really liked this theory, very nice. even though max went back in time to a younger self she still has her 18/19 year old mentality, which includes 4 years of evolved speech pattern/tone changes/etc.. so it is not at all impossible. very possible ;) very interesting
I don't think the old (19 year old) max would've recorded this message, because in the the message max says something like "we will always write and visit and it will be like I never left" and it's kinda cruel to give chloe so much hope if she knows that she won't write and visit her..
Yeah but based on the personality i saw in the original LIS i feel like thats something max would do thinking it would help her friend get through that tough moment. But ur right it doesnt make sense and it would be cruel i can just see max doing it though
I believe Max said "I will never abandon you" and other thing when she let Chloe's Dad die. Yet she does abandon her and doesn't keep in touch. I think maybe this applies similarly. She says that she will keep in touch to possibly make her past self do this. Though I don't believe her past self in a photo can remember that moment she went back to but Max holds onto the belief that she will act upon her statement to 'keep in touch'. Please let me know if you are confused about what I am saying 😂
When I first played the game, it was pretty obvious to me that the voice-change thing was just an artistic solution to tell us more about the actual content or about Chloe's feelings, to be more precise. She says "because of this message I want you to feel like I am next to you". The voice, at first having a "recorded sound", turns more into a "real voice", because Chloe felt like she's really with her. I mean, at that time, she didn't know that Max won't talk to her later. The message really helped her and it really meant a lot to her. And that's it, pretty obvious. I analyse a lot of art, literature and theater mostly, and this would be a common way to express that. On the other hand, the theory about Max travelling in time tbh blew my mind at first, when I read it during the stream. It was really interesting. So there are two options as you said. 1. Max recorded it when we came back in time in Life is Strange because she already knew that Chloe had it hard. But why wouldn't we see it in our playthrough? It just doesn't make sense. And let's remember that Max actually told her then something like I want you to be strong, just before she let William leave. 2. Max recorded it already as a grown up Max. And I agree with what you said, this is only "save Bay" solution. Why would she record it if Chloe was alive and with her? And as I wrote before, she already came back in time and told her that. If we save Bay, I guess it makes sense but it's just disrespecting the player's choice. And if we are given one, then they cannot say which is better and canon, and that the bonus episode applies only to one version. And there's this problem with time travel itself and alternative realities. Let's take a look at the possibility you talked about. Let's say that Max, already as a grownup, records the message during Williams funeral. It's impossible, because Max is AT the funeral at this moment. It's not like you divide into two versions of yourself, like in the Prisoner of Azkaban. There cannot be two Maxes hanging around in the same universe and we know that since we actually came back in time and we know it's only possible to be one person at one place at one time. Plus, it is indeed interesting that Max used the same words that Chloe used in Life is Strange. But it doesn't have any logical power here. Which was the action and which was the effect? As you said, we don't know if Max really came back in time and used this words because Chloe said so, or if Chloe said so because Max recorded her this message. Personally, I like the second version better, and now when I'm thinking about it, I think this message and how Chloe used the same words might be important in how we see the relation of Max and Chloe, but that's another topic. The thing is, we all love this game, but it is okay to say that the developers had some story writing-related issues. I mean, for god's sake, they couldn't make Rachel's story clear or explain Max's behavior. There are so many plot holes. I think it would be insane of them to jump into and start playing with alternate realities and timelines, when actual physicists have problems understanding the topic till this day. For me, it was only an unsaid form of telling us something. The time travel theory is veeeery interesting and I like it a lot, but doesn't make sense and is kind of physically impossible. I'm sorry, that was one of the longest comments in a while but thank you if you were patient enough. Have a nice day all of you :)
I considered all of them and more to be honest. And they all have a point, but all of them also have holes and can be easily negated. The first one - Chloe didn't write to Max for a year since William died but it was Max's job to ask how is she doing. It's what you do when you leave your friend and moreover tell them that you will stay in touch. Busy? It's just absurd for me and even if it was true it would say a lot of negative things about Max. And if she cannot come up with anything, it would be also her duty to write at least an emoji. Guilt - that one I can understand and I think that it's actually true. She was feeling guilty because she didn't talk to Chloe after she moved out, but it doesn't explain why didn't she talk to her right after moving in the first place. The same thing with the ignorance. She doesn't know what's going on in Chloe's life because they didn't talk - but why in the first place? I mean, you can't expect your friend who just lost everything to be the one initiating the contact because you are "shy". I've even considered Max's parents not letting her talk to Chloe, different phone number or Max not having a phone but it's all absurd. Nothing should stop her from talking to her best friend who needed her and who she promised to stay in touch with. Everything can be explained if we really want to. But it's like this texan sniper - first shot, then draw the target. And we shouldn't explain the authors, that's one of the most common "laws" in art and media. If we have to explain them, especially in this way where nothing really makes sense, it's just a badly directed thread.
I can see the point. Max could be going through some issues, it suits her actually. I'm just not convinced that it's a good excuse to stop replying to your best friends messages who also is struggling at the moment. I feel like when you have this kind of problems you would've reached to your best friend. But we don't know, maybe Max didn't want to. And it just seems kind of unfair to me and makes me think about Max a little different. On the other hand, I'm aware that psychological and social issues are a difficult topic and maybe we shouldn't really judge them.
Yeah, the hints are everywhere, not mentioning that LiS is a very symbolic game in the first place. But this kind of threads shouldn't be solved by small hints that showed up somewhere, once, in the background. It's something that you shouldn't do in any form of art - neither books, movies, theater or video games. Because of many reasons. Just because they cause many misconceptions and situations with the texan shooter happen too often (when you collect some hints and then make your theory based on them, not the other way around like it should be). Maybe you're right, that the developers had that on their minds while creating the game, but sometimes we have to think about the gamer's perspective. Not all of us are that fascinated about this game and don't pay attention to every single detail, so they get the impression that the game doesn't make sense. And in this case, c'mon - I am crazy about this game, so is Ola @StopMeOh, and we didn't get this for a while, I'm not even sure if we do now. It's the developers' job not only to make everything make sense, but also everything make sense in the recipient's eyes.
If max went back in time to record that, it wouldn’t have changed her voice. When you go back to save William, her voice does not change. It more like her mind gets put in her younger body, so she couldn’t have even pre recorded it in the future either, because she wouldnt actually have the tape. I posted this on reddit BTW so hopefully we’ll get plenty of different perspectives on this.
@@itzn1ghtm4r3.-.4 you don't keep yours items when you rewind by photos, Max goes back exactly like she was when the picture was took, same clothes and all...
I really, really like this theory! I think maybe Max said, that they'll always be in touch to maybe get her past self to actually contact Chloe more often? Something like: You promised her, now you gotta do it - kind of thing? Maybe that's a little far-fetched but this is how I imagine it, haha. Seeing you brought up the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending again - what do you think actually happened to all of the people in town? In the ending scene, you don't get to see a lot of the destroyed town, let alone people. What happened to Joyce, Warren, David, Frank, etc etc? I would love to get some closure or theories on it to justify this ending for myself.
Omg i've been waiting for this video all week! And yes! i love the points you made in your video. Maybe Max actually experienced both possible endings in the original LIS? Like the first time around she sacrificed Chloe and then couldn't live with herself and that decision. So she Rewound completely and made this message and then played out the events of the original game but decided to sacrifice Arcadia Bay as her real final decision. With time travel powers its like Max can break the forth wall and experience every possible ending and decide which one she can personally live with? idk maybe im crazy and over analyzing everything but i want Max to a good person and i want her and Chloe to end up together happily ever after.
Play LIS episode 4 after you've returned from the alternate reality downstairs sit down at the kitchen counter Max says she created 2 or 3 new realitys. so not a theory its the turth, you can get save Chloe or both.
I thought the reason Max sounded like her 18yr old self is because Hannah Telle cant change her voice? As for the butterfly drawing could be just be an easter egg for LiS fans. I do think it would be interesting if this theory was true.
Amazing theory, i am shaking kind of what i've heard on this video. It is so true, everything fits in...i mean that i didn't know at all that there was MAX FROM THE FUTURE THAT CAME INTO THE PRESENT (OR SIMPLE MAX THAT CAME FROM THE PRESENT INTO THE PAST) now i see everything how it is, and that endless loop theore that is amazing, beautiful. That MAX repeated on the Voice Recorder what CHLOE said on the CLIFF, and the CHLOE repeated what heard on the voice recorder, it is kind of freaky, and i understand only a bit. But i know how you mean it. And that's really THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS GAME: THEY WERE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER, EVEN WHEN MAX LEFT FOR UNKNOWN REASONS AND COULDNT CONTACT CHLOE. But that fate wanted them to be together forever, even of the MAX's flaws. Amazing, really, thanks for explaining of everything. Looking for the next video. #FAREWELL and #TOGETHERFOREVER
Really cool theory. But still, I'm soo disappointed on Max. That is why, as u said, Chloe should live. So , at least, she will truly live her Bye Bye Bay dream with Max. Paying a price, of course. But it's always the same speech, you have a choice. Anyway very cool theory, it explains a lot.
