Remedy Connected Universe: Bright Falls / Characters

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/RemedyConnectedUniverseBrightFalls

Remedy Connected Universe Character Index
Alan Wake | Bright Falls | Federal Bureau of Control | Paranatural Phenomena | The Dark Place

Bright Falls, Washington

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bright_falls.png

Appearances: Bright Falls | Alan Wake | Night Springs | Psycho Thriller | Control ^noteMentioned only | Alan Wake II

"I forgot there will still places like this. Towns where everybody knew everybody."

—Alan Wake

A small lakeside town in Washington known for its annual Deerfest celebration, though something far more sinister lies under the surface of its outwardly sleepy appearance.

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In General

Close-Knit Community: It's described as a "town where everybody knows everybody", and the locals seem to look out for each other specifically.
Cult of Personality: The entire town briefly becomes this from the influence of Scratch's story coming to fruition. They all become utterly, murderously obsessed with Alan Wake and his newly published novel Return, and celebrate an eternal Deerfest in his honor.
Dying Town: While not as severe as its neighbor Watery, the town isn't faring well in 2023, with businesses failing left and right and the younger townspeople desperate to leave due to Bright Falls picking up a reputation as a "haunted town" thanks to a string of mysterious disappearances since 2010. A late-game article notes that the FBC sealing off Cauldron Lake utterly destroyed their tourism industry.
Landmark of Lore: The majority of the landmarks around the town hold some form of signage for tourists explaining its prominence to the community and/or its origins early in the town's history.
Our Founder: A statue in the town's park commemorates the dual founders of Bright Falls as the town it is in the modern day, Hubert Biltmore and Amos Gunderson. The two fur trappers are still stood vigil over the town they formed in the late 1800s.
Small Town Rivalry: They have this dynamic with the neighboring town of Watery. The previous year's tourists were dominated by Watery's "Moosefest" party, which Bright Falls sought to updo with their heavily marketed Deerfest.
Supernatural Hotspot Town: The town is noted to be full of strange happenings that go under the radar due to their relative obscurity. While the Dark Presence has only actively threatened the town twice before Alan's appearance, its influence has caused a number of Animalistic Abominations and "ghosts" to pop up, as well as unexplained disappearances, over the decades.
Town with a Dark Secret: It's eventually revealed the town has its own secret codes and a small society, the Torchbearers, formed by the town's old guard as a "neighborhood watch." In the wake of the prior attacks from the Dark Presence, the town banded together to keep the town safe and off the radar. As of Alan Wake II, things have taken a darker spin with the passing of the old guard: the younger generations created the Cult of the Tree to replace the Torchbearers, masquerading as a murder cult to scare people away. Though they seem antagonistic, this is subverted again when Ilmo reveals they were only ever trying to keep people safe from the Darkness.

Bright Falls Sheriff Station

Sarah Breaker

Sheriff Sarah Breaker

Portrayed by: Jessica Alexandra

Appearances: Alan Wake

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sheriffbreaker.png

"Wake, I'm gonna trust you with this."

Former head of the Bright Falls Police Department, who is investigating Alice's disappearance and eventually joins Alan in fighting the Dark Presence. Her father was the sheriff before her as well as an agent of the Federal Bureau of Control.

