This game is a real rock band name generator. The Hiss, Threshold Kids, Hedron, Objects of Power, Black Pyramid, Langston's Runaways, The Id, The Foundation, Dead Letters, Ritual Division, The Ashtray Maze, and many more.
Me (as Jesse) watching Threshold Kids: This is terrifying nightmare fuel. Thank goodness there were no kids here to actually watch it. Oh.......... Oh no.........
When a friend of mine played this game and came across Threshold Kids, I told him later on that they were made for Dylan followed by joking “now you know why Dylan is a psychopath.” I was joking, but I don’t think I was entirely wrong either.
I guess they just did it to be clever foreshadowing because anyone thinking about how creepy these are that any kids watching them will be a bit messed up & when you read the note about making it you realise the black ink is hiding the name of Dylan. really this is just great writing by whoever thought it up.
@@stephenmeinhold5452 uhh no. Let’s not get carried away here. Disney at its worst is still preferable than this. Less terrifying at least… with the exception of that forest scene from Snow White… and the Donkey scene from Pinocchio… damn, early Disney was terrifying.
I know that the implication is that the bureau is so out of touch with what a normal child would respond to that the Threshold Kids was unintentionally horrific, but a part of me is still convinced that the characters and/or the series itself took on a weird mind of its own at some point. Like another Altered Item. That's the only reason I could think of for why Uncle Mister Bones is supposed to be educational and non-threatening when he's actually screaming like a maniac. And why we would find the "rejected" episode playing on a random television in the Astral Plane.
That would be an interesting topic to explore. That the TV became its own self contained world and wrote itself outside of the Bureau's control. Would fit into the Night Springs theming. No evidence for that but it would be cool.
@@GamingUniversityUoG Or it was meant to portray the positive kind side of the people the characters represented but in turn was altered to show the negative sides of everyone, or only Dylan and Jesse see the horrors of the show and it appears normal to other people.
@@GamingUniversityUoG Patricia Highsmith once said that her character, Tom Ripley, had come alive somehow. That she could hear this thoughts, that he spoke, had an existence of his own somehow, and that it was he, the character, who took control of writing his own novels. The occultists speak of Servitors and Egregores (the latter being group entities), spiritual entities that can become conscious through directed attention for a long enough period of time, and once conscious can have a life of their own and perform certain functions. In the game, Dylan is a highly gifted child. His focused attention on Threshold Kids could have easily given them a life of their own, which could have influenced the writers/creators in the Bureau subconsciously into writing them the way they were written.
I think part of it is that Bethany Harrington is one of the only active practitioners of parapsychology(that we know of) and so she wanted to 1. Try out new conditioning techniques by not-so-subtly normalizing a sense of dread and pointed attempts at discomfort to simulate a situation where the fbc's prospective future director might be approached by seemingly foreboding entities that are beyond human understanding, 2. Show off her newfound "talents" that she's been developing as a hobby at the community center 😂 In a way it's kind of wholesome. Coworkers working on a fun little art project lol
The bureau took a traumatized kid and decided the best way to make him director was to force him to do it. Jesse also has reservations to becoming director, but unlike her brother, she had a reason to accept the position. Dylan had every reason not to. Darling says in his confession that nothing they did to Dylan was right. They took a wonderful boy and ruined him.
Harringtons attempt at a tv-show suited for children is scary to say the least, considering she as a psychologist should have seen the results coming. The FBC seems to be composed of people who are in dire need of some counterbalance for their job. They all live in this secret world where your very sense of reality is questioned the moment you talk to the janitor. It shows. These people need therapy asap. Also the treshold kids give off a david lynch-vibe, with weird, funny and horrible images. In my headcanon david lynch is just a rogue agent who is dealing with the whole thing through his art. That is my conspiracy theory.
Haha I think that would be a perfect way to use Lynch in this setting. And yes I fully agree. These Agents can't shift their heads back into the every day world to save their lives and it really shows. No wonder most are forced to retire for one reason or another. If I was running things I'd find a way to push all workers to have a better work life balance.
Explains why Langston is the regular kind of weird compared to the rest of the FBC. He's literally the second most grounded person there after Jesse. Then again Arish seems pretty chill.
arish is chill mostly because literally nothing can touch him and he seems to be an anomaly in of itself, perhaps even part of the house. nobody seems to know where he came from, everybody assumes he's supposed to be there in the first place, he can somehow get to anywhere in the house whenever he wants to the extent that causality, physical space, the lockdown, and time itself don't seem to affect him at all. it's documented that everybody can tell something's wrong with the situation every time they stop to think about it, but they don't get far enough to actually consider how wrong it is because they brush it off as not being important in any way, which is probably another anomalous effect. it's kind of funny that he's the most correct in that the director is basically the janitor's assistant (in that they get saddled with all of the thankless tasks of cleaning up the fbc's messes while the actual janitor who has the ability to do so and the means to do it effectively....never actually does any of the hard parts and knows how to delegate).
@@20xdee6Are you mixing up Ahti and Arish? Ahti is the paranatiral entity attached to the Oldest House, while Arish is the security dude you meet at the NSC.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I really find myself wondering what kind of Director the FBC imagined they'd be creating with Dylan Faden. How on Earth would they imagine that giving supernatural powers to a kind of lab-created Oskar Dirlewanger was a good idea? And then finally (influenced by your own ruminations) is this the result of subtle (and malign and malignant) influence of The Board? Northmoor seemed to be an imperious prick more-or-less to begin with, and we may surmise Trench had those propensities and The Board cultivated them in him, especially with the death of his daughter. And yet the Board-controlled Oldest House is found within two weeks of Theodore Ash Sr. dying. If we assume that this is deliberate narrative and not sloppiness, happenstance, or coincidence it suggests The Board _waited_ to reveal the Oldest House until after Ash Sr. was dead. Why? Ash Sr. lacked some particular quality the Board needs. Yes, Ash Jr. had a contentious relationship with his father, we're told, but we're told also that he was able to reconcile himself with his father after his death -- or to put it another way, to retroactively redeem his relationship with his father. This kind of redemption seems outside the realm of possibility either for Northmoor or for Trench. Like the Shadow A-010, it seems like The Board feeds on compromised people -- Northmoor's arrogance, Trench's social withdrawal which eventually turns into bereavement, divorce, and high-functioning alcoholism. Perhaps these are two archetypes: Northmoor the power-thirsty, Trench the gritty noire detective a la Alex Casey? With Dylan, is The Board's goal realized by having the FBC controlled by an emotionally-stunted socio- and psycho-pathic man-child with supernatural powers to kill? If so, this suggests that The Board choosing Jesse Faden was not just _not_ according to its agenda, but may be actively antithetical to its agenda. As we see, the Hiss scares them because it's an existential threat to them. Choosing Jesse as the Director is the lesser of two evils, a loose end they can tie up after the Hiss threat passes.
you missed a very important "control". Jesse Faden is the "control" of the entire experement. never experemented on, only observed. she learned her powers naturally as observed by Ahti in the first scene where he tests her telepathy.
Never thought of it that way. Wonder if Dylan would have grown up more like Jesse if they either didn't show him anything, allowed him to live with his sister, or simply fostered him outside of the House like a normal kid at a normal school.
@@GamingUniversityUoG unless Dylan is a Lutece twin pulled in from another dimension and the siblings real past was forgotten. I keep thinking of. "The only child. A copy of a copy"
@@piratetv1 Yes. I really do think both of their memories are cloudy and they either were the same person at one point, or one of them doesn’t “belong”
I think they lose sight of what is normal and couldn't parse what it is like for a child. Especially considering he literally just went through a highly traumatic experience and lost everyone he knows.
