u/D0nell

One thing about TikTok: it’ll spread misinformation fast if you have no media literacy or discernment and just believe whatever you see. Because what compelled somebody to write this with so much confidence when they probably didn’t even have to name her? The original post was about Patti LaBelle, so what made them randomly bring up Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé? People are constantly critiquing Black women’s natural beauty and disguising it as a “compliment.”

This is my idea for a Night Springs episode in Alan Wake 2 that I think would be a little bit more compelling than the more comedic “evil coffee” style Jesse episode we received. I understand the episode was meant to be fun and lean into the absurd side of Night Springs, but I think there was room for a much darker and more emotionally compelling alternate reality story. The episode could explore a version of events where there is no Hiss invasion, no Jesse Faden arriving at the Bureau, and no Dylan storyline. Instead, the narrative focuses entirely on Zachariah Trench and his guilt surrounding his daughter’s illness.

In canon, Trench’s daughter became sick after he irresponsibly brought paranatural work home with him, exposing his family to forces they were never meant to encounter. The incident destroyed his marriage and left Trench consumed by guilt for what he had done. In this alternate reality, rather than eventually becoming consumed by the Hiss, Trench becomes obsessed with rumors surrounding Bright Falls and the existence of Alan Wake, a writer capable of altering reality itself through the Dark Place. Once Trench learns what Alan may be capable of, he becomes convinced that Alan is the only person who can save his daughter’s life.

Trench secretly leads the Federal Bureau of Control into Bright Falls under the guise of a standard investigation into a suspected Place of Power. The town gradually falls under Bureau surveillance and containment procedures while the real purpose of the operation remains known only to Trench and a select few senior researchers. His true objective is finding Alan Wake and forcing him to rewrite reality. Unlike the original timeline, this version of the Bureau is not fighting an external invasion. It is slowly collapsing under the weight of one man’s obsession.

Casper Darling becomes fascinated by Cauldron Lake almost immediately. Unlike Trench, who is motivated by grief and guilt, Darling is consumed by scientific obsession and curiosity about the lake’s ability to reshape existence. Under Trench’s orders, the Bureau attempts to activate the lake and open a direct connection to the Dark Place. Dive teams are sent into the threshold in search of Alan Wake, but every attempt ends in disaster. Agents disappear, return psychologically damaged, or never surface at all. Despite growing casualties and increasing concern among the rest of the FBC, Trench continues demanding more attempts while Darling becomes increasingly mesmerized by the power beneath the lake. Eventually Darling vanishes into the threshold himself, disappearing just as mysteriously as he did in the original timeline.

As Trench’s mental state deteriorates, the influence of the Dark Place begins corrupting him in the same way the Hiss once did. The Bureau starts questioning his judgment, but by then it is too late. Trench intercepts Alice Wake before she can return to the lake and takes her hostage, using her as leverage against Alan. He forces Alan into writing a new reality where his daughter is healthy again.

The climax takes place in a confrontation between Alan and Trench inside the Dark Place. Alan sits at his desk trying to explain that the Dark Place does not work like a simple wish granting machine. He warns Trench that reality cannot be rewritten without consequences and that the Dark Place twists intention into horror. Trench refuses to listen. Desperate and unraveling, he points the Service Weapon at Alice and demands Alan write the story anyway. Alan reluctantly agrees in order to save Alice’s life.

What appears before Trench is seemingly his daughter, healthy and alive, but it is actually the Dark Place wearing her image. Exploiting his guilt and grief, it manipulates and possesses him completely. By the time Alice escapes and the remaining members of the FBC learn Alan is still alive within the lake, Trench has already become something else.

The final sequence takes place at the Lake House. Kiran Estevez stands with the surviving agents protecting Alice while Trench emerges from the darkness fully possessed by the Dark Place. He raises the Service Weapon toward them as if preparing to execute everyone present. Just before he fires, flashes of the Board interrupt reality itself.

“THE DIRECTOR HAS BEEN FIRED/REMOVED

THE WEAPON REJECTS THE USER/CONTAMINANT

THE POSITION IS VACANT/EMPTY

CORRECT THE ERROR”

For a brief moment Trench regains control of himself. Whether it is the Board intervening or Alan subtly writing events from within the Dark Place is left ambiguous. Realizing he has become another puppet of a greater force, Trench turns the Service Weapon on himself and pulls the trigger.

The surviving agents are left shaken while Alan remains trapped in the Dark Place, once again denied escape. The tragedy of the story is that Trench ultimately fails because he cannot let go of his guilt. He spends the entire episode trying to undo the consequences of exposing his family to forces beyond human understanding, only to become consumed by another one.

I’m aware that James McCaffrey passed away, and that’s most likely one of the reasons we would probably never receive something like this officially. This isn’t meant as criticism toward what we got or an attempt to replace the actual Night Springs episodes. It’s just a concept I came up with as writing practice and as an appreciation for Remedy Entertainment’s games, especially the themes and characters in Control and Alan Wake 2. I’ve always found Trench to be one of the more tragic characters in the Remedy universe, and I thought exploring an alternate reality where grief and guilt led him toward the Dark Place instead of the Hiss could make for an interesting Night Springs story.

