What Happened to Ted Faro? The disturbing story in Horizon Forbidden West 

I was kinda bummed that we didn’t get to see Ted’s mutated form at first, but I appreciate that they left it at “TRUST us, you DON’T wanna know”

I wondered why Ted’s bunker looked like an Egyptian palace, but then I got it. Pharaoh and Faro are pronounced the same and the quest is called Faro’s tomb

He tried to gain immortality through a mutation and become a god but ended up becoming a stupid beast, a fitting end for a egotistical man with a god complex.

The way Ted said "My advice, my guidance." Had a threatening tone to it, like the final throes of madness before his mutations drove him fully insane.

Honestly, it’s a fitting end. Because it shows us just how much of a monster and how hideous he was on the inside.

I like to imagine Ted’s screeches and roars as follows: “At last! The children have come to save me! You look exactly like me! I know I don’t look the best, but I am here to lead you-“ *Ceo runs away * “Oh, it appears you are getting your friends, I’ll wait.” *the guard comes in * “Greetings! I am Ted Fa-“ “Hey, what’s the torch for-” “HEY, NO” “NOOOOOOOOOOOO” I am aware that by this point in time Faro was basically brain dead and probably forgot the reason he was still alive, but it’s still a funny thought

Bohai's reaction to Alva lying about what happened to the Ceo will never not be funny to me. "He died as a hero? That scumbag? Bullshit!" Like I can't even with this guy.

That Bunker could have housed so many people. Instead he put up a statue of himself.

It's a befitting end imo He destroyed the world with his faro robot and lived as a literal monster for a thousand years to supposedly "greet Liz's children" and got cremated by the very same children he wanted to see

Since the reveal in the first game, about his sins regarding Zero Dawn and Apollo, Faro always stuck with me as one of the most sinister and twisted characters in gaming history. But now... he went beyond all boundaries I would expect. Now its official. As far as I'm concerned, Ted Faro is the single most vile and sick personality I ever saw in a videogame. Seeing all this left me legitimately frightened, horrified, imagining what kind of eldritch horror this man has become, both in body and mind.

Faro's fate becomes even more hilarious once you realize that his doctor most definitely tricked him about going into the reactor. Basically, a final FU before committing suicide, hahaha. Rest in peace, Dr. Somptow, you absolute hero.

This is just perfect poetic justice. Faro's final words were about how he didn't want to be alone and wanted to meet Lis's children... and then he became a mutated flesh monster trapped in his own reactor for 1000 years! All alone. And the moment the children of the future finally found him? They burned him alive for the hideous monster he had always been.

In my genuine opinion, the ENTIRE Thebes questline is by far the creepiest, and most disturbing part of both games. I can barely sit through this quest without being feeling fucking disturbed and creeped out.

Ted would've loved this - 1000 yeass later there still are people believing his BS. THAT - in my opinion - was the reason he delted Apollo. Not to keep people frm "the desiease", but to keep them from knowing, it was him that destroyed humanity. His ego couldn't stomach that he'd be even more hated than Stalin, Mao and Hitler.

It's ironic that he tried to live forever but eventually became just as twisted and evil as he was on the outside as he was on the inside. This is my favorite part of the game and this questline resonates with me. While everyone was committing suicide he was trying to live forever so he can become a god that is absolutely sick. The fact he showed no empathy for their suicide just shows he has no conscience. Also ironic that he tried to keep the people ignorant of his atrocities with the Faro Plague by deleting Apollo but ended up as a mere monster and nothing more than an animal and the people in the new world were smarter and better than him. I am actually glad they didn't show Ted Faro and instead left it to our imaginations. I imagine he looks similar to the Mind Flayer from Season 3 of Stranger Things.

The way Faro mutated, the structure of how he grew and literally bound himself to the reactor, was not just like a tumor. In many aspects it looks like a fungus left unchecked, just growing and spreading, looking to reach even more energy to feed off of. So just think of it like a very large fungus spreading it's many arms towards all directions of the giant jar it is contained in, but said fungus is made of flesh, with what was originally a human body somewhere in there. This thing would probably not even be a threat to anyone anymore if you just keep your distance as all it's sensory organs should be well overgrown by tumors. What a pitiful existence, but oh so fitting for "the man that saved the world". Ted Faro died, probably unable to see, to move, to hear and all that was left was the ability to shout, be it as a reflex reacting to the first fresh sensory inputs in most likely hundreds of years or be it a cry to finally end it's suffering, we may never know.

