Episode 2: Brave New World
The second episode opens the morning after the first ended, in Principal Wells's office. Rachel Amber is sat opposite Wells and flanked by her parents, James & Rose Amber, with an empty chair to the side. After a few moments of stony silence, Joyce enters with Chloe (still dressed in the same clothes as the previous night), hurriedly apologising for being late. With everyone present, Wells proceeds to lay on the accusations for any misdeeds (or perceived misdeeds) the player committed in the last episode. If Joyce and Chloe still have a good mother-daughter relationship, she'll stand up for her, but Wells notes that it's all moot, as skipping school alone was enough to justify her being suspended. At that point, Rachel jumps in and starts using her acting skills to take the blame, which gets her removed from the school production of The Tempest (her role as Prospera going to Victoria) for her trouble. At this point, the player can let Rachel fall on her sword, or use a backtalk challenge to take back the credit. If she succeeds, then Wells will reinstate Rachel...but rather than simply being suspended for the year, Chloe will be expelled!Chloe and Rachel agree to meet at the junkyard as Joyce awkwardly introduces herself to the Ambers. Skip Matthews, the head of security, escorts Chloe to clear out her locker, lamenting the loss of his day off, but agreeing that Chloe's been treated unfairly. Chloe proceeds to throw away her textbooks, leave a bit of graffiti on the inside and recover her emergency joint (which, unfortunately, has been borrowed by Justin). Frustrated, Chloe asks Skip if she can excuse herself to the bathroom before leaving. After she enters, she breaks out her marker pen, and spends the opening titles graffitiing it from top to bottom as "No Care" by Daughter plays. The sequence ends with her admiring her work in a shot that bares more than a passing resemblance to Max's own selfie in the original game.
In the parking lot, she can stall speaking to Joyce and David a little longer by speaking to Eliot. He offers her a hug and reiterates his offer to go to the play (both of which Chloe meets with little enthusiasm, even if the player agrees). Moving from one awkward conversation to another, Joyce and David are as thrilled as expected with the way her academic career is going. David demands to search her pockets, and that he be given an apology (if he was backtalked in the car) so they can start afresh as a family, both of which the player can accept or refuse. If Chloe didn't purchase any weed and consents to the search, Joyce will apologise, but David remains unrepentant. If she empties her pockets and the player has the money from the t-shirt salesman or weed, Joyce will be shocked (and confiscate the later, but not the former). They then break the news to Chloe that David will be moving in, causing her to storm off.
Cut to the junkyard, where Chloe mulls over how much her life has changed. Feeling more constructive than the last time she was there, she resolves to fix up a rusted flatbed. After finding a battery (in a car that was impounded for drug offences), she tries the engine, but finds it's far from being in working order. In the mean time, she searches for scrap to fix the car's floor, seat and light (as well as optionally finding the bobble headed doll that's on the dashboard in the original game). After her task is complete, she enjoys a cigarette (although not before optionally finding a beanie in the car's glove compartment and adding the first of many pieces of graffiti to the inside), but finds herself interrupted by a phone call from Frank, who needs to talk business with her. Shortly after hanging up, she falls asleep.
Chloe wakes up, thinking she's slept until dark, but strange texts on her phone (from such important people in her life as Max, the Raven and Shakespeare) and the presence of William roasting marshmallows over the wreckage of his car make her suspect otherwise. "A Hole in the Earth" by Daughter accompanies the scene. She sits by her old man and begins roasting a marshmallow, as William proceeds to warn her about the dangers and benefits of fire (the key points being that it's beautiful, wants all that beauty for itself and sometimes clears the way for "a greater beauty" in its wake). He then turns his face to reveal that half of it is severely burnt, completing the metaphor and startling Chloe back to the waking world.
Chloe awakens to find Rachel tapping on her car door, warning her that falling asleep while smoking's a fire hazard. After putting her tote bag in the back and hopping into the passenger seat, she and Chloe have a "therapy" session, and talk over recent events (or rather, the recent events in Chloe's life, since Rachel is reluctant to discuss her father). Rachel leaves, telling Chloe that the tote bag contains some essentials for her. The bag turns out to be a change of clothes, allowing the player to choose a new outfit (one of which includes the beanie, if Chloe has it). Chloe proceeds to spruce up the "hideout" she changes in (including adding the same "Chloe was here" graffiti which Rachel and Max will one day add their own names to), until Frank calls to let her know he's outside.
On approaching Frank's camper van, the mysterious woman (who Mr. Amber's been having an affair with) emerges, glaring at Chloe before leaving on foot. Inside, the player can optionally try and backtalk Frank for more information (finding out that she's named Sera) before getting down to business. Frank informs Chloe that Drew (the Jerk Jock whose bullying of Nathan she got the blame for in Wells's office) owes him a cool $1000 from the sales of pills to the rest of the football team. He offers to erase Chloe's debt (if she didn't pay it off) and give her a $100 cut if she breaks into his dorm and recovers it.
