(Spoiler) Jeremiah Theories

[SnowWalker]

4 hours ago, Thrasador said:

Hopefully they learned a lot from the first two episodes as far as play testing goes....

I hope so too but you'd think after all these years that most of the game development is finished.

[ChillPlayer]

Hmm bummer, I thought I remembered that all three remaining episodes will be released this year but according to the official FAQ that's wishfull memory

Quote

THE LONG DARK’s “Story Mode”, called WINTERMUTE, is five episodes. All five are included in your purchase of the game, although only the first two episodes will be available at launch. The remaining three episodes will be released over the course of the remainder of 2017, and part of 2018.

So maybe we get 2 out of 3 this year, depends on how much they will let the feedback provided so far influence the future episodes (like full audio dialogs which I hope for more than anything).

[Fuarian]

On 8/20/2017 at 2:23 AM, SnowWalker said:

I found it strange that she took off and left Will to die at the cash anyway. Why does that always happen in game plane crashes? Whomever you were with in the plane just takes off by themselves and leaves you there without even checking on you, and now you must go out and find them.

because plot, if that didn't happen then the plot wouldn't have been set in motion to go find Astrid. 

[Fuarian]

On 8/21/2017 at 9:16 PM, SnowWalker said:

You guys are really digging deep with speculation. It's almost comparable to 'Game of Thrones' or 'The Walking Dead' speculation Using Astrid because she's a doctor seems plausible. The only thing I find curious is, why would they, or he, keep her around after she's done with what they wanted?

 

 

Who said they were doing that or wanted to do that? 

[TROY]

1>  Clearly, getting to Perseverance was extremely important to Astrid. Important enough to force Will to fly her there in a bad storm.  She knows he has guilt over their failed relationship, his drinking, and would do anything to redeem himself in her eyes.  Either someone she is close to is very ill, or needs her help badly, so having no other choice after the crash, she attepted to complete the journey.   It's rather obvious that she had no way of knowing that he survived. She couldnt possibly have seen him down there at night, in a blizzard.  

OR, she knew full well he was down there, and couldn't help him herself, so she went hoping to find help, and ran into the cons. After so much time having passed, she would naturally assume he's dead, and continue on, trying her best to survive, just like Will. 

2> Y'all are putting way to much importance on the locked case. Just because she said "No questions" when he asked about it doesnt mean IT is important, just that she's smart enough to know answering THAT question would only lead to more.  She had nothing but that case, it's probably just clean undies and hair spray. It seems unlikely that if was truly pivotal to WHY she needed to go to Great Bear that she'd have taken off without doing a thorough search for it.

3> As for Mathis, he is obviously a deranged psychopath who simply enjoys causing pain and suffering. There needs to be very little provocation or justification for it in his mind.  Being deranged, the case may only be an excuse for him, or he may not be able to make the connection that what was of value a short time ago is no longer.  I don't think he's lying to Will at all. He most likely believes that Astrid is dead, probably having left her for such.  The convicts didn't go to the crash to get Astrid, she went to town, same as Will,  and ran into them. Escaped Prisoners... c'mon, do ANY of y'all really think they need any ulterior motives for abducting a woman? Think about it. 

4> I don't buy the theory that Jeremiah is a forest talker.  The whole forest talker thing makes no sense to me at all. The days of the island being exploited environmentally are long gone. They ended with the quakes and the crash.  Those trains havent run for years. The dam was abandoned long ago, the logging camp is in disrepair, the trucks and equipment long since removed, the whaling plant long ago shut down, the coal mines abandoned and quiet.  What reason could they have for still being active?  If it wasn't for actually talking to someone who claims to be one in a side mission, I'd have thought they were just a "background history tool" for filling in the story of the island.  Or, perhaps their mission was to jump that Prison bus and free one of their incarcerated compatriots. 

5> I think he told Will that he had found the code while exploring the place... I don't think I dreamed that up, but it's possible I just assumed it.    As for him having a radio under his floor, it would make sense for someone like him to have a form of communicating with the outside world somehow. I don't think he lied to Will about it, although he didnt tell the full truth. It looks like a very old Military style radio that needs to be cranked to power it up and use. It would depend on hitting relays (which are now dead) to transmit very far, so he can't contact his friend on it. ???   WinterMute is most likely just a made up codeword so the other person will know that Will really has spoken with and come from Jeremiah, so they'll trust and help him, or perhaps it has a secondary meaning as well, letting that other person know that theres something that has not, and shouldnt be discussed with Will.  I'm not convinced yet that Will has entirely made the connection between the aurora and the lack of power, or that he realizes that the apocalypse has arrived, although Jeremiah may, and Wintermute is a confirmation of it to his friend. (Even as late in the story as his conversation with Methuselah, Will seems to be clueless that the world, society, as he knew it has ended, but that could just a side effect of so many pain killers)   Neither Jeremiah or Grey Mother seem bothered about the weather, so it's most likely just winter as usual, but now without power, but it bothers me that they both seem so unprepared for winter, living in a place where winter is normal.  In a place like Great Bear, getting ready for winter well in advance of its arrival is business as usual. Especially for people who don't wish to depend on "the mainlanders". 