This video started casually playing after another one I was watching. I’m a LiS fan,so when you started talking I immediately found the topic very interesting and I thought “oh cool,I’m just gonna watch a few minutes and then finish it later”. I ended up watching the entire video,you kept me glued to the screen. The theory is very interesting and it makes perfect sense,thank you for this video❤️
Other then that flaw you mentioned, the theory very much does hold up! I would love for it to be true! I was disappointed a little in the Farewell episode in how short it was, but the voice message was such an emotional send for these characters, that it redeemed the episode a bit.
That's what I thought when I listened to the message, firstly because the voice on the message has changed, and at the ending where max sacrifices Chloe, you can see her looking at old photos, and one is of that day. It's called the farewell chapter, and it could be max saying goodbye to Chloe. It would make sense if of this theory were the case because it ties up all the loose ends and I believe it is true. At least, in my timeline I would like to believe it is.
Wowser. Great theory! When you explained how would Max go back in time and record that message, I had to stop the video and it took me several seconds to realise that this could be real, and this is amazing. I love your channel, can't wait for another LiS videos!
Wow this is a good theory. But in my gameplay that doesn't work. I saved Chloe (i sacrificed Arcadia Bay) so that for me doesn't work. But it is wierd how the butterfly simbol appears and then dissapears. It could also mean that, that moment is leading up to the first game. Butterfly effect. It could really mean alot of things. But like i said this is a great theory. But we will never know i guess life needs a little mystery 🤔😀😀
she gonna die again because she died a lot in the first LIS and max saved her over and over i don't think she's gonna keep doing that i mean saving chloe
Mohammed Khalil not really. Before Max saves Chloe for the first time she sees the storm possibly a warning for the future After saving Chloe the storm comes. The storm comes because you were manipulating time and changing the events trying to save everybody and change everything. If you save Chloe the storm destroys the town . The storm happens because Max is manipulating time and changing the events that nature wants to happen. So when you save Chloe the storm comes and destroyes the town meaning that the natural cycle is now reset,which means Chloe won't be dying since there is no need for that. The storm did a huge amount of damage everything restarted and Max & Chloe are now free because of time and space being tampered with (with max's power).
sacrifice arcadia bay ---> max destroys the photo she used to save William sacriifce chloe ---> max goes to the point where chloe gets shot in the bathroom, so she never destroyed the photo you can find the photo in farewell episode in the kitchen ---> there is only one real ending (sry for bad english)
Yeah totally i saw the photo too which is in the alternative ending the photo has to be destroyed so i guess deck nine choose the most common ending based on player's choices however i choose saving Chloe because i knew a lot of people will save the whole town instead of saving one person and i like to support a few group vs a big group of people so i saved Chloe lol i think the right choice is save the whole town because there are a lot of people who deserve to live way more than Chloe like Joyce or Kate even the step douche (David) because he has a good heart and it's not reasonable to save one person and kill thousands of people i mean i knew a lot of people who sacrifice them selves to save their town and their families and their countries.
There is a letter Max wrote to Chloe in the first dream sequence in BTS in her diary. Max claims she wrote to Chloe but all the letters got lost in the mail. Now this is a dream sequence, so Chloe could have imagined it. But it can be what really happened.
Which is all I WANTED. I HATE how they just wasted Rachels character in the original...the only thing I didn't like. Kill off the most interesting character on an off-screen accidental overdose? SERIOUSLY?! My lord. Anyways, fan fics help some (defy fate being one)..maybe they'll put something in the comic..we'll see. Maybe Kylie will guilt trip them enough to revive her from a character that can TIME TRAVEL?!
Maybe the butterfly disappeared again, because Max was there for a little while, but she realized she messed stuff up so she wiped the butterfly away again. And yes, it could very well be adult Max saying this to Chloe!
awesome theory!! this is such a nice scenario but unfortunately i remember in episode 4 of LiS that Max burns the photograph she uses to rewind to the day of William's death in the Price fireplace... but!- Max could have used other photos like the optional photos in Farewell because they were taken on the same day anyway. So as long as she kept at least one of them (like she keeps so many photos from their childhood) she could have rewound. Have a good day! :)
Hi. I just played Farewell several days ago. I chose to tell Chloe that Max was moving, and I was really sad. But then I tried the other choice and what Chloe told Max about her plans actually saddened me even more. When I saw someone's commented about this theory and I was like, "THIS COULD BE TRUE." Since LiS is a game of theories, that everyone can have their own theory, I want to believe that this theory is possible. Also, I want to believe that the reason Max didn't contact Chloe for years was because of her difficulties (remember the note in Max's student record we could find in the Headmaster's office?).
When I played this episode and started listening to that recording I also thought about possibly being the voice of future Max but unfortunately I don't think that's the case at all. In fact, throughout the entire episode I was hoping for some kind of mind blowing cool plot twist or at least some clever wink, but nope, nothing at all. That's the only thing I was disappointed about this episode, otherwise I quite liked it, although it's filled with holes just like Chloe's favorite hoodie.
As much as i like your vid, I don't buy the theory. Firstly, I think if Max was to go back in time to record this message, promising to stay in touch would be cruel and stupid. Secondly, I like the idea of an infinite loop but then again people do say "I will always love you" and it might just be a sign that Max - the 13 year old Max already had some strong feelings for Chloe perhaps not like grown ups do.. but still. I think Max was insecure, she felt guilty for leaving Chloe and she just wanted to make her friend feel better as much as she wanted to feel better herself. Both didn't work out... as a matter of fact leaving that tape was a little childish. Beautiful but childish.
Not much to comment on. I agree with everything. This could also be a timeline in which Chloe died. Maybe we didn't even get to see the Chloe lives one.
Possible. After Chloe is killed, you can see Chloe's mother had Max a box of photos. The last of the changing memories, you can see Max sitting on the floor concentrating really hard on a photo. This is where Max might of went back and made the recording.
I loved this theory, it totally makes sense (for me). Life is Strange is and I mean it, it is the best game I have ever played. I just wanted to know all of it's secrets. I hope we will find out more when the third game is released. (DONTNOD already said they are working in the third game of Life is Strange)
I always enjoy your videos and discussions Ola! I like the theory. I'm not sure it was what happened. But, I think I just want everyone in LiS to be happy. :)
you can't have two Max's in one universe. When she travels back, she is her younger self, and she can only travel back into the past through photos she is actualy on. Buuuuuuuut... she did take a photo of herself in the farewell episode that she might have found somewhere. And just when Chloe leaves and Max gose to find that thing in the adict, she could have gone back to the room without chloe knowing.
Amazing job Ola, as always! This theory does make the most sense to me, but the only flaw about this is that Max said they would keep in touch even though they never did. I would like to believe though, that Chloe does live and she has a life with Max! :'-)
Max needed a certain photo to go back to this day actually. And she destroyed it after she went back again not to save William. The photo was taken when they were cooking with William on that day so actually this Farewell episode even changed that. So it feels like Max actually never went back.
I feel like maybe she could have left the tape recording after going back in Life is Strange to let William die. Maybe it was a moment we didn't see before she went back to her own reality again. That doesn't mean Chloe was sacrificed, but it means that before Max left that timeline she did one last thing for Chloe. Because technically 18 year old Max was with Chloe when her dad died, at least for a moment (if I'm remembering correctly). Also, I didn't love Max at first because of how she let Chloe down and abandoned her during her dad's death. I had a friend who abandoned me during the worst loss in my life, too. It made it so much harder and made me feel so much more alone. But in Max's case I do think she cared about Chloe. I think with all of Max's self doubt she struggled to figure out what to say to Chloe, and eventually the time they went without talking got longer and longer and it was harder for Max to pick up a phone and face it. I've done that with people too. It doesn't mean its ok, but I do understand the feeling.
I always thought after Max sacrificed Chloe, she was tempted to go back in time one more time and experience that time with Chloe. My theroy is that she missed Chloe and went through another photo on that day not to change anything but just to experience time with Chloe again. The only thing she changed was that she taped a message for her. The message isn't just a sorry tape. It sounds like she knows more. I don't just think this because of the tape. At the start, Max's dialogue sounded a bit intelligent and like she knows something about the future. I don't know if I'm onto something or if it was just listening to Max again. I don't think Square Enix would have made an extra episode just to know more about the story. We would have got an episode about Rachel in the Dark Room if so.There has to be a reason why and my opinion is that this is Max time traveling again to see Chloe one more time.
Hi, i'm a new subscriber to your channel. Im trying to recover and watch all the video you made since now about LiS, beloved game. You are absolutely stunning, your way to talk about every character is so calm and its clear all the love you have on this franchise. Kiss from Italy Ola!