Everybody in the FBC needs a psychologist. I always come back to Ash Jr.'s quote on the oldest house ""For who among us has touched the foundations of this world and deemed them solid?"
it's somewhat ironic that they have multiple real fake psychologists on staff that have psychologist degrees and can act like them in order to extract more information from targets
I must have missed that document about the creation of the show, I just took it at face value that it was some tool for teaching kids about the FBC, but not once did I stop to consider WHY it was aimed at kids, i.e. Dylan.
My biggest frustration with the whole situation is they couldn't just empathize with Dylon and help him develop into a normal/stable teen/adult. They ignored what's best for him and traumatized him further for their own selfish machinations.
@@GamingUniversityUoG it really looked like that neither trench or darling were actually capable of caring for other human beings in general, and since the rest of the fbc outside of the prime candidate department didn't seem to actually know about the situation in the first place, there was absolutely nobody there to help him that actually had the power or knowledge to do so. it does seem odd that dylan never developed the ability to adapt like jesse from hedron's imprinting process, but i get the impression that he never had the chance to do so having grown up inside of a literal black (rock) box and having been raised as a lab rat, he didn't have the kind of mentality to survive like jesse got from growing up orphaned and alone
@@GamingUniversityUoG Too long? Nah. This was a subject that needed time to get right. Rushing a subject like that is what created The Threshold Kids (in setting) in the first place.
Better yet, mundane offices too. The Oldest House is too useful as a place to keep altered items, I'll grant that, but no one should be there their entire career. After a few months, you rotate out to a mundane office dealing with paperwork and whatnot for a year or so, then come back to the Oldest House for another cycle of "exciting" things.
For some reason I always thought Threshold Kids was made by kids themselves, thus reflecting the trauma of living in the Oldest House. Like, kids living with their parents/agents on the premises. It never occurred to me that there were probably no other kids here besides Dylan, lol. And the "take your kid to work day" would be a horrible idea.
I think they intended to use this puppet show for other kids if the situation popped up again. But initially designed for Dylon. Shows more about what Harrington's head noise is more than anything.
there were other kids. operative word being "were". whatever happened to candidates 1-5 was so horrible and disastrous that they seem to have gotten rid of all of the records related to them, and the rooms that they used for them in the prime candidate department don't seem to actually exist anymore
@@20xdee6a good half of the Prime Candidate Program's main xorridor is twisted nto innavigatiability. Then again, p1-p5 profiles are probably in Closed Cases.
@@20xdee6 It's not certain that all the prime candidates were children, or even kept within the Oldest House. It's mentioned... somewhere that Alan Wake was at least considered as an option.
Something about the Threshold Kids always felt to me like another example of what we saw at the lodge in Alan Wake, where an artist connects to ideas and concepts bigger than they know on a conscious level in the creation of their art. It feels almost “more true than true” in a way that I find difficult to describe fully.
Nobody in their right mind would make something like this. Considering the other typical fare of the Bureau... it's a reasonable assumption that nobody *did.*
Threshold Kids was one of the things that captured me immediately about Control. The writer of the Threshold Kids segments has talked about it a bit on Twitter. Really great work on this video, informative and the editing / transitions between the two of you are top notch
I'm glad to be able to collaborate with Morgan and Yellow Bat on this. It all came together wonderfully. And yeah this show in the game was a real mood setter for some areas. I can't imagine the game without them.
having played alan wake 2 now, i think threshold kids is a great demonstration of why the FBC was unable to properly control the dark presence; they simply didn't have any properly creative people in their entire org. if this was the best they were able to do (aside from very basic nursery rhymes attempting and failing to cause even cursory changes upon the world before Saga showed up), then any attempt to actually control the dark presence would have been a complete disaster.
Something I, a person who spends most of his time on the internet and in a web forum trolling for fanfiction because it's by it's nature, cheaper then books, hear/read this saying, "A work tells more about it's maker then it's intended audience." It's midnight so I may be butchering the quote, but there are a few things of note in Threshold Kids that only pop out with outsider knowledge. The choice of a drawing of a Tree for Topher's drawing, presumably made by the show-maker or a passing agent she wrapped into helping, to contrast Meg's Black Pyramid. The inadvertent differences between Topher and Dylan, i.e. Topher, while still learning and showing no evidence of power, is allowed to leave the Oldest House, where as Meg, who is being tested for powers isn't. This also leading to the suggestion that the Bureau may of witnessed Jesse manifesting abilities (under Polaris' guidance) before Dylan did either purposefully or inadvertently setting up a rivalry between Dylan and Jesse. In game, we see that Dylan feels abandoned by Jesse and while Dylan could understand the, for lack of a better term, words and images of Polaris he couldn't pick up on it's intentions as well as Jesse did when sent messages, Polaris showing Dylan images of Jesse, presumably images of her life, presumably (again, making presumptions on my part) in either an effort to reassure or in response for his {NON-SEXUAL} desire for her. On a less divergent thought, there's no guarantee that the "Rejected Episode" was even made in the same Oldest House, as strange and odd as that may sound, since we do, via the Mirror, know at least one alternate version of the Oldest House exists and is/can be connected to the one we interact with, a change in origin explaining the change in style of video. On the posit of the theme of Control in Control, there is also a theme of "Loss of Control", after initially entering the Oldest House, Jesse has lost control over her life, her one goal for going to the House always out of reach by circumstance or malevolent act, the Bureau has lost control over the Oldest house and several of it's staff have lost control over their minds and bodies. This in turn leads back into the theme of Control in Control, or more specifically, re(TAKE)ing (CONTROL), Dylan takes control of his life by accepting and joining the Hiss even though he ultimately loses... lets use Sovereignty, over his Self, Jesse takes control of the Bureau (and retakes control over her life, staying the Director and leading the Bureau ends as her choice, not just the Board's Selection) and through her the Bureau slowly regains the Oldest House (even the House might be regaining some control over itself from the Board).
The whole story definitely feels like one big power struggle. Now just over the house or itend but over yourself and not being buffeted by he winds of life. Taking responsibility as well as control. Not having your life dictated by the whims of others. I agree. I've always been interested in the creation showing echoes of the author.
Finally got a videos explaining things about the Threshold Kids series! Thanks for the effort! When I first saw Threshold Kids, the only things I could feel were creepy and scary. It is clearly how the Bureau educated Dylan turns him into a maniac.
i remember playing control and was watching one of threshold kids episode and my brother happened to walk behind me and saw the screen, he just simply said "the fuck are you watching?" to me
This is awesome. I saw Midnight Morgan's episode about Threshold Kids and it's nice that you're collaborating to produce even better videos. Your videos were already good but now their quality is increasing even more.
I've been following Midnight Morgan for a while and because of her initial video on this topic I wanted to bring her in and work with her. She does incredible work and her narration is top tier. Yellow Bat did amazing in the editing. I've been blessed to be surrounded by great talent for these endeavors.
This week is the culmination of over a year of discussing ideas and three months of extra hours to put this together. I felt it was appropriate to end the week on this one. Possibly one of the best productions we've done.
I'd honestly think that Devilman Crybaby would be more appropriate to show 10 year old Dylan than this David Lynchian nightmare fuel. This looks like something you'd find on Adult Swim in the same vain as Too Many Cooks. But you know what this really reminds me of? "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared"
Fun fact people who become psychologists often want to know more about themselves. Just to figure out what’s wrong with them or something. It could be the same with Harrington.
Amazing episode my man, I enjoyed watching these in the game, the way you watch them on the TV, and how there is space around it, it feel almost like they reach out to you.
