After Episode 1 of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, I discussed several theories.

Now it’s time to do the same in the aftermath of Episode 2, “Brave New World.”

Spoiler warning: this post will include spoilers for Before the Storm Episode 2. If you don’t want events in Episode 2 spoiled for you, turn back now.

Last time, one of my biggest concerns was about whether or not Rachel Amber could actually be trusted. I’d hoped the next episode would help me decide, but instead, it only left me more conflicted.

Is Rachel Manipulative?

At the start of Episode 1, I thought my concerns were resolved. When Rachel lied to cover for Chloe in the principal’s office, my feelings toward her significantly improved. She was a nice person after all and she didn’t want her new friend to get in trouble!

I felt so kindly toward Rachel, I took the blame after all. In the next scene, however, Eliot asked if Rachel got off completely free and seemed skeptical about Chloe’s claim that Rachel tried to cover for her. That left me with the unsettling feeling that Rachel had manipulated me, the player, into protecting her.

The later dream sequence is the greatest source for my continued mistrust of Rachel.

In the nightmare (which includes another raven, a recurring motif in Before the Storm), Chloe speaks with her father, William. He tells her that darkness blinds with absence and loss, but fire blinds with beauty.

After how the first episode ended, it’s hard not to associate Rachel Amber with fire. Is the dream trying to warn Chloe that Rachel’s beauty and charm might blind her to her true nature? If it was an isolated line, it might be dismissed, but the rest of William’s comments make it clear he’s trying to warn Chloe about the “fire.”

The final scene that left me uncertain about Rachel was The Tempest. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the scene. I’m a Shakespeare fan to start with, and when Rachel went off-script, that was a great moment!

Except she went off-script to say that she (Prospero) would deny Chloe (Ariel) her liberty. After the ensuing discussion, she vows to eventually make her so happy, she won’t care about liberty.

Now, I can definitely see how this scene has been interpreted as romantic or heartwarming. If I had no doubts about Rachel, I probably wouldn’t have any doubts about this scene. But together with her earlier manipulative behavior and Dream William’s warnings, this scene came across as slightly obsessive to me… and I would have liked a line about how I could have liberty if I decided I wanted it after all, thank you.

What About Eliot?

Moving on from Rachel, I’d also like to briefly discuss Eliot. Eliot has generally come across as Chloe’s equivalent of Warren, a good friend with unrequited romantic feelings.

Some people thought Warren was a little creepy in the original game, but while I didn’t pick up on that, it’s definitely a bit creepy that Eliot’s search history includes multiple searches about Chloe.

Not only that, but if you talk to Samuel about Eliot, he says he can see what most people want to keep hidden… but not Eliot. With Eliot, Samuel can only see what he wants to be seen.

A developer also commented in a discussion of Eliot’s similarities to Warren saying it would be very interesting to revisit the topic after the end of the game.

One way or another, it seems there’s more to Eliot than meets the eye.

Conclusion

Damon and possibly Sera seem to be on track as Before the Storm’s major antagonists, but can we trust Rachel and Eliot? What do you think? Are there any other suspicions and theories you have about characters in Before the Storm?