Love that Bohai didn't believe fora second that the Ceo sacrificed himself for anything 😂😂😂 Aloy knew him fora couple of hours at most and she could tell he was a tool

Pay close attention to @16:43. There Alloy actually sees a hologram of what he became. Its right there. And OMG... He actually attached himself to the power reacter and survived in that state for 1000 years by feeding off of the energy of the reactor. Some pretty narly twisted scifi horror stuff right there.

The irony is that Faro didn't kill himself all these centuries but continued to live in this form which probably gave him great suffering. Still a coward not willing to face death.

I was initially expecting a full reveal followed by a battle with a mutated Faro but was ultimately relieved they kept the mystery unseen. We were given enough information to create our own monstrosity so a full reveal could have seriously undermined expectations and our own twisted visions. Good call Guerilla!

This was where the facial animation truly shines in the game. When Aloy is hearing Ted's final note and sees what he has done to himself, you can see the disgust and repulsion in her face.

Honestly this is the first time I've ever been this shook I needed a 10 min break cuz this was the single most horrifying thing I've witnessed. Whats worse is all we have to work with in terms of Ted's mutation is nothing more than a red outline and a few disgusting noises really gives people a chance to imagine. And I hate it

At first I thought Ceo was a genetic clone of Faro due to his unhealthy obsession with him and his ego maniac traits.. lol. It’s interesting because a lot of fans theorized Ted Faro would be back somehow and face Aloy, and Aloy being completely repulsed by him. In a way this was somewhat similar. Ceo wearing Teds uniform and making Aloy wear Elisabets. The image of them standing next to each other as they descended was so eerie and haunting. Like a ghost of 2 colleagues meeting again under bad circumstances. Now just imagine if Ceo really was a clone of Teds.. both of them reborn descending the staircase wearing their old uniforms. So disturbing.

It would have been good if Aloy had entered that room. So, Ted Faro (or what little was left of him) would have seen his "old friend" for the last time.

I loved this entire mission I actually was thinking "Ted's not alive is he?" But I was thinking if he was alive there would be a lot different so I was like no he must be dead but then it was revealed that he was just severely mutated having lost all rational thought and that blew my mind What I love about these games is every twist and secret is difficult to figure out but when it is revealed you get the feeling of "of course that would happen" like Ted Faro being alive after trying to make himself immortal so he could rule the new earth basically but it of course blows up in his face after that twist I was like of course Ted would do that it's his entire character summed up basically Horizan Zero Dawn and Forbidden West is just awesome

Fitting. He tried to play god and become immortal, even while the rest of the world died because of him. But instead, he ended up becoming the monster that we knew him to be, inside and out.

The creepiness and madness of Faro's tomb is strongly felt on every room and file Aloy explores.

This is one of my favorite part of the game. While we delve deeper in the place - I felt uneasy and nervous. The tension and mystery on what happened to Ted. What he did to the others.

What I found particularly interesting is the underlying message. The Zeniths and Ted Faro, rich, arrogant, egotistical megalomaniacs with an evident god complex, living completely different lives on different planets, both went for the "I wanna be immortal" route. Ted Faro indirectly destroyed the world just because he got there first, the Zeniths would have probably got there eventually by creating Nemesis on Earth. I think it's fitting though, different people, different lives, same distorted desires, same mistakes dictated by their own egos over and over again.

I find it absolutely hilarious that the devs decided to give us the 'joke armor' during one of the most disturbing reveals in the franchise. On another note Ted's demise is an all too frightening metaphor for how every narcissist dies. Alone, afraid, and festering in self pity and the sins they've let pile into an unforgivable mess. And they still think they're the hero. Only Ted's is unimaginably worse. And he deserved every second being in perpetual pain like that. I mean even if we did get to see the monster, the true horror is the idea of suffering the way he did.

