Control Theory | The Deception of The Board 

Though The Board and Former are definitely really creepy entities, they have some of the most interesting interactions in the game. Like that time talking to Former and it just pauses before saying "No". Or The Board getting mad about Jesse taking the other power but then basically saying okay we'll let it slide this time. Whatever they are is probably beyond our comprehension but they seem kinda childish and petty most of the time.

Loved this theory! The whole thing about the board creating the cave paintings to deceive about it’s history is really creepy. I also loved the editing of the video, it adds a lot of atmosphere.

Another thing worth mentioning is that it's heavily hinted that the board can control astral spikes, like in the foundation, one of which damages Marshall's protective vest which gets her infected by the hiss. Another astral spike can be found in the records department in the panopticon, destroying bureau documents. I feel like the board is trying to erase a time when the bureau operated without them. Also there's a file in the foundation that outright says that the house's lay lines (like from the control points) all lead down to the nail. And the nail is sucking up energy from the house. I'm also really curious about the locks/keys you have to undo in the foundation. Which are stone slabs with the symbol of yggdrasil carved onto them, which is also used to symbolize the house. Once you destroy all 4 slabs, the former makes it's way into our plane. Makes me wonder if either the former or the board are good for the house. Also what about the fallen department in the foundation? The game says that the foundation doesn't shift like the house does, which makes me feel like the department was brought down intentionally by the board.

Drawing on the Yggdrasil imagery for the Oldest House, I think that would make the Board Nidhogg in this scenario. A serpent that gnaws on the roots of the world tree.

Controls lore is insane. I love how deep it goes and the world it builds if you read the collectables. Reminds me of Elder scrolls, Fallout, Assassins screed or Dishonored/Arcane games. Where the Devs built a whole universe that is well thought out and makes sense. Remedy definitely did a great job with Control.

Just a thought. The board is multiple entities, we know this because of the former. I wonder, while I think the words having multiple meanings, showing how the board views things, could it be possible that you could actually locate individual members of the board, and work out what each says? Like each time the words split is when multiple entities of the board have a disagreement about the exact nature of something (As an example, when it comes to the oldest house, one of them considers it a prision, while another considers it food)

This makes me rethink the role of the Hiss a lot. Sure, they wanted absolute dominance, but they didn't require worship, they simply conquered like Ghengis Khan and forced obedience. The Board are far more insidious and makes me wonder if they are the root of all the problems in the Remedy-verse. I also wonder about Polaris. Is she really her own entity that Jesse can trust implicitly, or just another insidious agent of the Board. Perhaps she is a Board member herself?

the board is Níðhöggr from norse mythology serpent who gnaws at a root of the world tree

The connections between the Surfboard and the Board, as well as the Former and the "smaller" nail are incredibly interesting/alarming/blasphemic. Really enjoyed your video!

Man, it all feels correct! Makes me feel like I’m spoiled for the next game. Now I wonder what the role of Hiss is in these events. Can it be a tool for Board or Former to make people worship them since it possesses their minds? Not sure...

Interesting. That is a cool theory. This reminds me of the Fears from The Magnus Archives. Basically, human's fear was nourishment for these entities/gods. By creating encounters with these Fears... humans are feed to them often by formerly human Avatars. The Fears are basically parasites but they lack the slight foresight of the Board. So, they are often just as vulnerable to their Avatars shims as their need to feed. I was fascinated by the World building in the The Magnus Archives but it is a tragedy podcast so I eventually decided it was better for my health to just let it go... but I think you would find it fascinating GU!

Dude it blew my mind when you said the Former was weak and that's why it needed constant worship through the refrigerator. Great video as always!

I think the Board is afraid that humans will become as powerful as them. They keep up the illusion that they are all knowing, but if the collective consciousness can feed them and give power to objects through a focal point, then humans can gain that power too. It's probably why Jesse is so strong, the whole bureau worships her as a savior. One day, Jesse will be as strong as a Board member.