Step into the FBC, There's lots to do there's lots to read! But look, dont touch, And don't see much. Lets join the threshold kids! Lets join the threshold kids! 😈😫
When i was watching threshold kids during my first play through i diddnt know if it was creepy because the people making it were so out of touch with normal reality or because it was generated by the oldest house itself
Important topic... which is very rare This type is called ''Analog Horror'', the reason for its rarity is its lack of use... Remedy Studio had used it before in Alan Wake and we all know the name of the serie ''Night Springs''... i think it's the only studio that uses ''Analog Horror''. There are other types of horror that are relatively new, such as ''Backroom'' and ''Liminal Space'' and this definitely had a great share in ''Control''... and I hope these features will be present in the next Alan Wake game Excellent collaboration and great video... thnx
I've seen a lot of people recommending me check out some analog horror for that very reason. I love the different formats of storytelling. It allows remedy to really play around with different styles.
It’s such a glaring failure, anyone who thought about it for a minute would have given the stand-in for Dylan a mother figure, then had her die saving him when he touched a weird object or spilled secrets. That way you aren’t demanding he obey, you’re showing him the consequences could be dire, and he can sympathize with the boy over losing his mother, but take comfort knowing that _he_ didn’t kill his mom like the boy in the show. You simultaneously build Dylan up and give him _powerful_ motivation to start making sure he and everyone else follows the rules EXACTLY because he’ll be saving their lives by doing it.
I've heard it said, in regards to education, that facts are cold dead things. Until you make them come alive they dont mean anything. Essentially stating the role of the teacher is to make a fact relevant to the individuals life so they care about it.
threshold kids are one of the spookiest mini shows I have ever seen for kids.....even this show focuses on Dylan's desire and teaches him I think it was created for the all prime candidate program kids and staff kids to stop searching and exploring his/her parent's death caused by AWE too... if we noticed the first episode of threshold kids was in dead letters........focus on detail in this video is soo nice especially gone book and morgan research ( actually I was like ok let's see the dean version of threshold kids looks alike then I see its collab and makes me happy she deserve more subs ) DR Darling still was best in that field compare to Harrington even he works at other fields!!!... the sad story about this part remedy didn't use flashback to explain these type of event ( they even did not say a word about p1 to p5 ) I finished fear 3 last week I was like wish we saw this flashbacks form in control too. I know it's so rare in games the evil within fear and etc all did the same but this hits in terms of emotions so good and this could help explain Dylan more! ( actually, for me one of the worst parts of the game was that )
That's one bit of lore I'm curious about. Was P1-P5 other kids or were they previous investigations? In the Dead Cases area, (forgot what it's really called), we find Alan Wake related stuff. It is said that both Alan and Dr. Tokui were looked into as potential Prime Candidates. So those two may be one of the unknowns. I agree though. This may have started with Dylon but the bureau intended to use Threshold Kids for other children after the fact.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I think children are more suitable for PCP. you can shape a child with your ideas easier than older ppl live around you and the board wants a loyal one too .....especially when they see northmore and trench everything got messed up by them(and dr ash researching about the board and nail ) as Morgan said in one of her videos if something ain't broke don't fix it... dr. touki could be good for one of Candide but Alan ? they know he is in a dark place why do they think about him? maybe alan experienced awe when he got a clicker from his mother? or maybe Thomas Zane is his father? ( old theory ) or they found mr scratch after that AWE thinking he was real alan then they found a clue about who Mr scratch is? what about other children and ppl Jesse and Dylan spoke about them bcz in ordinary all children were alive... p1-p5 is one of the unanswered pieces of the game but there is something more in the board place... why there are so many posters of ppl on the board room wall... I have a hypothesis they could be the board members I know it's so rough to read this. I'm so sorry I'm very bad at writing eng correctly...I tried my best :)
I feel there is a disconnect between the adult and child mindset. Whoever thought this content was appropriate for children has a twisted view on reality.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I fully concur - how could a child possibly have the resources at hand to distinguish this dystopian fantasy from reality? It's very worrying for what is coming through the ranks in the next generation.
School's main function is education. its secondary function is to instill social structures into kids for better handling of the world at large. Did Dylan even graduate highschool?
Regarding powers. We know that Jesse is exceptional parautilitarian. Somuch that she can teleport using control points. But there is one thing that is interesting, When she is bindig service weapon the meele attack is some sort of telekinetic push. But she doesnt have bound OoP. So is that her natural power? posibly enhancing others Largely telekinetical abilities? And dylan destroyed his containtment cell. Impliing he does have same tipe of powers. This is great video. It could be good to make video solely on parautilitarians. This is incredible game that has incredible secrets.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I had another thought... About altered items. Could they be only objects? What if there was a person involved in an awe and ended altered? I thought about it and asked myself if Jesse herself couldn't be considered an altered item, as she received powers during an awe
thank you for making these videos. i loooove the threshold kids series. i think they are really funny and remind of creepy cartoons like courage the cowardly dog and robot chicken. the puppet shows demonstrate how out of touch the adults in the FBC are with children. its almost like they did they best they could with what they had because all the tech in the fbc is outdated. come to think of it, i would love to see a video explanation of why the fbc uses such old technology. is modern technology not allowed? would cellphones and internet give the Hiss too much access to the current world? im really hoping the next game will have some Hiss escape into NY and let us fly around the city. hopefully more of an open world concept. great video! keep it up! i loved the visuals at the end as well.
If I remember right, the watsonian explaination was that anything past the 1970's or so either has a bad habit of getting possessed or gets the House mad
Trench was the director at the time. The skeleton's head covered with a grotesque false face that doesn't quite fit is weirdly analogous to the walking dead man that Trench was.
@@jeffreywilliams7641 Good idea! Perhaps it is also representative of Darling as well! On the outside he's a funny and nerdy guy who clearly loves his work (kid/baby-faced mask), but as the game goes on we see how horribly he treated Dylan (the angry skeleton).
Mr. Bones is what makes the least sense about Threshold Kids imo. I can sort of see how the desensitization to altered items and the craziness of the Bureau itself would make the creators miss the horror of it. But a skeleton wearing a baby doll mask that screams at kids?? I just don't see how they couldn't realize how scary that would be to a kid.
I don't think that this show was only directed to Dylan, but also to the five candidates before him because there is no reason for them to make a show that looks this old unless it IS old.
In Harrington's memo she did specify that the recent arrival of Dylon ks what got her thinking about how to educate a child. The previous 5 prime Candidates were not necessarily children. Two were Dr. Tokui and Alan Wake. They were recommended to be reviewed as prime candidates. In the old cases section of the Prime Candidate program we even find documentation about Alan in several places.
I like how the female face on Mr. Bones is ostensibly supposed to be Harrington speaking to the kids, but let's face it, the real voice of Bones is Director Trench, who she probably views as harsh and authoritarian. His words coming out of her mouth is a good way to describe Threshold Kids as a concept.
Treshold kids (and lack of facial animation) always made me thinking if Oldest House haven´t some paranatural effects of human psyche like partial siphoning emotion or empathy I mean these people were in many cases parents themselves and it is filmed in the manner that even 30 something frat bachelor dude would pause and thing that it is little bit of for children but then again we have to consider, that Remedy wanted to convey some message that FBA, while their motives are commendable, had side hustle as gestapo stopping itself just so so from the abyss but not equipped to properly remedy (!) its actions afterwards. PS: Them again being psychologist (and women no less) to be completely oblivious to the apparent horror of the show require more than desensitization by the work or even trauma but some horrible partial debilitating psyche injury or simply an intent to do it in such manner be it for the reason to ingrain the massage to the children thrugh strong emotion of fear or otherwise.
