About Marcus Moutman/Wooly:
So, the reveal of who Wooly true was understandably upset some of his fans who have had time to theorize for several years—some didn't want him to be an antagonist in anyway, and many were expecting him to be a child just like Rebecca/Amanda, and maybe even black. Then ATA 3 revealed that his true identity was actually a grown adult, and he wasn't even a POC. This, naturally shattered many headcanons, for better or for worse depending on the fan's perceptive. Personally, I'm somebody who only got into the series this very year, and theorized that Wooly was a victim of trauma but who also caused a lot of harm, likely being Hameln's puppet to keep things going smoothly, so, the reveal didn't affect me and I was actually pretty keen to it, not to mention, correct in my overall assertion. So, maybe it's because I'm unbiased about the reveal, but I've really been itching to get into Marcus/Wooly's actions, character, and what they actually represent in the overall story. Especially since I've seen so many people in YouTube comments or Tumblr itself simply saying "Wooly was evil/the true villain all along", acting like that's what people should take away from everything while not truly understanding the nuances behind it, missing the point. With that said, here we go...
I said that I wanted to talk about this scene in particular, and so I shall...
The whole time, Wooly is bitter about the subject of being an adult, whereas Amanda is more eager to talk about the possibilities. Of course, unlike Marcus, Amanda/Rebecca hasn't had the chance to experience life as an adult yet, so that's why she is a little less affected talking about the subject, but actually, this is what makes things even more interesting about both characters and how they handle their trauma and grief...
In spite of everything the poor girl has suffered through and how much was taken away from her, she still entertains possibilities and embraces the good memories of her past, even though they were cruelly taken away from her. In fact, Sam himself (screw you, he's not dead! 😭) said this about Rebecca:
I'll also return to this very point about Rebecca/Amanda more later, but Wooly is completely baffled by what she's saying, and it clearly affects him. Yes, he's likely thinking, "oh no, I can't control her anymore", but it's more than that.
This, to me, is the look of "wait...an adult not having to do what others want to do...can you actually do that?"
In this very scene, he refuses to look himself in the mirror, but after Amanda says all of this and gleefully leaves the room, he actually gives in and steals a peak.
The reflection seems to be the reflection of a horrid, likely rotting corpse. Marcus himself is likely long dead, but his spirit remains in both Wooly and the Shepard. Wooly was always especially uncomfortable with the topic of death, and if you choose "funeral " for something to celebrate a party for, this happens...
Again, this shows that Amanda is actually being the more healthy, level-headed one, making something good but bittersweet out of a tragic situation, whereas Wooly refuses to think that way. But again, we'll get there soon enough...
While taking these screenshots, I just noticed that he has his eyes shut and hands over his ears after he sees the reflection—again, classic avoidance and denial.
The scene right after is the moment his facade irrevocably breaks.
An interesting little detail is that Amanda says this very line in the first game after the "send my condolences to Kate" message.
Now, here's where we get to Marcus and who he likely was as a person.
Blabbo comments that he was a bad kid, but doesn't elaborate. Many people would automatically think this means that he was always a "bad" person, but based on his demeanor in his video interview, he is a very anxious, spineless, but seemingly friendly and polite man. He clearly tries too hard to please others, in his own words "I aim to please." Based on his reactions to the question given to him, he clearly didn't know what he was signing up for, but still ultimately agrees to follow orders even if it means giving up his own principals and autonomy, as the Hameln worker clearly states.
As I brought up in my previous post: what if young Marcus only misbehaved because he was a victim of child abuse? Maybe he was considered a bad kid because he would throw tantrums (like Amanda does), out of neglect, verbal, or physical abuse from parents or whoever raised him? Maybe that's why he was as anxious and obedient as he was as an adult. Honestly, kind of like Wooly himself, Marcus seems very unstable; you can tell from his body language and way of speaking. In fact, judging by the anger tantrums Wooly already pulls, I think Marcus likely could have had anger and/or instability issues. Of course, most of what I'm saying about Marcus—outside of what is already shown to us—is pure speculation, but if most of what I'm saying is true, then it goes with what he says when he snaps.
This implies that unlike Rebecca/Amanda, he never had anyone who genuinely cared about him, and likely never experienced true childhood. This would explain why he was so desperate to keep his friendship with Amanda and to keep the innocent, fun themes of the show alive no matter what the cost—outside of just being a puppet for Hameln to control to keep Amanda in check. He loved feeling like a kid, and he loved avoiding adult responsibilities.
Now, let's finally get back to my point about how Rebecca/Amanda and Marcus/Wooly decide to handle their trauma, and why their relationship ended as tragically as it did.
Sam Colton said that Rebecca has been through a lot when he adopted her as a child, but despite all that, she was still able to see the positives in the world and be a kind person. When there were moments of her being afraid, Sam, or any of her new friends, were always there to make her feel better and in her words: braver.
Probably because of this, Amanda is able to handle her emotions a bit better than Wooly and actually want to confront these dark events rather than ignore or run away from them. She can even communicate with the Anomaly and calm it down. We actually never see Wooly directly interact with his own Anomaly.
Marcus, unlike Rebecca, seemingly didn't have anyone who cared about him. With that being said: what would benefit him from remembering the past? What would benefit him acknowledging his trauma? What would benefit him from leaving the world of fabricated childlike innocence behind? To him, nothing.
He refused to lose his peaceful fabricated world up until the very end, and was willing to harm/kill others without remorse in order to keep it, which lead to his demise.
NOTE: About this moment in particular, a lot of people question what happened to Wooly since that's the last we see of him—aside from the Shepard when he confronts the Colton Anomaly at the end. I could be completely wrong, but I thought he disappeared because Hameln wanted him to comply with any order and stay on script, and him finally breaking down the "friendly" facade probably removed him from the show completely. That could be a dumb theory of course, just what I initially thought.
Rebecca and Marcus were both victims of Hameln, but in the end, the child actually acted more like an adult than the actual adult. It's also, to me, a cautionary tale of a traumatized child who wanted to grow up and live a normal life VS a traumatized adult who chose not to grow up and refused to confront reality.
It's actually sad to think what Amanda and Wooly could have had. When he opens up to Amanda near the end, she actually seems to feel sympathy for him and is willing to listen. All she ever wanted was a true friendship, but Wooly would only control and gaslight her (ie: what she ended up having with "Chicken Scratch" was exactly what she craved, especially since they were both both children). So if Wooly was more honest about his feelings, and they actually opened up to each other about their shared trauma, they could have still had something special. Though I suppose, Hameln wouldn't have allowed that to happen anyway, especially given whatever signed contract Marcus would have agreed to, but that's what I mean about their shaky friendship ultimately being tragic.
Wooly was certainly an antagonist, but the big-bad evil villain? No. In reality, the situation is a lot more complex than that. The true villain was Hameln—an unethical evil company that's obviously social commentary on real companies out there—and any antagonist outside of them were just puppets for them to pull the strings of.
Phewww, I'm finally done this long-ass post 😅