Quality content, as usual. I wonder if the Board somehow drove Trench to his end, seeing as unlike Northmoor he was reticent to be bonded with OoPs and therefore represented a potential hindrance to their position. One might wonder why drive Trench to unleashing the Hiss, a similar entity that relies upon worship and a repeated mantra for power, but I think the Board might have thought itself powerful enough to oust the Hiss without issue. Of course that proved to be incorrect, especially as perhaps Hedron was also working its own angle, perhaps in cahoots with Ahti and the OH. So lots of things to explore in CONTROL 2 (should that ever be a thing...) I wonder if Former was bonded with the Fridge and the Flamingo far earlier than you thought. Especially as the Fridge probably made its home building collapse when contact was broken, leading to its connection being deepened by the traumatic focussed worship, and the Flamingo seemed to alter the weather...

when you talk to Ahti about 'the janitor's assistant' position he mentions that the House has a 'vermin problem.' at the time we assume he meant the Hiss, but what if he also meant the Board as well? on another topic: the board's demands for loyalty and Director Trench. He had a family once, and then 'he brought his work home' and his daughter sickened from a paranatural ailment. what if that was given to her deliberately by the Board to sever his link to anything outside of the Bureau and Them?

Due to English not being my native language, I've misunderstood some parts of the story. Your videos made it clear and made the playing process more interesting. Thank you for the resources you've spent making those videos. Remedy created a damn masterpiece with this one. If one takes its time to dive into the story and details, Control offers so much more of an experience, than just an action game with guns, telekinesis, and a superficial story of The Hiss. This is so much deeper; Parautilitarians, Objects of Power, and AWE/Altered Items. Paranatural Entities like Ahti, The Resonance Entities, and The Board. Thresholds and Other Dimensions. So much stuff is happening. We need Control 2 ASAP (but not in the form of Cyberpunk 2077 [Take your time, Remedy]), to satisfy this hunger for more action in this Universe.

Thought-provoking and interesting! Control, and several other games, interacts with and creatively incorporates many psychological concepts that gets the mental gears turning. I always appreciate the ways in which you elaborate on them in detail! Keep it up!

Heyyy, incredible theory!!! The oldest house it's always besn strange, especially the foundation. The oldest house has always been on earth while hidden from everyone and seems to be "closer" to the astral plane. I love to think it as the umbilical scar of the planet, tho it's mostly headcanon.

I think one of the most mysterious facets of Control thus far is humanity’s understanding of anomalous items BEFORE discovering the Oldest House and by extension, The Board. The FBC has gained knowledge from this contact for certain, but how directed has that knowledge been, and how useful was the knowledge they already had before making the Oldest House their HQ?

I really liked this theory. Kinda blows what i had in mind out of the water. My theory was the borad is either old directors or those "former" entities. (Or both) Emily did ask a great question in the beginning of the game. "How does the borad retire a director and how is that determined." I think emily was onto something when she brought it up, with the idea of the collective thought, the voices you hear over the speakers in the game could be the evidence of emilys collective thought idea and the borad having a subconscious mind or multiple minds. That the voices your hearing are individuals/old directors who ascended to the borad but clearly some of them became corrupted by the hiss. Showing more evidence the borad itself is corrupted by hiss but at the same time shows evidence maybe theres more than one mind channeling through the borad. I think the borad is literally connected to the oldest house in the sense it binds our reality. For example, the black pyramid represents our reality of which we know, but the red pyramid shows an alternative dimension or reality that conflicts with our dimension. (This is also slightly brought up in ash's files when maybe he brings up mabel.) That we dont want our black pyramid to turn upside down or red. But that's the problem and possibly why theres still a lockdown, the borad could be good and just trying to tell us its sick because a couple of individual's messed up the ritual. (I'll explain that theory in a minute) or the formers are parasites sucking on the borad but someone or an old director locked them up. Only to have some dumbass come along and unlock the parasites. I think that dumbass was ash. Jr. I think ash jr made friends with 13 parasites and let them out of whatever prison they were in. Hence why the borad all of the sudden wanted to get in touch with noorthmore and hand him a gun. The borad probably asked noorthmore to stop ash jr from breaking out parasites, maybe he was successful but at the cost of getting infected himself before ascending to the borad. Or Then the idea on the formers, I believe the formers were two directors who maybe cheated there way into becoming director. (Super theory on trench and why there was an investigation on him. I believe trench was scared of the tennsey report because it had evidence he fraudulent scammed his way into becoming director.) That trench and darling were under investigation because trench was having darling install things that helped keep that sercet hidden or the method hidden. Hence like the furnace or containment center. (But then I think of what mr. Bones says in threshold kids "everyone wants the chair meg!" Someone on the team who knew of trench's cheat were probably planning on using the same method to over throw him.) Darling seemed game for the whole thing until he got his report from unhill on the mold/parasites eggs) Darling probably made the connection between the formers and the borad, which made noorthmores crazy ranting not crazy anymore. Maybe northmoor broke a deal off with the borad to be reincarnated as dylan faden because he foresaw the lockdown but someone was hoping to shut him up prementantly. (Hence the threshold kids episode on special minds. Maybe northmoor had the power to take over the mind and bodies of individuals) long story short on this one, I think darling was the betrayer trench was talking about, but trench had already given darling to much borrowed power. But clearly darling messed up the method and ended up somewhere and unhill disappointed she wont be head of research. This is where the borad could be evil, and a liar, maybe they only want those that think like them or are on the same wavelength. That the borad found a way to bring altered items into our world to manipulate the the "smaller minds" into delivering them those special minds.

