✧ 𝙰𝚗𝚢𝚊 ✧

Marcus was a man who didn’t want to grow up. We already know that from the information on his Hamlen ID card saying "never grew up".

In the secret tape, we see him during a job interview. He’s asked strange questions about his devotion to his job and whether he would be willing to go against his own principles to get the work done. He’s also told to turn around, and when he laughs, he’s immediately told to stay serious.

I believe these commands were meant to test whether he would follow orders without question.He also adds that he "aims to please".

Then comes the most confusing part to me: how he went from being a regular employee to becoming part of the show.

From what we hear from Blabbo, there was an ongoing project called The Shepherd, created specifically to destroy the tapes. Hamlen wanted to replicate the Colton Anomaly, but this time make it want to destroy the tapes instead.(Though I still don’t fully understand why they wanted to do that.)

For this project, they needed a creature that would obey without questioning anything. This is where Marcus comes in. He was a spineless man who was willing to do anything for Hamlen, even if it meant becoming imprisoned inside the show. So they took his DNA to create this weapon.

I believe he was put into a pod just like the rest of the children. But when the project was abandoned (possibly because the Hamlen employees were killed), he was abandoned as well, which explains why he ended up rotting, as we see in the mirror scene. I think that because he was only a tool to them, he wasn’t treated well—similar to the kids, who ended up as flesh and blood, even though their souls are still conscious.

Rebecca, on the other hand, was treated very differently. She was the Piper in Hamlen’s plan and the key to their success. We can see this because she’s kept in a completely different room and is taken care of much better.

And this is where I think the biggest mischaracterization happens.

In the third game, Wooly is more demanding and more annoyed at Chicken Scratch’s presence. He even gets angry. When he finally breaks down, he becomes obsessive, telling Amanda that they should be best friends forever and stay there together.

A lot of people interpreted this as Marcus being a pedophile. I really disagree. I believe his behavior comes from desperation. Wooly, as I said earlier, is already rotting. If Amanda/Rebecca leaves the show, he won’t be able to survive anymore, but she will.

This is what his desperation looks like in that final moment. Marcus is trying as hard as he can to keep Amanda there, purely for his own survival. He doesn't even want to be her friend! This is his breaking point—when his soul finally dies (though obviously not the Shepherd’s soul).

In the end, is Marcus evil? I don’t think he’s evil, but he definitely isn’t a good person. The fact that he agreed to go along with Hamlen’s plan, even though he probably understood what it meant, is awful. I also think the way he dies is a result of trying to keep Amanda on script, following orders, even if it meant sacrificing what’s left of his own sanity—like in the first game, where he’s killed by Amanda, which must have been pretty traumatic for him.

So yeah, like Blabbo said, he was a bad person.