Action Girl: In Episode 5, when she finally sees the Dark Presence herself and immediately asks Alan for how to fight it. Through most of the episode, she provides cover fire while Alan and Barry make their way through the dark streets of the town.
Attack! Attack! Attack!: Her AI as a gameplay companion just has her shoot away at Taken without taking off the darkness covering them first, which is left to Alan with the flashlight. This is at least mitigated by her lack of ammo cap and the fact that her shotgun can still work as a push-back.
Badass Normal: With nothing but her wits and shotgun, she survives several extended Taken attacks and lives to see the ending of Alan's story.
Daddy's Girl: Looked up to her father, Frank Breaker, growing up, comparing him to Alan's pulp fiction character Alex Casey. He also gave her loads of advice as she grew up and trained to be a sheriff, including chiding her for dismissing Cynthia Weaver as a loon, saying she shouldn't be made fun of and she just wants to tell people something important. The fact he's a confirmed FBC agent probably helps.
Foil: To Agent Nightingale, the other authority figure pursuing Wake throughout the game. Sarah is calm and rational, but skeptical of the supernatural until late into the game. Nightingale is loud and trigger happy, but instantly believes in the supernatural happenings in Bright Falls.
Friend on the Force: She is far more cooperative and helpful than Nightingale and even the rest of the Sheriff's station in working with and helping Wake on his journey.
Generation Xerox: Her father was the sheriff of Bright Falls before her and just as no-nonsense as we see her to be.
Hidden Depths:
- She's a By-the-Book Cop in a small town, but she turns out to be an avid reader and enjoyer of the Alex Casey books, a big city thriller starring a Cowboy Cop.
- The Special Episode cutout of her reveals she also serves as Bright Fall's librarian in her free time from being a cop.
Odd Friendship: She develops a genuine rapport with Barry Wheeler throughout the latter half of Episode 5. She finds his "...in Night Springs" gag funny and they were left to fight off a horde of Taken together after Sarah's helicopter goes down, quickly making them Fire-Forged Friends.
Put on a Bus: No longer Sheriff of Bright Falls by the time of Alan Wake II, with dialogue revealing she left the town to join up with "the Feds." The specific agency is never mentioned. Ordinarily, one would assume this means the FBI, but this could just as easily be the FBC, given her experience with the Darkness and her father Frank also having worked for the FBC before her.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Unlike the trigger-happy Agent Nightingale, Sarah's actually willing to listen to Alan and try to understand his weird behavior in light of the situation surrounding him, also wanting to interrogate him properly instead of just using brute force out of a personal revenge scheme like her federal "colleague" wants to do. After she finally sees the Dark Presence with her own eyes when it whisks away Nightingale, she immediately starts helping Alan and fighting the Taken herself.
Shotguns Are Just Better: Uses a pump-action shotgun during gameplay. It helps that, unlike Alan, she doesn't have an ammo cap and can just fire away at approaching Taken.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: She ends up unintentionally doing this while flying with Alan. When the topic of his books comes up, she gives an honest, positive but critiqued review of the series. Alan notes that it's something he's literally never heard before, and seems to put some more confidence in his writing ability afterword.
You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Her appropriate reaction when Nightingale tells her the police force she sent with him (including a helicopter) had apparently been decimated singlehandedly by the unarmed, actively fleeing civilian.

Tim Breaker

Sheriff Timothy "Tim" Breaker

Portrayed by: Shawn Ashmore

Appearances: Alan Wake II

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sherifftimbreaker.png

"You know, I've never been to New York, but I can tell you this ain't it."

"I have no idea what happened, but I'm trying to find out. Things always get better if you just keep moving forward, Alan."

Sarah Breaker's cousin, who has taken over the Bright Falls Police Department by the time of Alan Wake II. He's transported to the Dark Place by Mr. Door in order to save him from a revived Nightingale.

Agent Mulder: Has a strong open belief about the paranatural, contrasting with most of the town's residents approach to the fantastical. Of course, given the strange happenings around the town, this is justified.
Alternate Self: His dialogue about his vividly real dreams where everything feels real until the second he wakes up, as though he's in a different life completely, suggesting he is seeing through realities to another world. Along with the numerous small Mythology Gags, this suggests he may be a distant self to Jack Joyce.
Arbitrary Skepticism: He's hunting for Warlin Door, but when Alan says that he's a talk show host in the Dark Place, Tim brushes him off, saying that it doesn't sound like him.
Conspiracy Theorist: Openly believes in aliens and the like, and keeps a collection of books on the topic. Given the setting, he is completely right and at least one is already on earth. Ironically, things much stranger than aliens begin to upturn his life.
Crazy-Prepared: He puts together a fairly accurate map of the Dark Place's current form, and assembles numerous supply caches all around the area for Alan to take advantage of in his trials.
Dream Melody: Alan can tell he is near because he is constantly humming the theme song to Night Springs. A conversation with him reveals he is only distantly aware of the show and just feels compelled to hum it. He chalks it up to Door's influence.
Hidden Supplies: He's responsible for hiding supply caches around the Dark Place in Alan Wake II.
I Choose to Stay: Saga makes it clear to him she intends to use the page he gives her to escape the Dark Place, but Tim makes no effort to come with her and doubles down on finding Door.
Inexplicably Awesome: No matter what, he always ends up ahead of Alan in his journey, already with a marked up map of the location. He makes no mention of having to deal with any dangers of the Dark Place other than an inability to leave and in his last appearance, he sits outside in the middle of the city without fear, despite a Break Room being a few steps to the left.
Nice Guy: A helpful and courteous man who assists Saga in her investigation as well as Alan in his otherworldly endeavors, simply because it is the right thing to do.
Punny Name: He's implied to be an alternate counterpart of Jack Joyce from Quantum Break, and his shortened name is one letter off from "Time Breaker".
Psychic Dreams for Everyone: He dreams of alternate universe counterparts of himself; his "board of crazy" in the Dark Place implies that one of these counterparts is none other than Jack Joyce from Quantum Break, another role played by Ashmore.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He personally insists upon keeping up the Sheriff Station's good relations with their town's citizens, citing reports that communities with closer connections between cops and civilians have lower general crime rates.
Remember the New Guy?: Despite being old enough to be around by the time of the first game, he and the entire branch of the Breaker family he is from are never mentioned or alluded to before Alan Wake II.
Seeker Archetype: His main motivation is to find the location of Warlin Door and uncover who he is after years of seeing visions of Door in his dreams and being dragged into the Dark Place by him.
Seen It All: Takes to the existence of the Dark Place and the dangers within without much surprise. His dreams have always been pretty vivid after all, according to him.
Shared Dream: He is sucked into Alan's "dream" within the Dark Place at seemingly random instances, and dedicates his time to helping Alan out and recovering information for him. Based on his dialogue, this has been happening to them for a while, masked by Alan's memory loss.
The Sheriff: He took over the role of Sheriff of Bright Falls following his cousin Sarah stepping down.
Small Role, Big Impact: His appearances throughout the base game of Alan Wake II are short and sporadic in both Return and Initiation, but the last manuscript page he gives Saga is instrumental to her getting through the Dark Place, and the page even hints that Door specifically manipulated things so that this would happen.