Considering that she needs the money, Chloe agrees and is duly dropped off back on the Blackwell grounds. While there she runs into Steph, who asks her if Rachel's single or they're dating (which Chloe can deny, leading to a callout from Rachel later, or say she isn't sure, which prompts a bit of advice). She also speaks to Samuel, the groundskeeper, who shares some of his (eccentric, but eerily accurate) wisdom with Chloe, and Ethan (who, despite being his aloof self, manages to compliment Chloe on her outlook and intelligence). After distracting Sam by breaking a sprinkler and stealing his keys, Chloe enters the dorms, only to run into Skip. As she can't convince him to leave her be, the only way to continue is to try and browbeat him with a backtalk challenge. Succeeding will have Chloe embarrass him by claiming she's on her period, and he'll let her go about her business after getting a call from Wells to investigate a suspicious vehicle. Should the player fail, he'll become fed up with the lack of respect he gets and decide to quit, telling Wells where to shove it when he radios, and stomping off.
Inside the dorms, Chloe can search Eliot's room. If she does so, she'll find a book of rather creepy poetry about her and also discover that he's been searching about her online (yikes!). In Drew's room, it becomes clear that Mikey's also living there, and their dad is currently living on the streets (having lost his job because of the Prescotts' business dealings). After breaking into a chest and finding the money (the combination being Mikey's birthday), Chloe tries to leave, but runs into Mikey. Mikey's soon followed by Drew himself, who seems too distracted to care that Chloe's in his room. A quick glance down the hall reveals why; Damon, Frank's even less friendly friend, has also come to collect the cash. Drew tells Chloe to stay in his room with Mikey, and closes the door. Damon proceeds to start beating Drew to a bloody pulp when he claims not to have the money. The player must make an important choice: Stay with Mikey, or give Damon the money. If the player stays, Damon will break Drew's leg; Chloe can either return the money to them or keep it, and Drew will thank Chloe for protecting Mikey — he will later send a text reflecting whether or not Chloe returned the money. If the player decides to hand over the money, Damon will compliment Chloe and spare Drew the beating, but also injure Mikey when he tries to stop him taking it; Drew will be angry, but later text Chloe to let her know he knows she was only trying to help. Whichever one of them is injured, Steph will accompany them both to the hospital, skipping her stage managing duties for the play.
Chloe then heads over to meet Rachel backstage at the The Tempest production. Nathan will be getting a lecture from the father of the year himself, Sean Prescott, which Chloe can call him out over. Samantha will ask Chloe for advice on how to help Nathan, which she can respond with a suggestion she stays away from him, or try to get him to open up. If Rachel is still in the play, Chloe'll catch Victoria trying to drug her and quickly put a stop to it (either by switching the tea or accusing her directly). If Victoria is in the play, Chloe will instead have to either help Rachel drug Victoria, or use a backtalk challenge to get her to relinquish the role. Either way, Rachel's back in! A frustrated Mr. Keaton finds out that in addition to losing Steph, the fire has blocked the roads and means that Juliet will be late (his mood's not helped if a drugged Victoria passes out at that very moment). Rachel proceeds to volunteer Chloe to play the role of Ariel until she can get through, and she's powerless to disagree.
As a result, Chloe ends up playing Ariel in a scene opposite Rachel as Prospera (after smoking a quick joint, if she bought weed off Frank and didn't let David search her pockets). Exactly how well things go depend on how well the player guides Chloe through her lines and stage directions. When the time comes for the moment in the play when Ariel is released from the sorcerer's service, Rachel goes off script. Instead, she invites Ariel (and Chloe) to stay with her, eventually getting down on one knee and all but proposing (complete with a random audience member shouting "say yes!"). After this scene, Juliet shows up (possibly hugging and congratulating Chloe if she did well) to take over again, and Chloe manages to appreciate the play, which goes off without any further issues (aside from Nathan flubbing his lines if things haven't been going his waynote ). Rachel drags her onto the stage to join in the curtain call, as "Sera" can be seen watching from the back!
After the play, as she and Chloe walk down the street, Rachel reiterates her offer to run away, as an acoustic verion of "Taking You There" by Broods plays. Chloe's uncertain about how sincere she's being, prompting Rachel to ask what it would take to convince Chloe she's being serious. This leads to the moment fans have been waiting for. Chloe can ask for Rachel's bracelet (which she'll give back when they leave) or for Rachel to get a tattoo (which she canonically has in Season 1), but if they're close enough, she can ask for a kiss (which can lead to a Big Damn Kiss if the player's made enough pro-Rachel choices). In a nod to the ending of the first game's first episode, it starts "snowing" ash.
The girls then try to sneak into Rachel's house to pack, but they're seen by Rachel's parents, and Chloe's invited to join them for dinner. Rose seems quite friendly as Chloe helps set the table, while James puts up a poker face, mostly ignoring her awkward attempts at humour, but will make more of an effort if Chloe took the blame. Things go well at first, as Chloe manages to avoid starting any trouble, even when the subject of the fire comes up (which is being investigated by the DA's office as arson). Then Mr. Amber mentions the importance of family, which angers Rachel. The player can choose to either try and calm her down, or initiate a backtalk challenge, to have Chloe passive aggressively call him out herself until he snaps. Regardless, Rachel calls him out for his affair, Chloe backs her up and Mr. Amber accuses Chloe of being "a broken girl from a broken home", which leads to an argument. Frustrated, Rachel smashes the table in another fit of anger and demands her father tell the truth for once, which makes him come clean: Sara Gearhardt is Rachel's birth mother.
