[PART 4] Life is Strange 2 is so anti-toxic masculinity and I’m loving it (spoilers for episode 4):

My other anti-toxic masculinity posts (Will be updated as episodes release): [Episode 1] [Episode 2] [Episode 3] [Episode 5]

With the finale coming up, I figured I ought to finish writing this and post it. So here we go:

Instead of Sean’s experiences making him bitter and closed-off from others, he still recognizes the need to connect with and open up to others, especially when he’s at rock bottom. Admitting that he’s scared to Joey is what helps convince him to find Daniel, for example, and his friendship with Joey makes his hospital stay bearable.

And, once again, Sean cries in this episode (but who wouldn’t in his situation):

1st time: The scene with the racists at the side of the road. Honestly, I probably don’t need to analyze this one. The scene says it all.

2nd time: Sean has tears on his face when he demands of Karen, “Where were you?! Where… were you?” He’s been carrying eight years of guilt, anger, bitterness, and resentment, and at this point, Karen is likely the last person he wants to be vulnerable and cry in front of, but he lets himself cry anyway. In the ensuing conversation, the player can choose to be understanding or remain resentful and angry. Both options allow Sean to calmly and rationally express his years of pain and anger, and Karen and Sean have an overall subdued argument. Most importantly, Sean never makes the sexist assumption that Karen should’ve provided for her family because she was a mother and a woman. He’s most upset with her for ghosting them, and doesn’t blame her for not wanting kids, not knowing if she wanted kids until after she started a family, or abandoning her role as a wife and mother (entirely avoiding the kind of rhetoric that people use against teen mothers and women who seek abortions).

3rd time: Sean has tears on his face during the church confrontation and is completely choked up when he tells Daniel he loves him. Daniel is crying too, and they have their tearful reunion hug, just like way back in episode 1 in the motel.

Episode 1 Sean was already emotional, sensitive, and loving, but he also picked a fight with Brett over one racist comment. By episode 4, Sean tells Daniel in the final church confrontation, “All I can do now is fight for you,” yet he never fights back. He gets up. He gets up for Daniel, because fighting for Daniel means not giving up on him, not losing his faith in him, and not accepting that he’s lost his brother. Sean fights for Daniel by refusing to fight back, and proves to him that his love for his brother, not Lisbeth’s, is true.

Bonus: Dontnod addresses religious extremism and gay conversion therapy gracefully, without sensationalizing it. Jacob is characterized well in the limited screen time he has.

As we approach the last episode, I want to applaud Dontnod again for not only creating a complex protagonist of color that consistently breaks the molds of typical video game protagonists, but shows how Sean can develop and mature even more, learning to be less aggressive and more patient with Daniel. Onto episode 5!