Can’t wait for the fanart that comes with the “mutated Faro” concept!

One thing that I like about this level is how it starts out as bright and beautiful on the surface in the post-apocalyptic San Fransisco but once you enter Thebes it gets darker and darker as you go lower into the base until find the room where Ted is which is the darkest room in the place. And then it starts to get brighter... because of the Magma, the Magma is why it's getting Brighter OH GOD IT'S HOT!!!

Imagine Aloy did go through the door. After 1000 years of waiting to see "Liz's children", and it's Sobeck that appears. Ted would be like "Liz? How? WTF are you doing here?!" 😅😆😂

I still say the best fate for Ted would be to be locked in a room. As he faces the door and tries to figure out how he's gonna get out, from behind him here hears: "Ted Faro. I am Sylens. I have . . . many questions."

Faro's Fate is kind of a microcosm of Horizon's warnings that we have to take responsibility for our technology. The Faro Plague was not a malicious force, but an out control tool of human huberous simply executing its faulty instructions. Faro's fate, is like that of the narrator of I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream, but where the narrator suffers their fate at the hands of a malicious machine god, Faro did it to himself. And to contrast, GAIA worked because she was a creation of desperation, but also immense humility for the power that was being harnessed.

The shear hypocrisy of Ted Faro. He had no problem deleting APOLLO, killing the Alphas and most of the people in Thebes, and yet he had the gall to claim he would never had killed young Kanya. And then he thought he could live long enough to guide the Zero Dawn progeny in his way, completely ignorant of his past. I'd say his unfortunately hideous form was karma catching up to him. Also, I'm glad Guerrilla decided against showing him up close, otherwise I'd have nightmares.

I really liked the creepiness of this quest, it was so refreshing. I wish I could have killed Ceo with my own hands instead of the statue head but it's a fitting death either way. While I would've like a reveal, my mind conjured something terrible and I think that's what's great about it.

With how things were going, I thought we were going to get a Really unique boss fight. But, somethings are better left unseen.

Ted’s behavior post zero day really grossed me out. Before Hearing and reading the audio logs I had assumed he would take whatever family he had (don’t remember if he even had any) into the bu key with him but instead he chose to surround himself with a singer and a dozen models to make his own harem, and even had the audacity to install an “off switch” into everyone whenever he got bored of their company. What makes it even worse is that he wanted immortality because he saw himself as a god that would be worshipped and needed by future humans.

I went from "No way he lived this long. There's just no way he didnt-" to "Oh my goodness gracious he STILL ALIVE??!!"

I really felt for Kanya in those audio logs. When going through Ted's Bunker you really got that feeling helplessness and isolation. Not to mention the music is incredibly eerie. When i saw the statues of him throughout the tomb i thought to myself "This man thinks himself to be a god. He literally worships himself." What's more when you hear about how Ted disposed of those who got too close to truth, those who were in particular close to Kanya in the Bunker, you realize the situation is a lot more sinister still because you find out Ted is literally watching everyone. Stalking them. Terrifying. No one was safe from this man.

I was honestly not expecting something this messed up on Forbbiden West, this is resident evil type of messed up.

This was creepy, but I really wanted Ted to be killed by one of the machines from the swarm, finding him in the bunker and turning him into fuel with the Biomatter Conversion... That would have been fitting!!!

Those sounds of a dying dog or a that weasel machine (the burrower) when it dies. I honestly think faro probably wanted to die. Because after he was alone he probably didnt know how to stop the mutations. As the guy that tried to help mentioned it as be a game of "Wack-a-Mole"

I'd like to think the first roars were actually desperate and terrified screams when he heard a voice, the first voice after 900 years: Elizabet's.

I just finished that quest today. It was mentally fucked up. But it fit. He was already insane on the inside. Now, he lost everything else that made him human. A weird mass of flesh, deprived of any higher brain functions, deprived of emotions, empathy, everything. That shows where his egoism, his narcissism and his insanity took him. He's now truly what he always was on the inside. A monster.

A fitting demise. Just unfortunate that we, the players, couldn’t avenge the Old Ones by defeating Faro ourselves. Unless, through some twisted chain of events, he returns in Horizon 3.