I never saw the butterfly on the fireplace, but at the end when the tape starts playing, It hit me really hard, especially the way she is speaking in past tense. Like she’s saying it was the worst time for her to go, yet it was only that day she left. I got the feeling it was future Max talking because it seems like she’s referring to ages ago. I hope that makes sense 🧐
my theory is that saving chloe is the non-canon one, because max after we do the ending of saving her will rewind and save Arcadia anyways, because you see, they're teenagers runing off to nowhere, what can they do in places they never been before without money or clothes or food, they will suffer and get in trouble in the streets and be beggars and maybe they will loose the car, or get harassed in many ways(cause i dont think max will return with chloe to her parents house, after they said they would run off together, and chloe being ok leaving her mom to die like that), so after all of this ether chloe will say lets die poor together or max will think this is not a life we should live in, so i think max then thinks hard about the decisions she made and say maybe ill let destiny seal our fate( cause her powers were giving to her to live her life with her best friend and see if love can work between them is more than enough for her until chloe dies by nathen), so max rewind to the choice between saving chloe or Arcadia because that the critical time when chloe knows about everything and then max will say her goodbyes, and return in time when they were young so that she atleast save her the horror of her seeing her father die in the crash( because the original timeline chloe was in the car with her dad), so in farewell its actually the old max playing with chloe until her dad die( because she did something to change the reality of chloe going with her dad and crash, to an alternate reality were her mom isn't even in the house so they could have the time alone) and the she leaves a recording of her saying farewell and using the words chloe herself said before the ending of the 1st game, and that will atleast make chloe feel good until she meets Rachele and live her life happy until nathen ends it and never seeing max again while max saw chloe and had the best time in her life( because she cant go back in time after not saving chloe because then she wouldn't have her powers to begin with) and then you can fill the blanks if there are any, yep, in this farewell episode you play as old max in an alternate reality she created to have even more time with chloe and save her the horror of experiencing the crash with her dad.
I love this theory, but when I played Farewell, I never told Chloe that Max was leaving, and the recorded message at the end was different. I'm sure other people have mentioned this here, but I'll have to go back and hear the message I got to see if this hold up. I love your videos, keep up the great work
I think the reason Max stopped contacting Chloe is that she herself was sort became depressed or ashamed that she was not there for Chloe, and it just becomes harder and harder to be there for someone
Harder and harder - yes - but the problem is... she never even contacted Chloe once. The way it happens in life you contact someone, then you do it less and less, once a week, once per month... until you stop. Here, it's like Max decided to never contact her again and that is it.
Are you sure? I remember reading these messages and it was pretty much Chloe being like, why are you not texting me? Cannot remember, I could be wrong.
Yeah, at the beginning they kept in touch through emails and after a while they started using their mobiles. So we don't know if Max was distant from the very beginning or if she stopped gradually. In both scenarios there is an explanation tho: if you look closely in Ep.3 of the 1st season, you can read Max's file in the Principal's office, it says that she was in "IEP" (I think it's Individualized Education Program in English, but i'm not really sure) which is a program for people having some sort of "issues", such as being socially anxious, or having depression etc. Which is probably why Max hadn't kept in touch with Chloe. Also she didn't know how to deal with William's death and Chloe's pain, so cutting contact made it easier for her to avoid all of that. Of course this doesn't make Max actions right and Chloe has every right to be angry with her, but I understand why she did what she did.
The butterfly just Disappeared on the ep thats and the photo was ther on this ep so yes max saved the city on this ep :( so i think the next game will be without Chloe :(
I absolutely support such theories, but I see a little hole in there. How could Max put this player in Chloe's room after funeral, I agree that there is a lot of photos over there, but we have to remember that in orginal LiS when Max travelled through photo she couldn't leave the frames (or the nearest surroundings) of the photo. She couldn't use the photos that we took during the "Farewell" episode, because Chloe was with her all the time, even if she's not, Max couldn't leave the player on that time, because it is almost sure, that Chloe spend a lot of time in her room (probably crying) between the end of playable "Farewell" episode and the funeral so it is not possible (Chloe is clearly surprised when she finds the player after the funeral). Other photos of Arcadia Bay (that you mentioned, that Max is likely to take, because she leaves and want to have some souvenirs) are no go, because Max can't put the player in Chloe's room using photo that wasn't taken in Chloe's room (or upstairs of Price's household). Unless... In my opinion contunuing Max & Chloe's history requires Max's powers to evolve somehow, I don't know how, maybe she will be able to leave the frames of photo, maybe she will find out that she can travel to any moment of her past if she focus on that moment in her mind (and she won't be confined in any frames) or something like that... I don't know how we can explain that recorder with Max power assuming that her powers will be the same as they were at the end of orginal LiS. Do you have any other ideas or explanation to this? Or maybe there is no hidden agenda and it was the only way that young Max could say "goodbye", because she was so overwhelmed with the situation? I also read some comments and realised something interesting: Chloe's dreams from BtS - when we open Chloe's journal during one of the dreams we can see adult Max hanging on a tree? How Chloe's (or Chloe's subconsciousness) would know how Max look when she will be adult? - Mistake of the developers or their deliberate action? I hope that these are preparations to Life is Strange after the Storm.
It's a good theory. Though here are a few things I want to share. First, the butterfly symbol is not a deja vu, cuz if it was, then Max would express herself about it. It can still lead to alternate realities and I think it does, but developers just tease us in my opinion. Second, don't forget about second version of the goodbye message if you decide to hide the truth about leaving Arcadia Bay. It's quite different from the first one and doesn't support this theory. And third thing, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the fact of using time travel power to save Chloe leads to the Storm? If Max chose to sacrifice Chloe and didn't use the power, how the heck she traveled back to 2008 to leave the goodbye message?
Billion years late to this, but there's just no way. I don't see any reason she wouldn't have her powers and don't have any problem imagining she could find a relevant photo to use. But the content of the message doesn't make sense. She can't control what "she" does between points she jumps between, because she doesn't have future memory in-between. So the message would only be for Chloe's benefit. But if Future Max did this, she'd have done the same thing she tried briefly after going back to restore William's accident, she would have tried to mitigate Chloe's pain from the isolation that will come. She wouldn't just pile on MORE false promises of keeping their relationship going, and COMPOUND Chloe's pain, she would be trying to put a spin on it like... well, like a time capsule, like how she knows that they might *not* keep up with each other as well as they hope, that they might grow apart in some ways, but that Chloe should never doubt that when they get their chance it will be just like opening the time capsule, like no time had passed at all. Something, in other words, to keep Chloe *hopeful* through the times they are apart, not more bitterly disappointed.
This could only happen if there was a photo taken of Max on the day of the funeral. I've played through twice and haven't seen any such photo, or suggestion that it exists. Has anyone else? If so, let us know, because I would very much like to know if it were possible. It would be a beautiful new unsaid mystery to choose to believe.
I litterally thought the exact same thing except i was hoping that they would make the episode about that. What i mean is i went into the episode thinking u would be playing as future max and she would try to be as nice as possible on there last day together.
Yeah, it'd be nice. Although this theory has been disproved, like technically it's not possible... although it's still nice to think that is something that Max would have done for Chloe.
I also got another mistake deck nine DID i think..... Frank Said he rescued Pompidou from a dog Fight in the original game but in beafore the storm Pompidou is jus a puppy
Great video! But either there is a problem or I'm just confused.. If it was the future max, she would have had to travel back in time with the last picture william took, but in Life Is Strange : Episode 4, max burned the picture when she was back for the second time, so she could never come back to let william survive. But in Farewell, the picture layed in the kitchen and I think you have to look at it before you can talk to chloe. Well, maybe I'm too confused because I didn't play it in the chronological order (farewell, before the storm, life is strange). Thats all. Thanks for your videos, I love them!
Adri Stefi I know what you mean, but they weren't necessary. They were optional photos (I apologize if I'm worong). But even though they would be necessary, max actually burned williams last picture in Life Is Strange Episode 4
Thank you! Well, I figured she could have traveled back in time to any photo that she might have taken between the time of William's death and funeral day - since these were her last hours in Arcadia Bay, she probably took plenty?
In the beginning of the episode Max takes an accidental selfie of herself when she picks up William camera. That's the perfect photo for her to use in this theory imo
So.. If you abandon Chloe, right at the end.. To supposedly save everyone.. She still exists in the storm timeline, but you let her die, in the new supposedly original timeline!
That was an amazing theory! What do you think LIS season 2 will be about and how will Max and Chloe contribute to season 2 if at all? I hope to see more amazing theories from you!
I actually made one video about LiS2 already, you can find it on my channel, although it did not contribute as much, we know so little - I think if we get to see Max then it'd be an Easter egg... fingers crossed for something more though.
I think the bonus episode was after life is strange like max and Chloe trying to find a way to save will and Chloe and than the whole Arcadia and they failed ...because we are max so we can't see Chloe listening the tape even it's a cut scene
It's a very good theory BUT Max was at her funeral too and when she goes back in time she transfers herself to her own body which is not possible because she attends the whole ceremony and leaves by car right after. Max does not exist in multiple copies.
I think Max have to say she will keep in touch with Chloe because if she doesn't that will change the reality. I love this theory and i believe in it so much, i was thinking about it in a way. You put words where I couldn't
This theory is possible since Max does take a picture of them both in Chloe's room during the Farewell episode if you check the camera. Max could then have used this photo to go back in time to record that message. Maybe that photo is suppose to mean something. Maybe this theory is actually true.
I honestly think that it wasn't adult Max all the episode, I mean they where just kids doing kid's stuff. Maybe it was the last time she really traveled back in time after sacrificing Chloe (that's the scenario I'm thinking of now), not from saving-William-photo. In the end of sacrifice Chloe, Joice gives Max blue box of Chloe's stuff and I think she might kept some of Farewell photos in it as a reminder and after everything she time-jumped somehow. I know that it would be hard to do because there are no photos after Joice's return BUT there are photos in this episode, Max's selfies with Chloe. It could be just a coincidence but, like we all know, there are no coincidences in these games :) Or maybe Max returned through the last photo with a cap, she re-lived the whole situation from her adult perspective and then she recorded a message. Just few thoughts :)
We cannot know if alleged older Max might have changed the timeline with her tape. Somehow she actually might have kept in touch with Chloe but we will not see that timeline.