Deputies Mulligan & Thornton

Deputy Mulligan and Deputy Thornton

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/awii_dptmulligan.jpg

Deputy Mulligan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/awii_dptthornton.jpg

Deputy Thornton

Appearances: Bright Falls (Mulligan only) | Alan Wake | Night Springs | Psycho Thriller | Alan Wake II

Voiced by: Mulligan: Bill Buell (Alan Wake), Mark Heenehan (Alan Wake II) Thornton: Bill Lobley (Alan Wake), Todd Boyce (Alan Wake II)

Played by: Robert Peterson (Mulligan - Bright Falls miniseries)

Mulligan: "There's been all sorts of trouble this year. Vandalism, fighting, public disturbances... A lot of people gone missing, too."

Thornton: "Yeah yeah, it's — it's pretty much the, uh, usual, Pat, just, you know, a lot more of it."

A pair of Deputy Sheriffs from the Bright Falls Sheriff Station. Mulligan is an expert officer who's lived in the area most of his life, while Thornton is a relative newcomer who's lived in the town since the 90s as a dispatcher most of the time.

Accidental Murder: The sequel reveals they accidentally shot a civilian after mistaking her for a Taken and dumped her corpse down a well.
Ambiguous Situation: The sequel shows Thornton and Mulligan as a pair of xenophobic if not racist assholes and murderers, but whether this is really their true personality or a result of being marked by Scratch's manuscript of Return is unknown, as their prior appearances didn't portray them as such.
Arc Villain: Both become the main Taken threat and are killed by Saga after stealing the Clicker and fleeing to the second Overlap over the course of "Return 3: Local Girl".
Ascended Extra: They are voice-only characters in the original game who can be completely missed if certain radio broadcasts are not listened in on. In Alan Wake II, they are fairly major side characters who appear in person.
Asshole Victim: Alan Wake II makes it abundantly clear, especially before their boss fight, that you shouldn't feel too bad for them. To wit: they were perfectly willing to frame an innocent black couple for a murder they themselves helped commit, they show nothing but contempt for Saga and Casey, refer to "people like [Saga, Tammy, and Ed] sticking together," and were planning on mocking Saga (at least, the Saga they think they known) for letting her daughter drown. Still, this is partially an Ambiguous Situation, since it's possible that their personalities were affected by Scratch's manuscript of Return.
The Bad Guys Are Cops: They're secretly members of the Cult of the Tree.
Beware the Silly Ones: They play a comic relief role in every game they appear, but Alan Wake II shows a darker side to them, despite retaining their bumbling nature. They successfully covered up a murder prior to the events of the game, and become dangerous Taken who give Saga a harder battle than the more outwardly intimidating Nightingale.
Big Damn Heroes: They show up at the Cauldron Lake Lodge in the Psycho Thriller tie-in comic, saving Hartman and Nurse Sinclair from the Taken Mott and putting him down for good under Hartman's instruction.
Butt-Monkey: Thornton is constantly talked down to by Mulligan, and is suggested to be disliked by the rest of the town, as he is picked to be the cop in the dunk-me tank for Deerfest by town vote, which Tim suggests is the people's Revenge for a speed strip.
The Corruptible: Both of them steadily succumb to their dark and violent impulses enough for the Dark Presence to slowly fill them and make them Taken. This is in contrast to the Koskelas, who were the Darkness' first choice for the Huotari Well Overlap, but were able to fight off their worst impulses and keep a clear head to combat the Dark Presence.
Demoted to Extra: Mulligan has a physical-yet-minor appearance in the Bright Falls miniseries as he investigates the disturbance at Jake Fisher's cabin, and is the cop that Shel Dyck attacks and bites the hand of. In Alan Wake proper, he's delegated to a voice-only role with Thornton. This is averted in Alan Wake II when they become proper supporting characters.
Depending on the Artist: Mulligan and Thornton have some noticeable differences in appearance between the two tie-in comics, Night Springs and Psycho Thriller. In the former, Mulligan looks closer to how he does in the Bright Falls miniseries, somewhat unkempt and unshaven. In the latter, he's clean-shaven, with darker hair and a more serious appearance. Meanwhile, Mulligan in the former looks younger, while in the latter his hair is closer to grey than brown, and he's the one who seems to have stubble. They're also wearing the dark green department uniforms in the former comic, while in the latter (set only about a few hours later), Thornton is wearing a blue set and Mulligan has a brown jacket.
Dual Boss: Saga fights both of them during the same boss fight in the sequel.
Face–Heel Turn: Per Night Springs, they were originally part of the Torchbearers and were genuinely interested in keeping the town safe, and presumably joined the Cult of the Tree to keep this going after the old guard, well, got too old. Being marked by Scratch's manuscript brings out their darker impulses: feeling powerful because they are in on the secret, relishing violence against the Taken, disliking outsiders for thinking they can do better than them, and even covering up an accidental murder. Later ascends to Face–Monster Turn when they are Taken on top of this, the Dark Presence having used the manuscript to make them vulnerable.
Fingore: During Bright Falls, Mulligan arrests a Darkness-touched woman smashing lamps and she bites him on the hand. His next appearance shows it prominently bandaged.