I randomly started thinking about how many absolute bangers Beyoncé probably has sitting in a vault somewhere fully finished, mixed, mastered, with insane collaborations attached to them that the public may literally never hear. Like songs with other top artists, legends, unexpected pairings, records that maybe sounded incredible but just didn’t fit the direction she wanted at the time.

This thought came to me because I recently discovered the unreleased Michael Jackson and Lenny Kravitz collaboration “Another Day” that only officially came out after Michael passed away on the posthumous album Michael. The craziest part is the song sounds DONE. Polished, huge, radio-ready. Then I found out it was originally intended for Invincible and just got shelved.

Then I started thinking about Michael’s situation in general and all the legendary collaborations that almost happened or got buried. Like the Freddie Mercury collab situation “State of Shock” was originally supposed to involve Freddie, but because they couldn’t properly finish the record, MJ ended up doing it with Mick Jagger instead. Then later Queen released “There Must Be More to Life Than This,” which is beautiful but way softer and completely different energy-wise. It makes you realize how many alternate versions of music history probably exist behind closed doors.

And now I can’t stop wondering what Beyoncé is hiding in her archives.

Who has she recorded with that we don’t even know about? What songs got fully completed only to be shelved because they were “too loud,” too experimental, too fun, too emotional, too whatever for the album she was building?

I even think about how Miley pitched “Easy Lover” for Cowboy Carter and Beyoncé ended up going with “II Most Wanted” instead. Don’t get me wrong, “II Most Wanted” is beautiful, but “Easy Lover” sounded way louder and more chaotic in a fun way. It would’ve been fascinating hearing Beyoncé and Miley attack a record with that kind of energy together.

It just makes me think there are probably Beyoncé collaborations sitting somewhere that would blow our minds if we ever heard them, but they’re just being enjoyed privately between her and the people involved. And honestly… we may never get them.

I was playing 2v8 and had one killer chasing me, then the second killer came around the corner and boxed me in. Me and Alan BOTH said “Damn.” at the exact same time.

Then later after I got unhooked and instantly tunneled again he just goes “fuck” while sprinting away like he’s completely over this nightmare. Then when I finally got downed he hits the “what do I do now?”.

I had another match where everyone else died and I actually had a shot at escaping and he starts saying “come on, go faster.” The way he talks feels so authentic and natural, almost meta at times, but it fits his character perfectly.

You can tell they put real effort into him because some licensed characters feel completely overlooked. That’s why it disappoints me that Saga Anderson’s skin doesn’t have voice lines at all because after hearing her personality throughout Alan Wake 2, she absolutely should have had some.

I understand the FBC is currently under lockdown and probably dealing with the events of Resonant right now, but once everything settles and everyone regroups, what do you think they’ll do about Cauldron Lake?

I’m honestly surprised they never relocated the residents of Bright Falls after discovering how dangerous it is to the community. Do you think they’ll finally try to fully contain the area and prevent people from accessing it once everything is under control?

Or do you think Alan will somehow seal the threshold entirely and turn Cauldron Lake into a normal body of water so people can safely live there without being influenced by it anymore?

I also wonder about the people themselves. Do you think the residents of Bright Falls will ever fully recover mentally from everything they’ve experienced, or will they forever be affected by the Dark Place? I feel like there has to be some lasting psychological effect after being around that influence for so long.

I wish DC would produce more short films because not everything needs to be a feature length film. There are a lot of stories I want to see that probably cannot be told in a full length format and likely will not be told at all, but short films could give us glimpses of these characters and stories that would otherwise never reach the screen. I would love having media like that to go back and watch, even if it is not all live action. I remember when DC used to upload short animated films to YouTube that told great stories in a short amount of time, like the Green Arrow, Vixen, and the Catwoman one that tied into Batman: Year One.

I would like to see this new DC universe give heroes who may not receive full films or need television shows one shot short films where the character or actor can stand out on their own and possibly test audiences to see if people want to see more of them, or just allow for independent stories that do not have to tie into anything, which is something I want more of anyway. I would love to see a Hawkgirl short film or a Guy Gardner short film, and not just a Christmas gag special like Deadpool, but something with a strong short story behind it.

I really want to see something like Batman: War on Crime adapted, where we see Batman reflect on his philanthropy and the challenges he faces handling a systemic problem, with no supercriminals and no spontaneous gadgets, just a stripped down version of the character who induces fear but also shows compassion and works to stop criminals from reoffending, showing he is not just brutally beating people who are trying to survive poverty or are mentally unwell. I honestly think that kind of story deserves feature length treatment, but I know people are more ready for spontaneous stories and more focus on other members of the Bat Family, but those spontaneous stories can be on the big screen.