The FBC at its core under North Moore had 1 isske that led to many more. He wanted to butter up to the board. He was a politician being given a playground of immense power. The board used this. When the power got to much. They went with trench. Trench lost his daughter due to the FBC and never recovered. He focused so much and wanted to compartmentalize and control everything. He shut down investigations after the sane person quit due to his paranoia. Dylan was horribly treated and stunted emotionally after the accident because the FBC didn't know how to raise a child. Darling seems to have realized this the most at the end. He was playing against trench who saw the hiss as a way to gain the control he was losing due to his need for well control. The bearou at its core though needs to stop fighting against itself and work eith itself. Trench compartmentalization of everything made it where as Langston put it "everyone's in a race to be on top" I mean communications didn't wear an HRA. Marshall head of the rangers tried to secure HRA production. A good move. But she went off on her own to the foundation. Not trusting Jesse to be ready. Salvador tried to secure a rouge altered item and Langston doesn't even have useful employees to keep the items in check. And his attitude on the items is correct. They need proper care. Not to be treated as prisoners. Otherwise they act out. And the hiss let them act out. Trench caused severe problems leading to his employees to obsess over the beaurou. And threshold kids while we'll intentioned. Was created by a mind used to dealing with adult psychological traumas from altered items and AWE and OoPs not a kid notnallowed to see the world. Groomed to be a leader. Taken from his family after an traumatic incident. And probably treated as an experiment.
Interesting thing to note is that this didn't seem to have TOO big of an impact on Dylan. There's an audio recording of Dylan at a psychological interview and he sounds...normal. He's angry, he's frustrated by the pointless questions, and he's antagonistic towards the interviewer, but he has good reason to be. He thinks Darling's avoiding him because he accidentally killed another agent with his powers (and he was right: Darling was avoiding him). He hates being asked dumb questions he can't answer (How am I supposed to know what day it is?! There Is! No! Calendar!). He's been a prisoner all his life, and it's understandable for him to lash out at his wardens. So while Threshold kids was screwed up, it's not what made him insane. He doesn't start getting weird until after letting the Hiss in. And honestly, I can't blame him; it promised an escape from his everyday Hell - whether psychologically or by tearing the real world down is irrelevant for him.
there is something that is extremely eerie and fundamentally wrong in what Agent Bethany created. In what world is this product acceptable as a teaching/warning material for kids 10 years and younger? I always thought that the show was made way before Dylan was caught by the bureau. I don't remember if it was ever stated but I always assumed that the candidates from 1 to 5 before Dylan, who was no.6, were children as well who "disappeared" or failed in whatever training they were put through. Any similarities between dylan and jess with the threshold kids is only coincidental since it was stated by the creator on a podcast that she based meg and topher on herself and her brother. there is an uneasy feeling that the threshold kids give me. it is as if it was made by an AI who can only mimic or copy. I would not be surprised if it was somehow made or suggested by the bureau or even the former... anyone who is not human.
a big part missing in control, which is handled at the later parts of the game is (avoiding the marry by) exploring Jesse "milenialism". Power = Work + Time; Control = ?
I always suspected the threshold kids episodes were meant for Dylan but I never found anything confirming it in the game 😂 I clearly either missed that document talking about raising Dylan or glossed over it and forgot
The threshold kids show is bad taste, i wonder who tought this would be a good idea, seriously this show was the more haunted part of the game, i keep thinking in what kind of mind would come with this for a kid friendly show? Is completely out of touch, if not outright evil. No wonder the kid you exposed to this turns out to become a psychopath, imagine being exposed only to this tv show your entirely childhood? It is torture!
I think a lot of adults forget just how malleable and impressionable children are to what kind of things they see. Putting these kinds of images in their heads is disgusting.
Every time Courage the Cowardly Dog gets mentioned, I'm told that it gave everyone trauma. I never got trauma from the show and I thought Ramses was genuinely funny.
This game is a real rock band name generator. The Hiss, Threshold Kids, Hedron, Objects of Power, Black Pyramid, Langston's Runaways, The Id, The Foundation, Dead Letters, Ritual Division, The Ashtray Maze, and many more.
Haha just watch in 5 years there is going to be an indie band with one of those names.
@@GamingUniversityUoGi can’t wait
Blackrock quarry, Notmother, Dog Niel, the Dungmonkeys, spider time
@@piratetv1 Band:Black Rock Quarry
And their debut album Dead Letters, chart topper Langston’s runaways.
@@piratetv1 This popped up in my notifications and I had absolutely no idea what it could possibly have been a reply to. 😆 All solid suggestions.
Me (as Jesse) watching Threshold Kids: This is terrifying nightmare fuel. Thank goodness there were no kids here to actually watch it. Oh.......... Oh no.........
Yeah about that lol
When a friend of mine played this game and came across Threshold Kids, I told him later on that they were made for Dylan followed by joking “now you know why Dylan is a psychopath.” I was joking, but I don’t think I was entirely wrong either.
I think we all joked about this until we learned it was true
I guess they just did it to be clever foreshadowing because anyone thinking about how creepy these are that any kids watching them will be a bit messed up & when you read the note about making it you realise the black ink is hiding the name of Dylan. really this is just great writing by whoever thought it up.
if i had to watch it every day i think i would go a liittle nutty too.
still better than anything done by Disney though.
@@stephenmeinhold5452 uhh no. Let’s not get carried away here. Disney at its worst is still preferable than this. Less terrifying at least… with the exception of that forest scene from Snow White… and the Donkey scene from Pinocchio… damn, early Disney was terrifying.
@@Arthus850 that was the old Disney.
I know that the implication is that the bureau is so out of touch with what a normal child would respond to that the Threshold Kids was unintentionally horrific, but a part of me is still convinced that the characters and/or the series itself took on a weird mind of its own at some point. Like another Altered Item.
That's the only reason I could think of for why Uncle Mister Bones is supposed to be educational and non-threatening when he's actually screaming like a maniac. And why we would find the "rejected" episode playing on a random television in the Astral Plane.
That would be an interesting topic to explore. That the TV became its own self contained world and wrote itself outside of the Bureau's control. Would fit into the Night Springs theming. No evidence for that but it would be cool.
@@GamingUniversityUoG Or it was meant to portray the positive kind side of the people the characters represented but in turn was altered to show the negative sides of everyone, or only Dylan and Jesse see the horrors of the show and it appears normal to other people.
@@GamingUniversityUoG Patricia Highsmith once said that her character, Tom Ripley, had come alive somehow. That she could hear this thoughts, that he spoke, had an existence of his own somehow, and that it was he, the character, who took control of writing his own novels. The occultists speak of Servitors and Egregores (the latter being group entities), spiritual entities that can become conscious through directed attention for a long enough period of time, and once conscious can have a life of their own and perform certain functions. In the game, Dylan is a highly gifted child. His focused attention on Threshold Kids could have easily given them a life of their own, which could have influenced the writers/creators in the Bureau subconsciously into writing them the way they were written.
Who is Patricia is she in the game?
I think part of it is that Bethany Harrington is one of the only active practitioners of parapsychology(that we know of) and so she wanted to 1. Try out new conditioning techniques by not-so-subtly normalizing a sense of dread and pointed attempts at discomfort to simulate a situation where the fbc's prospective future director might be approached by seemingly foreboding entities that are beyond human understanding,
2. Show off her newfound "talents" that she's been developing as a hobby at the community center 😂
In a way it's kind of wholesome. Coworkers working on a fun little art project lol
The bureau took a traumatized kid and decided the best way to make him director was to force him to do it. Jesse also has reservations to becoming director, but unlike her brother, she had a reason to accept the position. Dylan had every reason not to. Darling says in his confession that nothing they did to Dylan was right. They took a wonderful boy and ruined him.
Harringtons attempt at a tv-show suited for children is scary to say the least, considering she as a psychologist should have seen the results coming. The FBC seems to be composed of people who are in dire need of some counterbalance for their job. They all live in this secret world where your very sense of reality is questioned the moment you talk to the janitor. It shows. These people need therapy asap.
