Oh, BROTHER Mark's whole situation makes me ILL; this will probably end up more disorganized than I'd like, but I have some miscellaneous thoughts about him that I think deserve to be discussed. For the like, three fans of mine out there who read these, here's another addition to the "Theory and Analysis" series, with more leaning on analysis.
Broadly, I'll be focusing on dissecting some of Mark's major character traits, which means I'll be assuming a lot based on what's implied (mostly because we can only infer from information that's presented to us postmortem). But as usual, I'll try to "ground" my analysis in evidence presented throughout the series
(See full analysis under read more)
In terms of the narrative, Mark really only features in Volume 1 as an “example” of a typical alternate encounter (labeled as “Victim 1” in the case file), something that Alex confirmed in his Director's Commentary of Volume 1. He's more of a case study than a leading character; however, his death does have major and lasting effects on the narrative through Sarah and Thatcher (which I'll get into later).
Mark's history with alternates is complicated and seems to extend before he was actively being targeted by Cesar's alternate. He was likely traumatized at an early age (age 4) from the nighttime encounter with Six (Volume 1, in the Toddler Stress Assessment portion). It's still unclear how or why Six was in the Heathcliff home, though if Adam's encounter with Six (alias Stanley) is any indication, it may be inferred that Mark may have originally been intended to be taken/replaced in a similar way, and for unknown reasons, wasn't. This early encounter likely contributes to why he was paranoid of alternates before his death, as the rise in alternate activity in 1992 (implied via the USDTP broadcast on alternates in Volume 1) would clearly be noticed by him. He was heeding the USDTP broadcast about alternates, and suggested "Cesar" do the same ("Did you lock all your doors and windows, like what the broadcast said?"). He likely at least subconsiously remembers the threat of alternates from his Six encounter, hence his caution. If we want to push this characterization further, it may also be suggested that this is the reason Mark feels uneasy about Cesar's house ("you know how I feel about your house"). Perhaps the alternate that would become Cesar's alternate was lingering around the place for a while, and Mark could somehow sense its presence.
We know he was extremely religious (Christian), as his journal entries reveal his prayers to God in Volume 333. He also (presumably) regularly visited a church as a kid (photograph from exhibition) and later visits it as an adult (camcorder footage in exhibition). Since Thatcher documents in exhibition that Mark seemed paranoid for a period of time before he died (date stamps reveal all of the footage to be in August before September). It's assumed then that he visits the church because he seeks comfort in God and (initially at least), only shaken when alternates preys on his faith in Volume 1. He's also noted to have been “hugging” his bible and crying by Thatcher in the reviewed camcorder footage from the Heathcliff case files, likely seeking comfort in the absence of anybody else.
His faith is manipulated by Cesar's alternate during the 2-3 day period, where it's tormenting him in his room, preying on his religiousness by making him “lose faith”. Mark's journal entries (Volume 333) indicate this descent as he begins to question his faith, eventually leading to Mark to come to the horrific conclusion that God either can't hear him or was never real. Presumably, he also learns about Gabriel replacing Jesus (overthrone), implied through the "who have I been praying to?" line, followed by "my eyes are wide open." He bemoans that nobody came for him, and after futilely shooting at the alternate, gives up and commits suicide.
Implicitly, he seems to have been a very good and dedicated friend to those who knew him, and especially Cesar. Despite his own paranoia, the news broadcast, and his existing fear of the Torres house, he was worried about Cesar’s well-being during that Volume 1 phone call and was even willing to help him during his apparent crisis with his mom at the risk of his own safety. After his suicide, his absence was apparently noticed by his other friends, as indicated by the voice mail left by "the Concerned Friend". This was technically only shown in the original "Mark's Soliloquy" video, which is technically non-canon since it was deleted. But many pieces are still preserved in official media (such as the camcorder footage being documented by Thatcher in his case files), and Alex himself admitted that he's not sure why he didn't include that part in the Volume 1 Director's Commentary, implying that, given the choice, he would have. We can consider it canon, then, that he was definitely loved by his friends.