6> The whole idea that the quiet apocalypse is something caused by the forest talkers, or the government is absurd.   WHY on earth would they continue doing it, randomly,  for weeks or months after it's accomplished it's goal?  The amount of power that would be required to generate a magnetic disturbance of that magnitude artificially, would be astronomical, and would certainly no longer be available after the first event. 

Edited September 19, 2017 by TROY

[Stormwolf1O1]

On 8/21/2017 at 1:51 AM, Samski said:

I would like to see Jerry on the good side, because th is a trapper's cabin is one of my favorite places in the whole game. I think he tried to help Will and motivated him to learn new things, so he could survive.

That's what J said when Will asked why he had him do all those things first. "First, I needed to be sure you'd make it."

[Stormwolf1O1]

On 8/22/2017 at 1:09 PM, ChillPlayer said:

Hmm bummer, I thought I remembered that all three remaining episodes will be released this year but according to the official FAQ that's wishfull memory

So maybe we get 2 out of 3 this year, depends on how much they will let the feedback provided so far influence the future episodes (like full audio dialogs which I hope for more than anything).

It would be very interesting if we got full-audio dialogue. By that, I assume you mean every speech interaction is animated, voice acted, and lip-synced. But then I would expect to see this feature in the first two episodes as well, as it would look out of place to just suddenly have that when you didn't before.

[Rusty_Old_F250]

@TROY Agreed, this whole thing is a lot simpler than people are making it out to be. I like your theory about Astrid knowing Will was trapped below, but got caught by the cons. 

I'm puzzled by the forest talkers too, there's no real reason for them to be active in mystery lake anymore. Unless there is/was illegal logging going on deeper into Great Bear, they're done. The Dam's been closed for decades and the rail line doesn't look like it's seen any activity since the quakes. 

Another thing, we have no way of knowing for sure Mathis is referring to Astrid (there's also the mysterious laptop girl we've seen in previous spoilers), or that he's telling the truth at all. 

Sam

[shade_grey]

On 8/20/2017 at 2:23 PM, SnowWalker said:

I found it strange that she took off and left Will to die at the cash anyway. Why does that always happen in game plane crashes? Whomever you were with in the plane just takes off by themselves and leaves you there without even checking on you, and now you must go out and find them.

You're making things look more complicated than they really are. Astrid didn't "just leave," she went to get help. There was no way she could get to Will and help him on her own. There was a 15 meter cliff, a death sentence for anyone stupid enough to test such a drop, especially when they just barely survived a plane crash.

She went to get someone who knows how to rig ropes, enough manpower to help lift Will out, maybe even someone to help her with emergency care (she just survived a plane crash, not to mention she's probably exhausted, her judgement could be compromised), ropes, and a spine board or rescue basket.

[MarrowStone]

I think astrid didnt get jumped by the cons until she got to milton, what would the cons be doing way out there in the wilderness? Unless maybe they chased the dead guy in the cave there from the road.

The forest talkers shouldnt be active due to what looks like most stuff being abandoned since the 80s. However, for some reason they are active again; one was attacked at the lake cabins and another found dead in the machine shed. 

From what i read in this post, people are calling the convict mathis... so we have Mathias the old man by the dam that not everyone seems to see in their story mode, and mathis the convict IN the dam? I dont really think the con has a name currently unless i missed something.

Also, Hinterland stated that there will be no voiced dialogue, its too much of a stretch for them realistically. They have little experience in 3d animation and paying the actors for the extra lines would cut into the actual budget of getting the story complete and well done.

Reading over this my post feels a lil negative, its not meant to be interpreted that way but i worded it the best i could.

[Rusty_Old_F250]

@MarrowStone Mathis is the con, Methuselah is the old man in front of the dam

Sam

[MarrowStone]

4 hours ago, Rusty_Old_F250 said:

@MarrowStone Mathis is the con, Methuselah is the old man in front of the dam

Sam

Ah, just realized i called methuselah mathias. Redwall must be on the brain haha. Where did we learn Mathis's name though? 