Also the treshold kids give off a david lynch-vibe, with weird, funny and horrible images. In my headcanon david lynch is just a rogue agent who is dealing with the whole thing through his art. That is my conspiracy theory.
Haha I think that would be a perfect way to use Lynch in this setting. And yes I fully agree. These Agents can't shift their heads back into the every day world to save their lives and it really shows. No wonder most are forced to retire for one reason or another. If I was running things I'd find a way to push all workers to have a better work life balance.
Explains why Langston is the regular kind of weird compared to the rest of the FBC. He's literally the second most grounded person there after Jesse.
Then again Arish seems pretty chill.
arish is chill mostly because literally nothing can touch him and he seems to be an anomaly in of itself, perhaps even part of the house. nobody seems to know where he came from, everybody assumes he's supposed to be there in the first place, he can somehow get to anywhere in the house whenever he wants to the extent that causality, physical space, the lockdown, and time itself don't seem to affect him at all. it's documented that everybody can tell something's wrong with the situation every time they stop to think about it, but they don't get far enough to actually consider how wrong it is because they brush it off as not being important in any way, which is probably another anomalous effect.
it's kind of funny that he's the most correct in that the director is basically the janitor's assistant (in that they get saddled with all of the thankless tasks of cleaning up the fbc's messes while the actual janitor who has the ability to do so and the means to do it effectively....never actually does any of the hard parts and knows how to delegate).
@@20xdee6Are you mixing up Ahti and Arish? Ahti is the paranatiral entity attached to the Oldest House, while Arish is the security dude you meet at the NSC.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I really find myself wondering what kind of Director the FBC imagined they'd be creating with Dylan Faden. How on Earth would they imagine that giving supernatural powers to a kind of lab-created Oskar Dirlewanger was a good idea?
And then finally (influenced by your own ruminations) is this the result of subtle (and malign and malignant) influence of The Board? Northmoor seemed to be an imperious prick more-or-less to begin with, and we may surmise Trench had those propensities and The Board cultivated them in him, especially with the death of his daughter. And yet the Board-controlled Oldest House is found within two weeks of Theodore Ash Sr. dying. If we assume that this is deliberate narrative and not sloppiness, happenstance, or coincidence it suggests The Board _waited_ to reveal the Oldest House until after Ash Sr. was dead. Why? Ash Sr. lacked some particular quality the Board needs. Yes, Ash Jr. had a contentious relationship with his father, we're told, but we're told also that he was able to reconcile himself with his father after his death -- or to put it another way, to retroactively redeem his relationship with his father. This kind of redemption seems outside the realm of possibility either for Northmoor or for Trench.
Like the Shadow A-010, it seems like The Board feeds on compromised people -- Northmoor's arrogance, Trench's social withdrawal which eventually turns into bereavement, divorce, and high-functioning alcoholism. Perhaps these are two archetypes: Northmoor the power-thirsty, Trench the gritty noire detective a la Alex Casey? With Dylan, is The Board's goal realized by having the FBC controlled by an emotionally-stunted socio- and psycho-pathic man-child with supernatural powers to kill?
If so, this suggests that The Board choosing Jesse Faden was not just _not_ according to its agenda, but may be actively antithetical to its agenda. As we see, the Hiss scares them because it's an existential threat to them. Choosing Jesse as the Director is the lesser of two evils, a loose end they can tie up after the Hiss threat passes.
you missed a very important "control". Jesse Faden is the "control" of the entire experement. never experemented on, only observed. she learned her powers naturally as observed by Ahti in the first scene where he tests her telepathy.
Never thought of it that way. Wonder if Dylan would have grown up more like Jesse if they either didn't show him anything, allowed him to live with his sister, or simply fostered him outside of the House like a normal kid at a normal school.
@@GamingUniversityUoG unless Dylan is a Lutece twin pulled in from another dimension and the siblings real past was forgotten. I keep thinking of. "The only child. A copy of a copy"
@@piratetv1 Yes. I really do think both of their memories are cloudy and they either were the same person at one point, or one of them doesn’t “belong”
@@LMMotoss or the Board is just bad at telling the Fadens apart (or they both fit their plans?)
@@AtaeHone This could definitely be true as well
It's probably not a good sign when your "TV show" looks like what we all imagine Candle Cove would look like.
That should have been clue number 1
the resemblance is _spooky_
I can't help but feel that The Bureau needed a Mundane Pyschologist.
I think they lose sight of what is normal and couldn't parse what it is like for a child. Especially considering he literally just went through a highly traumatic experience and lost everyone he knows.
Everybody in the FBC needs a psychologist. I always come back to Ash Jr.'s quote on the oldest house ""For who among us has touched the foundations of this world and deemed them solid?"
it's somewhat ironic that they have multiple real fake psychologists on staff that have psychologist degrees and can act like them in order to extract more information from targets
I must have missed that document about the creation of the show, I just took it at face value that it was some tool for teaching kids about the FBC, but not once did I stop to consider WHY it was aimed at kids, i.e. Dylan.
My biggest frustration with the whole situation is they couldn't just empathize with Dylon and help him develop into a normal/stable teen/adult. They ignored what's best for him and traumatized him further for their own selfish machinations.
@@GamingUniversityUoG it really looked like that neither trench or darling were actually capable of caring for other human beings in general, and since the rest of the fbc outside of the prime candidate department didn't seem to actually know about the situation in the first place, there was absolutely nobody there to help him that actually had the power or knowledge to do so.
it does seem odd that dylan never developed the ability to adapt like jesse from hedron's imprinting process, but i get the impression that he never had the chance to do so having grown up inside of a literal black (rock) box and having been raised as a lab rat, he didn't have the kind of mentality to survive like jesse got from growing up orphaned and alone
I was wondering when you would get around to THAT nightmare fuel lol
Took too long to bring up this topic lol.
Same! Was gonna comment this. Thought it was odd you hadnt yet,haha
@@GamingUniversityUoG Too long? Nah. This was a subject that needed time to get right. Rushing a subject like that is what created The Threshold Kids (in setting) in the first place.
Bottomline is, the Bureau needs an entire sector called "Therapy"
I'd reallocate some funding for that
Better yet, mundane offices too. The Oldest House is too useful as a place to keep altered items, I'll grant that, but no one should be there their entire career. After a few months, you rotate out to a mundane office dealing with paperwork and whatnot for a year or so, then come back to the Oldest House for another cycle of "exciting" things.
For some reason I always thought Threshold Kids was made by kids themselves, thus reflecting the trauma of living in the Oldest House. Like, kids living with their parents/agents on the premises. It never occurred to me that there were probably no other kids here besides Dylan, lol. And the "take your kid to work day" would be a horrible idea.
I think they intended to use this puppet show for other kids if the situation popped up again. But initially designed for Dylon. Shows more about what Harrington's head noise is more than anything.
there were other kids. operative word being "were". whatever happened to candidates 1-5 was so horrible and disastrous that they seem to have gotten rid of all of the records related to them, and the rooms that they used for them in the prime candidate department don't seem to actually exist anymore
@@20xdee6a good half of the Prime Candidate Program's main xorridor is twisted nto innavigatiability. Then again, p1-p5 profiles are probably in Closed Cases.
@@20xdee6 It's not certain that all the prime candidates were children, or even kept within the Oldest House. It's mentioned... somewhere that Alan Wake was at least considered as an option.
It's amazing how much lore is still left to explore in this game. Props to Gaming University for taking the time to do these deep dives.
Still so much more to look at as well. Thank you good sir!