The closing montage, set to "Youth" by Daughter, shows Steph in the hospital waiting area with Drew or Mikey (depending on who was injured); Frank and Damon either cross out Drew's debt in the logbook, or put a bloody fingerprint next to it (depending on how the debt was paid); Victoria stares at a The Tempest poster before dropping it and stepping on Prospera; a worried Joyce is comforted by David as she surveys Chloe's room; Samantha waits for Nathan after the play, who manages a slight smile for once; and Sera is stood in the street where Chloe and Rachel planned their escape, looking at the footprints they left in the ash and then to the fire.
Tropes in this episode:
- Bathroom Stall Graffiti: Chloe covers a bit more than just the stalls in the opening sequence.
- Big Damn Kiss: If the Relationship Values with Rachel are high enough, she and Chloe can share one as her way of proving she's serious about leaving together. If they're lower, it will simply be either a quick peck on the lips and some teasing, or not even be an option.
- Call-Forward: Quite a few can be seen in the junkyard, including:
- Chloe adding the "Chloe was here" graffiti that Max finds in the original game to her hideout
- The hideout also contains the "Turn Back" sign on her room in the original game.
- Optionally finding the "little man" figurine that's on her car's dashboard.
- Frank meets her at the junkyard, and not for the last time.
- Crosscast Role: Prospero has been changed to Prospera, played by either Rachel or Victoria. Ariel is also technically an example (since Ariel is written as a masculine character in the original text — albeit with very little mention of his gender), but is already common in productions of the play anyway.
- Doomed by Canon:
- Chloe had already been expelled by the time of the original game, so even if she was only suspended, it's only prolonging the inevitable.
- David is head of security by the first game, meaning that even if Skip doesn't quit, he won't be holding onto his job for more than about 3 years (although Episode 3 confirms that he's on the way to a decent musical career anyway, so perhaps "doomed" isn't the right word...).
- Double-Meaning Title: The line "brave new world" is spoken in the play by Miranda, in a way most productions take to be flirting (or at least expressing attraction to the group of men she's just met), meaning it can reference both Chloe and Rachel's relationship and the massive change in Chloe's life from being expelled or suspended. It also echoes the title of Brave New World (also given a Shout-Out in the name of the drug Rachel and Victoria try to drug one another with), which is about a false utopia built on false happiness and dark secrets (Rachel's homelife in a nutshell, and perhaps how Chloe sees her new domestic situation).
- Everyone Has Standards: Chloe is perfectly fine with being seen as a delinquent who takes drugs and vandalizes school property, but she objects when Wells accuses her of bullying Nathan. Especially since she's either guilty of nothing worse than inaction, or actually stood up for him.
- First-Name Basis: James Amber addresses Wells as "Ray", although the way that Wells brushes him off makes it unclear if he was just being presumptive or not.
- Hidden Depths:
- Samuel claims that not only does Eliot have them, but he can't read them (despite demonstrating that he's normally quite good at it). This can be confirmed if the player has Chloe search his room, which reveals he has some stalkerish tendencies towards her.
- Drew has them in a much better way, as well as having good reasons to be pissed off at the Prescotts, he's extremely talented at football (with multiple ivy league scholarships) and cares a great deal about his little brother.
- Kick the Dog:
- Wells does this in the opening scene, when he suspends or expels Chloe, with the implication that he's been looking for an excuse to do so for some time to save scholarship money.
- The elder Prescott demonstrates that he's as charming as fans of the first game suspected, when he's introduced angrily telling Nathan (who's afraid of being laughed at on stage) not to embarrass him.
- James Amber will eventually snap, call Chloe a delinquent and forbid her from seeing Rachel. Even his wife calls him out on it.
- Large Ham:
- Mr. Keaton seems incapable of going more than one line without dramatically gesturing and talking like he's in the middle of a soliloquy, as you might expect from a drama teacher. He can appreciate compelling drama from other people, however (as can be seen when Chloe and Rachel go off script).
- Rachel ends up being one herself, especially during the play, going off-script and taking the opportunity to "propose" to Chloe. Deconstructed when her habit of doing this causes Chloe to wonder how sincere she's being about running away.
- Lower-Class Lout: He tries to hide it, but eventually James Amber snaps and falls into the "snobby character believes a sympathetic character is one" variant towards Chloe.
- Tempting Fate: If Victoria's been drugged, she'll pass out (or go into a Non Sequitur, *Thud* rant) at exactly the moment Mr. Keaton demands to know what else could go wrong.
- Wham Line: Mr. Amber delivers one at the end of the episode after Rachel demands he stop keeping secrets: "That was your mother."
