Episode 1:
Chrysalis
The episode (and, of course, the game proper) begins with a Cold Open, as our Player Character Maxine "Max" Caulfield finds herself soaking wet and on the ground in the middle of a storm. She recalls to herself (and the player) that she needs to make it to the lighthouse to be safe. Unfortunately, after doing so, she witnesses a massive waterspout heading towards a town. A boat is blown from the twister into the lighthouse, knocking a piece of debris right at her...Fortunately, Max then wakes up in photography class. A Justified Tutorial explains the mechanics of viewing/interacting with objects and allows the player to get some more background information. It's Monday October 27th 2013. Max is a Senior note at Blackwell Academy, who's returned to her home town of Arcadia Bay (after moving to Seattle with her parents 5 years ago) to attend. She's stressed out by all her new work and social obligations, as well as the prospect of reuniting with her former "BFF" Chloe Price, whose dad died shortly before she left and Max feels intensely guilty about not staying in touch with.
After taking a selfie with her vintage polaroid camera, she's called out in class by her favorite teacher, Mark Jefferson and fails to answer a question (which is duly answered by resident Academic Alpha Bitch Victoria Chase). After class, Jefferson reminds everyone about the "Everyday Heroes" photo contest, which Max is nervous about entering despite his encouragement. As Victoria and her posse mock her, she plugs in her headphones and listens to music before heading to the ladies' room to calm down. The walk there serves as a credits sequence of sorts, with nothing but "To All of You" by Syd Matters playing, as well as a chance to gather Max's own thoughts about some of the minor characters who can be seen on the way.
As Max splashes some water on her face and sadly tears up her entry for the contest, she notices a blue butterfly resting on a bucket at the back of the loos and takes the opportunity to photograph it. Enter Ax-Crazy Big Man on Campus Nathan Prescott and a mysterious punk girl with blue hair. They argue briefly, before Master Prescott pulls out a gun and accidentally shoots her in the struggle. Horrified, Max rushes forward, reaches out her hand and...suddenly finds herself back in class again. Realizing that this is more than just a dream, there's another Justified Tutorial. Max uses her new power to one up Victoria by answering the question she couldn't before, before heading to the bathroom once again. This time she's able to set off the fire alarm at just the right moment, allowing the blue-haired girl to kick Nathan in the crotch and storm off. Nathan picks himself up and leaves too, but not before noticing Max's torn photo on the floor.
As she leaves the bathroom, Max is confronted by David Madsen, Blackwell's abrasive head of security. Luckily, Principal Wells intervenes, but noticing how stressed she is, still asks her if there's anything she has to say. This leads to the player's first real choice; tell Wells about Nathan having a gun (when his family won't take the accusation kindly), or just make an excuse (which makes Wells suspicious). After this, she gets a text from one of her few close friends at Blackwell, Warren Graham, who wants a flash drive full of movies he lent Max back.
Max returns to her dorm room, only to find Victoria and her groupies blocking the way. Rather than move, they mock Max and take and upload an unflattering photo. One quick puzzle later, and she has paint dumped over her, leaving her powerless to block the way in as her friends leave to grab some towels. The player can choose to comfort her (which shows some Hidden Depths and causes her to delete the photo), or return the favour and photograph her new coat of paint. On returning to Max's room, she finds that Dana Ward has borrowed the flash drive. Unfortunately, Dana is trapped in her room by fellow dormmate Juliet Watson, who believes she sexted her boyfriend (because Victoria told her). After entering Victoria's room (and messing with her wall of photos, if the player chooses), Max retrieves proof that it was a prank, and Juliet apologises. Max finally recovers the flash drive and heads off to meet Warren. But not before finding David harassing Max's friend Kate Marsh. The player can choose to photograph him bullying her, or intervene and stand up for Kate.
After speaking to Warren in the car park (where he's showing off his "new old car"), Max is about to tell him about her new found powers, when Nathan shows up, either aware that Max was in the bathroom, or angry that she told Wells about his gun. Nathan attacks Warren when he tries to make him back off and turns his attention back to Max. A flatbed pulls up, driven by the blue-haired girl, who recognizes Max and Max finally recognises as her former best friend Chloe Price! Warren attacks Nathan, getting a beating for his trouble, so Max can get in the car and escape.