Just bought American Gods a week ago, and cool to see how these types of media tie together through parallel concepts. Hopefully we get a few glimpses at the Boards influences outside of the oldest house in Alan Wake 2. I’m sure the FBC will be somewhat involved, even if just passingly for the plot.

This is BOARD-ER line insanely exciting to see. Respect and keep up the epic work.

The editing was so good! I love this game, its characters, its atmosphere, its mysteries, its lore, and I love this channel, thank you so much for these videos! The Former is the most interesting character to me, I can't wait for Control 2

One thing i like about the board. In the beginning the board speaks in the terms on probably how they spoke to trench. And when they further progress into the game. The board changes their tone with jeese

As interesting and fantastical/supernatural as the FBC. The Board may as well be a higher entity, similar to the Former, the Other and even the Resonance. Higher beings who are either above, within or trapped on their side. Considering how the house is a 'prison' for all OOP, I guess some of these things may as well be in the Oldest House for a reason we may not be familiat with.

I think the key to learning more about The Board is learning more about The Oldest House. What exactly is The Oldest House? We know that it’s alive, Dr. Ash confirms this. It’s said that the House called in the FBC for help but the FBC did nothing. Meaning the house is incapable of defending itself. This brings up another question, why does the house need defending? Why did the board latch itself to the house to begin with? There’s various questions that pops up that we just don’t have the answer to. The house is some sort of entity, that much is clear but what purpose it serves is unknown. So are the boards true intentions. We know for sure that The House and Board are not one, they oppose each other. Meaning the house at the very least is neutral. It doesn’t desire chaos or worship. The board itself does and is a threat, along with the Hiss and yet The Board and The Hiss don’t seem to be connected/on the same side. It all goes back to what exactly is the house and what it’s purpose is.

Awesome video. I had such a good time playing this game but the lore that you highlight makes me want a sequel now.

Hey man, I just wanted to say that I appreciate you staying in touch with your community by replying to so many comments, even on your older videos!

New life gets breathed into me every time I see you upload a new control video

The presentation is absolutely amazing, fantastic work!

Amazing work as always! I hadn't thought of the Board and the Former being literally hungry and needing to sustain themselves through worship. It's the first time I see a really good theory on why the Former needed the fridge and other AIs. (I have a question though of how Ahti fits into all this, but I'll ask it on reddit because writing and reading youtube comments is pain)

Mannn. I moved on from control like 6 months ago. Found your videos again last night and was stoked to see you had more theory videos. I just lowered through the last 4 in no time

Egregors and Ritualistic Forms of Worship - absolutely. You are very cleaver for noticing these concepts in the game, for they were not mentioned anywhere. This is why Remedy writers and developers are so incredible. They place such deep and serious concepts into their work of art. It is a pleasure to analyze the world they created. Thank you!