Hidden Depths: According to Thornton, he does yoga to deal with his anger toward others, though his obviously passive-aggressive commentary toward Saga and Casey suggest it doesn't work out well for him.
History Repeats: Just like the historical Huotari brothers known in legend, Mulligan and Thornton are a duo who kill in the woods and dump their kills in the Huotari Well to keep their crimes a secret. This correlation between history and reality is what allows the second Overlap to open.
The Killer Becomes the Killed: After their murder of the young woman in the woods and their work to cover up the death, they steadily became consumed by their guilt, fear, and xenophobia. This allows the Dark Presence to easily turn them into Taken, where anything left of them are killed off by Saga in the ensuing fight in the Overlap.
Killer Cop: The cause of all their issues in the sequel. Their carelessness meant they fatally opened fire on an innocent young woman in the woods while on patrol.
My God, What Have I Done?: A manuscript page in Alan Wake II describes them shooting and killing what they believe to be a Taken, only to be horrified when they recognize the person they just killed. It's implied that the guilt they felt from this is the catalyst for them turning into Taken themselves.
Never My Fault: Both of them blamed each other for not realizing the woman they were killing wasn't even a Taken. In the end, they simply conceded it wasn't either of their faults and hid the body together to avoid any punishment.
Old Cop, Young Cop: Downplayed, Mulligan is clearly the more experienced cop of the two with Thornton as the easy-going newbie, but the latter does have years of experience under his belt and has been an acting police officer in Bright Falls at least since the 90s.
Police Brutality: As portrayed through a manuscript page in Alan Wake II, they feel power and thrill from their role as hidden guardians and relish the violent side of their job, and gunned down a woman walking out of the woods they thought was Taken without even trying to make certain who she was. While they feel bad about it, it doesn't change their way of operating.
Police Are Useless: Justified. Whenever you hear from the two in the game, they're always going to be picking up the pieces after the events are all done with, and neither of them will be much sure of what's going on in Bright Falls or how Alan is involved, meaning they're essentially minor comic relief at best. Of course, this is largely because they're chasing a tweed-wearing writer and not even considering the fact they're now part of a Cosmic Horror Story with a much bigger force at play.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Show some hidden prejudice against black people and/or out-of-towners, planning to pin the killing of Nightingale on the innocent Booker couple before Saga appears, and accusing her of showing favoritism to them because "their kind always sticks together."
Resurrective Immortality: As Taken, both of them can be killed by Saga, but the blots of Darkness scattered throughout their arena allow them to return from the Huotari Well. It's only when all the Darkness is burned away do both of them stop coming back.
Shoo Out the Clowns: After two games of being goofy clueless deputies, they are killed and Taken into the dual second Overlap Guardians. Downplayed, as they are also portrayed as far grimmer characters than was previously obvious.
Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: They make it out of the events of the first game without a scratch, only to be Taken and made into Overlap Guardians during the events of Alan Wake II.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Neither of them seem particularly fond of Hartman and have an idea of the Bitch in Sheep's Clothing he really is. Despite this, their duty as policemen come first and they refuse to leave him for dead when they come across each other at the Lodge, but both of them make it clear they aren't happy to be bossed about by Emil.
Token Evil Teammate: With the reveal of the Cult of the Tree's hidden heroic nature, the deputies' cover up of a murder, the "thrill of dominance" they get in being part of the Secret Society, and their xenophobic attitudes make them this. It's possible this wasn't always the case; Night Springs reveals they were part of the Torchbearers in 2010 and genuinely worked to keep the town safe. Scratch's manuscript presumably intensified whatever hidden darkness they had within them.
Unseen No More: After their only main appearance in Alan Wake had them never appear in person, they both show up in the second game, from the very beginning of Saga's half of the story.
Vitriolic Best Buds: The two of them are constantly arguing and snarking at each other — Mulligan toward Thornton especially — but the two are still always around each other in spite of this and work well together when push comes to shove.
The Voice: In Alan Wake, they don't make physical appearances. They do in the game's tie-in comics though, and Mulligan also has the extra live-action appearance in Bright Falls.
Those Two Guys: The two are investigating the mass disappearances around town together, as well as being included in the manhunt launched by Agent Nightingale as he chases Wake. If you hear from the two in the game, the dialogue is likely going to be comedic due to Mulligan needing to play babysitter for the excitable Thornton.
Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Unlike any other Taken encountered before, they're capable of using guns; Mulligan uses a shotgun and tries to get into close range while Thornton tries to snipe you with a rifle from the surrounding rock formations.