After an awkward reunion, Max realizes that her camera was broken in the melee. Chloe invites her back to the Price residence to see if she can find the tools to fix it amongst the ones her "step-douche" has. At Chloe's house, Max finds a photo of Chloe and Rachel Amber, the girl who's missing person posters have been up all over the place. This turns out to have been Chloe's doing; she befriended Rachel some time after Max left (with not too subtle hints that they were more than friends). After exploring the Price residence, and catching up on memories, Max finds some micro screwdrivers. Unfortunately, she's unable to fix her camera. Chloe sees Max's photo of the blue butterfly, and realises that she saved her life. Chloe gives Max her dad's old camera as a late birthday present, and keeps the photo as a memento of their reunion.
At that point, Chloe's much maligned step-father returns home. It turns out to be (as the player might have guessed from hints around the house) none other than David, who tries to enter Chloe's room. Chloe warns Max to hide. If Max doesn't hide, Chloe will blame her for the joint she was smoking. If the player takes the blame, David will get angry and accuse Max of being a dealer, but Chloe will consider it a minor victory in her "war" against him. If Max tells the truth, David will call Chloe a loser and slap her, causing Chloe to redirect some of that anger at Max. Should the player manage to solve a small puzzle and hide in the closet, similar scenes will play out, except Chloe won't blame Max for staying hidden, and if Max reveals herself and takes the blame, she'll be ecstatic, and show Max the gun she stole from David's gun closet after he leaves.
After this, they both leave and head to the light house, which Max remembers was where her vision at the beginning of the game took place. Chloe explains to Max what was going on in the bathroom — she's in debt and needs money fast. Thinking she could shake down Nathan for some quick cash at a bar, she ended up being drugged and taken to his room, having to fight her way out. The confrontation in the bathroom was her attempt to use the incident to blackmail Nathan. Max tries to tell Chloe about her powers and dream, but suddenly passes out. There's another sequence where Max must make her way to the lighthouse during a storm. This time, a spectral doe appears to guide her, and her powers make it possible to avoid falling debris. On reading a newspaper, Max realises that the storm hits on the coming Friday...just four days later! Waking up, she tries to convince a sceptical Chloe, when a sudden unseasonal snowfall hits. Chloe asks her to explain everything from the beginning.
The episode ends with a montage of various characters being awed by the snow as "Obstacles" by Syd Matters plays and the sun goes down. David is fixing some electrical equipment on the house; Joyce (Chloe's mum) is working in the diner; Warren is in the bio lab on his laptop; Kate is seen crying in her room; Frank Bowers (yet to be introduced) exits his trailer holding a bong as his dog barks at the snow; Victoria disdainfully tears down one of the "Missing" posters, Wells is drinking in his office; Jefferson is working in his classroom; and Nathan is sat alone on a bench outside the school with his camera.
The final shot shows a shelf full of large red binders with various girls' names on them... the last of which reads "Rachel". Roll credits.
Tropes featured in this episode of Life Is Strange:
- Book Ends: The episode begins and ends with a scene of Max waking up from a playable "dream" about the oncoming storm, followed by a montage with a Sid Matters song playing over it.
- Bullying a Dragon: Chloe doesn't seem to think that trying to extort someone like Nathan Prescott, a guy who's family has connections everywhere and is clearly mentally unstable, by herself is a bad idea. Sure she had no way of knowing that he had a gun on him, but it was still pretty dumb on her part.
- Chekhov's Gun: Chloe shows Max a literal one (if you hide in the closet, but still take the blame for her doobie), which comes into play in the next episode, but of course the most important ones are the selfie Max takes in class, and the photo of the blue butterfly (and more importantly, Max's reflection in the bucket it's standing on), which won't be relevant for another 3 episodes and will play a vital role on the finale.
- Dream Intro: The game starts with a scene of Max at a stormy night by the lighthouse during the storm which turns out to be a Daydream Surprise she was having in class.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Frank Bowers and Joyce are both seen in the closing montage. They won't be introduced properly until the next episode.
- Only Friend: Max was Chloe's before she moved away. Rachel apparently filled this role afterwards, but now she's disappeared and Chloe's devastated.
- Pilot: Insofar as an Episodic Game can have one. The first episode is available for free, establishes the setting and most of the important characters, serves as a tutorial for the mechanics and generally serves to sell the rest of the game.
- Replacement Goldfish: Max can ask Chloe if Rachel was one for her (and it's hinted that she's now one for Rachel).
- Second Hour Superpower: Max gains her powers after you've played through a dream sequence, a Justified Tutorial in Jefferson's class and enjoyed the title sequence. When they manifest, you go back to the point where she woke up, and get to use them to redo the conversations you just had (serving as a handy tutorial to explain how the rewind works on top of the more familiar adventure game mechanics).
- What the Hell, Hero?: Both Chloe and Max herself give the latter a lot of grief for failing to contact Chloe in the 5 years Max spent living in Seattle and the two months she's already been back.
