Lost Ones or the Searchers, having more in common with the other genuine living cartoons, with his more coherent shape and four-digit hands - but despite this, he still remember his name and identity like Susie / "Alice" and actually loathes his new form. Given his constant role as someone who appears and disappears on a whim, moving around various set dressings and seeking attention from Bendy to free him of his shell, it's likely he is technically a cartoon character - more specifically a background extra with no personality to impose over his normal one, but whose only "defined" shape as a blank silhouette to fill out shots that need large crowds.
18	* Sammy wears a Bendy mask, followed by the Ink Demon killing him. The Ink Demon hates when cardboard cutouts of him are broken. How else could Sammy possibly get that mask?
19	** The "mask" itself is also clearly broken so Sammy can see and be heard.
20	* Joey Drew's speech about dreams in Chapter 3, going down the path of the Demon, comes off as stilted, repetitive, and almost artificial. We find out that he doesn't believe in any of it in Chapter 4, and that he gets his writers to come up with his speeches (in particular ''demanding'' the use of the word "dream"), explaining why the initial speech sounds so fake.
21	* According to the end of Chapter 5, Henry's last name is revealed to be Stein, which is based on [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} a gothic horror novel about creating a living being in which it ended in disaster]]. But why the name Henry? It could be just a random name pick, but it could also be based on the first name of a character from [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde another gothic horror novel, which features transforming into a monster, which is kind of similar to what happened to most of the characters in the game]]...
22	** In the famous movie adaption from Universal, Victor Frankenstein was renamed to Henry, which means this could still be a shout out to the Frankenstein, if in a roundabout way.
23	** Although in a related note, there is a character in the original novel named Henry Clerval, who serves as Victor's {{Foil}} and is his closest friend. Sounds an awful lot like Henry's past relationship with Joey, doesn't it?
24	** In an interesting note, Henry and Joey's last names both reflect on things the ''other'' did. Henry ''drew'' things, while Joey brought monsters to life like Frankenstein.
25	* Bendy's weakness being the end card for his shorts might seem somewhat anticlimactic at first glance... until you realize that it's probably not the card itself that does it. Remember, Henry and Joey haven't worked together for 30 years, so it's not unlikely that the Bendy cartoons were canceled in that time. The end card serves as a reminder to Bendy that his show is gone and forgotten, and he has no reason to exist without it, and it's this revelation that causes his [[VillainousBreakdown breakdown]].
26	** Furthermore, in cartoons, the characters are more or less indestructible, able to shrug off any punishment handed their way...until the end card pops up, and their existence ends. Being an attempt to create living cartoon characters, Bendy was still subservient to these rules, and when the end card appeared, he suffered a PuffOfLogic moment. An opera ain't over until the fat lady sings, and a cartoon ain't over until the end card pops up.
27	*** But then again, what happens to a cartoon after it's ended its run? It enters syndication and gets rerun for the indefinite future. And sometimes television networks will add their own minor edits to the original footage in an attempt to keep audiences watching.
28	* Allison Angel fussing over Tom serves as nice {{Foreshadowing}} to the letter on Joey's cork-board, the one from Allison ''Connors'', implying she got married to Thomas.
29	* Why was Bendy Land built underground, in a very inaccessible location? There are different options - it's possible it was to be built in the same location as Joey Drew Studios, to try to make the studio itself a tourist attraction. And it is of course also possible the Machine has simply created a cartoonish EldritchLocation based on Joey's dreams and cartoons. A more grounded possibility, however - especially given the plans, which would seem to show it as an open air park - is that ''this wasn't to be its final location at all.'' The attractions (and signage) were being ''pre-built'' to be ''moved'' to the final location.
30	** It's also likely a hint to the studio not being the real one, but rather a twisted and warped reflection of it, as is revealed in the sequel. Joey's office is at the very bottom of the studio in the game, and in the books, his office was described as being on the very top floor. The entire building is literally an inverted reflection of itself.
31	* There's a severe amount of religious imagery, specifically "the creator lied to us." So the creator could be:
32	** Joey, who made the cartoons and was generally a Jerkass.
33	** The Ink Demon, a "god" who betrays Sammy.
34	** Twisted Alice, a religious figure who betrays Henry.
35	* The Butcher Gang generally gets shafted in merch. That makes sense due to being mooks, but think about this: it's a meta way of reflecting the poor business decisions Joey made.
36	* If Alice dolls would've been made at that time, they would've had steep competition from the Shirley Temple doll. Joey's ego means he would've overcharged for them, hence why they didn't sell well and likely lost to the similar Shirley Temple doll.
37	* Although Henry doesn't seem to have any problem speaking to many of the strange characters he meets, he noticeably never says a word to "Alice", by far the most talkative character in the game. Hell, he doesn't even ''mention'' her until he sees what she's done to Boris. There are two possible reasons for this:
38	** He's channeling Chell from ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}'' and doesn't want to give this psychotic AttentionWhore the satisfaction of speaking to her.
39	** She introduces herself via a JumpScare, and then, less than an hour later, makes him watch as she tortures a Butcher Gang clone, all while [[MoodSwinger switching rapidly between multiple different moods]]. This display quickly establishes her as psychotic and unpredictable, and not only that, [[SinisterSurveillance but she can tell wherever Henry is and what he's doing]], showing that she has some sort of power outside of her equipment. After all that, Henry doesn't want to speak and risk accidentally saying something that will anger her.
40	* Bottles of ink are labelled with the skull-and-crossbones logo. Ink is often made of horribly toxic ingredients. Of course, this particular ink may also be supernaturally evil.
41	* The sepia-toned color scheme calls to mind the fact that ''animation cels'' in the black and white era were [[https://dyn1.heritagestatic.com/lf?set=path%5B2%2F4%2F3%2F3%2F9%2F24339557%5D%2Csizedata%5B850x600%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D painted with cream colors.]]
