And Show It to You: The climax of the Cult of the Tree's ritual has one plunge a knife into the tied down Nightingale and carve open his chest. His heart is then pulled out from the wound.
Continuity Nod: Nightingale mutters about "Hemingway" as he wanders throughout the forest. In the first game, this was his most common nickname for Alan, who he made a habit out of nicknaming after different authors.
Death Is the Only Option: When the player encounters the Cult, there is no way of getting away from them. No matter which path Agent Nightingale takes, he will get shot and incapacitated by a Cult member. Considering his death is the Inciting Incident of Saga's portion of the story, this was the entire point.
Establishing Character Moment: We're introduced to the Cult of the Tree ganging up on a naked Agent Nightingale as they shoot him, tie him down and cut his heart out, establishing them as a violent group that should be approached with extreme caution.
Hope Spot: The first people Nightingale comes across are an innocent couple out for a hike. He tries to call out for them, but the glow of their flashlight disorients him before he can speak, and they quickly leave, thinking he's a crazy nudist.
How We Got Here: The very beginning shows Alan, a glowing white dot on his forehead while liquid (presumably blood) is spraying out the back of his head in slow motion. We don't get context for this until the very end of the game.
Naked on Arrival: We find Agent Nightingale, not having become the new face of The Dark Presence, wash ashore on Cauldron Lake completely naked and disoriented before the Cult of the Tree ties him down and ritualistically cut his heart out.
Opening Monologue: As with the first game, Alan gives a monologue about the nature of the story he's trapped in to open the game.
Alan: Back to the beginning. We all come to a story with hopes and expectations, looking for an answer. Sometimes it would be better to live with that hope — without ever knowing the full story. In a horror story, there are only victims and monsters, and the trick is not to end up as either. But trapped by the genre, we are all ripped to pieces along the way. This is not the story I hoped it would be. This is not the ending I wanted. This story will eat us alive. This story is a monster. And monsters wear many faces...
Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: The Booker couple make a quick escape from the woods after they stumble across the Cult of the Tree in the middle of their ritual.
Title Drop: Twice in rapid succession. As he is dragged onto the table for sacrifice, Nightingale rambles about "the Cult of the Word", and when the Cult of the Tree carve Nightingale open, the lead cultist snarls out the ominous declaration of "We are the Cult of the Tree! We watch in the night!".
Villain Opening Scene: With Saga completely out of sight and Alan only present for the narration, the chapter's main draw is its introduction of the antagonistic Cult of the Tree plaguing Bright Falls.