Honestly out of all of your theories I feel like this is the most likely one ngl. It just makes sense

Another awesome video, I love the theories you got always thought provoking

Very nice production value ser! And you have rekindled my desire for Control 2. Control 2: Resistance 😁

I think we can also look to the Norse mythology, which Sam Lake is a big fan of. If the Oldest House is to be seen as Yggdrasil, The World Tree, connecting different realms, then the Board can be seen as Nidhogg, the serpent that gnaws at the root of the tree, as the tree keeps it from escaping into the world.

This has me so pumped for Control 2, I really hope they expand on these hints!

Excellent theory and kind of what I had come up with too. This game is so fascinating and it’s been many years since I’ve had this much fun.

Incredible video, the narrative and the editing are outstanding 🔻

Keep up with these great videos man!

Brilliant as always GU. Hope you had a nice new years!

This is brilliant man but also consider that the board allowed itself to be attacked by the hiss in order to get access to the Polaris power and not be dependent on Jessie. Also the use of the word Abalone by the Former both refers to a creature that finds a shell to live in but also a type of board game perhaps symbolic of the boards plan (also a pun on the word board!)

This is the single most compelling and complete explanation for the events in Control I have ever heard. Very good job with this. 😁

The Hiss broke a lot of the rules of the Control universe, exposing the Board as fallible and their control over the Director as imperfect and I think that they are currently in a state of panic over their inability to absolutely control Jesse. They have created a smart, independently immune lifeform with the powers that could make or break their connection with the mundane world if she so chooses. I suspect that Control 2 will be about Jesse's final ascent to the top of the pyramid and commanding the collective unconsciousness herself. The next step up the ziggurat being, of course Chair of the Board. Given her distrust of authority and her anger at what the Board did to Marshall, it is difficult to imagine what Jesse would do with those levers to influence minds memetically on that level.

I know this video is a little older, but I've been rewatching some playthroughs, and this lends some interesting context to Ahti, and what he wants out of things. Mayhaps Ahti is The Oldest House/Yggdrasil's Guardian/Immune System, and chose Jesse as his Assistant/Medication.

This was fantastic. Only thing I'm missing is why the Former helps you fight Marshall if he wanted the nail destroyed though.

I had very similar thoughts about the Board after replaying the Foundation dlc. I'm glad to see we had very similar ideas. I'm a fan of Neil Gaiman myself and I made too a similar connection. I would like to discuss a few things: Everything was okay during Northmoor years, he was basically the High Prophet of the Board, but Trench was a problem, he didn't trust them. Actually he didn't like mentioning them. Many information about the Board were censored and hidden. This must have made them angry. I too believe that Chester Bless is working for them, by creating new altered items and starting a cult about the Board (=feeding them). I believe he could be "the Son" mentioned by former. He could be some sort of avatar created by them, maybe by using the little nail. I would like to point out one more thing: during the events of the Foundation DLC, the Nail (and so the Board) were invested with Polaris resonance. Emily said that the Nail should have been immune to the Hiss, and yet Jesse had to purify it. Maybe they let the Hiss infect the Nail on purpose, in order to have some access to the Hedron/Polaris/Jesse resonance and become more powerful.

Control needs novels asap

You mentioned how the new behavior of the Artctic Queen provides constant worship for the Former, but I just realized you can say the same with the Pink Flamingo as well. Having the item constantly teleport people away from it means to cleanse it, Jesse has to ‘chase’ it, making it the sole focus of attention for the duration of the chase.

Maybe something/someone attracted The Board to the Oldest House using its "power" as bait and trap them, forcing them to feed on it instead of something else.

I generally agree with what you say here. It seems like whatever the Oldest House truly is doesn't like the Board. I'm curious as to whether or not it tolerates Former. In a future Control game I'd love to see The Board bringing back Northmoor in a challenge to, in their eyes, the rogue Jesse.