Something about the Threshold Kids always felt to me like another example of what we saw at the lodge in Alan Wake, where an artist connects to ideas and concepts bigger than they know on a conscious level in the creation of their art. It feels almost “more true than true” in a way that I find difficult to describe fully.
I hear you. One thing that has always fascinated me about literature is trying to see the echoes of the author in the creation.
Nobody in their right mind would make something like this. Considering the other typical fare of the Bureau... it's a reasonable assumption that nobody *did.*
Well we know exactly who at the bureau decided this was a good idea. So yeah they were involved which is kind of twisted.
Threshold Kids was one of the things that captured me immediately about Control. The writer of the Threshold Kids segments has talked about it a bit on Twitter.
Really great work on this video, informative and the editing / transitions between the two of you are top notch
I'm glad to be able to collaborate with Morgan and Yellow Bat on this. It all came together wonderfully.
And yeah this show in the game was a real mood setter for some areas. I can't imagine the game without them.
This collaboration is well done, hope you'll do more like this.
I hope to do more as well down the line. It all turned out well in my opinion.
@@GamingUniversityUoG it did turn out good!
having played alan wake 2 now, i think threshold kids is a great demonstration of why the FBC was unable to properly control the dark presence; they simply didn't have any properly creative people in their entire org. if this was the best they were able to do (aside from very basic nursery rhymes attempting and failing to cause even cursory changes upon the world before Saga showed up), then any attempt to actually control the dark presence would have been a complete disaster.
Something I, a person who spends most of his time on the internet and in a web forum trolling for fanfiction because it's by it's nature, cheaper then books, hear/read this saying, "A work tells more about it's maker then it's intended audience." It's midnight so I may be butchering the quote, but there are a few things of note in Threshold Kids that only pop out with outsider knowledge.
The choice of a drawing of a Tree for Topher's drawing, presumably made by the show-maker or a passing agent she wrapped into helping, to contrast Meg's Black Pyramid.
The inadvertent differences between Topher and Dylan, i.e. Topher, while still learning and showing no evidence of power, is allowed to leave the Oldest House, where as Meg, who is being tested for powers isn't. This also leading to the suggestion that the Bureau may of witnessed Jesse manifesting abilities (under Polaris' guidance) before Dylan did either purposefully or inadvertently setting up a rivalry between Dylan and Jesse. In game, we see that Dylan feels abandoned by Jesse and while Dylan could understand the, for lack of a better term, words and images of Polaris he couldn't pick up on it's intentions as well as Jesse did when sent messages, Polaris showing Dylan images of Jesse, presumably images of her life, presumably (again, making presumptions on my part) in either an effort to reassure or in response for his {NON-SEXUAL} desire for her.
On a less divergent thought, there's no guarantee that the "Rejected Episode" was even made in the same Oldest House, as strange and odd as that may sound, since we do, via the Mirror, know at least one alternate version of the Oldest House exists and is/can be connected to the one we interact with, a change in origin explaining the change in style of video.
On the posit of the theme of Control in Control, there is also a theme of "Loss of Control", after initially entering the Oldest House, Jesse has lost control over her life, her one goal for going to the House always out of reach by circumstance or malevolent act, the Bureau has lost control over the Oldest house and several of it's staff have lost control over their minds and bodies.
This in turn leads back into the theme of Control in Control, or more specifically, re(TAKE)ing (CONTROL), Dylan takes control of his life by accepting and joining the Hiss even though he ultimately loses... lets use Sovereignty, over his Self, Jesse takes control of the Bureau (and retakes control over her life, staying the Director and leading the Bureau ends as her choice, not just the Board's Selection) and through her the Bureau slowly regains the Oldest House (even the House might be regaining some control over itself from the Board).
The whole story definitely feels like one big power struggle. Now just over the house or itend but over yourself and not being buffeted by he winds of life. Taking responsibility as well as control. Not having your life dictated by the whims of others.
I agree. I've always been interested in the creation showing echoes of the author.
I am glad I watched Sesame Street insted of Treshold Kids as a child.
Amen to that. But then I grew up on Renn and Stimpy so it isn't much better lmao.
@@GamingUniversityUoG "and with theesse handssssss" *twitchessss*
Finally got a videos explaining things about the Threshold Kids series! Thanks for the effort! When I first saw Threshold Kids, the only things I could feel were creepy and scary. It is clearly how the Bureau educated Dylan turns him into a maniac.
I cannot imagine how they thought this wouldn't end in tragedy. Dylan didn't have a chance with these people.
i remember playing control and was watching one of threshold kids episode and my brother happened to walk behind me and saw the screen, he just simply said "the fuck are you watching?" to me
Lmao they always walk in at the worst times. Trying to explain this would be... interesting.
This is awesome. I saw Midnight Morgan's episode about Threshold Kids and it's nice that you're collaborating to produce even better videos. Your videos were already good but now their quality is increasing even more.
I've been following Midnight Morgan for a while and because of her initial video on this topic I wanted to bring her in and work with her. She does incredible work and her narration is top tier.
Yellow Bat did amazing in the editing. I've been blessed to be surrounded by great talent for these endeavors.
Every time I came across a TV in the game all I could think after watching was “Thanks! I didn’t want to sleep tonight anyway.”
It's so nice to see such a big and fast progress on this channel. This one was a really nice collab.
This week is the culmination of over a year of discussing ideas and three months of extra hours to put this together. I felt it was appropriate to end the week on this one. Possibly one of the best productions we've done.
@@GamingUniversityUoG and all of that was definitely worth it.
I'd honestly think that Devilman Crybaby would be more appropriate to show 10 year old Dylan than this David Lynchian nightmare fuel. This looks like something you'd find on Adult Swim in the same vain as Too Many Cooks. But you know what this really reminds me of? "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared"
Fun fact people who become psychologists often want to know more about themselves. Just to figure out what’s wrong with them or something. It could be the same with Harrington.
You mean to say that a shapeshifting SCP Agency, led by Eldritch Horrors, isn't suited to raising children?
Who'd have thunk?
Who could have seen that coming?!
The threshold kids is so creepy, but it draws you in so easily
Its disturbing considering it was intended for kids. What the hell
It took me a long time to actually start looking at those in the game. I find them just to creepy!
The first one o came across made me want to burn it with fire.
Amazing episode my man, I enjoyed watching these in the game, the way you watch them on the TV, and how there is space around it, it feel almost like they reach out to you.
First time I bumped into this video I wanted to burn it with fire lmao
@@GamingUniversityUoG yo it gave me chills.
Step into the FBC,
There's lots to do there's lots to read!
But look, dont touch,
And don't see much.
Lets join the threshold kids!
Lets join the threshold kids!
😈😫
editing is top-notch, really stepped up your game! keep it up lad :)
Thanks for the praise! More to come
Dude your content was awesome before but the quality has absolutely went up. Keep up the good work.
Last sunday during the update video I promised higher quality. Some didn't believe me lol. Glad you've enjoyed the changes.
If Control 2 ever comes out, I hope we get more Threshold Kids videos.
Oh boy. I'm not prepared for more lol
When i was watching threshold kids during my first play through i diddnt know if it was creepy because the people making it were so out of touch with normal reality or because it was generated by the oldest house itself
My first time I felt like I walked into a room and found something I shouldn't be seeing. Just backed up and left without a word.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I felt more of a trainwreck feeling, like where you can't help but watch?
You are really hitting out of the park with this new style of videos. Absolutely 👏 👏 👏
Thank you so much! I've been excited to show off this new style.
I always thought it was weird. Oh, he would make a good leader! Let's put him in a cage!
The more we look at then the more I see the Bureau as messed up mad scientists with little to no empathy.