I think it doesn't make sense ... you can't have two Max's in one universe. When she travels back, she is her younger self, and she can only travel back into the past through photos she is actualy on. So theory debunked.
Hmmmmm. Well, personally, I do not subscribe to the theory that it was adult-Max's voice on the recorder, mainly for 1 reason: Max's ability to travel back and forth through time does not allow her currently occupied body to physically travel to and fro...it only allows her mind to warp back and occupy the younger physical version appearing in a photo...or the reverse, to occupy the older version in later photos. It is her 'soul'...if you wish...doing the traveling. Not her physical form. I won't go into other things that actually make sense, like-- well, if she went back, why doesn't she tell Chloe that she'll meet Rachel, fall head over heels in love, and then lose her; so she better stick close and make sure nothing happens to Rachel, or the girl will go missing. See, that would be a smart thing to do. But it never happens. Or, since she knows saving William puts Chloe at risk, why doesn't Max simply make a quick trip to Arcadia Bay around the time of the event and actually prevent Chloe's accident, in the same universe that LIS takes place? Also, just visiting Chloe from time to time seems an obvious thing Max should have done, once she realizes the affect her absence had on Chloe. But, well, I don't want to just ramble on. I could write a book about all that stuff. Wait! Hmmmm. ;)
😉 well, I suppose for the simple reason of Max wanting not to change anything major, knowing it could cause a disaster, so she only left a subtle message. Also, yes, I agree about the voice thing - she does travel back to her younger body so voice should not change, I figured maybe her adult mind made her young voice sound more adult. 😉
Max could only go back in time through a photo, and Max couldn't leave the parameters of the photograph, which is why the space she could travel in the past would be limited. So in order for this to be true, 19 year old Max would have had to have a photo taken in Chloe's bedroom on the day of the funeral (which is not necessarily the same day William died. Most funerals aren't that soon).
Yeah, you're right. I suppose it's technically possible she went there and took some photo since she randomly does. Still, theory has been disproved, although I'd still like to believe it's something that Max would have done.
This is an interesting theory. However this is disproven by one fact. Max can only mentally time travel. In all examples of max time traveling she’s always in her own body. There are never any scenarios where there are two max’s At once. If old max came back in time to record that message. She would be in her younger body which doesn’t sound like older max. So she physically can’t say that message. I think that message doesn’t go any deeper than the developers putting in something very clever and sentimental for the players. Which is very well appreciated
Poryczałam się jak głupia w tamtym momencie Farewell episode, szczerze powiedziawszy takich momentów się nie zauważa, ale przez przypadek podczas sprzątania pokoju Chloe, kiedy chcesz wyrzucić porysowane karty, między nimi można dostrzec marker, którym Chloe najprawdopodobniej rysuje graffiti w BtS, więc tak czy inaczej każdy najmniejszy szczegół w tych grach ma swoje skutki i konsekwencje. Kto wie może to faktycznie była 19-letnia Max, dowiemy się tylko i wyłącznie jeśli postanowią o tym studia wykonawcze, o co serdecznie błagam.
Thought about this, & the wording *was* all too similar. Her tone & voice depth sounded a lot like future Max. If true, then it adds some more feels to the already overflowing feels. Love the touch of the graffiti too. Though still wondering why they haven't added the reference to the house being half painted, since William did start painting it.
If Future Max DID do this, it would change my estimation of the character. I would actually think she were a little sick. (Understandably with all that was happening to future Max, but still.) Future Max would know that Rachel was going to have 4+ years of silence from her present self, so making those promises would have been absolutely heartless and little more than an attempt at quieting her OWN emotional turmoil at the sake of Chloe's mental health, especially given everything that was coming to her re: Rachel.
Not really sure about when or why she would do it. I feel like the way and tone Max talks to Chloe in the tape recording is similar to the way she talks to Kate in the original LiS. She's tries to remain supportive and tries to tell Kate (or Chloe) that people love her and that there's still hope or whatever. Just try to imagine 13-years old Max saying the contents of the recording (she couldn't even tell Chloe that she was moving to Seattle). Especially if it's around the time when Max went back in time to save William. Max could still be feeling guilty about Kate's suicide attempt and feeling the need to be apologetic for everything she has been at least remotely connected to (even if it was from several years ago).
Just a tiny maybe... When Chloe laid on the floor crying after hearing the tape, she kinda very little made a spiral shape with her body. Just my thought.
Fuck that theory, it makes me cry again. Bae over bay, end of discussion. And after going through all this shit together, Max would never lie Chloe again, never heart her feelings with false hope.
While yeah, I agree, that it would seem unlike Max, to be cruel to Chloe and promise her that they will write, visit, get better, great at it, as she puts it - knowing very well she never did any of it(cause of shyness, guilt...). Buut look at the context- the whole message is obviously meant to be comforting, reassuring. Sometimes you just wanna make things more positive, than what you really believe them to be.. .. and at the end of the recording theres that little detail, when Max says Listen, even If I never-- (theres a little pause) ..even if were moving for good. -in my mind, thats future Max realizing the paradox of promising Chloe the impossible .. :D For some reason, the first time I heard it, it felt like Max was about to say even, If I never write - youll be always on my mind, but changed her mind in the middle of the sentence. To me that recording always had that vibe, as it is from someone- that knoew "more" ;) To me its still possible, its a message from Max from the future, while she is at the funeral, future max or not - sometime, somehow Max has to be the one to make that recoding, so.. theres a chance.
Stop me oh I got a theory so In the first episode of before the storm the 2nd dream sequence You see older max dead in Chloe's journal . Chloe doesn't know how older Max looks like she only know how young max looks like. She would only know that max has long hair (that's it really) but she drew older max so does that mean that older max hung herself after saving Arcadia bay or I don't know what do you think?
good theory but i don’t know if somebody mentioned it - when Max goes back in time to let William die and save Chloe she tears the photo apart and burns it in the fireplace (that photo is the only way to go into that time), so how can she go back in that time again after the cliff when she didn’t have that photo anymore?
I know I’m late but I just finished the game (wanted to play it late so I could play everything at once) But you say there’s a gap in your theory (why would future max tell Chloe that they’ll keep and contact every day and they don’t) and my “filler” so to speak, max tried to change their destiny. Max felt so horrible for not keeping in contact with Chloe and max can only go far back in time and normally she does one drastic thing that changes the future. Well max thought by leaving that message that her younger self would follow through with it. But she doesn’t, because there is no way to change the fact that they don’t talk for 5 years. Chloe most likely wouldn’t of met Rachel, thus life is strange never happens.
As much as I'd love to believe this is something that Max would have done for Chloe, this theory has been pretty much disproven.
Stop Me Oh hey you still did a great job on the theory:)
Stop Me Oh You Made A Mistake Max Is 18 In The First Life Is Strange Game
If it was time traveler Max who recorded it, her voice would have gone back to the 13/14 year old Max. I really liked the theory though.
really liked this theory, very nice. even though max went back in time to a younger self she still has her 18/19 year old mentality, which includes 4 years of evolved speech pattern/tone changes/etc.. so it is not at all impossible. very possible ;) very interesting
Fuzzy Exactly what I was thinking, thank you!
I don't think the old (19 year old) max would've recorded this message, because in the the message max says something like "we will always write and visit and it will be like I never left" and it's kinda cruel to give chloe so much hope if she knows that she won't write and visit her..
Oh now I finished your video and you said the same thing😂
yeah 😂
Yeah but based on the personality i saw in the original LIS i feel like thats something max would do thinking it would help her friend get through that tough moment. But ur right it doesnt make sense and it would be cruel i can just see max doing it though
I believe Max said "I will never abandon you" and other thing when she let Chloe's Dad die. Yet she does abandon her and doesn't keep in touch. I think maybe this applies similarly. She says that she will keep in touch to possibly make her past self do this. Though I don't believe her past self in a photo can remember that moment she went back to but Max holds onto the belief that she will act upon her statement to 'keep in touch'. Please let me know if you are confused about what I am saying 😂
When I first played the game, it was pretty obvious to me that the voice-change thing was just an artistic solution to tell us more about the actual content or about Chloe's feelings, to be more precise. She says "because of this message I want you to feel like I am next to you". The voice, at first having a "recorded sound", turns more into a "real voice", because Chloe felt like she's really with her. I mean, at that time, she didn't know that Max won't talk to her later. The message really helped her and it really meant a lot to her. And that's it, pretty obvious. I analyse a lot of art, literature and theater mostly, and this would be a common way to express that.
On the other hand, the theory about Max travelling in time tbh blew my mind at first, when I read it during the stream. It was really interesting. So there are two options as you said.
1. Max recorded it when we came back in time in Life is Strange because she already knew that Chloe had it hard. But why wouldn't we see it in our playthrough? It just doesn't make sense. And let's remember that Max actually told her then something like I want you to be strong, just before she let William leave.
2. Max recorded it already as a grown up Max. And I agree with what you said, this is only "save Bay" solution. Why would she record it if Chloe was alive and with her? And as I wrote before, she already came back in time and told her that. If we save Bay, I guess it makes sense but it's just disrespecting the player's choice. And if we are given one, then they cannot say which is better and canon, and that the bonus episode applies only to one version.
