is alice: asylum completely retconning the two previous games or what?
Whaddup, Tumblr, your favorite meta Alice fan here.
So I found some really conflicting timeline stuff on McGee’s pateron page.
And so you all know, this is my opinion. I, frankly, am not digging this idea of a third game being a prelude to the two previous games. I don’t think it does well story-wise, I think the story is pretty much done, and I don’t have much faith in McGee creating a third installment with how Otherlands went.
But if you’re a diehard fan or just really know canon details like a lot of us, you know the timeline starts <I>right</i> after “Through the Looking Glass”, which was November 5th, and while it’s not really declared in game, we know from the beginning of the first game Alice is pretty young, like <I>tiny</i>. According to the booklet that came with the first game (Wilson’s casebook) she was seven when the fire happened. Then, with the mini app game before “Madness Returns”. To also back this up, Alice states that she is seven and a half years old in the first book and these games establish that the books are apart of the canon. If they didn’t they wouldn’t have things like the Looking Glass Line or the White Queen and King, things like that. That means Alice is still seven years old. The mobile game/storybook is canon; we know that from Alice’s past memories regarding her stay in the infirmary and that happens to be one year after the fire:
Humor me, y'all, here’s the basic timeline:
1863: Baby Alice’s adventures
- states that she’s seven and a half years old
- “Through the Looking Glass” takes place six months after the previous book
- The fire takes place the day <I>after</i> the events of “Through the Looking Glass”.
- Alice is sent to an infirmary, completely catatonic (this is confirmed by the mobile game, via “Evening London News”
1864: Since Alice is in such a catatonic state, she is sent from the infirmary to Rutledge Asylum.
- She is catatonic, she does not move; you can hear Pris Witless yell at her how she won’t even get up to use a bedpan and she has to be forced.
- Alice is forcefed according to “Wilson’s Casebook”
- Alice is also forcefed in the storybook
- Alice is in catatonia for a while.
- Alice starts to gradually open up from her catatonia, she draws, sometimes she speaks.
- Sometimes Alice has violent outbursts but that’s due to the abuse she endures from the staff.
- She starts to talk about Wonderland, albeit, very brokeningly.
- Alice attempted suicide at the age of 12 after gouging out one of the twin orderly’s cheek
- Alice is drawing stuff all over her cell
- Insert Wilson telling her to put away her toys because he’s a jackass
1874:
- The start of the first game begins
- The game states she has been in Rutledge for ten years
1875:
- Madness Returns begins and it states that it is a year later.
- The game reiterates she was in the aslyum for 10 years via her memories by both Pris, Nanny and then some.
Okay, guys, keep that 10 year thing in mind. They say 10 years, in both games, in the case file booklet, and in the storybook. So, here’s where I have a problem on McGee’s Pateron posted on September 30th, 2017:
“Keep these dates in mind: 1863 - the year of the fire - Alice’s family is killed. 1864 - Alice admitted to Rutledge Asylum. 1865 - Alice is 13 years old - THIS is where "Alice: Asylum” takes place. 1866-1873 Alice in a coma. 1874 - Alice returns to Wonderland in “American McGee’s Alice” - age 22. 1875 - Alice is 23 and ventures into “Madness Returns.” (Check out the 2nd tab of the spreadsheet).“
And here’s that 10 year thing again:
"When we first see Wonderland in "Madness Returns” it looks healthy and alive. This is because of the battles fought in the first game to put things right again. Of course then the Train begins its mission to destroy everything and Wonderland is once again thrown into disarray. But we are going back in time 10 years - to a place before all that…“
By this, it’s contradicting everything that we know in the material so far. If that is taking ten years before AMR and AMR takes place <I>ten years</i> after the events of her in Rutledge, then that would mean that Alice was in Rutledge <I>longer</i> that what we were told. Now, if were were to just go with the current timeline and use "Alice: Asylum” within the ten years of Alice emerging from catatonia, it would make sense. But if, theoretically, AMR is taking place ten years after this, then this completely makes the timeline that McGee and his writers very, very fuzzy.
McGee is also intending to use “Alice: Asylum” as the stages of grief. This isn’t so much of a timeline issue, but each of her adversaries represent an <I>aspect</i> of her personality. Wonderland is already a tool of denial of some form; it’s Alice’s psychotic state transforming into something because she cannot and doesn’t want to accept her reality. There is no need for a narrative for the stage of denial, because we were already there. We can also say that tidbits of AMR are essentially denial, through her repressing memories via the Cenatur, the Caterpillar yelling at her how she doesn’t want to see the truth, the Carpenter saying that things aren’t what they seem, and then the Red Queen distinctly telling her she does not want to see what is around her.
Repression can be a form of denial. The psychosis she manifests <I>is</i> disassociation both through her catatonia and her unwillingness to cope and accept what was going on. We know for a fact that the Red Queen especially represents her ANGER in particular, so how could “Asylum” do that when we already know that Alice’s anger is tangent and white hot through her own manifestations and visions in Wonderland? What about her yelling at the Jabberwock (a manifestation of her own survivor’s guilt, <I>blame</i> and <I>bargin</i>) or Mr. Radcliffe? Then Bumby?
I realize that this is all in the beginning stages, but I’m just going to point these out because if they go this route it is really, really not going to be concise and it’s almost as if they’re pulling a Capcom and Ubisoft, here.
I’m just saying. You guys really want to see this happened the same way “Assassin’s Creed” or “Resident Evil” went? Shit is bannanas.
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