Is Bea's Dad in the Cult? A Night in the Woods Theory 

i never noticed bea's dad was missing. i guess i was too focused on mae's monologue. also, if bea's dad was missing, wouldn't she seem more distressed? i see your point about her not being able to say it, but the developers could have ambiguously hinted at it by making her worried, sad, or something. it would leave the question of whether she's upset about her dad or the events of the night before.

Honestly I don't think Bea's dad is part of the cult. From what we learn about what happened after his wife's death, it sounds like he can barely function, which is why Bea has to take over the Pick Axe, plus there is that message exchange where Bea tells Mae she's binging a show she likes. So that probably means she has the TV to herself. No proof, but what if someone from the cult tried to recruit him and that's why he's not seen? Like say Bea said something about the mine collapsing and he's worried about his friend?

I think that from a meta perspective because Mr. Santello was not touched with the update, that the developers have left it vague on purpose leaving it to the player's interpretation. Going with that idea just from a character standpoint, my interpretation is that he was not part of the cult because of his general sluggishness that was brought on by his depression. If Mr. Santello was part of the cult that would mean that he knew that Mae was a potential target for the cult, and I don't see him having dinner with Mae without giving anything away in his state. The biggest clue that he is not dead is that Bea's bond to her father would have made it hard for her to hide his death in the epilogue. I think that closing the shop on her own doesn't have to mean his death. We have heard that Mr. Santello only has a say in the business because Bea doesn't want to fight with him, not opening the shop for one day would only cause an argument if he found out. His absence from the epilogue scene could mean Bea's increasing role in leading the household, and her father retiring to bed both figuratively and literally. If Mr. Santello was a cultist Bea would have to face the death of her father and the guilt of participating in it. It would be a very tragic end to her story, and I don't think she deserves that kind of ending. I only recently completed this game but it had a deep impact on me. Thank you for your great videos.

I think there's something satisfyingly ironic about the idea that he might be a cult member. He's barely functional, he pretty much lets Bea handle all the work at the store, so he's not really a productive community member, and he's drinking himself to an early grave. If it wasn't for the fact that he legally owns the store, he would be on the cult's list of potential victims. But the mere fact that he's legally speaking a business owner makes him a potential member. Him being a cult member thematically fits into the game really well in my opinion. It emphasizes the cult's hypocrisy again.

When there are mysteries like this i try to pick the more positive option, but i love that the game has these ambiguous moments. Fun fact if you get the chicken and biscuits (without shakey bakey) he'll say its like his mama made while sleeping. So i always took that he's from the southeast sonce thats a bit of a staple dish here

i think this is one of your best theories, i always thought Mr Santello was a weird guy who seemed to have alot of connections

I absolutely think her dad is in the cult, and that it’s still sinking in for Bea. That she’s hoping that she’s wrong, or just hasn’t checked the bedroom and seen him not there, or something like that. It just seemed TOO blatantly obvious that he wasn’t there. (However, If you only do Gregg’s hangouts, you never see Bea’s house or hear much of her backstory, so maybe they didn’t want to introduce a character at the end you’ve never met and have barely thought about) Mr Santello reminds me of my own dad, in a way. The kind of guy that USED to contribute, but doesn’t really anymore even though he could, and that makes his bias against people who aren’t meeting his “standards” even worse, because he’s projecting all of the stuff he hates about himself onto them. In my head-canon, he’s the guy who would keep going to the cult meetings to stay a part of everything, because he feels like if he hadn’t already been in it from the beginning, that he’s (right now) exactly the type that the cult would take - broken and “useless” while other people cover his ass and carry him. It’s why he lashes out at Bea, too - because in his head, fogged with the depression that he won’t acknowledge or handle, he’s already down in that pit, and has to “remind” everybody else that he’s NOT. Also - Maybe Roy Burge was MRS Santello’s dad? If Bea’s dad married into the family, and her mom has no other siblings or none that wanted the shop, it would make a lot of sense for it to be passed along to the two of them - a storefront in town is a big deal in a place like Possum Springs, having and running a business is like being an MVP in the eyes of the town council (and cult!).

Awesome video as always. Though “if it was a bathroom, it would be evidence for him having a connection with the cult” made me laugh just because it would be very funny out of context

"Its hard to say if he would be affected" .. he runs a hardware store. He would literally be a supplier, if not THE supplier of parts, if they need stuff.