19:21 They always say never meet your hero face to face

This mission was unnerving AF

I'm curious about how he stayed alive if he was in that room for so long. All living things need fuel for their bodily processes, but I assume his cells were replicating so much that they would provide themselves with...fuel. So he was metabolising his own mutations to probably stay alive.

I low key thought we were gonna have a boss fight with mutated Ted during the cutscene. 😅😅 aloy kept looking back through that door and I was like "Oh....no....hell no" 🤣🤣

Imagine if TED some way, somehow, had still just a bit of sanity left. i know it says he’s practically got the brain of an animal now but just Imagine Aloy walking in and Ted realizing deep inside him that Elizabeth was still alive and in her prime….and all you hear is the screaming of a freak of nature finally loosing his sanity as Aloy tells him he failed and that everyone remembers what he did and tried to do.

Getting to the end of this mission and seeing that hologram, I was expecting an encounter with some hideous mutation on par with the Rat King from The Last of Us Part 2. I'm almost glad we didn't though because it's more disturbing to not see what Faro became and to leave it up to the imagination.

I did want to see him, kinda expected to have a boss battle against Thing Faro. Or at least take a look at him. Still loving the game!

I liked how they made the Ceo character. His condecending tone is perfect! I HATED that guy so much during this mission. Bravo Guerilla! BRAVO!

I just finished this moment and HO-LY SHI-ET!!!!!! I recently finished zero dawn and got most of what happened with dear old teddy faro: he's the one who destroyed the world not once, but TWICE! First was when he caused the glitch to appear and willfully ignore it until Elisabet found out about it (all while trying to blame it all on anyone else), which of course led to the plague named after him (huh, I just suddenly realized how fitting it is to have his name tied to what started everything) and then he of course hides away in his own private bunker, and second when he destroys Apollo AND kills the Alphas, all to soothe his precious ego and to make him feel good about causing the deaths of trillions. And now, I'm just so dumbfounded and disgusted by what else he did! The first time I heard about his bunker, I didn't think anything of it, but now I've seen it? 🤮🤬 of course the bastard would turn his bunker into an Egyptian themed tomb, with a giant statue of himself no less! What, so did that make him a pharaoh?! And with his own HAREM too!! Just when I thought I can't despise the bastard more, I get dumped with all that shocking information, but I was just straight up horrified and enraged that he not only didn't have the common courtesy to blow his brains out, but he wanted to live forever!!! "To meet lis' children"!!! Its as if he believed making his place in ancient Egyptian style would reward him for what he did, ESPECIALLY what he did now! Hmph! It's almost fitting that he was alone for the rest of his unnatural life; his precious harem and doctor were all dead, hearing only old recordings and the sound of his own voice (I bet he just LOVED hearing that!), and his giant statue and pet corrupters just outside for company. He ended up turning into the monster he already was. At first, he was just a stupid idiot, then a coward, and finally a murderous monster. I'm mildly disappointed I didn't get to see what he looked like (probably looked like a mix of zombie and The Last Of Us 2 rat king). I'm also disgusted by precious Ceo, thinking he was descended from Faro himself 😤 the arrogance and ego on him. Probably would've made teddy proud. And I was so pissed that he was singing him praises about how he'd "save the world" and that Elisabet was his "assistant." Just where the hell did he get such bullshit information that painted the bastard as Jesus Christ? Who here wants to bet that they were recordings of himself convincing people (who didn't believe him of course!) that HE was responsible for Zero Dawn or whatever? There's no way in hell that these Quen found evidence of his supposed "selfless heroism"!! *long exhale* sorry for the rant, folks. I just....... REALLY needed to get it out of my system. I haven't finished forbidden west, but holy HELL, the series is just blowing my mind!!!

Jesus, he turned into a literal wall of flesh. For anyone who played dead space, you can imagine how fucking horrific he could've looked.

Here is the reason why I love the way they did it. We have many games where we actually see how bad the human flesh can be disfigured. If you played Fallout, Soma, Resident Evil…..watched The Thing, Slither, Phantasm, Hellraiser and many more. You already got the visual of how Ted Faro would possibly look like.