Amazing work man, like always. The only game that I'm hyped for, is control sequels (or even prequels, everything that gives me more control) And yeah it seems legit. By the appearance of the Former, our perspective on the board definitely changed. And now the oldest house seems more interesting than before. I wonder what is the role of Ahti here. Is he a servant of the board? I don't think so, based on your other video about him, I think he's greater than human beings and probably even greater than the board itself. I'm not that sure though. Still, I think the link between them would be interesting to examine. Thanks for the great work ;)

If the oldest house was Yggdrasil, then the board is definately Nidhogg. Maybe the house was grooming Ash to become a sort of Ratatoskr

I mean, nothing comes for free. if the board did their stuff out of the goodness of their heart I wouldn't trust them, but giving and taking is in my opinion perfectly fair. considering the superpowers, the oldest house, the Oops, the BlackRock, none of them belong to us and our realm but we still take them and use them, it's only fair to give something back(a form of collective psychic energy for the board). Director Northmoor said something in one of his letters to Ash "we are guests in their home, we should carry ourselves accordingly" and I kinda agree with that, I know we're humans and we always HAVE to be the aggressors, and dominant and take over cuz "we always know better than anyone", but this was kinda refreshing, even though Northmoor was brainwashed! clearly, the blind obedience of the last two directors was wrong, but the pure distrust and borderline hatred of Marshal towards the board were just as wrong. plus what's the alternative? cut them off, and go back to the pre-board era? it was self-serving for them for sure, but you can't deny how much the board has done for the bureau! you can't destroy the nail cuz it'll leak the astral world into our world. you can't starve the board of their worship, cuz they have the power to create and affect objects of power and if they work together they might even be able to cause altered world events, so they'll get their psychic energy feeding one way or another. but the way things are right now, at least they help and guide the bureau in their way. but the alternative is that when we cut them off they will become a force like the Hiss or the darkness or the mold that will invade our world to feed and we'll have to actively fight off, except we won't have all the superpowers, knowledge, tools, and objects of power that an astral plane ally(the board) provides. wouldn't it make sense to have them as a self-serving ally who provides power, than an outright enemy which we have no way of killing at all, especially when those are the only two options? (look at what the former has become, he's straight up supercharging altered items and killing people to be able to feed.) I mean in this world they are already constantly fighting off supernatural crises one after the other and barely saving the world(think about how absolute the hiss is and how miraculously lucky they were to be able to stop it, the same with the mold or darkness), why add another threat to the mix, especially since this one has easy access to our world from Astral plane. Keep your friends close and your mysterious astral plane entities closer!

Great stuff loving the content. It's great as I'm replaying it now as well!!!

I just finished the game, had a blast throughout the story. Really makes me feel like I'm playing through an SCP tv show, with all the sidemission and character interaction. Also this is a cool concept for a videogame analysis video, making it like a university course of talking more about it. Made me subscribe. Can you do on the topic of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and all the related human and machine evolution of humanity in the next semester, professor?

And then there’s the most important word Former spoke to Jesse, Panini.

Great video and interesting theory. Your channel is the top source for Control and remedy verse lore. The Board are definitely some shady dudes. In that regard we have to question, how and why they allowed so strong and uncontrollable person as Jesse to become the director? Were they so desperate under attack by the hiss? And second - are they aware of Polaris and their connection with Jesse? If they are then what are their plans for it? Are there clues in the game that they kinda have taken a sample of Polaris’ resonance during the Foundation DLC, as some people in the comments are saying? As for the parasite and leech part in regards to both the Oldest House and the Bureau - I totally agree, the clues are plenty, especially in the Foundation. And I always wondered: did the Board killed Trench? Do they have the power to terminate anyone appointed to position of Director? Or they can only manipulate by the promise of power..?

I was rewatching the gameplay of control, now free of this thought about the hiss being an evil, I can see truly that the hiss like Hedron/Polaris has his nature purposes and are not the bad after all, my theory is that, the hiss was trying to get rid the Board but for do that it was necessary eliminate everyone who believes in it (note that Dylan was the one who against the Bureau and was not affected totally changed like the others), who knows what they would do if the board join more and more objects of power and/or altered itens. To stop this menace the hiss finds a portal through one the slides projectors and do all this mess. Maybe control 2 after Alan wake 2 is this trip against the board and maybe Jess listening his brother to fight back them

Great theory.. and the alan wake soundtrack is awesome

Every new Control upload just makes my day! I cannot wait to get into this one. Thank you, friend, for your awesome work!