Feeling very sentimental, I hope this reaches the video author. As I've commented before, this game was impactful to my wandering into mid-twenties, long long after its release. Two years later, I'm still listening to the music and avidly following videos, namely these (because they're the best). I was raised in an evangelical cult. Because of this, my take on cult theorising for NITW has always vacillated between interest in the puzzle and contented ignorance. I tend toward doubt in any specifics because I know first hand how the profile of the ideal cult inductee is not one-size-fits-all. Even very physically/mentally healthy people down on their luck can be seduced by the promise of an all-explaining conspiracy and the promise of community. Even very physically/mentally troubled people can resist the urge and forge their own safe havens without hateful delusions. I think the creators of NITW muddied the waters partly to maintain interest and partly to acknowledge that NO ONE is immune to propaganda, but it's nearly always those in positions of power/authority who make and disseminate hate. Still, I value the search--I just am also content with my answer: it could be anyone! (other than those explicitly ruled out by the observed plot)

Poor Bea, her mom passed away and her dad's an effing cultist

Personally, I think that if Bea's dad was one of the cult members down in the mines when the gang was down there, I kind of doubt he would've just stayed quiet through the whole conversation (he would be arguing for Bea at least joining) and Bea would have definitely recognized his voice

Hey, great video as always. As much as I love Night in the Woods, the dream sequences still confuse me. I would love to hear some of your thoughts on them!

Great video as always while iv kind of been a little suspicious on if Mr santello was a cult member you definitely gave some good evidence on why he isn’t that I can agree with so i guess he isn’t after all that still won’t stop people making him though can’t wait to see who else you think is in the cult and keep up the great work as always 😁

i know you made this video like a year ago, but i did want to add this since i didn’t see many, if any, people talking about it, but; i think (in beas ending) mae and her talk about going off on a long drive around, just a road trip to get away from things. and as much as we’ve seen bea grow throughout her story, i also don’t think she’d just up and abandon her dad since he needs help with a lot of things. just the fact that bea seems a lot more willing (rather than her third hangout with mae where she disputed going away for a longer period of time) kind of makes me feel like she has.. less to take care of at home now. a subtle hint that something is wrong. why she doesn’t tell mae, i don’t know. she’s always been really reserved and maybe just doesn’t want to saddle mae and the others with more shit than they’ve already gone though, yknow? as well as another person says, if he did go missing her brain might still be kind of putting it all together or trying to deal with the shock/grieving in her own way first.

great video, i choose to believe he is not part of the cult because i feel like bea has gone through enough already and this feels too sad for me lol

Awesome video, I love hearing your thoughts and theories about the game! Sadly I can't wait the premiers cuz of school.

I don't remember a crocodile in the cult. Wouldn't has snout stick out of his hood?

Omg her dad wasn’t in the house how did I not catch that

Do you believe bruce is dead? P.S I'm so glad people are still talking about my favorite game.