[TROY]

5 hours ago, MarrowStone said:

Ah, just realized i called methuselah mathias. Redwall must be on the brain haha. Where did we learn Mathis's name though? 

I was wondering the same thing! I don't recall hearing it in the game, but other folks were referring to him by it here, so I just went with it. 

[SnowWalker]

On 9/19/2017 at 2:41 PM, Fuarian said:

because plot, if that didn't happen then the plot wouldn't have been set in motion to go find Astrid. 

True

[SnowWalker]

On 9/19/2017 at 2:44 PM, Fuarian said:

Who said they were doing that or wanted to do that? 

I was just commenting to speculation. Putting a doubt on it.

[Hotzn]

How can you all not see the obvious? 'Wintermute' is a codename for the zombie apocalypse. And what's in the case? Come on! The virus! Astrid has been working in a top-secret US biologic weapons development facility, and there she stole the virus. Hence "no questions"! Jeremiah is the crazed mastermind behind it all. Like those Italian Mafia bosses, he is steering all his minions from his inconspicuous hut in the forest. The bear thing was all set up - Jeremiah could snap the neck of a bear with one hand. As soon as Will leaves on one of his errands, Jeremiah bursts out laughing in his hut, cackling things like, "Muahahahaaa... go get me some fish! Go get me some hides! Learn to sew! Learn to knit! Learn to wipe your ass with rabbits! Muahahaa! And there he goes. doing it, learning it, all with the case containing the end of the world in his stupid hands! Muaaaahahahaaaa! Oh, Will McKenzie! The day that case will finally be opened you will be banging your empty head against the wall! Muaaaaaaahahahahaaa..."

[Fuarian]

6 hours ago, Hotzn said:

How can you all not see the obvious? 'Wintermute' is a codename for the zombie apocalypse. And what's in the case? Come on! The virus! Astrid has been working in a top-secret US biologic weapons development facility, and there she stole the virus. Hence "no questions"! Jeremiah is the crazed mastermind behind it all. Like those Italian Mafia bosses, he is steering all his minions from his inconspicuous hut in the forest. The bear thing was all set up - Jeremiah could snap the neck of a bear with one hand. As soon as Will leaves on one of his errands, Jeremiah bursts out laughing in his hut, cackling things like, "Muahahahaaa... go get me some fish! Go get me some hides! Learn to sew! Learn to knit! Learn to wipe your ass with rabbits! Muahahaa! And there he goes. doing it, learning it, all with the case containing the end of the world in his stupid hands! Muaaaahahahaaaa! Oh, Will McKenzie! The day that case will finally be opened you will be banging your empty head against the wall! Muaaaaaaahahahahaaa..."

That should be an April fools joke for the Episode 4 release!

[dead frozen dude]

On 9/21/2017 at 9:18 AM, MarrowStone said:

Where did we learn Mathis's name though? 

I think it's shown during the Ep.2 credits sequence, when they list the voice actors. A character named Mathis comes last, so there...

[MarrowStone]

@dead frozen dude, thanks!

[Samski]

On 09/23/2017 at 4:00 PM, Hotzn said:

How can you all not see the obvious? 'Wintermute' is a codename for the zombie apocalypse. And what's in the case? Come on! The virus! Astrid has been working in a top-secret US biologic weapons development facility, and there she stole the virus. Hence "no questions"! Jeremiah is the crazed mastermind behind it all. Like those Italian Mafia bosses, he is steering all his minions from his inconspicuous hut in the forest. The bear thing was all set up - Jeremiah could snap the neck of a bear with one hand. As soon as Will leaves on one of his errands, Jeremiah bursts out laughing in his hut, cackling things like, "Muahahahaaa... go get me some fish! Go get me some hides! Learn to sew! Learn to knit! Learn to wipe your ass with rabbits! Muahahaa! And there he goes. doing it, learning it, all with the case containing the end of the world in his stupid hands! Muaaaahahahaaaa! Oh, Will McKenzie! The day that case will finally be opened you will be banging your empty head against the wall! Muaaaaaaahahahahaaa..."

That's actually good. I like the idea with the virus.

[Wintermute_TLD]

On ‎08‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 11:02 PM, Mpat120 said:

he is not really hurt

After a bear attack? He is not really hurt? k. (Sorry if this sounded rude, not trying to be! And I know this is a late reply)

[ManicManiac]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 2:37 AM, ManicManiac said:

I like to think of Jeremiah as an old special ops type who changed his name and disappeared into the seclusion of Great Bear Island... who was once involved in an "incident" on Shadow Moses Island in the Fox Archipelago.   