This is the most atmospheric and tense mission I’ve ever played and horizon’s not even a horror game. I thought that if Elisabet Sobeck could clone herself multiple times, then surely Ted could. Instead the worst fate you could possibly imagine has been brought down on this man for 1000 years. Although he somewhat deserved this, no human being should ever have to experience such isolation and pain of slowly disfiguring to the point where your own form scares yourself, so long, screaming in either pain, or crying for the end of your suffering, not knowing if anyone will ever find you…

This could’ve been turned into Resident Evil if we had to fight Ted Faro’s mutation.

I felt almost sick with anxiety/horror during this section, it was so creepy!! Great storytelling, loved it

The man killed the earth twice, all for his pleasure and ego. Chained to a machine that keeps him alive in a literal hell of his own creation? Guy got off easy.

I was really holding my breath when I understood what Faro became. I honestly knew that he was alive but I wasn’t expecting this AT ALL. (More that he was cryogenized) I was thinking "okay time to Horizon to become a body horror game I guess" I’m just kinda relieved that we didn’t have to fight him even if I’m curious about what he looked like exactly.

This is almost like a Fallout Bunker gone wrong. like one of the many dilapidated shelters out there in the wastes.

We technically did see his mutated form in the focus.

Im picturing something like Tetsuo from Akira... And he got to live in that state alone for thousands of years going insane and losing his mind. Truly a fate worse than death.

Been behind that door sucking on the generator for a thousand years transforming into something fitting for Resident Evil, his brain slowly turning to mush, becoming nothing but a hideous monster barely aware. Yeah, this was a fitting ending for Ted.

Thank you all for watching, this is now my most-watched video on RU-vid! If you enjoyed it please consider subscribing to my channel and you can watch more Horizon Videos here ru-vid.com/group/PLz0wkw6H6VmjoPm8w3WpCO7ILy3LyErWa Thank you again for your support its really appreciated. Some timestamps for video - 0:00 Ted Faro Bunker 1:39 Audio Files about living with Ted 4:01 CEO is a Ted Fanatic 7:38 Entering Faro Bunker with CEO 15:17 Aloy Learns Ted Faro's Fate 17:59 CEO Finds Ted Faro Alive 18:52 CEO death 19:10 Quen Questions Alva and Aloy0

Yeah soo...he lived for over a thousand years. Born in 2013, died in 3041

What if the Doctor said that the reactor "would give everything he needs" so he exposes to it frequently to develop a cancer and with a High cell regeneration he would became a living tumor for eternity

Dear Lord he became a damn necromorph, at least in my mind he must looked something like that.

The absolute satisfaction of this Ceo seeing what was laft of Faro, and then his comeuppance in the end. Seriously satisfying.

This whole quest was amazingly horrific. I got creepy vibes the moment you got into Thebes. Part of me kinda wishes we'd got to see what Faro looked like and maybe even get a boss fight, but I'm also glad they left it to our imagination since you could definitely picture something even more horrifying than whatever design they might have gone with.

Shit went resident evil real quick

Somehow, someway, we KNEW Ted was still alive. An egomaniac twisted into trying to be something beyond a normal man would never just die that easy would he?

This was in my opinion one of the most memorable missions of the game.

In a way, it’s fitting that he was forced to live through the horror he had created.

Jesus this was dark, even for someone who ended the world

When starting the mission: haha imagine if she finds faro alive down here. When finishing the mission: The door is making sounds, is something malfunctioning?...wait... wtf... WTH IS THAT... IT JUST SCREAMED IS HE ALIVE WTF

What a feeling to be the last living human of the humanity and being responsible for the destruction?

I like how Guerilla gave Ted a twisted form of immortality, especially with his Egyptian influence. The ancient Egyptians considered physical immortality as a curse.