Deputy Grant

Appearances: Alan Wake | Night Springs

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grant_2.png

"Mr. Wake, can I help you with anything?"

A deputy of the Sheriff Station who often takes the role of front desk receptionist.

Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Gone from her usual post at the Station without mention by the time of Alan Wake II. Given her advanced age, she likely retired or passed away in the 13 year time gap, assuming she was never Taken herself.
Cool Old Lady: She looks to be the oldest member of the current staff of the Sheriff's station, but is friendly, competent, and ends up surviving the night of the Dark Presence's biggest attack.
Depending on the Artist: She appears in Night Springs but looks younger with browner hair, and was possibly even drawn as a man.
Gossipy Hens: She is stated to be this, and willingly discusses both the poor conditions of the Majestic Motel and local drunk Walter's reasons for being in the station with borderline stranger Alan Wake.
Older Sidekick: She's got a few decades on her superior, Sheriff Sarah Breaker, and seems to be the last holdout from the previous generation which Pat Maine and Frank Breaker also worked during.
Shout-Out: She's more or less a direct translation of Lucy Moran in terms of personality, appearance, and job.
Skeptic No Longer: She dismisses Cynthia Weaver when she comes in and raves about keeping the lights on. Psycho Thriller shows her having an encounter with a poltergeist and relating to the other deputies about the Dark Presence.

Cauldron Lake Lodge

Staff

Dr. Hartman

Dr. Emil Hartman

Portrayed by: Mark Blum, Bruce Katzman (Bright Falls miniseries)

Appearances: Bright Falls | Alan Wake | Psycho Thriller | Control

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drhartman_4.png

"Right now it's very important that you stay calm. We don't want you to have another episode."

A psychiatrist, writer and former writing assistant who owns a clinic reserved for artists near Cauldron Lake. He's also the one who convinced Alice to bring Alan to Bright Falls under the pretense of psychiatric care, although Alan is immediately suspicious of him.

For information regarding his transformed state, see here for the Thing-That-Had-Been-Hartman.

