trivard676It’s pretty rare in life to find a friend who will up and travel to your secluded holiday getaway to ensure that you’re okay. When Alan Wake starts witnessing all of the crazy things that have been happening to him, a friend is exactly what he needs. However as the story of Alan Wake concludes, how Alan ‘really’ feels about Barry Wheeler leaves us scratching our heads.
Crossing over the cautionary line separating work and personal life, Barry is not only Alan’s friend, but also his literary agent. And the man still comes to his aid, despite Alan having not written a single page in two years. Except for well, The Departure, which we’re going to be taking a good look at for the purposes of the article.
Barry and Alan are long-time friends going back to their school days. While being friends since school isn’t all that unusual, I happen to find this particular relationship a little bit unusual for the following reasons:
a) Alan Wake is 32 years old (according to the Alan Wake Wikia)
b) Barry Wheeler is 28 years old (also according to the Alan Wake Wikia)
c) Barry Wheeler became Alan’s agent when Alan began writing as a teenager.
So Barry became Alan’s agent at the age of…8? Not to mention the fact that unless forced, it’s not exactly common for kids who are four-years separated to become best friends as well as business partners. Sure, it looks like Barry is an expert, but it makes the young Alan look pretty dull in comparison.
This guy does not look 28. At all. Maybe he’s not? Maybe someone just made that up?
It’s explained in the game that Barry was responsible for landing Alan such gigs as writing for the Night Springs television series. He apparently knew a guy who knew a guy and suddenly Alan was writing part-time for the series. While Alan had always been a writer, Barry made the man a star, jump-starting his career as not just a writer, but a full-blown novelist. Considering Alan’s temperament, that is apparently no small feat.
“I literally have a dozen lawyers on speed dial because I never know when you’re gonna screw your life up again. You know what kinds of people need that, Al? Gangsters and assholes. And you’re ‘not’ a gangster, because they make money all the time!”
Whether Alan is drunk and disorderly, assaulting a psychiatrist or putting the beat-down on some paparazzi, Barry is there to bail him out – which is what he shows up to do in Alan Wake Season 1. Barry comes to Al’s aid in the Sheriff’s Station, bailing Alan out of a potentially difficult (read: arresting) situation when he assaults Dr. Hartman right in front of Sheriff Sarah Breaker.
“Congratulations, Al! Your cardboard cut-out is officially more entertaining and safe to be around than you are. Hey! There’s a thermos right there!”
Barry’s character is the stereotypical New Yorker. He’s loud, high-strung and ambitious, yet extremely cynical at the same time. And as always these people seem to have the best sense of humour. Showing up in a bright red puffy jacket and a gigantic Earth Destroyer (err, Hummer), the man who was at the top of his game back in New York is completely out of his element. Attacked from the get-go by seasonal allergies, he’s often sneezing and bumbling about. It’s clear that he’s not happy to be up in Bright Falls, but he’ll do anything for his friend/client/however their relationship actually works.
Despite his general smarmy nature, Barry is the first person that Alan tells of the strange things happening to him in Bright Falls, about the kidnapping of Alice and the Dark Place. At first, Barry is skeptical, thinking Al might have gone off the deep end. But instead of – you know, taking him to that psychiatrist that Al decked, Barry’s just going to see what Al’s plan is and how it all plays out. Even if the plan involves finding Alice, who Barry is pretty indifferent to.
“Barry had never gotten along with Alice, but he knew that Alan loved her with an almost frightening intensity. And now something had happened to Alice, and here was Al, armed with a gun and saying things people got put in padded cells for. It was as if his friend had experienced a mass psychotic episode and was totally disconnected from reality. It scared the shit out of Barry.”
After Alan meets up with the kidnapper at Lover’s Peak, Barry is attacked by a flock of Taken birds. After witnessing the events that Alan was talking about first-hand, he’s officially on-board with anything Al feels he needs to do. Alan sends him into Bright Falls to search for anyone who matches the kidnapper’s description and he dutifully complies. While there, he receives a call from Rose Marigold at the Oh Deer Diner, who claims that she has all of the manuscript pages (which is what the kidnapper wants in exchange for Alice). Under the impression that she actually has the manuscript, the two of them head to her trailer. However they’re both drugged by the ‘touched’ Rose. While Alan wakes up and has time to flee when FBI Agent Robert Nightingale comes knocking (err – shooting, rather) Barry and Rose are left in the trailer and subsequently hauled off to the Sheriff’s Station.