What makes Mark's story so heart-wrenching is how badly he was failed by all the adults in his life. His relationship with his parents is largely unknown, but presumably, they weren’t home at any point during his alternate encounter. I'm having a hard time believing they let a (still in school) 17-18 year old live in his own house alone, but I guess it's possible? The school does make it sound like they're expecting family presence in the home, so its more like they just weren't home. They not being home often might explain Mark having a gun. Thatcher attests in his case files that Mark kept it in his room. Perhaps they allowed Mark to own or handle a gun for protection, maybe, since they weren’t home. Or, worse, maybe they didn't allow it, and Mark simply took it, either because he knew no one was going to protect him...or maybe because he had thoughts of using it the way he ends up using it before the alternates got to him.
Speaking of the school, they call for a wellness check for Mark from the police, and they also comment that there’s no “emergency contact” info on file (Volume 333). Combined with the voice mail from “the Concerned Friend” checking up on him instead of, I don't know, HIS PARENTS, it seems to further imply that prolonged absences with little to no communication aren't unusual for Mark's parents. This might've been the age of "well, you're practically an adult, so we can leave you home alone," and the onset of alternates came on really quickly, but it's still a tragic situation. Nobody was around to notice his frantic paranoia in the days leading up to his death. Mark's journal is filled with desperate attempts to calm himself with religious prayer. Thatcher notes that Mark hugged his Bible and cried alone in his room until his voice gave out. Just before his dying moments, he cried for his mom and dad. The police wouldn't be coming for him. "Nobody came for me." Mark had no one but himself.
His death serves as an example for how alternates operate, but also in death, he became a matyr of sorts. He didn't deserve the suffering he underwent, especially if it's to be assumed he was a kind and loving boy. One of his last journal entries is surprisingly selfless; he begs whoever finds his body to not let what he went through happen to anyone else. It's an interesting show of character that even in such a dark mental place, he's still thinking of others. Alex confirmed in a Reddit AMA that Mark was a good brother to Sarah, and also that she would've been young (4 at the time of his death), which correlates to her continued dogging of the police for their apparent "failure" to save him and lack of progress on the case. Furthermore, it also likely led to her motivation for starting BPS, to investigate paranormal happenings on her own because the police won't.
Thatcher, in particular, seems haunted by his death. He's the one to discover Mark's body, has to watch and catalog his multi-day psychological torture in the police evidence, and insists on working on it even when the case is long dead (noted by Ruth in Volume 333). The Imaginary Friend alternate taunts him with voices from the case: "you're too late" and "this town is in shambles because of you" from Volume 333 are Cesar and Mark respectively, and comparing him to Mark in Volume 4 is partially spoken in Mark's voice ("you're just a scared boy with a gun...[sound familiar?"], with the bracketed part being said in Mark's voice). He has a voicemail from Sarah taunting him about Mark's death and his failure to solve his case as one of the evidence clips in the BPS file, as if to punish himself.
Alex mentioned in his Director's Commentary that he's surprised people are still so obsessed with Mark and Cesar because "they gave nothing", but I have to disagree. Not only are they the catalyst to really tell the whole story, but Mark (and by extension, Cesar) haunt the narrative and its characters. Thatcher wouldn't be determined to fight against alternates so hard if Mark's horrible death didn't riddle him with guilt. Sarah wouldn't have made BPS and met Adam if Mark's case hadn't gone cold. Adam wouldn't have met Jonah and landed himself in a situation where he was confronted with the truth of his own nature (as well as having to wrestle with the guilt he felt about Jonah's death) if BPS hadn't been made. Mandela has ghosts, and Mark can be seen everywhere.
The tragic irony of Mark isn't that he "gave nothing", it's that his life only meant something because he died. In this, he is a martyr like a patron saint.