And I Must Scream: He is eventually Taken by the Dark Presence when he went scuba diving in Cauldron Lake, reasoning that he had nothing left to lose.
Asshole Victim: Alan locks him inside his own office when the Dark Presence starts invading Cauldron Lake Lodge. Given all the things he's done to his patients, Wake and Thomas Zane, the proud grin on Alan's face as he walks away is warranted.
- In Control it's revealed that he was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Control for the way he treated his patients and for essentially causing an Altered World Event. While they let him go, it was only done after they confiscated his life's work, causing him to sacrifice himself to the Dark Presence out of desperation. By the time he is encountered in-game, he has been warped into a horrifying Humanoid Abomination as the result of two malevolent paranatural entities fighting to possess him.
Be Careful What You Wish For: Aims to control the Dark Presence. Control reveals that it controlled him in the end; he actively gave himself over to the Dark Presence after the FBC essentially liquidated his career and assets, losing his own body to the thing he wanted to have power over to begin with.
Big Bad Ensemble: Shares the role of Big Bad of Alan Wake with the Dark Presence and Agent Nightingale, but his interaction with the latter is barely even a plot point. Instead, it's recorded in one of his tapes.
Big Bad Wannabe: Despite his attempts to take control of Alan to have the narrative under his command, he is only a threat for an early portion of Episode 4 before the Dark Presence attacks and Alan leaves him to its mercy. Even his attempts to continue his work with Cauldron Lake afterward only results in his death.
Blatant Lies: Although it's slightly subverted because everything he says does make some logical sense, so it rings as truthful as possible to both Alan and the player as he tries to manipulate them. Of course, remembering that this is a horror game with supernatural elements quickly brings his cascade of self-aggrandizing BS back to this trope.
Disney Death: He looks to be Killed Offscreen in the first game when Alan locks him in with the Dark Presence. Psycho Thriller reveals he survived and regrouped from there, which is followed up on in Control.
Dr. Jerk: Alan knows Hartman is a terrible doctor with a smug smile on a magazine front cover but he's even worse than average corrupt doctors; he treated his patients like test subjects to turn artworks into reality and caused the Dark Presence to go free, turning many residents of Bright Falls into Takens.
Evil Counterpart: His history with Thomas Zane makes him one to Barry Wheeler. While Hartman was Zane's assistant instead of his agent, he still acted like one to try and get him to produce stories so the Dark Presence would bring them to life, proving Hartman's theories. He essentially takes the agent role in the present through his psychiatric sessions with the patients at his lodge, encouraging them all to create so he can test which kind of medium better resonates with the Dark Presence's powers, and wanting Alan to do the same through his writing. Except Barry, despite thinking about money, is Alan's closest friend and wants to help him above all else, while Hartman is an exploitive monster who is so power-hungry he willingly allowed an evil Lovecraftian entity to regain power in a futile attempt to harness it for himself.
Evil Is Not a Toy: Emil sincerely believes he can control the reality-warping powers of the Dark Presence and Cauldron Lake, going out of his way to attempt this through manipulating Zane and Wake’s connection to it for his own ends. It ends up costing him the lives of some of his staff and nearly his own the first time when the Dark Presence comes knocking. Completely ignoring this brush with death, he still tries to make one last, vain effort to control the powers of Cauldron Lake despite the FBC pulling the plug on both his career and his research in the wake of the incident, by diving into it. It really, really doesn’t end well for him.
False Friend: In the past, he was this to Tom Zane as his writing assistant, nominally working for Zane's "best interest" while he really only wished to learn more about the mechanics of Cauldron Lake. He is also this to varying success with his patients, as Alan and the Andersons can see through him rather easily but the rest seem to think he genuinely works to help them.
Faux Affably Evil: He never drops the pleasant, affable tone of speaking towards others even as he manipulates them to his own ends.
A God Am I: He admits in an excerpt in his book that he sees creators themselves as gods in their ability to create something from nothing. Even more so, as a creator looking to influence and control what other creators produce, he wishes to place himself at the top of the creation pantheon.
Greater-Scope Villain: Writing Barbara Jagger back to life was an idea he proposed to his then-boss Thomas Zane, which makes him indirectly responsible for giving the Dark Presence an avatar and enough power to break free, and he was also the one who asked Alice to take Alan to Bright Falls, which sets off the events of the main game.
Hate Sink: He was the one who caused the Dark Presence to be released back in 1970 by manipulating his "friend" Thomas Zane into writing a manuscript where his wife is resurrected, with horrific consequences, out of petty ambition. Even discounting the fact that he's arguably responsible for several of Bright Falls' residents dying by being Taken, the man is simply rotten and unlikable to the point many players will rejoice when he finally does get a taste of his own medicine.
It's All About Me: His only real concern in life is finding a way to harness the Dark Presence for his own personal ends.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: At the end of Psycho Thriller, he begins to muse on his deceased friend Thomas Zane and notes how if he knew before what he knows about the Dark Presence, he might have been able to save him. His brief moment of humanity is made hollow when he changes his tune immediately afterward and notes:
Hartman: Still, better him than me.
Just Think of the Potential!: He urges Alan to do this in regards to the reality warping powers of Cauldron Lake. Alan is hardly in the mood to listen after everything Hartman pulled to try and get Alan under his thumb.