I feel like it's ambiguous on purpose, of course. But I lean slightly towards thinking maybe he could have been in the cults. He may not be as old as he seems because of the lethargy, but if the cult is always meeting after dark, Bea has to get to bed at normal hours, possibly abnormally early for someone her age. She seems to go to a lot of out of town parties to escape with Jackie. It wouldn't be hard for him to just leave during her normal work hours, because he would always know where she was, and it seems like band practice is a fairly regular thing too. He could be sleeping during daytime hours and active at night. People get into religions after a huge loss, so it would thematically make some sense. He ALSO doesn't have to be a reliable cult member, since it seems like there are multiple mistakes and Eide's rebellion with going after Mae in revenge. They aren't necessarily a functional, well organized cult as far as I can see. Their tasks are fairly simple, find miscreants, toss them in a hole and keep people out of the mines. Eide seems to screw up by being TOO cultish and energetic. Normal, bland everyday people pull off awful things, even if they are barely functional all the time. I would assume he wasn't a mastermind in the cult. Maybe he was just 'muscle' or support, and a LOT people seem pretty okay with helping "solve" a problem they see as plaguing their home, as long as they aren't getting blood on their own hands, literally. The Council is definitely not terribly concerned about Bruce, the homeless guy's safety, they only care about their own space, kids and priorities. The cult might just want a few folks who just go along with the majority vote. Those lesser members just want to participate and feel like part of something big, strong and effective. If we look at the way MAGA people act, they want to be one of the cool kids who can pick on anyone their leader doesn't like. They don't care as long as it isn't them, or the people they value. I know a lot of my family voted Trump because they act like voting not Republican is going to result in their death or something. They have this Zombie inertia of "but this is the way that has always been correct and I can't admit I was ever wrong" that changing course would cause them to have some kind of breakdown. I think some might just not vote at all, rather than vote differently than they would otherwise. Maybe Bea's dad is one of those folks. It could feel like more effort to fight against the draw of the cult and that Make Possum Springs Great Again movement, than it would be to just give in and participate half heartedly. Trump made a whole lot of show & noise about how he was going to bring back Big Coal Mining and he didn't do jack for all those Rust Belt folks who did vote for him. They may have even got more screwed than if they had gone for Hilary, but who knows... Perhaps Bea's dad was like one of those folks, wanting change, but the change needed to fix his problems would be divine intervention. People didn't seem to miss Casey immediately. People in small towns seem more likely to spend a night or two away from home, or with doors unlocked because of the nature of small towns, so perhaps it's not abnormal for him to close down a bar if he does drink? So if he was gone, it may not be seen as weird by anyone except the main characters. TW/CW: School shooters and terrorists are NOT usually any kind of movie villain geniuses. They aren't suspected until they pull off some terrible, unthinkable plan. The reason police don't suspect them may be related to their identity: often male and nondescript, usually white and all they need to do is blend in long enough to pull off their plot, or be mobile and not act too suspicious to get away. It also relates to the fact that security and policework is actually, usually boring as heck. People in general do NOT expect a bank robbery or carjacking because most of the time things work as they are supposed to, and that doesn't happen. In spite of what the news wants us to buy: Crime is not rampant everywhere all the time, AND rural areas are not exempt from violent crime the way urban areas are presented in the media. Just as many people die of domestic violence in the rural areas as do in cities, proportionately. End of TW/CW talk: Bea may not be talking about her dad missing because of many reasons: -shell-shock. They've all been through a lot in this one story, and Bea is still likely grieving her mom and her life. In some ways, she lost her Dad, a good deal of him, anyways, when Mom died. -she's ashamed, doesn't want sympathy or association with the cult that killed Casey. People aren't rational about coping with things their loved ones might have had a hand in. -she's in denial -maybe her Dad has gone away before without telling her. People do weird, irrational things after a loss, maybe he goes on binges. -she might be a little relieved to not have to deal with him temporarily. My friends have had to be caretakers for their parents and it really can suck a lot out of you to have to fight with someone who used to protect and guide you. Especially when they are nasty and have a temper. -she's much more private than Gregg, but maybe not as much as Angus. Maybe she's wanting to be sure he's really missing before she does anything drastic. She's such a level and low energy person that it may take her longer to move on yet another, huge change in her life! Personally I think it's possible. Not sure if it's likely, but it definitely seems strange and his absence is pretty obvious once you realize he's not there. It could actually be a positive difference in Bea's life, since she'd end up free to choose another way to live, possibly. She could take her leave of the Pickaxe and go to a CR or try for a scholarship. Even less ambitious, getting the heck out of town when Gregg and Angus leave would still be a new path for her. I don't want her to be orphaned, but I also don't want her to be stuck, so either way has a lot of sadness. anyways. lots of rambling. I'm not sure. It would be cool to hear more theories and I'll probably head down another rabbithole xDD

I would like to believe he is in fact a cult member

I like this theory, but he’s probably just in bed or in the bathroom or something lol.

Honestly, it makes sense for him to be in the cult think about it. The man loses his house his wife and his daughter can’t go to college, so what does he do? He just sits at home all day supposedly running things from home but we only know that bea does most of the work. Why not just join the cult and reap the benefits from it he’s got nothing else left to lose but a daughter.

I think he's in the cult. Iirc there's no other scene of the couch without him on it. That makes the one scene where is isn't there significant.

hes lazy as hell and the cult is all about punishing """lazy""" people so no way imo