Now what's more intriguing is where this might lead in a future game. Are we going to wrench control away from the board and banish them from the house? Will that leave Jesse in a position of power or leave the bureau open to be attacked by even more unfathomable entities? Will getting rid of the board perhaps be a sacrifice where she severs the connection with the extraordinary and returns to the mundane? My personal prefference would be that Jesse gains a better understanding of the Board and their place in this crazy universe and make the relationship more symbiotic and less parasitic, maybe even settle the conflict between the Former and the Board. With the themes of the game there always seems to be a deeper truth behind everything, and the Board being shady and untrustworthy is a pretty surface level detail, so the deeper truth may be that they are not shady out of malice or indifference and a better relationship can be made.

This theory was amazing, the game gave some advice on the base game but shout it on the foundation by so many details and still i miss them. Before the foundation i totally believed on the board but since they were mad with jesse and still had to accept she gained both powers show they are not powerful as they made FBC believe, its like they tried to avoid conflict waiting for jesse to not do anything bad for them.

I have a feeling that in Control 2, the board for some reason, will take all of your powers away, unbound you of any O.oP.... But you will regain them when bounding Altered Items with help of the Former... For a progressive point of gameplay, pretty sure you have to relearn the abilities.

the idea hunger is making me think: is this an explanation for why Jesse can get so much more out of oops? because they're feeding on smt, it could be said they're feeding on the power the collective unconscious is giving the oops. but because Jesse is such a good parautilitarian, she can get a better ratio out of it? I'm probably wrong, but it's a thought

I think in the sequel jesse will turn completely against the board she doesn’t need them because she have polaris

Interesting theory GU.

am sort of surprised that game theory didnt touch this game as there could be so many theories

One thing I've been thinking ever since I saw the Nail is that the Black Pyramid looks like it could be the tip of the Nail. Maybe THAT'S the significance of the Black Pyramid; it's a physical part of the thing binding them to the Oldest House.

Great video as always. Just one criticism, for me at least that glitch sound effect is a pain in the ass for people using headphones, it didn't work for me. As for the rest, Great content, keep it up!!

i love that the Board occasionally interjects in small flashes through at least the early part of the video

I learned what an egregore was through Adventure Time and the blank eye girl episode. Finn mentions tulpas.

just a theory i mentioned in your other videos i think that the hiss is part of what the former/dr ash may get a help in disconnecting the bond of the board and the oldest house it might be that the hiss is one of those other dimensional entities that the oldest house plead for help

Great content once again. And I believe you just solved very important puzzle about chester bliss. He must have a ex agent/scientist because his understanding is too deep. The fact he already knows how to evade the Bureau kind a speaks volumes . I thought it was werid he left the power board like he knew it was dangerous and better to be left with fbc. Yeah you also made me realize how ahti must be working with them because he doesn't clash with them. Which means older house has something special beacuse ahti appearance only come when they started gaining more control of the fbc. The board and ahti need something that only humans can do because the oldest house only been responding to what humans do because even the hiss had to use Dylan who was still sound of mind and body when he acted to take over the board .

Excellent theory, great video. I totally am on the same page. Jesse/humans are the ants/food source for other entities/board/former and the Oldest House their buffet hall/theater stage.

love your videos theories 😘

I was always under impression that The Board means The Board of *Directors*. Past and possibly future as well. The activity of The Former, as well as its speech pattern, coincide with Zachariah Trench and the disjointed visions of him that bring Jesse vital information, as if communicating with her, while in reality monologuing about something entirely different. It would make sense for Trench to be expunged because he would have brought the Hiss resonance into the collective. This wouldn't make sense in a conventional timeline, but who's to say that time in the Astral Plane flows linearly or follows internal causality.

Please stop jumpscaring me with a picture of the board every minute

ahh the editing was top notch

The ending of this video was perfect 👏🏽

Tengo la idea de que Chester Bless, el grupo de "La bendicion" y The Board estan coludidos. Desde que lei el documento de la tabla de playa, pero gracias a este video se aumento mi certeza y por ultimo creo que esta alianza se a creado, con el proposito de que The Board logre llegar a mas subconsciente. Edit: En el siguiente juego de Control, Jesse se enfrentara a esta alianza. Excelente video.