Killed Off for Real: After miraculously escaping his fate, he decides to dive into Cauldron Lake, since despite it resulting in everyone else being Taken, he would be strong enough mentally to take it. He was instantly corrupted into a Taken and even his monstrous form would eventually be killed off in the halls of the Oldest House.
The Man Behind the Man: He was Mott's boss ordering him to stage the "kidnapping" plot with Wake, and was also the one who suggested the idea of writing Barbara back to life to Thomas Zane.
Manipulative Bastard: He's dedicated his career to manipulating others and convincing them his methods are in their best interest. His work with psychology helps him understand how people tick and how to use that to get them working for his interests, least of all his employees. Mott was so obsessed with making him proud as a pseudo-father figure that even as a Taken he retained his sanity just to find Hartman.
Meaningful Name: The name "Emil", is derived from the Latin "aemulus". This roughly translates to imitate or rival, which fits his attempts to be a replacement for Thomas Zane in taking control of the Dark Presence.
Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: A doctor of psychology who utilizes his talents and abilities to manipulate mentally ill creators within his clinic.
Nasal Trauma: Alan socks him in the face when they first meet, and he is shown wearing a splint for the rest of the game. According to a manuscript page, Alan managed to get another hit in before one of his sedations between Episode 3 and 4.
Nerves of Steel: To put credit where it's due, when his life is personally put on the line, he proves to be no coward. He openly laughs in the face of the Taken Mott and calmly finds a way to dispose of him, even actively putting himself in his line of fire to make sure he doesn't escape to be a problem later.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He talks about utilizing the powers of the Dark Presence for the altruistic reason of making the world a better place. The way he goes about trying to take control of the entity makes it clear that even if he did want to change the world for the better, he would only allow it if he was the one in control of it all.
Pay Evil unto Evil: He saves Nurse Sinclair from the Taken Mott and later kills off Mott during the events of Psycho Thriller. Given how much of a petty thug Mott was throughout the game, it's one of the few things he does that can be considered positive throughout his appearances.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: The Alan Wake Files reveals he gave one to Nightingale when he came knocking for Alan. He condescendingly, but accurately talks down to him about his alcoholism and general uselessness during his investigation, before bluntly refusing him entry to the Lodge.
Smug Snake: His default expression is a smug, condescending smile plastered on his face, which is also on the cover for his own book. Alan even notes at one point that just seeing his face on the cover is enough for him to want to punch Hartman, which speaks levels on how unbearable this guy is. He's so self-centered and focused in his own objectives that it doesn't seem to occur to him that maybe the Dark Presence is more powerful than he's giving it credit for.
Suicidal Overconfidence: He incorrectly thinks he can expertly manipulate and keep Alan under his thumb, even when the man is holding a gun to his head. To more fatal results, he also goes diving into Cauldron Lake with no means to defend against the Dark Presence.
Too Dumb to Live: In Control, it's revealed that he dove into Cauldron Lake despite knowing what's down there and what happens to people who touch what's down there. Despite his complete confidence to the contrary, he lasts no longer than any other Bright Falls citizen.
Unexplained Recovery: An official post-game comic shows that Hartman come out alive and well after his encounter with the Dark Presence in the Cauldron Lake Lodge. It's never explained why he was spared, though the comic is presented as part of Alan Wake's manuscript, suggesting he made it happen.
- As Control reveals, he was still himself, but the FBC took all of his research on the Dark Presence and left him with nothing. The only way he could continue his research was to dive into Cauldron Lake himself to research it up close and personal, so he did, confident that he could emerge unscathed. He was Taken immediately. Then when he came back out the FBC pretty much immediately snatched him up and locked him in a cell to study. Then the Hiss got him. So anyone who felt he didn't get enough comeuppance can now rest easy.
The Unfought: Despite all the harm he's caused, you never fight him in the main game after the Dark Presence corners him at his lodge. The closest you get to fight him is during the DLC Special "The Writer", when the imaginary Barry sends a Taken Hartman after Alan, but that's still part of Alan's nightmare. It takes an entirely different game to finally face Hartman as a boss.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
- He's indirectly responsible for everything that happens in the game. After Barbara Jagger's death, he was the one who encouraged Thomas Zane to use the powers of Cauldron Lake to resurrect her, which woke the Dark Presence from its slumber.
- More directly, he invites Alan to Bright Falls through Alice, leading to the events of the game directly when Barbara intercepts them.
Villain Protagonist: He serves as the main protagonist and narrator of Psycho Thriller despite being just as villainous in his actions as he was in the main game.
Villainous Valor: He does prove to be quite independently resourceful (though completely ruthless) when left to his own devices to survive. He keeps ahead of the Taken Mott and sacrifices Rudolf to buy him time before the authorities arrive and convince them to gun him down before the sun rises.
Walking Spoiler: It's impossible to talk about Hartman at length without giving away major reveals about the nature of the story and backstory.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He used Rudolf as his most talented conduit toward the Dark Presence as a painter. When Mott comes after them, he has Rudolf wear his sweater and leaves him for Mott to find to buy him and Sinclair time to escape.