Important topic... which is very rare
This type is called ''Analog Horror'', the reason for its rarity is its lack of use... Remedy Studio had used it before in Alan Wake and we all know the name of the serie ''Night Springs''... i think it's the only studio that uses ''Analog Horror''.
There are other types of horror that are relatively new, such as ''Backroom'' and ''Liminal Space'' and this definitely had a great share in ''Control''... and I hope these features will be present in the next Alan Wake game
Excellent collaboration and great video... thnx
I've seen a lot of people recommending me check out some analog horror for that very reason. I love the different formats of storytelling. It allows remedy to really play around with different styles.
This channel going to explode when AW2 comes out.
Oh I can imagine. So far my two big explosions was TGA 2019 when Control was nominated for lots of stuff then then release of Psychonauts 2
Really good video! I love the editing
Yellow Bat does incredible work! I look forward to working with him more from now on.
The video started talking about Threshold Kids, it ended talking about nature taking over. That’s quite the hard turn.
Yeah, this channel has a lot of random transitions. Welcome aboard the crazy train lol.
It’s such a glaring failure, anyone who thought about it for a minute would have given the stand-in for Dylan a mother figure, then had her die saving him when he touched a weird object or spilled secrets. That way you aren’t demanding he obey, you’re showing him the consequences could be dire, and he can sympathize with the boy over losing his mother, but take comfort knowing that _he_ didn’t kill his mom like the boy in the show. You simultaneously build Dylan up and give him _powerful_ motivation to start making sure he and everyone else follows the rules EXACTLY because he’ll be saving their lives by doing it.
It’s giving crash box
Facts themselves have no meaning, until nuance is given to them, only with understanding facts can the information be understood.
I've heard it said, in regards to education, that facts are cold dead things. Until you make them come alive they dont mean anything. Essentially stating the role of the teacher is to make a fact relevant to the individuals life so they care about it.
@@GamingUniversityUoG That's exactly what I meant, the way I said it sounds so dumb 😂😂
Off I remember watching for the first time it was disturbing 😳
Same. I felt like I walked into a room I shouldn't be in and seeing things no person should ever see.
threshold kids are one of the spookiest mini shows I have ever seen for kids.....even this show focuses on Dylan's desire and teaches him I think it was created for the all prime candidate program kids and staff kids to stop searching and exploring his/her parent's death caused by AWE too... if we noticed the first episode of threshold kids was in dead letters........focus on detail in this video is soo nice especially gone book and morgan research ( actually I was like ok let's see the dean version of threshold kids looks alike then I see its collab and makes me happy she deserve more subs ) DR Darling still was best in that field compare to Harrington even he works at other fields!!!... the sad story about this part remedy didn't use flashback to explain these type of event ( they even did not say a word about p1 to p5 ) I finished fear 3 last week I was like wish we saw this flashbacks form in control too. I know it's so rare in games the evil within fear and etc all did the same but this hits in terms of emotions so good and this could help explain Dylan more! ( actually, for me one of the worst parts of the game was that )
That's one bit of lore I'm curious about. Was P1-P5 other kids or were they previous investigations? In the Dead Cases area, (forgot what it's really called), we find Alan Wake related stuff. It is said that both Alan and Dr. Tokui were looked into as potential Prime Candidates. So those two may be one of the unknowns.
I agree though. This may have started with Dylon but the bureau intended to use Threshold Kids for other children after the fact.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I think children are more suitable for PCP. you can shape a child with your ideas easier than older ppl live around you and the board wants a loyal one too .....especially when they see northmore and trench everything got messed up by them(and dr ash researching about the board and nail ) as Morgan said in one of her videos if something ain't broke don't fix it...
dr. touki could be good for one of Candide but Alan ? they know he is in a dark place why do they think about him? maybe alan experienced awe when he got a clicker from his mother? or maybe Thomas Zane is his father? ( old theory ) or they found mr scratch after that AWE thinking he was real alan then they found a clue about who Mr scratch is? what about other children and ppl Jesse and Dylan spoke about them bcz in ordinary all children were alive... p1-p5 is one of the unanswered pieces of the game but there is something more in the board place...
why there are so many posters of ppl on the board room wall... I have a hypothesis they could be the board members
I know it's so rough to read this. I'm so sorry I'm very bad at writing eng correctly...I tried my best :)
NO INTERRUPTIONS!
I don’t know what you guys are talking about the line deliveries are the best part of this. Haha. “I’m not allowed to go outside anymore.”
God the voice acting was creepy lol.
This is the most sinister thing I think I have ever seen in my entire life. I cannot believe children are exposed to this.
I feel there is a disconnect between the adult and child mindset. Whoever thought this content was appropriate for children has a twisted view on reality.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I fully concur - how could a child possibly have the resources at hand to distinguish this dystopian fantasy from reality? It's very worrying for what is coming through the ranks in the next generation.
This was an amazing video dude! Liked and subbed and can't wait to see more 😄🙌
Thank you so much! I have some more coming within the next couple days.
School's main function is education. its secondary function is to instill social structures into kids for better handling of the world at large. Did Dylan even graduate highschool?
I'm going out on a limb and saying no Dylan never had former education. At ten years old he was taken by the Bureau and was in the House for years.
Regarding powers. We know that Jesse is exceptional parautilitarian. Somuch that she can teleport using control points. But there is one thing that is interesting, When she is bindig service weapon the meele attack is some sort of telekinetic push. But she doesnt have bound OoP. So is that her natural power? posibly enhancing others Largely telekinetical abilities? And dylan destroyed his containtment cell. Impliing he does have same tipe of powers.
This is great video. It could be good to make video solely on parautilitarians. This is incredible game that has incredible secrets.
So much content!😍😍😍
We had a lot saved up for you all!
(Written before watching) You know, I didn't want to sleep tonight. I guess I'll watch this video on nightmare fuel
Lmao! Hope you managed some nightmare free sleep
@@GamingUniversityUoG I did, thank you! The video was quite well done and for the most part I think managed to hide the horror
You should make videos specifically for each sector in the Oldest House, would be very nice
Would be fun to do a tour guide walkthrough as well.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I had another thought... About altered items. Could they be only objects? What if there was a person involved in an awe and ended altered? I thought about it and asked myself if Jesse herself couldn't be considered an altered item, as she received powers during an awe
I was hoping this episode would never come, Threshold Kids was smegging disturbing.
Unfortunately, this episode had to come sooner or later. Let us now pretend it never happened.
Everything about the Oldest House is Unnatural. There's not one round curve in the building, EVERYTHING is angular.
thank you for making these videos. i loooove the threshold kids series. i think they are really funny and remind of creepy cartoons like courage the cowardly dog and robot chicken. the puppet shows demonstrate how out of touch the adults in the FBC are with children. its almost like they did they best they could with what they had because all the tech in the fbc is outdated. come to think of it, i would love to see a video explanation of why the fbc uses such old technology. is modern technology not allowed? would cellphones and internet give the Hiss too much access to the current world? im really hoping the next game will have some Hiss escape into NY and let us fly around the city. hopefully more of an open world concept.
great video! keep it up! i loved the visuals at the end as well.
If you'd like to see a video on why the Bureau uses outdated tech Midnight Morgan has one up on that topic! Go check it out.
If I remember right, the watsonian explaination was that anything past the 1970's or so either has a bad habit of getting possessed or gets the House mad
I've always wondered who the skeleton was meant to represent. Was he supposed to mirror the then-current Director or perhaps Dr. Darling?
Trench was the director at the time. The skeleton's head covered with a grotesque false face that doesn't quite fit is weirdly analogous to the walking dead man that Trench was.
@@jeffreywilliams7641 Good idea! Perhaps it is also representative of Darling as well! On the outside he's a funny and nerdy guy who clearly loves his work (kid/baby-faced mask), but as the game goes on we see how horribly he treated Dylan (the angry skeleton).