And there's this problem with time travel itself and alternative realities. Let's take a look at the possibility you talked about. Let's say that Max, already as a grownup, records the message during Williams funeral. It's impossible, because Max is AT the funeral at this moment. It's not like you divide into two versions of yourself, like in the Prisoner of Azkaban. There cannot be two Maxes hanging around in the same universe and we know that since we actually came back in time and we know it's only possible to be one person at one place at one time.
Plus, it is indeed interesting that Max used the same words that Chloe used in Life is Strange. But it doesn't have any logical power here. Which was the action and which was the effect? As you said, we don't know if Max really came back in time and used this words because Chloe said so, or if Chloe said so because Max recorded her this message. Personally, I like the second version better, and now when I'm thinking about it, I think this message and how Chloe used the same words might be important in how we see the relation of Max and Chloe, but that's another topic.
The thing is, we all love this game, but it is okay to say that the developers had some story writing-related issues. I mean, for god's sake, they couldn't make Rachel's story clear or explain Max's behavior. There are so many plot holes. I think it would be insane of them to jump into and start playing with alternate realities and timelines, when actual physicists have problems understanding the topic till this day. For me, it was only an unsaid form of telling us something. The time travel theory is veeeery interesting and I like it a lot, but doesn't make sense and is kind of physically impossible.
I'm sorry, that was one of the longest comments in a while but thank you if you were patient enough. Have a nice day all of you :)
Look at that Szymon, your comments are always the longest and the most liked ones! 🙂
I considered all of them and more to be honest. And they all have a point, but all of them also have holes and can be easily negated.
The first one - Chloe didn't write to Max for a year since William died but it was Max's job to ask how is she doing. It's what you do when you leave your friend and moreover tell them that you will stay in touch.
Busy? It's just absurd for me and even if it was true it would say a lot of negative things about Max. And if she cannot come up with anything, it would be also her duty to write at least an emoji.
Guilt - that one I can understand and I think that it's actually true. She was feeling guilty because she didn't talk to Chloe after she moved out, but it doesn't explain why didn't she talk to her right after moving in the first place. The same thing with the ignorance. She doesn't know what's going on in Chloe's life because they didn't talk - but why in the first place? I mean, you can't expect your friend who just lost everything to be the one initiating the contact because you are "shy".
I've even considered Max's parents not letting her talk to Chloe, different phone number or Max not having a phone but it's all absurd. Nothing should stop her from talking to her best friend who needed her and who she promised to stay in touch with.
Everything can be explained if we really want to. But it's like this texan sniper - first shot, then draw the target. And we shouldn't explain the authors, that's one of the most common "laws" in art and media. If we have to explain them, especially in this way where nothing really makes sense, it's just a badly directed thread.
It's a common trick to seem more intelligent and wise ;)
I can see the point. Max could be going through some issues, it suits her actually. I'm just not convinced that it's a good excuse to stop replying to your best friends messages who also is struggling at the moment. I feel like when you have this kind of problems you would've reached to your best friend. But we don't know, maybe Max didn't want to. And it just seems kind of unfair to me and makes me think about Max a little different. On the other hand, I'm aware that psychological and social issues are a difficult topic and maybe we shouldn't really judge them.
Yeah, the hints are everywhere, not mentioning that LiS is a very symbolic game in the first place. But this kind of threads shouldn't be solved by small hints that showed up somewhere, once, in the background. It's something that you shouldn't do in any form of art - neither books, movies, theater or video games. Because of many reasons. Just because they cause many misconceptions and situations with the texan shooter happen too often (when you collect some hints and then make your theory based on them, not the other way around like it should be).
Maybe you're right, that the developers had that on their minds while creating the game, but sometimes we have to think about the gamer's perspective. Not all of us are that fascinated about this game and don't pay attention to every single detail, so they get the impression that the game doesn't make sense. And in this case, c'mon - I am crazy about this game, so is Ola @StopMeOh, and we didn't get this for a while, I'm not even sure if we do now. It's the developers' job not only to make everything make sense, but also everything make sense in the recipient's eyes.
If max went back in time to record that, it wouldn’t have changed her voice. When you go back to save William, her voice does not change. It more like her mind gets put in her younger body, so she couldn’t have even pre recorded it in the future either, because she wouldnt actually have the tape. I posted this on reddit BTW so hopefully we’ll get plenty of different perspectives on this.
XDKX98 Her voice changing was just an artistic choice. She still could've been the older Max.
Also Max can't access Chloe's room when she goes back both times.
Dave D. Hollow maybe she backs using a different photo
Dylank98
She could've recorded it at the present time then went back to leave it, you keep your items when you rewind in the first game..
@@itzn1ghtm4r3.-.4 you don't keep yours items when you rewind by photos, Max goes back exactly like she was when the picture was took, same clothes and all...
I also very much liked the idea that Max left that for Chloe from the future. Would be an AWESOME nod to the first game.
I really, really like this theory! I think maybe Max said, that they'll always be in touch to maybe get her past self to actually contact Chloe more often? Something like: You promised her, now you gotta do it - kind of thing? Maybe that's a little far-fetched but this is how I imagine it, haha.
Seeing you brought up the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending again - what do you think actually happened to all of the people in town? In the ending scene, you don't get to see a lot of the destroyed town, let alone people. What happened to Joyce, Warren, David, Frank, etc etc? I would love to get some closure or theories on it to justify this ending for myself.
Julia Bunddy the problem is that max wont remember what future max did (which happens in original LIS)
Omg i've been waiting for this video all week! And yes! i love the points you made in your video. Maybe Max actually experienced both possible endings in the original LIS? Like the first time around she sacrificed Chloe and then couldn't live with herself and that decision. So she Rewound completely and made this message and then played out the events of the original game but decided to sacrifice Arcadia Bay as her real final decision. With time travel powers its like Max can break the forth wall and experience every possible ending and decide which one she can personally live with? idk maybe im crazy and over analyzing everything but i want Max to a good person and i want her and Chloe to end up together happily ever after.
Play LIS episode 4 after you've returned from the alternate reality downstairs sit down at the kitchen counter Max says she created 2 or 3 new realitys. so not a theory its the turth, you can get save Chloe or both.
I thought the reason Max sounded like her 18yr old self is because Hannah Telle cant change her voice?
As for the butterfly drawing could be just be an easter egg for LiS fans.
I do think it would be interesting if this theory was true.
Demon Hunter Sol
Or she could've just recorded it at the present, went back and left it..
Then again, that does sound the more realistic answer :P
Amazing theory, i am shaking kind of what i've heard on this video. It is so true, everything fits in...i mean that i didn't know at all that there was MAX FROM THE FUTURE THAT CAME INTO THE PRESENT (OR SIMPLE MAX THAT CAME FROM THE PRESENT INTO THE PAST)
now i see everything how it is, and that endless loop theore that is amazing, beautiful. That MAX repeated on the Voice Recorder what CHLOE said on the CLIFF, and the CHLOE repeated what heard on the voice recorder, it is kind of freaky, and i understand only a bit. But i know how you mean it. And that's really THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS GAME: THEY WERE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER, EVEN WHEN MAX LEFT FOR UNKNOWN REASONS AND COULDNT CONTACT CHLOE. But that fate wanted them to be together forever, even of the MAX's flaws.
Amazing, really, thanks for explaining of everything. Looking for the next video. #FAREWELL and #TOGETHERFOREVER
Really cool theory. But still, I'm soo disappointed on Max. That is why, as u said, Chloe should live. So , at least, she will truly live her Bye Bye Bay dream with Max. Paying a price, of course. But it's always the same speech, you have a choice. Anyway very cool theory, it explains a lot.
Thanks Giada 🙂
hella cool theory!
Chloe Price :D
B r u h
This video started casually playing after another one I was watching. I’m a LiS fan,so when you started talking I immediately found the topic very interesting and I thought “oh cool,I’m just gonna watch a few minutes and then finish it later”. I ended up watching the entire video,you kept me glued to the screen. The theory is very interesting and it makes perfect sense,thank you for this video❤️
Thanks so much, I appreciate it :)
Other then that flaw you mentioned, the theory very much does hold up! I would love for it to be true! I was disappointed a little in the Farewell episode in how short it was, but the voice message was such an emotional send for these characters, that it redeemed the episode a bit.
That's what I thought when I listened to the message, firstly because the voice on the message has changed, and at the ending where max sacrifices Chloe, you can see her looking at old photos, and one is of that day.
It's called the farewell chapter, and it could be max saying goodbye to Chloe. It would make sense if of this theory were the case because it ties up all the loose ends and I believe it is true.
At least, in my timeline I would like to believe it is.
Wowser. Great theory! When you explained how would Max go back in time and record that message, I had to stop the video and it took me several seconds to realise that this could be real, and this is amazing. I love your channel, can't wait for another LiS videos!
Thank you!
Jezus twój kanał jest niesamowity zwłaszcza twoje świetne teorie które dają tyle do myślenia
Wow this is a good theory. But in my gameplay that doesn't work.
I saved Chloe (i sacrificed Arcadia Bay) so that for me doesn't work.
But it is wierd how the butterfly simbol appears and then dissapears.
It could also mean that, that moment is leading up to the first game.
