#bts hell is empty

(SPOILERS for Before the Storm, especially Hell is Empty!)

  I haven't seen a whole lot of discussion on this, other than "OH MY GOD FUCK ELIOT" which .. AGREED but I'm not sure if we have the same reasons. 

  First of all, while I loved the emotional effect this scene left on me (I was tense as fuck and literally shaking the whole time) I'm not sure it actually made any fucking sense. 

  We don't see much of Eliot in the first two episodes, and we had written him off as a weird Warren clone. In episode two however, you get the chance to explore in his room and make some .. strange discoveries. I did that, personally, but I know a lot of people didn't. Basically he had a notebook full of creepy as hell love poetry about Chloe, as well as extensive notes and opinions and where she's been day to day. STALKER MUCH? But I honestly forgot about it going into 3... 

  Then we see him as Chloe is leaving the hospital, and I'm wary and refuse to tell him what's going on with Rachel, because it really is none of his damn business and his pushiness made me clam up even more. It pans on him watching us leave with an unreadable expression, for what felt like an uncomfortably long chunk of seconds, and then we're gone. To break into James' house, naturally.

  I'm not going to discuss the scene in the office, where Chloe looks into Sera and Damon's connections with James, because I think that's a topic that needs another post of it's own.

  Cue Eliot walking in and .. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Chloe and I say in tandem. "Did you follow me?" Yep he's not even gonna deny that. We get a lecture about the same as the one in the hospital, but this time he's getting noticeably worked up, pacing and raising his voice. For once in Chloe's life she catches on to the danger of this situation, and all of a sudden we're locked in there. Alone. With no one coming. And Eliot. 

  I am scared rather shitless and in shock this is happening at all. I mean .. sure he's an average high school boyo douche, or so we thought. I guess we really can't trust anybody. Oh but wait, we never did fucking trust him. He just dived into the situation and is now acting possessive and psycho. FOR ONCE Chloe reacts appropriately. Call the police. (she's not carrying a weapon yet huh, after everything?)

  As much as I'm on board with negative character developments like this, I am not sure the discovery in his room is really enough justification for this. It's so damn sudden. We don't have any interactions with him directly (other than the hospital .. but that's too close to this one, and can be written off as genuine concern) to evidence this kind of behavior. 

  And, why is he possessive in the first place? Is it family history? Mental illness? (think; we have background on Nathan) As far as I understood, the only time Chloe has gone to him was pre BtS to hook up. (and that was what, once?) He's a weirdly gentle seeming guy for that kind of relationship, and clearly he seemed to take some meaning to it, whereas Chloe is already miles in the distance. “Uh what, who are you again?” //looks at smudged writing on hand “.. ellen? ellie? ELIOT”

  Sighs. Anyway. The biggest writing problem with this scene though isn't even Eliot himself. It's the fact that this, lowly side character, now being presented as a villain, is bringing up some really good points. Rachel Amber has changed Chloe a lot. Her presence has seem to put her in danger. She is treating Chloe like a pet she can order around. These are all fucking important issues that have alluded to the entire game, and seem to be pretty key considering this game was supposed to be about (and WAS for the first two episodes!!) this intense, real, and yes problematic relationship between Chloe and Rachel. 

  Yet, the game is trying to tell us now it's wrong to think that way, contradicting everything it was saying before ("Rachel is fire, fire is blinding") by the way its presented this information; Though a villain who is going off his rocker, a direct threat to Chloe.  This isn't just looking back, it made me angry as that scene was playing out, to find myself agreeing with this ABUSIVE BOY'S opinions. Because he is NOT coming from a good place, concern for Chloe, he is coming from a POSSESSIVE one. "rachel is bad, listen to ME, i am NOT bad"

  Which goes hand in hand with the entire episode's retcon in it's prompts to the players to think deeply about what Rachel and Chloe are to each other. Nope, they're great, just perfect, so cute, awh! Hm. What happened to the fucking game being about this, their relationship, huh? They sloppily threw it in, not even offering a replacement conclusion to the plot, and not only that but threw it with the implied opinion that no, there is nothing wrong here, move along. 

  Chloe had zero retrospection on, "hm, what if he's right?" because why would she? Why would his opinion matter to her? To us? Unless it rang true, which personally, it did.

  To round off the general weirdness here, the police arrive, Chloe magically escapes, and it is left extraordinarily vague what the hell happened after, between the police and Eliot. He's kicked out of Blackwell it seems, in the end cutscenes, but if they found evidence to suspend him wouldn't they have also found enormous evidence against Chloe? She's the one who committed multiple felonies in this very spot. Uh.. okay.