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43	!FridgeHorror
44	* If Susie was the one who became Alice Angel (in a literal sense), then what in the world happened to Alison, Susie's intended replacement?
45	** The most logical answer is also the least pleasant: if you have two voices for Alice Angel, either [[MurderIsTheBestSolution you choose one]] or -- well, [[AndIMustScream you put them together]].
46	** Actually, if you listen carefully, you will notice that Alice has a high pitched voice and a low pitched voice which switches between each other when Alice talks. [[AndIMustScream Yeah... definitely merged together.]] You also notice the low pitched voice is more dominant than the high pitched one, implying Susie is getting less attention after Alison replaced her.
47	** But we don't have any idea what Alison sounds like?
48	** True, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of the deep voice being Alison.
49	** Actually, we got an answer in chapter 4... Susie and Alison are actually separate Alices! Susie is insane, cruel, and spiteful, represented by her deformed face, broken halo, and full horns, while Alison is, at the very least, willing to save Henry from Susie, which makes her look more heroic by being very pretty looking, having broken horns, and a full, lovely halo.
50	*** And this answer just makes some of the earlier questions even worse. That other voice? Yeah, that isn't Alison or Susie trying to be the voice of reason for an insane Alice Angel. It's Alice Angel trapped under the control of her deranged former voice actor Susie who went utterly bonkers after she lost the role. Based on her dialog she's being constantly and horrifically traumatized by the experience as well.
51	* This just hit me in a horrible way.. there are multiple copies of the Butcher Gang and of Boris, but so far we have yet to see any copies of Bendy and Alice. Is Boris not as important? Did he actually get decommissioned for some reason? Where is the real Boris? Where are the real Alice and Bendy?
52	** According to later audio logs, The first attempt at making Bendy (the one that chases you) was also the last because he came out weird and creepy. Joey apparently didn't want to risk making another.
53	* "Alice" may not be aware of the (alleged) true nature of the Bendy cardboard cutouts. Or worse, she is...
54	* That well of voices "Alice" talked about. What if the ink is now full of all the people who were consumed by it one way or another?
55	* Doubles as HarsherInHindsight, but you know how people found hitting the Bendy cutouts with the axe cathartic in Chapter 2? "Alice" reveals that Inked Bendy [[BerserkButton does not like that]] just after you destroy four more cutouts. Suddenly, it's not as fun.
56	* There are apparently ''two'' Ink Machines. Not one, but ''two''. '''What happened that made them feel the need to build another one''' and why is it that only one Ink Machine is known to the workers..?
57	** There's not actually two. They're both parts of the same machine.
58	* As said in the YMMV section in NarmCharm, the Projectionist/Norman Polk is shown to have NoObjectPermanence, as after you get in a little miracle station even just when he's chasing you down, he simply continues wandering around. It's ridiculous and might just be ArtificialStupidity, but when you think about it, ''it might actually be a way to show how mentally gone he truly is''.
59	** And in chapter 4 he apparently [[ItCanThink started learning from his mistakes]] which only makes him scarier.
60	* Any of Henry's IdiotBall moments and the fact he's speaking less and less in Chapter 3 and onwards kind of make sense when you consider it's probably because he got a TapOnTheHead by Sammy. And judging from the crash at the end of Chapter 3, the poor guy just might get worse.
61	** May or may not be a result of the crash but the dude definitely had brief hallucinations ''twice'' in Chapter 4. He's talking rather well, though.
62	* The sane Searchers, also known as "The Lost Ones", in Chapter 4, sad ink creatures who have lost everything... and some of whom appear to be ''children''. Just what happened down here!? ...Do we even want to know...?
63	* When Henry meets "Alice", the natural conclusion about her is that the Toon subsumed poor Susie Campbell. But the more audio logs of Susie are listened, the more you realize ''Susie'' is actually the ''bad one''... And now, you wonder how this has to be for Alice, this sweet cartoon character who found herself forcibly merged with a crazy nutso wanting to ''become'' her...
64	* Alice actually has a good point: WHY is Henry here?!
65	** Because Joey asked him to come.
66	* Boris's "death" gets a LOT worse when you remember that there is a chance that he was actually [[AFateWorseThanDeath Returned to]] [[AndIMustScream the Ink]]. Though this might mean that Boris might come BackFromTheDead in [[GrandFinale Chapter 5]] the same way Henry does. Henry might even witness it, or even help the poor wolf do it.
67	* Canonical death now has an explanation. When Henry gets overwhelmed, he ends up in this odd tunnel made out of moving ink and glowing orangish-yellowish light. Given we also just encountered a set of characters who are also made out of ink and have glowing orange-yellow eyes, Henry winds up in front of a Bendy statue when he returns, and the ink splatter on his eyes effect happens from blunt trauma as well as ink monsters... well the take on Henry's current humanity is not looking very good.
68	* When Ink Monsters are killed, they dissolve back into ink, right? Well, remember TheStinger from Chapter 4, which showed Susie!Alice surrounded by Lost Ones? Does this mean that despite being ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice she is somehow ''still alive''?
69	** Not all of them dissolve--there's a lot of clearly dead corpses lying around unmelted.
70	* Henry first left the studio because he wanted to spend more time with Linda. Because Henry and everyone else are trapped in a never-ending time loop (like the hidden golden notes suggest) that means that as long as the cycle continues, he’s never going to see her again.
71	** This is made even worse by the reveal in the sequel that he's been a copy of Henry all along. Close examination of his model reveals he's wearing a wedding ring--the Henry we know can never return to the family he dearly loves despite having never met, because the real him never left in the first place.

Context Fridge / BendyAndTheInkMachine