Butterfly effect.
It could really mean alot of things.
But like i said this is a great theory.
But we will never know i guess life needs a little mystery 🤔😀😀
I agree this doesn't work for me either, Chloe is happy in my LiS universe.
she gonna die again because she died a lot in the first LIS and max saved her over and over i don't think she's gonna keep doing that i mean saving chloe
Mohammed Khalil not really.
Before Max saves Chloe for the first time she sees the storm possibly a warning for the future
After saving Chloe the storm comes. The storm comes because you were manipulating time and changing the events trying to save everybody and change everything.
If you save Chloe the storm destroys the town .
The storm happens because Max is manipulating time and changing the events that nature wants to happen.
So when you save Chloe the storm comes and destroyes the town meaning that the natural cycle is now reset,which means Chloe won't be dying since there is no need for that.
The storm did a huge amount of damage everything restarted and Max & Chloe are now free because of time and space being tampered with (with max's power).
sacrifice arcadia bay ---> max destroys the photo she used to save William
sacriifce chloe ---> max goes to the point where chloe gets shot in the bathroom, so she never destroyed the photo
you can find the photo in farewell episode in the kitchen
---> there is only one real ending
(sry for bad english)
Yeah totally i saw the photo too which is in the alternative ending the photo has to be destroyed so i guess
deck nine choose the most common ending based on player's choices however i choose saving Chloe because i knew a lot of people will save the whole town instead of saving one person and i like to support a
few group vs a big group of people so i saved Chloe lol i think the right choice is save the whole town because there are a lot of people who deserve to live way more than Chloe like Joyce or Kate even the step douche (David) because he has a good heart and it's not reasonable to save one person and kill thousands of people i mean i knew a lot of people who sacrifice them selves to save their town and their families and their countries.
There is a letter Max wrote to Chloe in the first dream sequence in BTS in her diary. Max claims she wrote to Chloe but all the letters got lost in the mail. Now this is a dream sequence, so Chloe could have imagined it. But it can be what really happened.
Can't we just have one timeline where Chloe and Rachel both get to live. 😔
Would be awesome but that's not the point of the game. A unhappy ending is what makes sense in LiS
my opinion
Sure, talk with Dontnod. They're the only responsible for this infinite suffering :)
technically, in an alternate universe, rachel and chloe are alive. there are an infinite amount of realities.
Which is all I WANTED.
I HATE how they just wasted Rachels character in the original...the only thing I didn't like.
Kill off the most interesting character on an off-screen accidental overdose? SERIOUSLY?! My lord.
Anyways, fan fics help some (defy fate being one)..maybe they'll put something in the comic..we'll see.
Maybe Kylie will guilt trip them enough to revive her from a character that can TIME TRAVEL?!
Maybe the butterfly disappeared again, because Max was there for a little while, but she realized she messed stuff up so she wiped the butterfly away again.
And yes, it could very well be adult Max saying this to Chloe!
awesome theory!! this is such a nice scenario but unfortunately i remember in episode 4 of LiS that Max burns the photograph she uses to rewind to the day of William's death in the Price fireplace... but!- Max could have used other photos like the optional photos in Farewell because they were taken on the same day anyway. So as long as she kept at least one of them (like she keeps so many photos from their childhood) she could have rewound. Have a good day! :)
Amazing theory!!😛 Hella good video
Hi. I just played Farewell several days ago. I chose to tell Chloe that Max was moving, and I was really sad. But then I tried the other choice and what Chloe told Max about her plans actually saddened me even more. When I saw someone's commented about this theory and I was like, "THIS COULD BE TRUE." Since LiS is a game of theories, that everyone can have their own theory, I want to believe that this theory is possible. Also, I want to believe that the reason Max didn't contact Chloe for years was because of her difficulties (remember the note in Max's student record we could find in the Headmaster's office?).
When I played this episode and started listening to that recording I also thought about possibly being the voice of future Max but unfortunately I don't think that's the case at all. In fact, throughout the entire episode I was hoping for some kind of mind blowing cool plot twist or at least some clever wink, but nope, nothing at all. That's the only thing I was disappointed about this episode, otherwise I quite liked it, although it's filled with holes just like Chloe's favorite hoodie.
As much as i like your vid, I don't buy the theory. Firstly, I think if Max was to go back in time to record this message, promising to stay in touch would be cruel and stupid. Secondly, I like the idea of an infinite loop but then again people do say "I will always love you" and it might just be a sign that Max - the 13 year old Max already had some strong feelings for Chloe perhaps not like grown ups do.. but still.
I think Max was insecure, she felt guilty for leaving Chloe and she just wanted to make her friend feel better as much as she wanted to feel better herself. Both didn't work out... as a matter of fact leaving that tape was a little childish. Beautiful but childish.
Not much to comment on. I agree with everything. This could also be a timeline in which Chloe died. Maybe we didn't even get to see the Chloe lives one.
Possible. After Chloe is killed, you can see Chloe's mother had Max a box of photos. The last of the changing memories, you can see Max sitting on the floor concentrating really hard on a photo. This is where Max might of went back and made the recording.
I loved this theory, it totally makes sense (for me). Life is Strange is and I mean it, it is the best game I have ever played. I just wanted to know all of it's secrets. I hope we will find out more when the third game is released. (DONTNOD already said they are working in the third game of Life is Strange)
I always enjoy your videos and discussions Ola! I like the theory. I'm not sure it was what happened. But, I think I just want everyone in LiS to be happy. :)
I'm not sure, either, Luke! 🙂
you can't have two Max's in one universe. When she travels back, she is her younger self, and she can only travel back into the past through photos she is actualy on.
Buuuuuuuut... she did take a photo of herself in the farewell episode that she might have found somewhere. And just when Chloe leaves and Max gose to find that thing in the adict, she could have gone back to the room without chloe knowing.
Amazing job Ola, as always! This theory does make the most sense to me, but the only flaw about this is that Max said they would keep in touch even though they never did. I would like to believe though, that Chloe does live and she has a life with Max! :'-)
Thanks Maddy! I agree, as I said, that is the only flaw.
Max needed a certain photo to go back to this day actually. And she destroyed it after she went back again not to save William. The photo was taken when they were cooking with William on that day so actually this Farewell episode even changed that. So it feels like Max actually never went back.
I feel like maybe she could have left the tape recording after going back in Life is Strange to let William die. Maybe it was a moment we didn't see before she went back to her own reality again. That doesn't mean Chloe was sacrificed, but it means that before Max left that timeline she did one last thing for Chloe. Because technically 18 year old Max was with Chloe when her dad died, at least for a moment (if I'm remembering correctly).
Also, I didn't love Max at first because of how she let Chloe down and abandoned her during her dad's death. I had a friend who abandoned me during the worst loss in my life, too. It made it so much harder and made me feel so much more alone. But in Max's case I do think she cared about Chloe. I think with all of Max's self doubt she struggled to figure out what to say to Chloe, and eventually the time they went without talking got longer and longer and it was harder for Max to pick up a phone and face it. I've done that with people too. It doesn't mean its ok, but I do understand the feeling.
I always thought after Max sacrificed Chloe, she was tempted to go back in time one more time and experience that time with Chloe. My theroy is that she missed Chloe and went through another photo on that day not to change anything but just to experience time with Chloe again. The only thing she changed was that she taped a message for her. The message isn't just a sorry tape. It sounds like she knows more. I don't just think this because of the tape. At the start, Max's dialogue sounded a bit intelligent and like she knows something about the future. I don't know if I'm onto something or if it was just listening to Max again. I don't think Square Enix would have made an extra episode just to know more about the story. We would have got an episode about Rachel in the Dark Room if so.There has to be a reason why and my opinion is that this is Max time traveling again to see Chloe one more time.
Hi, i'm a new subscriber to your channel. Im trying to recover and watch all the video you made since now about LiS, beloved game. You are absolutely stunning, your way to talk about every character is so calm and its clear all the love you have on this franchise. Kiss from Italy Ola!
Hey, thank you very much, glad you joined! 🙂
I totally agree with you. I was thinking the exact same thing. Great video 😉
Thank you!
I never saw the butterfly on the fireplace, but at the end when the tape starts playing, It hit me really hard, especially the way she is speaking in past tense. Like she’s saying it was the worst time for her to go, yet it was only that day she left. I got the feeling it was future Max talking because it seems like she’s referring to ages ago. I hope that makes sense 🧐
I recently joined this channel . I Like so much these theory/analysis videos . Keep going on this way . (From italy)
Thanks so much! 🙂
my theory is that saving chloe is the non-canon one, because max after we do the ending of saving her will rewind and save Arcadia anyways, because you see, they're teenagers runing off to nowhere, what can they do in places they never been before without money or clothes or food, they will suffer and get in trouble in the streets and be beggars and maybe they will loose the car, or get harassed in many ways(cause i dont think max will return with chloe to her parents house, after they said they would run off together, and chloe being ok leaving her mom to die like that), so after all of this ether chloe will say lets die poor together or max will think this is not a life we should live in, so i think max then thinks hard about the decisions she made and say maybe ill let destiny seal our fate( cause her powers were giving to her to live her life with her best friend and see if love can work between them is more than enough for her until chloe dies by nathen), so max rewind to the choice between saving chloe or Arcadia because that the critical time when chloe knows about everything and then max will say her goodbyes, and return in time when they were young so that she atleast save her the horror of her seeing her father die in the crash( because the original timeline chloe was in the car with her dad), so in farewell its actually the old max playing with chloe until her dad die( because she did something to change the reality of chloe going with her dad and crash, to an alternate reality were her mom isn't even in the house so they could have the time alone) and the she leaves a recording of her saying farewell and using the words chloe herself said before the ending of the 1st game, and that will atleast make chloe feel good until she meets Rachele and live her life happy until nathen ends it and never seeing max again while max saw chloe and had the best time in her life( because she cant go back in time after not saving chloe because then she wouldn't have her powers to begin with) and then you can fill the blanks if there are any, yep, in this farewell episode you play as old max in an alternate reality she created to have even more time with chloe and save her the horror of experiencing the crash with her dad.