According to the Alan Wake Files – the little book that comes with the Limited Edition of Alan Wake – Nightingale interviews Barry at the Sheriff’s Station about Alan. Barry remains mum on the subject of Alan’s location, stating that he really doesn’t know where Alan or Alice are. Nightingale cuts a little deep, insinuating that maybe Alice stepped out on Alan, causing Alan to seek a little revenge with Barry covering for him. When Barry refuses to answer any more questions, Nightingale threatens him with an obstruction of justice charge – to which he feels he needs to lawyer up. Seeing as how Barry isn’t under arrest, he’s allowed to walk out and search for Wake on his own.
When Barry does finally run into Alan again (after being imprisoned) at the Cauldron Lake Lodge, the two of them head to the Anderson Farm, where they take the stage against an small army of Taken. Once the battle is over, the two of them retire to the Anderson Farmhouse and get into the moonshine. This gives Nightingale enough time to track them down and finally arrest the great Alan Wake…and his little sidekick, too. Their time in the county jail doesn’t last for long though – as Nightingale is reading through the manuscript pages, he’s sucked out into the night by The Dark Presence. Seeing as how Sheriff Breaker seems to like both Alan and Barry, she let’s them out of their cell and they start working together. Breaker and Wake leave the station and Barry behind, where he’s left to make phone calls – being put back in his element again.
Until the Sheriff’s station is compromised. Barry makes a run for it and ends up in the shop where he finds…more suitable attire for the situation.
Alan and Barry part ways at The Well Lit Room after finding Cynthia Weaver – Alan must go on without him. Barry wishes his friend good luck and laments that he’ll never see Alan again.
However that doesn’t necessarily mark the last time that Alan ever sees Barry.
In the DLC episode The Signal, Barry returns as Al’s imaginary friend. Barry is still in the same getup that he was the last time we saw him proper. While being a figment of Al’s imagination, Barry seems to know more about what’s going on than he does.
I’m not going to lie here – Alan Wake is a pretty heady game. Keeping track of what’s going on requires a pen and paper, not to mention a detailed knowledge of old television shows, books and some of Remedy’s old games. You would probably do well to have a local library with a good section on mythology, too. The next little bit is some conjecture on my part.
We’re to believe on several occasions that all of this (in the DLC) might just be a figment of Alan’s imagination and not the Dark Place. That would include Barry – his imaginary friend – yet Barry knows more about what’s going on than Al does. Almost like how a narrator knows more than the characters of a novel. This can be seen as a subconscious tip-of-the-hat to Barry as Alan’s agent. Without Barry, Alan’s stories wouldn’t be told. Which is kind of odd, considering that everyone else in the game (including Barry) can’t seem to function with some sort of help from Alan.
Of course…that’s not always how they see it
Barry shows up in The Writer DLC too. It’s alluded to that Barry is still Alan’s “imaginary friend,” Alan going so far as to say Barry isn’t even real. However this time, Barry isn’t the friend that Alan needs – he’s the final boss. Alan must defeat Barry and his small army of familiar-faced Taken friends to free Bird Leg Cabin from the Dark Presence.
Again, a little bit of conjecture. If we’re to believe that all of the DLC of Alan Wake is a figment of Al’s imagination, then what exactly does this say about how Al sees his friendship with Barry? Is Barry a pal that can be relied upon, or an obstacle to overcome to reach his goals?
“Hey, remember when you threw a hissy fit, cause your wife tried to help you and your ego couldn’t take it? And as a result, you almost got me a dozen times over? B.F.F., Al! B-F-F!”
Take a look at our extended coverage of Alan Wake’s “Departure,” episodes! You might find a page or two that you’ve missed!