Really couldn't say. I haven't thought much on Mr. Bones to be honest.
Mr. Bones is what makes the least sense about Threshold Kids imo. I can sort of see how the desensitization to altered items and the craziness of the Bureau itself would make the creators miss the horror of it. But a skeleton wearing a baby doll mask that screams at kids?? I just don't see how they couldn't realize how scary that would be to a kid.
Oh yeah, I guess it _is_ a lot like Gone. Fun fact: Michael is one of the authors behind animorphs =D
Really? Didnt know that. I ate those books up as a kid
@@GamingUniversityUoG They were hella tight tbh
finally man i waiting for this
Hope it was worth the wait!
I don't think that this show was only directed to Dylan, but also to the five candidates before him because there is no reason for them to make a show that looks this old unless it IS old.
In Harrington's memo she did specify that the recent arrival of Dylon ks what got her thinking about how to educate a child. The previous 5 prime Candidates were not necessarily children. Two were Dr. Tokui and Alan Wake. They were recommended to be reviewed as prime candidates. In the old cases section of the Prime Candidate program we even find documentation about Alan in several places.
The threshold kids are so uncanny because they couldn’t make the design or tone so iconic that the cartoon became a magnet for paranatural forces
OMG MIDNIGHT MORGANNN
It was so good to be able to collaborate with her on this!
My theory has always been that threshold Kids WAS a normal puppet show, but then got Altered.
“I miss my home” *dead eyes stare into the camera*
Isn’t quite lamb chop is it?
I like how the female face on Mr. Bones is ostensibly supposed to be Harrington speaking to the kids, but let's face it, the real voice of Bones is Director Trench, who she probably views as harsh and authoritarian. His words coming out of her mouth is a good way to describe Threshold Kids as a concept.
I know what show my kids will be watching
Lmao good luck
Treshold kids (and lack of facial animation) always made me thinking if Oldest House haven´t some paranatural effects of human psyche like partial siphoning emotion or empathy I mean these people were in many cases parents themselves and it is filmed in the manner that even 30 something frat bachelor dude would pause and thing that it is little bit of for children but then again we have to consider, that Remedy wanted to convey some message that FBA, while their motives are commendable, had side hustle as gestapo stopping itself just so so from the abyss but not equipped to properly remedy (!) its actions afterwards.
PS: Them again being psychologist (and women no less) to be completely oblivious to the apparent horror of the show require more than desensitization by the work or even trauma but some horrible partial debilitating psyche injury or simply an intent to do it in such manner be it for the reason to ingrain the massage to the children thrugh strong emotion of fear or otherwise.
The FBC at its core under North Moore had 1 isske that led to many more. He wanted to butter up to the board. He was a politician being given a playground of immense power. The board used this. When the power got to much. They went with trench. Trench lost his daughter due to the FBC and never recovered. He focused so much and wanted to compartmentalize and control everything. He shut down investigations after the sane person quit due to his paranoia. Dylan was horribly treated and stunted emotionally after the accident because the FBC didn't know how to raise a child. Darling seems to have realized this the most at the end. He was playing against trench who saw the hiss as a way to gain the control he was losing due to his need for well control. The bearou at its core though needs to stop fighting against itself and work eith itself. Trench compartmentalization of everything made it where as Langston put it "everyone's in a race to be on top" I mean communications didn't wear an HRA. Marshall head of the rangers tried to secure HRA production. A good move. But she went off on her own to the foundation. Not trusting Jesse to be ready. Salvador tried to secure a rouge altered item and Langston doesn't even have useful employees to keep the items in check. And his attitude on the items is correct. They need proper care. Not to be treated as prisoners. Otherwise they act out. And the hiss let them act out. Trench caused severe problems leading to his employees to obsess over the beaurou. And threshold kids while we'll intentioned. Was created by a mind used to dealing with adult psychological traumas from altered items and AWE and OoPs not a kid notnallowed to see the world. Groomed to be a leader. Taken from his family after an traumatic incident. And probably treated as an experiment.
Interesting thing to note is that this didn't seem to have TOO big of an impact on Dylan. There's an audio recording of Dylan at a psychological interview and he sounds...normal. He's angry, he's frustrated by the pointless questions, and he's antagonistic towards the interviewer, but he has good reason to be. He thinks Darling's avoiding him because he accidentally killed another agent with his powers (and he was right: Darling was avoiding him). He hates being asked dumb questions he can't answer (How am I supposed to know what day it is?! There Is! No! Calendar!). He's been a prisoner all his life, and it's understandable for him to lash out at his wardens.
So while Threshold kids was screwed up, it's not what made him insane.
He doesn't start getting weird until after letting the Hiss in. And honestly, I can't blame him; it promised an escape from his everyday Hell - whether psychologically or by tearing the real world down is irrelevant for him.
there is something that is extremely eerie and fundamentally wrong in what Agent Bethany created. In what world is this product acceptable as a teaching/warning material for kids 10 years and younger?
I always thought that the show was made way before Dylan was caught by the bureau. I don't remember if it was ever stated but I always assumed that the candidates from 1 to 5 before Dylan, who was no.6, were children as well who "disappeared" or failed in whatever training they were put through. Any similarities between dylan and jess with the threshold kids is only coincidental since it was stated by the creator on a podcast that she based meg and topher on herself and her brother.
there is an uneasy feeling that the threshold kids give me. it is as if it was made by an AI who can only mimic or copy. I would not be surprised if it was somehow made or suggested by the bureau or even the former... anyone who is not human.
10:50 After he was shown Threshold Kids no wonder.
Midnight Morgan has an awesome voice and her narration was superb. Great video.
She really does! I just saw she is working on a Silent Hill series for her channel. Can't wait!
What is the short, nightmare fuel clip you referenced at the beginning of the video?
Just heard from the editor. He says it is from Courage the Cowardly Dog. Episode called 'King Ramses' Curse'
I understand this show is meant to be disturbing but I found Meg's design kind of adorable.
Wonder how this series would have come off if there was a life action remake. Definitely less creepy without the dolls.
@@GamingUniversityUoG Probably not as strongly I imagine. The dolls are certainly part of its unsettling nature, as well as its charm.
a big part missing in control, which is handled at the later parts of the game is (avoiding the marry by) exploring Jesse "milenialism".
Power = Work + Time; Control = ?
I always suspected the threshold kids episodes were meant for Dylan but I never found anything confirming it in the game 😂 I clearly either missed that document talking about raising Dylan or glossed over it and forgot
The threshold kids show is bad taste, i wonder who tought this would be a good idea, seriously this show was the more haunted part of the game, i keep thinking in what kind of mind would come with this for a kid friendly show? Is completely out of touch, if not outright evil.
No wonder the kid you exposed to this turns out to become a psychopath, imagine being exposed only to this tv show your entirely childhood? It is torture!
I think a lot of adults forget just how malleable and impressionable children are to what kind of things they see. Putting these kinds of images in their heads is disgusting.
How did that apostrophe at the end slip through
Stuff happens lol. I've had typos before get through.
Every time Courage the Cowardly Dog gets mentioned, I'm told that it gave everyone trauma. I never got trauma from the show and I thought Ramses was genuinely funny.
NO INTERRUPTIONS!!!!
Mr. Bones needs a spin off series lol
So, uh… I’m not the only one who finds these things oddly hilarious, am I?
There is this Creeepy thing, Know it...... but DON'T speak about it, Or ELSE,,,! hahahaEHHEHAHAHA...
Let's all bleach the image of this show from our minds.
Yea I get the feeling like none of the members the FBC did not spend a lot of time with there kids.
Most likely not.
my husband hated these ahahah