...What? It sounded absolutely like the young Max's voice.
Great Theory, I didn't even think about that Voice Message until now! That's why I love this game and community.
I love this theory, but when I played Farewell, I never told Chloe that Max was leaving, and the recorded message at the end was different. I'm sure other people have mentioned this here, but I'll have to go back and hear the message I got to see if this hold up. I love your videos, keep up the great work
Thank you!
I think the reason Max stopped contacting Chloe is that she herself was sort became depressed or ashamed that she was not there for Chloe, and it just becomes harder and harder to be there for someone
Harder and harder - yes - but the problem is... she never even contacted Chloe once. The way it happens in life you contact someone, then you do it less and less, once a week, once per month... until you stop. Here, it's like Max decided to never contact her again and that is it.
Stop Me Oh Actually, in BtS we see that Max and Chloe exchanged some messages for a while, until Max stopped answering
Are you sure? I remember reading these messages and it was pretty much Chloe being like, why are you not texting me? Cannot remember, I could be wrong.
Yeah, at the beginning they kept in touch through emails and after a while they started using their mobiles. So we don't know if Max was distant from the very beginning or if she stopped gradually. In both scenarios there is an explanation tho: if you look closely in Ep.3 of the 1st season, you can read Max's file in the Principal's office, it says that she was in "IEP" (I think it's Individualized Education Program in English, but i'm not really sure) which is a program for people having some sort of "issues", such as being socially anxious, or having depression etc. Which is probably why Max hadn't kept in touch with Chloe. Also she didn't know how to deal with William's death and Chloe's pain, so cutting contact made it easier for her to avoid all of that. Of course this doesn't make Max actions right and Chloe has every right to be angry with her, but I understand why she did what she did.
Well, that changes things a bit, contacts fading away is a normal thing.
The butterfly just Disappeared on the ep thats and the photo was ther on this ep so yes max saved the city on this ep :( so i think the next game will be without Chloe :(
I absolutely support such theories, but I see a little hole in there.
How could Max put this player in Chloe's room after funeral, I agree that there is a lot of photos over there, but we have to remember that in orginal LiS when Max travelled through photo she couldn't leave the frames (or the nearest surroundings) of the photo. She couldn't use the photos that we took during the "Farewell" episode, because Chloe was with her all the time, even if she's not, Max couldn't leave the player on that time, because it is almost sure, that Chloe spend a lot of time in her room (probably crying) between the end of playable "Farewell" episode and the funeral so it is not possible (Chloe is clearly surprised when she finds the player after the funeral). Other photos of Arcadia Bay (that you mentioned, that Max is likely to take, because she leaves and want to have some souvenirs) are no go, because Max can't put the player in Chloe's room using photo that wasn't taken in Chloe's room (or upstairs of Price's household). Unless... In my opinion contunuing Max & Chloe's history requires Max's powers to evolve somehow, I don't know how, maybe she will be able to leave the frames of photo, maybe she will find out that she can travel to any moment of her past if she focus on that moment in her mind (and she won't be confined in any frames) or something like that... I don't know how we can explain that recorder with Max power assuming that her powers will be the same as they were at the end of orginal LiS. Do you have any other ideas or explanation to this? Or maybe there is no hidden agenda and it was the only way that young Max could say "goodbye", because she was so overwhelmed with the situation?
I also read some comments and realised something interesting: Chloe's dreams from BtS - when we open Chloe's journal during one of the dreams we can see adult Max hanging on a tree? How Chloe's (or Chloe's subconsciousness) would know how Max look when she will be adult? - Mistake of the developers or their deliberate action? I hope that these are preparations to Life is Strange after the Storm.
It's a good theory. Though here are a few things I want to share. First, the butterfly symbol is not a deja vu, cuz if it was, then Max would express herself about it. It can still lead to alternate realities and I think it does, but developers just tease us in my opinion. Second, don't forget about second version of the goodbye message if you decide to hide the truth about leaving Arcadia Bay. It's quite different from the first one and doesn't support this theory. And third thing, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the fact of using time travel power to save Chloe leads to the Storm? If Max chose to sacrifice Chloe and didn't use the power, how the heck she traveled back to 2008 to leave the goodbye message?
Good point indeed. 😉
When I saw the title of this video my mind was blown
Billion years late to this, but there's just no way. I don't see any reason she wouldn't have her powers and don't have any problem imagining she could find a relevant photo to use. But the content of the message doesn't make sense. She can't control what "she" does between points she jumps between, because she doesn't have future memory in-between. So the message would only be for Chloe's benefit. But if Future Max did this, she'd have done the same thing she tried briefly after going back to restore William's accident, she would have tried to mitigate Chloe's pain from the isolation that will come. She wouldn't just pile on MORE false promises of keeping their relationship going, and COMPOUND Chloe's pain, she would be trying to put a spin on it like... well, like a time capsule, like how she knows that they might *not* keep up with each other as well as they hope, that they might grow apart in some ways, but that Chloe should never doubt that when they get their chance it will be just like opening the time capsule, like no time had passed at all. Something, in other words, to keep Chloe *hopeful* through the times they are apart, not more bitterly disappointed.
7:00
i believe its called a paradox
or as dr who say
the bootstrap paradox
YOU JUST FUCKED WITH MY MIND ... please i want to know more ..
This could only happen if there was a photo taken of Max on the day of the funeral. I've played through twice and haven't seen any such photo, or suggestion that it exists. Has anyone else? If so, let us know, because I would very much like to know if it were possible. It would be a beautiful new unsaid mystery to choose to believe.
Another great video!
I litterally thought the exact same thing except i was hoping that they would make the episode about that. What i mean is i went into the episode thinking u would be playing as future max and she would try to be as nice as possible on there last day together.
Yeah, it'd be nice. Although this theory has been disproved, like technically it's not possible... although it's still nice to think that is something that Max would have done for Chloe.
I also got another mistake deck nine DID i think.....
Frank Said he rescued Pompidou from a dog Fight in the original game but in beafore the storm Pompidou is jus a puppy
Great video! But either there is a problem or I'm just confused.. If it was the future max, she would have had to travel back in time with the last picture william took, but in Life Is Strange : Episode 4, max burned the picture when she was back for the second time, so she could never come back to let william survive. But in Farewell, the picture layed in the kitchen and I think you have to look at it before you can talk to chloe. Well, maybe I'm too confused because I didn't play it in the chronological order (farewell, before the storm, life is strange). Thats all. Thanks for your videos, I love them!
_Fly_ they made a lot of selfies that day
Adri Stefi I know what you mean, but they weren't necessary. They were optional photos (I apologize if I'm worong). But even though they would be necessary, max actually burned williams last picture in Life Is Strange Episode 4
_Fly_ maybe they were to Chloe's house and find a photo
Thank you! Well, I figured she could have traveled back in time to any photo that she might have taken between the time of William's death and funeral day - since these were her last hours in Arcadia Bay, she probably took plenty?
In the beginning of the episode Max takes an accidental selfie of herself when she picks up William camera. That's the perfect photo for her to use in this theory imo
DON'T BREAK THE GAME MAKING YOUR OWN THEORY! LET THE 'Life is strage' MAGIC FREE ...
So.. If you abandon Chloe, right at the end.. To supposedly save everyone.. She still exists in the storm timeline, but you let her die, in the new supposedly original timeline!
its not the "storm" timeline. Its a prequel or a story of Chloe 3 years before the events of original LiS take place
Your necklace is waving at me when you talk!
Realised that while editing, oh well. 😉
That was an amazing theory! What do you think LIS season 2 will be about and how will Max and Chloe contribute to season 2 if at all? I hope to see more amazing theories from you!
I actually made one video about LiS2 already, you can find it on my channel, although it did not contribute as much, we know so little - I think if we get to see Max then it'd be an Easter egg... fingers crossed for something more though.
Stop Me Oh shit... sorry I must have missed that video. Thanks for replying anyway though.
So nice theory! :DD This two games was so amazing!
I think the bonus episode was after life is strange like max and Chloe trying to find a way to save will and Chloe and than the whole Arcadia and they failed ...because we are max so we can't see Chloe listening the tape even it's a cut scene
It's a very good theory BUT Max was at her funeral too and when she goes back in time she transfers herself to her own body which is not possible because she attends the whole ceremony and leaves by car right after. Max does not exist in multiple copies.
Yeah, at the moment I was sort of thinking about Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban - when Harry went back, there were two copies.
but how could old Max record the message if when she time travel's to the past she turns into to the children Max?
