The Owl and the Deer (Alan Wake 2)

 

This post contains Alan Wake 2 spoilers, don't say I didn't warn you!

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    Alan Wake and Saga Anderson, our two protagonists of Alan Wake 2, are very strongly connected to animals in their respective journeys. Saga is strongly connected to deer. She has a stuffed deer mounted on the wall inside her mind palace, as well as the ability to pet various other stuffed deer throughout the game. If you manage to pet all of the deer, Saga will stumble upon a real, live deer inside the lodge where her field office is. If you follow it into a previously locked room, you will find plenty of gear to make the final fight sequence a breeze.  They're a good omen for her, you could say. Alan is strongly connected to owls, with a stuffed one looming front and centre above him in his Writers Room. Within a poem scrawled on the walls of the Dark Place murder sites, “the owl” and “the deer” are both mentioned, pretty explicitly referring to Alan and Saga, and their roles within the story. These animals are representative of their traits as individuals, their journeys through the story, and their relationship to each other. 

  

Alan Wake

The Owl 

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    Alan Wake is represented throughout the game as an owl. Owls have many symbolic meanings, but for Alan we’re highlighting self-actualization, victory, intuitive development, and wisdom. These descriptors are practically a summary of Alan’s entire story to ascension from The Dark Place. In order to rise above his darkness (victory), he must first be aware of it. This is the core of Alan Wake’s character, which I explore more thoroughly in this previous post. This awareness (self-actualization, wisdom or intuitive development in the previously mentioned symbolic terms) is given to him through the bullet of light, which was shot through his forehead. Right between his eyes. 

    I mention the specific placement of the bullet in order to tie this back to the layout of Alan’s Writers Room. The room he has been trapped in for 13 years. In an establishing shot from the entrance, we see Alan’s desk head on. Two large, symmetrical, round windows sit on either side of the desk. Perched between them, is a stuffed owl. Wings wide open, soaring. I believe this room layout is an abstract, visual interpretation of the final Alan Wake 2 scene itself. The blue tinted windows—Alan’s eyes wide, enshrouded with darkness—and the soaring owl—the light from the bullet. The wide wings themselves representing Alan rising above the spiral, spreading his metaphorical wings and ascending. The placement of the bullet hole, as well as the owl, both represent an opening of the third eye—which is more of that intuitive development and wisdom previously mentioned. 

Saga Anderson

The Deer 

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    Saga Anderson is represented throughout the game as a deer. Deer represent many things, but for Saga we are focusing on the themes of spiritual authority, intuition and control. These traits represent Saga as a person, both individually and in relation to Alan. Saga is a powerhouse hero throughout Alan Wake 2, and it is all attributed to her unique spiritual authority. She is in tune with herself and her abilities—having authority over her own mind, and the Dark Presence. This theme is directly showcased in her incredibly short visit to The Dark Place. Saga is strong, mentally and spiritually. She does not give the Dark Presence the power it needs to latch onto her, because she is spiritually self-assured. She will not spiral. This, in turn, gives her control—something Alan was trying to desperately grasp at for 13 years. The key to besting The Dark Place. Intuition is also something especially important to Saga’s story, as she explicitly calls her (at the time, unknown) inherited supernatural ability to read/interrogate people her “intuition”. This "intuition" lives outside of her Mind Place, but thrives within. 

The interior of Saga’s Mind Place (her equivalent of Alan’s Writer’s Room) and the placement of the taxidermy deer is also very significant.  As Saga “profiles” victims, getting in touch with her supernatural intuition, the camera carefully moves closer towards Saga.  As she shuts her eyes to focus, the shadowed antlers of the stuffed deer are aligned on either side of her head. Antlers alone represent a multitude of themes, from power or strength, to ancestral connection in ranging cultures. Saga is a beacon of strength, resilience and power throughout the story, and her “profiling” is attuning to a supernatural power she inherited from her grandfather. This power originated from the water of Cauldron Lake, a known portal to The Dark Place, and connects her to the power of this alternate dimension as well. Not only is the act of profiling itself a supernatural feat, but her entire Mind Place is a manifestation of her inherited power. In addition to the stuffed deer, there are antlers on the mantle underneath it, and the wall above Saga’s Case Board. 