 

[Mroz4k]

I dont think you are going to get a reply out of someone on a two years old post  

With the release of Redux, some of these questions were answered, well, at least partly, and some encounters probably raised new questions, too. 
There is a lot to Will and Astrid that is mentioned in about 3 pages long backstory that was written for these characters way longer before the Story mode was out, I think might have been all the way down during the early days of Alpha... about how they were married, had a little son but the kid died due to some accident, that neither of them ever got over it, and they drifted apart. That Will was a pilot using his dad´s old plane and like his father, he has the tendency to alcohol abuse, that he has short temper but is actually overall quite kind. That Astrid is a doctor who worked on remote med station at the island where she met Will, working for some egghead at the Medical Centre, which she quit after they met, then went back to working there after the accident split them apart. 

I know a lot of people believe that the Case that Astrid had is somehow related to the Aurora event, just like Jeremiah. I think thats caused intentionally by game design, people like to clutter two separate things together as one if they happen in rapid succession. I think that Astrid was on a mission to deliver some medical supplies to the Perseverance Mills because a patient of hers, probably someone she cares about a lot, was seriously sick and there was no doctor around there to help. And that despite losing her case, she is trying to get there to help that person, knowing that if she doesnt get there in time to render some sort of doctor assistance, that person will die. As for why she abandoned Will? Climbing down the ravine, especially if she is hurt, would not neccesarily mean she could save Will, but could also result in her death. Or other scenario may have forced her, like wolves running away... although that would not explain why she left the cloth markers on the trees... unless its shredded clothes left behind uninentionally as she is running away from the wildlife. I have a feeling we will learn more of Astrid´s escape and the duration of what transpired to her during Episode 1 and 2 at the beggining or during some flashbacks in Episode 3. 

I think Jeremiah is an ex Military loner who just likes the solitude. Although he is mysterious, I am unsure if he is also straight related to the Aurora incident. I get the idea that he is a prepper of a kind, and as such he probably forsaw several Doomsday scenarios as plausible (I would know this because I am the same way). Atkinson or whatever was the name of the person Jeremiah was trying to contact is probably going to be his old army pal, or maybe a ranger, either way, someone similarly likeminded to Jeremiah, and I believe Wintermute is one of the code-words for a specific doomsday scenario they agreed upon, and will probably have some kind of contingency plan, not to "save the world" which is what I believe most people assume in their expectations, but to survive in this new kind of world, that has been battered by the conditions that render industry dead. Probably a Doomsday scenario that accounts for Solar flare EMF interference.

I know original posters couldnt deduce many of these things because of Predux conditions. Still, those would be my theories based on the info from first two episodes and the old background written for the characters. You dont need to waste time asking me to provide a link to the backstory for the characters - I wish I could, but I cant find it anymore. I read it somewhere long time ago in an article about the game, well over 4 years ago, and I couldnt find it anymore, its probably burried somewhere on the web. So you would have to take me for my word there, although note that it was a long ago since I read this Im very hazy on the details, so dont rely on my recollection of it too much. 

There are many mysteries to Great Bear and TLD universe in general, I might make a thread on Conspiracy theories in the future, when I put my ideas together. To ask specific questions and see what the community comes up with .

[Tri13]

They change that to make it where he doesn't have it hidden anymore and it becomes a big quest item in that chapter and I don't think we will be seeing him again but I guarantee you there will be reference to him later in the game. I definitely thing Wintermute refers to some way to stop the quiet apocalypse. And I don't think any of them were ecoterrorist. 

[Tri13]

On 9/23/2017 at 9:00 AM, Hotzn said:

How can you all not see the obvious? 'Wintermute' is a codename for the zombie apocalypse. And what's in the case? Come on! The virus! Astrid has been working in a top-secret US biologic weapons development facility, and there she stole the virus. Hence "no questions"! Jeremiah is the crazed mastermind behind it all. Like those Italian Mafia bosses, he is steering all his minions from his inconspicuous hut in the forest. The bear thing was all set up - Jeremiah could snap the neck of a bear with one hand. As soon as Will leaves on one of his errands, Jeremiah bursts out laughing in his hut, cackling things like, "Muahahahaaa... go get me some fish! Go get me some hides! Learn to sew! Learn to knit! Learn to wipe your ass with rabbits! Muahahaa! And there he goes. doing it, learning it, all with the case containing the end of the world in his stupid hands! Muaaaahahahaaaa! Oh, Will McKenzie! The day that case will finally be opened you will be banging your empty head against the wall! Muaaaaaaahahahahaaa..."

That is a hilarious theory but I don't think its a valid one.