It's just PERFECT
i dont think that is possible, because max said they would have contact, and max cannot stay in the photos a lot of time
I think Max have to say she will keep in touch with Chloe because if she doesn't that will change the reality. I love this theory and i believe in it so much, i was thinking about it in a way. You put words where I couldn't
Thank you!
This theory is possible since Max does take a picture of them both in Chloe's room during the Farewell episode if you check the camera. Max could then have used this photo to go back in time to record that message. Maybe that photo is suppose to mean something. Maybe this theory is actually true.
I honestly think that it wasn't adult Max all the episode, I mean they where just kids doing kid's stuff.
Maybe it was the last time she really traveled back in time after sacrificing Chloe (that's the scenario I'm thinking of now), not from saving-William-photo. In the end of sacrifice Chloe, Joice gives Max blue box of Chloe's stuff and I think she might kept some of Farewell photos in it as a reminder and after everything she time-jumped somehow. I know that it would be hard to do because there are no photos after Joice's return BUT there are photos in this episode, Max's selfies with Chloe. It could be just a coincidence but, like we all know, there are no coincidences in these games :) Or maybe Max returned through the last photo with a cap, she re-lived the whole situation from her adult perspective and then she recorded a message.
Just few thoughts :)
We cannot know if alleged older Max might have changed the timeline with her tape. Somehow she actually might have kept in touch with Chloe but we will not see that timeline.
Did anyone else notice the 3 dolls they blow up in farewell look like Max, Chloe, and Rachel?
Yep, definitely 3 of them!
I think it doesn't make sense ... you can't have two Max's in one universe. When she travels back, she is her younger self, and she can only travel back into the past through photos she is actualy on.
So theory debunked.
Glad I'm living in this reality!
Hmmmmm. Well, personally, I do not subscribe to the theory that it was adult-Max's voice on the recorder, mainly for 1 reason: Max's ability to travel back and forth through time does not allow her currently occupied body to physically travel to and fro...it only allows her mind to warp back and occupy the younger physical version appearing in a photo...or the reverse, to occupy the older version in later photos. It is her 'soul'...if you wish...doing the traveling. Not her physical form.
I won't go into other things that actually make sense, like-- well, if she went back, why doesn't she tell Chloe that she'll meet Rachel, fall head over heels in love, and then lose her; so she better stick close and make sure nothing happens to Rachel, or the girl will go missing. See, that would be a smart thing to do. But it never happens. Or, since she knows saving William puts Chloe at risk, why doesn't Max simply make a quick trip to Arcadia Bay around the time of the event and actually prevent Chloe's accident, in the same universe that LIS takes place? Also, just visiting Chloe from time to time seems an obvious thing Max should have done, once she realizes the affect her absence had on Chloe.
But, well, I don't want to just ramble on. I could write a book about all that stuff. Wait! Hmmmm. ;)
😉 well, I suppose for the simple reason of Max wanting not to change anything major, knowing it could cause a disaster, so she only left a subtle message. Also, yes, I agree about the voice thing - she does travel back to her younger body so voice should not change, I figured maybe her adult mind made her young voice sound more adult. 😉
I'm choosing to believe this now
Max could only go back in time through a photo, and Max couldn't leave the parameters of the photograph, which is why the space she could travel in the past would be limited. So in order for this to be true, 19 year old Max would have had to have a photo taken in Chloe's bedroom on the day of the funeral (which is not necessarily the same day William died. Most funerals aren't that soon).
Yeah, you're right. I suppose it's technically possible she went there and took some photo since she randomly does. Still, theory has been disproved, although I'd still like to believe it's something that Max would have done.
This is an interesting theory. However this is disproven by one fact. Max can only mentally time travel. In all examples of max time traveling she’s always in her own body. There are never any scenarios where there are two max’s At once. If old max came back in time to record that message. She would be in her younger body which doesn’t sound like older max. So she physically can’t say that message. I think that message doesn’t go any deeper than the developers putting in something very clever and sentimental for the players. Which is very well appreciated
Poryczałam się jak głupia w tamtym momencie Farewell episode, szczerze powiedziawszy takich momentów się nie zauważa, ale przez przypadek podczas sprzątania pokoju Chloe, kiedy chcesz wyrzucić porysowane karty, między nimi można dostrzec marker, którym Chloe najprawdopodobniej rysuje graffiti w BtS, więc tak czy inaczej każdy najmniejszy szczegół w tych grach ma swoje skutki i konsekwencje. Kto wie może to faktycznie była 19-letnia Max, dowiemy się tylko i wyłącznie jeśli postanowią o tym studia wykonawcze, o co serdecznie błagam.
Thought about this, & the wording *was* all too similar. Her tone & voice depth sounded a lot like future Max. If true, then it adds some more feels to the already overflowing feels. Love the touch of the graffiti too. Though still wondering why they haven't added the reference to the house being half painted, since William did start painting it.
Yes,Max and Chloe meant do be together forever and ever ❤️
If Future Max DID do this, it would change my estimation of the character. I would actually think she were a little sick. (Understandably with all that was happening to future Max, but still.) Future Max would know that Rachel was going to have 4+ years of silence from her present self, so making those promises would have been absolutely heartless and little more than an attempt at quieting her OWN emotional turmoil at the sake of Chloe's mental health, especially given everything that was coming to her re: Rachel.
Not really sure about when or why she would do it. I feel like the way and tone Max talks to Chloe in the tape recording is similar to the way she talks to Kate in the original LiS. She's tries to remain supportive and tries to tell Kate (or Chloe) that people love her and that there's still hope or whatever. Just try to imagine 13-years old Max saying the contents of the recording (she couldn't even tell Chloe that she was moving to Seattle). Especially if it's around the time when Max went back in time to save William. Max could still be feeling guilty about Kate's suicide attempt and feeling the need to be apologetic for everything she has been at least remotely connected to (even if it was from several years ago).
Damn this is a theory? That was just my general assumption upon finishing the episode
People strongly disagree as you can see in the comments.
Just a tiny maybe... When Chloe laid on the floor crying after hearing the tape, she kinda very little made a spiral shape with her body. Just my thought.
This makes so much sense! 😮
Fuck that theory, it makes me cry again.
Bae over bay, end of discussion.
And after going through all this shit together, Max would never lie Chloe again, never heart her feelings with false hope.
That....can be true also.
While yeah, I agree, that it would seem unlike Max, to be cruel to Chloe and promise her that they will write, visit, get better, great at it, as she puts it - knowing very well she never did any of it(cause of shyness, guilt...).
Buut look at the context- the whole message is obviously meant to be comforting, reassuring. Sometimes you just wanna make things more positive, than what you really believe them to be..
.. and at the end of the recording theres that little detail, when Max says Listen, even If I never-- (theres a little pause) ..even if were moving for good. -in my mind, thats future Max realizing the paradox of promising Chloe the impossible .. :D
For some reason, the first time I heard it, it felt like Max was about to say even, If I never write - youll be always on my mind, but changed her mind in the middle of the sentence. To me that recording always had that vibe, as it is from someone- that knoew "more" ;)
To me its still possible, its a message from Max from the future, while she is at the funeral, future max or not - sometime, somehow Max has to be the one to make that recoding, so.. theres a chance.
Fuck... My heart hurts
Stop me oh you have to see max easter egg 😯😯
Which one?
max caulfield easter egg life is strange before the storm (dream scene)
Thanks for your reply😊♥️
Of course; but I'm still not certain what exactly do you mean?
I said maybe you did not see the video to work on it Something like that Sorry for the inconvenience love you ♥️
OMG this is theory is so beautiful. I cry 😢
Stop me oh I got a theory so In the first episode of before the storm the 2nd dream sequence You see older max dead in Chloe's journal . Chloe doesn't know how older Max looks like she only know how young max looks like. She would only know that max has long hair (that's it really) but she drew older max so does that mean that older max hung herself after saving Arcadia bay or I don't know what do you think?
good theory but i don’t know if somebody mentioned it - when Max goes back in time to let William die and save Chloe she tears the photo apart and burns it in the fireplace (that photo is the only way to go into that time), so how can she go back in that time again after the cliff when she didn’t have that photo anymore?
Perhaps she used a different photo taken after William died? I agree that theory has its flaws though.
Stop Me Oh hmm that’s possible to do
It's a hella awesome theory but some are different and I can't reveal them though
An interesting theory
Other than that as far as that being a theory I would say I can't agree or disagree with that cause it's possible
I love a good theory but I always assumed Max lost her power when the tornado was tamed and the choice was made.
You are incredible.
Actually It makes sense
If I was in my 13 year old body wouldn't I sound like 13 year old ms or did she or maybe I recorded my voice and than went back
I'd like to think maturity would change her voice :D
I know I’m late but I just finished the game (wanted to play it late so I could play everything at once)
But you say there’s a gap in your theory (why would future max tell Chloe that they’ll keep and contact every day and they don’t) and my “filler” so to speak, max tried to change their destiny. Max felt so horrible for not keeping in contact with Chloe and max can only go far back in time and normally she does one drastic thing that changes the future.
Well max thought by leaving that message that her younger self would follow through with it. But she doesn’t, because there is no way to change the fact that they don’t talk for 5 years. Chloe most likely wouldn’t of met Rachel, thus life is strange never happens.