Deer are not only significant in relation to Saga, but the entirety of Bright Falls. The biggest event of the year in this small, Washington town, is Deerfest. An entire festival surrounding deer, complete with deer themed floats and everyone affixed with a deer mask. The only diner in town is called the “Oh, Deer” diner, on top of that. The abundance of deer-themed symbols around Bright Falls could be unrelated, a symbol of the town's role as prey in the story, or an unintentional, vibrant, and symbolic tribute to the traits of their future saviour, Saga Anderson. 

The Predator and the Prey?

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    Alan is both the predator and prey in this story, through the placement of the taxidermy owl. When Alan is closer to the beginning of his continued spiral, more in touch with his rational self, he is pictured sitting down at his desk. The owl looms over him, wings wide and seemingly ready to strike. He is self-defeating and made to feel insignificant as he traverses through The Dark Place, a small hamster in an infinitely spinning wheel. As Alan progresses through the downward spiral in the tape titled "Drowning", he climbs on top of his desk, arcing his arms upward and mimicking the owl behind him. This visual, which is only a few frames, inspired this entire post. It is so powerful to me. As Alan unknowingly accepts the Dark Presence, as he gives Scratch power, he is becoming the predator. The predator hunting the other victims of the story. The predator hunting himself as the spiral of self-destruction begins again. The owl is an extremely versatile symbolic tool for a very complicated man, representing both oppression and ascension when given the right context. 

Saga is the prey.  Another victim of the story. She is initially naive to the true nature of the events surrounding Bright Falls and The Dark Place, and that makes her vulnerable. Scared. Every single person affected by the changes in the story is prey, but Saga is the one the story is hellbent on destroying. Saga sees multiple dead deer throughout her side of events. Hell, the game itself begins with a zoom out of a deer corpse floating in Cauldron Lake. Most of these deer that Saga sees are viciously torn apart by wolves... by logical and appropriate predators. Saga also, coincidentally, faces darkness-ridden wolves as she traverses through the woods surrounding Bright Falls—an enemy unique to her side of the game experience. 

We see this predator and prey dynamic throughout the events entire story, but it can also be shown well through the nature of their personal darknesses. Alan’s darkness, Scratch, is volatile and borderline feral. He wants nothing but to gain control of the story, and he does that by spilling blood. Predators rely on killing other animals for sustenance. Saga’s darkness, just named “Other Saga”, is timid and insecure. She blames herself for the tragedies she is experiencing, never stepping outside herself. She is not willing to sacrifice others, only herself. She is ideal prey. Alan and Saga's weaknesses further this dynamic. 

So, we have an educated, violent predator in a position of unspeakable power, preying on a victim of their power. On the manuscript, this dynamic makes total sense…but the symbolic animals chosen are important here. An owl can injure a deer, but cannot dominate or kill one effectively. They are predator and prey by definition, but not by practice. Not a smart match for each other, anyways. This is the exact dynamic between Saga and Scratch/The Dark Presence as a whole. Saga is underestimated by Scratch as just another story victim, just another inconsequential and innocent life to be manipulated and snuffed out for his own benefit. We know for a fact that this could not be further from the case. Saga is enlightened, in every meaning of the word. She has power over the Dark Presence through her spiritual authority, a trait symbolically shared with a traditional prey animal. Her power originates from her weakness. She is still at a complete disadvantage regarding the story, but her inherited powers keep her safe from the ever-changing narrative. Her mental and spiritual strength are greater than the predator’s. Deer are larger than owls, and are not a logical victim biologically, but Scratch is not logical. He is quite literally the manifestation of Alan's irrationality and illogicality, a force fuelled only by bloodlust. The predatorial need to kill those weaker by paper definition, as he is confined to the story. An owl who hunts a deer is underestimating who they're picking a fight with, textbook definitions or assumptions be damned.