Do you remember the Television Show "Warehouse 13?" The Bureau and the oldest house kinda feel like the Warehouse to me. The concept is very similar in regards to the OOP's

And yet the most pertinent mystery remains unsolved: 🥪Panini?! 🥪

No Gods, No Kings, Only Ahti. Perhaps Ahti's chosen role of Janitor / Caretaker / Arborist for the Oldest House / Yggdrasil Tree is to rid it of the parasite (The Board) feeding up on it -- like a literal tree infected by a parasite. Question regarding Alan Wake: Do you think Alan "reset" the area of Bright Falls at the end of Alan Wake? At the end of end of Alan Wake it shows the people of Bright Falls celebrating Deer Fest like everything is normal, which leads me to think the area was reset. My reasoning for this is what sane person (or town) would celebrate Deer Fest when dozens (maybe hundreds) of locals disappeared or died (including 5 Sheriff's Deputies) and many millions in property damage occurred during the events of Alan Wake (e.g. the town and surrounding areas of Bright Falls, the Anderson Farm, the Lover's Peak center, the local hydro electric dam, etc.). To say the lore of the RCU is confusing is an understatement, and according to the Alan Wake Remastered commentary, Sam Lake is loathe to outright clarify what's going on.

I suggest you find somewhere to hide/hidden from the Board. Or Id/servant come/chase you

If you look into the Annihilation book series, there are A LOT of similarities, and the game creators said they took inspiration from it. And if they continue down that path I think I have an idea who the board/one eyed monster thing is.

Good analysis, but I have a question. If the Board and Former are parasites on the House, their actions are likely weakening or harming the House. Since Ahti is the custodian who protects the House from harmful invaders and threats (like the Clog and those spore zombies), then why didn't He try to expel the Board / Former? Why did he leave them alone like the harmless humans from the Bureau? And why didn't he direct Jesse to do the same if they were such threats?

The board also says they expect obligatory weekly calls in the first Hotline call. That might also be a form of forced worship similar to the Fridge.

We did have a theory that hedron and hiss are resonance based entities. Is it possible that the board are also a type of life form that is not organic? seeing as they can walk around in the astral plane with no problem.

hmmm the ambiguous Heathen Dean part kinda interests me

the theory about the oldest house being a separate entity asking the bureau for help to remove the board is so good that if it turns out to be wrong im gonna be so disappointed

We are watching. We are one. We are you and you are us....

Idk whats worse, that the former is stealing from realms or the board lying to realms

You sound so sure about Control 2... do you think they are going to make it? Maybe after Alan Wake 2? I hope so

lol I just realized the nail and board fit together

11:03 The Former has the head of tapeworms so the theory that its a parasite is stronger for me. Btw thats a nice detail

Just a very tiny small detail that I don't seem to find in none of your other videos, is the Board Room right on the Executive Center where you talk to Pope during the game (Pardon me if I missed something). This "Board room" is very close to the main Black Pyramid on the main Control Point of the Executive center. And we have seen that the use of the term "Board" is never unintentional on this game. If you go to the very back of this room the wall is full of pictures of men, which at first I thought to be previous Directors, but Jesse is only the 4th Director of the Bureau right? The last frame in the uppermost part, is blank with a yellow cloth-ish thing covering it. Just like Jesse's picture is everywhere on the Bureau after she got the Service Weapon, even she has never posed for one, I was thinking the pictures of those old guys on the Board Room could be representing the men that are now the collective consciousness called The Board.... Blablabla they wanted to be gods and live forever and turned into a single thing, yay! Since the The Former got expelled out (either from the Board or from being the first Parasite on the Oldest House) his picture could be the one that was covered 🤔 Anyways... Great video and thanks for making this theory, that actually makes lots of sense and in a cronological way! I was felling kinda lost and confused when I was playing the Foundation DLC because of all those lies and contradictions everywhere. So this helps a lot!

The board are definitely gonna try and kill Emily next