Ben Mott

Portrayed by: Jason Muzzo

Appearances: Alan Wake | Psycho Thriller

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mott_1.png

"Stop talking to the law. You'll do exactly what I say if you want to see your wife again."

The "kidnapper" who contacts Alan claiming to have his wife and offering her in exchange for the manuscript pages of Departure.

Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When Barbara gets her hands on him at the lookout, he starts begging for mercy, which she is in no mood to give.
Alas, Poor Villain: His final death in Psycho Thriller is this. The narrative plays up Hartman's manipulations of him and the past that made him such an easily manipulated brute. In the end, he dies screaming as Hartman manipulates him one last time and forces him to his knees in submission.
Arc Villain: He's portrayed as the main threat of Alan Wake in Episodes 2 and 3 with his unknown machinations and capture of Alan's wife. He's then killed off by the Dark Presence and it and Hartman replace him for the remainder of the game.
Badass Normal: Does remarkably well fending off the Taken. Indeed, he's well-versed with their weaknesses, and is entirely unphased with fighting them (so much so that he has absolutely no problems setting up his meetings with Alan to take place in the middle of the night deep in the Taken-infested woods).
Bait the Dog: When he shows up in the woods, he comes across as a complete badass, taking down three Taken back to back and striding in to save Alan. Then Alan recognizes his voice and his demeanor shifts to condescending and aggressive as he forces Wake into danger without even a gun.
The Cameo: Shows up in the Oh Deer Diner (according to IMDB), sitting with an unnamed older man, in the first episode of Bright Falls, and even sings Happy Birthday to Jake with the rest of the diner patrons.
Chekhov's Gunman: First seen on the ferry at the beginning, leering at Alan from the backside. Try to approach him and he'll audibly complain about the "yuppies" visiting town. There's a solid chance you might not even notice since you don't have to interact with him at all to progress.
Conspiracy Theorist: He genuinely believes in government conspiracies such as fluoride being used to control the masses. As a Taken, other than his obsession with Hartman, it's all that remains of his former personality.
Disney Villain Death: The Dark Presence forms a tornado, picks him up and launches him into the lake.
The Dragon: To Dr. Hartman, not that he thinks Mott is all that capable.
Escort Mission: Played with. At the mid-point of Episode 2, Mott actually escorts Alan after seizing his gun and keeping him with only a few flares handy to keep himself in power during "negotiation" as the Taken attack. Problem is, Mott is a lousy shot and will miss constantly, endangering the player even further.
Everybody Calls Him "Barkeep": He's never referred to as anything but "the kidnapper" in dialogue. His name is identified only by the manuscript pages, and even then refers to him only by his last name.
I Have Your Wife: Kidnaps Alice near the beginning of the game and threatens her death if Alan doesn't comply with his demands. Except not really. It was a ruse to get Alan to finish the manuscript for Dr. Hartman.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: To someone like Mott, Alan Wake is someone who has everything; smarts, money, and a beautiful wife. When faking Alice's kidnapping, Mott expects Alan to beg him but instead, Alan fights back. Because of his ego, Mott decides to give Alan two days to complete the manuscript, which ruins his boss' plan. Apparently this is how he is all his life, which Hartman uses to control him.
It Can Think: After being turned into a Taken, Mott seems to have significantly more going on upstairs compared to the others, retaining a fairly large degree of his former self despite being reduced to a psychotic thrall of the Dark Presence.
Jerkass: Being a supposed kidnapper will do that. Especially when he gives a writer only 3 days to finish an entire manuscript. Even in his appearance much earlier in the game he'll grumble and complain about Alan and Alice within earshot.
Manipulative Editing: By using an edited recording of the call Alice made to Hartman, Mott is able to trick Alan that he had Alice.
A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: The two-day limit he imposes on Alan finishing the manuscript is something even he realizes is stupid, but he panics while trying to remain in control of the conversation and simply says the first thing he thinks.
Unexplained Recovery: In the tie-in comic Psycho Thriller, he's somehow survived his fate in Alan Wake, albeit as a Taken with higher function than most, and goes on to hunt Hartman at the Cauldron Lake Lodge before being killed for good by Hartman and Deputies Mulligan and Thornton.
Villainous Rescue: Rescued Alan in Episode 2 after he lost his gun. Downplayed, however, in that he still keeps Alan relatively unarmed and only gives him flares, since he knows he needs to have the power in that situation.
You Have Failed Me: One manuscript page reveals that Hartman was incredibly frustrated that Mott gave Alan only 2 days to finish his manuscript instead of the full week Alan wanted. Unlike most examples of this trope, Mott doesn't get killed until the Dark Presence comes along.

Nurse Birch