I actually thought at first that Faro had turned into the Blight and he was slowly leaking out into the world. I only just finished this mission but I appreciate that he got no actual screen time :)

Fitting...in a way, Ted became what he was inside. And in the end he was killed by his own failsafe. Admittably I do wish we could have seen him. Maybe have, whatever it was he was, poking up hands or...tendrils out of the lava as you escaped. Hints of what he became, then...sure he would be eventually buried under Thebes, for a while. Would be an insanely good DLC to fight whatever...Faro became, have some group worship him as a God and whatever and Aloy has to end it. A final war story of what Faro became, and what Sobeck became

The Ted Faro character reminds me of what Bobby Rottick and people alike is doing to the videogame industry. For HFW we would have enjoyed tripcastering, shredding, bombing and arrowing the mutant Faro then hunting down his surviving descent from his harem or his clones among the Zeniths. The Faro wannabe’s fall off was comforting somehow. Thanks, Guerrilla, for such a beautiful game and story. XD XD XD XD XD

Everyone in here saying "it's a shame we didn't get to see him!" 16:47. That red veiny thing that Aloy pulls up? That's him. Honestly I sort of wish Ted would have lived if only so Sylens could poke, prod and torture him like he did to HADES.

When I got to this part, I was genuinely curious because I thought he was just going to be a corpse just like anyone else we’ve met from the old world, but then when I listened to all the data points I was hoping maybe we could have a confrontation with an immortal piece of garbage. What we actually got was much more than I anticipated, and I am disgusted and glad that that is what we got

Ted might still be alive. One of the recording on the Thebes bunker said that the base temperature of the reactor was around 1876 degrees Fahrenheit, through a quick search on lava temps, I found that lava temps are around the range of 1,470 F to 2, 190 F. In fact, through some quick calculations shows that mean temps for lava is in the 1,830 F area. The heat of the energy reactor that Ted Faro was comfortably feeding off of happens to be coincidentally right in the middle of the lava heat range (46 degree F difference). From my understanding, the reactor might have given him energy to resist or stabilize the mutations? Without it, the mutations might go rampant, reduced brain functions and acting upon instinct, he would try to seek new sources of energy. Idk but the whole concept just sounds extremely possible in giving way for a new enemy apart from the Nemesis system in a sequel to forbidden west. It would make sense considering he’d be resistant to fire right off the bat.

It's bad when the game doesn't even want to show it

Ceo's end is a fitting case of cruel irony.

This quest gives me nightmares.

i still can not believe this part man, I’M STILL IN SHOCK

The main character of the short story “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” is also named Ted. If you read that, you’ll probably have a good idea what Faro ended up looking like

I still would've liked to see how he looked tho... After the cutscene I instantly thought of going to see the burning blob but then the Magma started blocking the entrance and I was like "Dammit... they knew." 😂

If I had to guess what he looked like, I'd guess like the Master from Fallout but worse or like the giant Necromorphs from Dead Space or even like that giant mass from the Reactor mission on Metro 2033. Still bummed we didn't get to see what he looked like, but judging by the hologram, I can take a good guess what he looked like, still wish they would've shown it.

To be honest, I was expecting Ted Faro to be main villain of this game.

Considering that a lot in this game is inspired by Greek mythology, I'd guess Ted Faros final form is something like the hekatóncheires, the "ones with hundred arms", wich are sons of Gaia and Uranos.

To those who might be wondering what Faro's final mutated form looks like based on what the holo image that Aloy was viewing in both shock and disgust hinted at, one need only go back to that now-infamous 'Master' boss confrontation scene in Fallout 1 (but with Faro's brain functions severely degraded to what was pretty much a lowly primitive state by comparison, lol). That should give you a general idea of what he turned into physically after nearly a millennium of unchecked cellular growth and forced isolation. Tragic to be sure, but nobody's gonna shed any tears of grief for that egomaniacal psychopath after what he did to the "Old World" as well as the post-Zero Dawn one that eventually followed. He got what he deserved in the very end: an unceremonious demise (at least for now)! 😏

I imagine Ted being a huge sentient blob, kind of like Calvin at the end of Life. Real "I have no mouth, yet I must scream" type of stuff.

Ceo is a man who probably enjoys watching people be executed on his orders, likely for whimsical reasons, but what he saw in that room almost made him throw up. Whatever had become of Faro, it must have been bad.

I thought straight up it was finna turn into resident evil if mutated Ted came at us.