FREAKYYYY

"She's a serial killer, but." - Frankie 2025. - I admit, I will admit, I . Thought the serial killer thing was a purposeful red herring. Before Frankie confirmed it on stream. I know she's killed SOMEONE, we have her saying it with the knife interaction, but well. There's. A lot of ways to kill people without being a serial killer. I liked the mystique of wondering what life she leads where that'd happen. Look it was just so on the nose okay I thought it was a bit. I thought the joke is she looks like one but isn't. It's relevant to the game's themes. But...know that we know...

I like it, a lot, a lot lot better than if she wasn't. When I first heard it I didn't handle it well because I was most scared of one thing: I didn't want her to be boring. I didn't want a "for the evils" killer, I didn't want something stereotypical and bland. I feared for future updates.

But! No. One of the most interesting things about Hellen is that she isn't like stereotypical serial killers- she's not really...evil? She's not needlessly violent, she doesn't even really seem to be that into it? She has her bloodlust, which to quote that one stream, she's in control of and prides herself on her control of, and we know she fantasizes about violence (dialogue about the Visitor) and that stream implies she's definitely thought about hurting Sam before. But it doesn't seem like she like...revels in it? It seems partially involuntary or at least neutral on the fantasy front, and the only time to my knowledge in-game we see suggest violence is when it's warranted (She tells Sam they can still kill Leigh if she's present when recruiting her which...hey. Leigh attacked them first. She's kinda fair for that one) or fictional (Lyle's DND campaigns, Wraithscourge).

It's a part of her, but...it's not all of her? She has SO much personality out of her killing, which paired with that nontraditional take on it, I think makes her so much more interesting. Mostly because she's still very mysterious, and you can take her actions/words in so many different ways.

The gardening. The fact that she specifies why she does it, and it's a nurturing motive- I always found this fascinating, it creates a really interesting contrast between the two things that define her most. One takes lives, one creates them. Why? Does she just happen to do both? Is it to prove to herself/others she isn't all harmful and can be nurturing? Does she view it as some karmic balance?

I also think she has such an interesting view on the Visitor. She both thinks it was beautiful, and that looking is a good thing (saying to Beryl "There are worse things..."), but also negatively views what it did to her. One thing we see time and time again is when Hellen gets flustered/annoyed, she resorts to be curt and mean, and she gets this way when prompted about the mask or her eating in the bathroom. That sort of love-hate vs. the outright fear or worship we see in others is really interesting.

On that note, her actual personality is so fun. She's awkward, alternating between very casual ("piss off", "damn, "can I crash here") and somewhat oddly formal (not using contractions sometimes, really cryptic ass sentences). She's not...rude, per say, in fact she's very considerate. She clearly makes an attempt to not be a burden on Sam in gratitude for being allowed in, such as doing everyone's dishes and being the only companion (I think?) who won't ask for food when she's hungry.

Most of her being "rude" is just her getting short when you pry (the above "what are these questions", these below) or knowingly annoy her (playing the crossword game, Dan bothering her). Respect her boundaries, and she's quite chill!

...If she's not flustered.

I also don't want to necessarily boil her down to a "gentle giant" some tend to make her, because I feel that's a bit of a shallow take, but I do enjoy that we get to see the milder side of her that does genuinely desire connection. Whether it be with the kids (Joel, Rat Baby) or fellow adults (her entire quest is about letting Sam in, to the point he even acknowledges how intentionally vulnerable she is being and how she is letting him get to know her, her projection onto Audrey, letting Morton ramble to her). She's very sweet to those she likes! Hell, she even tells Sam in her quest one of his best features is his compassion to more than just plants...I like to think she's referring to him letting her in, since she really did have nowhere else to go.

Hell, it's kind of a big move on Sam's part, considering you kinda can't be blamed for not trusting her. Some of the others sure don't, and even Sam himself seems like he can be, if you choose that dialogue, frightened by her.

Clearly, she is aware of this, and how he's treated her means a lot. For as few connections as she seems to make, she seems to value the ones she has dearly. Not to mention the unwavering loyalty: she makes suggestions a few times such as with recruiting Papineau and suggesting you kill Leigh, but never overrides or insults Sam's choices. She says she'll follow him, she listens if he tells her to fall back.

Less poignantly, she is also, frankly, just kind of a dork sometimes. There's something really fun to a killer who isn't a suave, smooth operator, you know? She's definitely scary and very capable of being so on purpose, but she, like anyone, has moments of excitement or embarrassment or anger, etc. Even if she tries to be stoic.

Her reaction to the dagger and hellsword come to mind, but my particular favorite is how she seems to act disinterested/ambivalent to Lyle's campaign...

...But she seems awfully invested...

God I love her DND lines so much. It really is very revealing, at times.

Hellen has a line during the campaign that piqued my interest:

...What does a serial killer consider such crimes, I wonder? I mean, one thing I find interesting about Hellen is we don't really get to see how she feels about her own killing, or at least not very obviously. It's fascinating how she seems also detached from it? Like it's mundane for her. She says she's not noble to Sam in the quest, and I think that's pretty fitting if we imagine she's not talking about plants here- she's no vigilante, her killing isn't righteous or moral. Hell, her entire beef with Papineau, from my interpretation, is that he looks down on her for desiring to kill...and yet, he does the very same, but he tries to argue it's okay because he's killing the "right" people, including her it seems.

Something interesting I put together, uh, just now, actually. Is, hey, that punishable by death line? It happens when the Ignatus, is revealed to be the main antagonist, Zalmoxis, all along, initially presented as an ally.

...You know how you can betray Hellen? Not watering that damn plant.

Sure, we don't really get any words from her at this point. She's beyond it, she has one mission in mind and it's mcmurdering Sam into next Friday. She did, over and over (and over...and over...and over...) tell him how important that plant is to her (whether or not it's about the plant itself, or the experience she is sharing with him, is vague. But I think the plant itself isn't what's so important, it's moreso the act of doing this with him for her), makes it a point about how she's letting him into a part of her life, being vulnerable, having heart to hearts with him...

See, rejection would be one thing. Hell, if Sam says he don't wanna do this at the start of the question, she fully understands and drops it.

...But forgetting. FORGETTING? It's callous. It's carelessness. It's an absolute, utter disregard for something she clearly considers incredibly important and setting herself up for a lot of hurt in trying to earnestly connect with him and let herself be known. That's a betrayal of trust, ain't it?

So well...Crime punishable by death via shears. I guess. I also have to wonder how voluntary this is, given she is referred to as "The Maniac" in battle and the death message, not her name...

Is Sam trying to distance himself from being the reason she's doing this? Did she snap from the hurt? (Frankie did imply in that one stream she partially doesn't like Leigh because she's scared of being like her...that is, not in control and violent). Is she even aware of what she's doing? Is this being cursed making her more volatile than normal due to heightened emotion?

Okay real though so WHY did Frankie make Lyle such a goddamn powerhouse like dear god. Lyle Kicks is actually busted as hell, he stayed on my team all the way to endgame. Come home covered in blood and immediately go sit down for their next M&W session.