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the Life is Strange iceberg explained

THIS VIDEO CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE LIFE IS STRANGE FRANCHISE this was such a fun video to make even though I almost lost my mind editing it, I really hope you enjoy it! let me know your favourite easter egg/theory/secret in the comments! #lifeisstrange #iceberg #truecolors TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 01:36 Tier 1 - The Catcher in the Rye 02:00 Hidden Rewind Sounds 02:41 katesvid.com 03:03 What if? 03:26 License Plates 03:47 Raven Symbolism 04:26 Max's Doodles 04:47 8 Episodes 05:25 Chaos Theory 05:48 Warren spying on Max 06:03 Hey David, watcha hidin'? 06:24 Twin Peaks 06:50 Homeless lady = Max 07:10 Homeless lady = Chloe 07:46 Butterfly effect 08:09 Lighthouse symbolism 08:33 Nostalgic feel 09:00 Tier 2 - Chloe's phone wallpaper 09:35 Rachel = storm 09:47 Rachel has superpowers 10:23 Ouroboros 10:49 Director's commentary 11:12 No f*cks given 11:28 Thanks for crying! 11:37 Rachel gave Max powers 11:54 Max & Chloe are in New York 12:26 Rachel = ghost doe 12:41 555 Phone numbers 13:01 Japanese dub 13:16 Max breaks the 4th wall 13:39 Santa Monica Dream = Rachel and Chloe 14:05 Tier 3 - Dana, Courtney and Taylor acclaiming Mr Jefferson 14:34 kcbeliever 14:58 Arcadia Bay Zip Code 15:30 Max = Rachel Amber 15:48 Unused music 16:05 American Chrysalis 16:23 Time Out 16:33 Aurora Creek 16:58 Life is... 17:32 Polarized title reference 17:54 Characters looking directly at the eclipse 18:14 "To All of You" interpretation 18:51 Alyzian's journal pinterest board 19:05 Amaury references 19:30 Tier 4 - Don't Nod 19:43 William and Rachel were supposed to be in the nightmare 19:58 Old Choice Music 20:22 Jefferson's phone call 20:40 Max was going to have a roommate 21:05 Blue Moon Diner 21:22 Native American culture 21:43 Kate's doodles 22:02 Forest fire theories 22:18 Unused tattoos, outfits and hairstyles 22:33 Raymond Wells concept art 22:42 Tornado theories 23:07 Tier 5 - TCRF Life is Strange BIK_E3_9A_DarkRoom.bik 23:32 Unused letter from Nathan to Mr Jefferson 23:52 Jessie 24:07 Destroyed lighthouse 24:23 Kate's rabbit 24:46 Unused character 24:55 Ladybug in clock 25:14 Why Max got her powers 25:35 Max = scapegoat 25:55 Kate's secret wine 26:06 Kate bought drugs from Frank 26:23 Jefferson knows about Max's powers 26:47 Samuel's office 26:55 Samuel = cross-dresser 27:19 TCRF Life is Strange BIK Intro E3.bik - TCRF Life Is Strange BIK E3 1A Insertion3.bik 27:29 Tier 6 - Lua interpretation 27:56 Stella bought drugs from Frank 28:22 Nathan knew about the storm 29:05 OOT leaked build 29:41 Bayocean, OR 29:54 Warren's violent nature 30:39 Rebirth, not death 30:51 Future Max left the message in Farewell 31:12 Melissa Lee Grayson = homeless lady 31:33 Red vs Blue 31:51 Hospital ending 32:21 Kelly Davis 32:49 Tier 7 - Fate always wins 33:20 Nightmare = Purgatory 33:46 Prescotts = ritualists/cultists 34:03 Ideograms 34:34 Chloe/Eliot theory 35:20 Blue Sunshine/Kate 35:34 VO_E3_6B.STM_pck-0000000043 36:07 Robbery 36:34 Secret messages 37:18 Eliot = Elliot Rodger 37:41 William = Prescott 37:54 Max of many faces 38:06 Loss of innocence 38:30 Outro SOURCES: the original iceberg: https://bit.ly/3s4vmso video sources: https://bit.ly/3geYlEq LiS wiki: https://life-is-strange.fandom.com/wiki/ LiS subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/lifeisstrange/ What if? Fan film: https://youtu.be/1L1Ww8BgR-E What if? Webcomic: https://whatifthecomic.tumblr.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA: -insta: https://www.instagram.com/raphaelleld/ -twitter: https://twitter.com/raphaelle_ld -facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raphaelleldyt/ MY KO-FI: https://ko-fi.com/raphaelleld MUSIC: SOLO ACOUSTIC GUITAR by Jason Shaw https://goo.gl/HiccEi CC BY 3.0 https://goo.gl/A7jRXA Acoustic guitar arrangement for song by TRow https://soundcloud.com/megatrev CC BY-SA 3.0 https://goo.gl/yhoCsv Acoustically driven instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals https://soundcloud.com/davidhydemusic CC BY 3.0 https://goo.gl/A7jRXA Acoustic Folk Instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals https://soundcloud.com/davidhydemusic CC BY 3.0 https://goo.gl/A7jRXA Acoustic Breeze by Bensound https://www.bensound.com/ CC BY 4.0 https://goo.gl/9ezBZw Sunny by Bensound https://www.bensound.com/ CC BY 4.0 https://goo.gl/9ezBZw Tenderness by Bensound https://www.bensound.com/ CC BY 4.0 https://goo.gl/9ezBZw Wings by Nicolai Heidlas https://www.hooksounds.com/ CC BY 4.0 https://goo.gl/9ezBZw Acoustic Blues by Audionautix http://audionautix.com/ CC BY 4.0 https://goo.gl/9ezBZw Promoted by MrSnooze https://youtu.be/kUZTWj2Lxo0 - end card: "oceandrive" - ULTRAWAVE: https://youtu.be/i7jU0xDABGM tags: iceberg,life is strange,iceberg explained,iceberg chart,life is strange 3,life is strange theory,before the storm,life is strange analysis,life is strange gameplay,iceberg life is strange,iceberg de life is strange,life is strange 2,life is strange facts,life is strange guide,life is strange chloe,life is strange story,life is strange trivia,easter eggs life is strange,wendigoon

RaphaelleLD

2 years ago

The first Life is Strange game came out in 2015  and since then, many people have fallen in love with it, including me. The story of the first  game mixes time travel and queer awakenings with darker themes of bullying, death, grief and  regret, all with beautiful graphics and the most amazing soundtrack. With the latest installment  in the series, Life is Strange True Colours, scheduled to be released later this month, I  thought now would be the best time to take a deep dive into the game and
look into some details  and theories I hadn’t thought about previously. I found this Life is Strange iceberg on  r/icebergcharts on reddit, it was made by a user called thisismyusername189. There  are already a few life is strange icebergs on youtube but none of them went quite as deep  as this one, so I thought I would give it a go. If you’re not familiar with the concept of  icebergs, it’s basically a list of theories, facts, easter eggs, secrets, or  anything really about a given topic. The d
eeper you go, the more obscure the things  get. This video is aimed at explaining each entry on the iceberg in a few words, I won’t go too deep  into any of them. If you would like to know more, I will provide links to more information in the  description. If you want me to make a video going more in depth about a specific entry, let me know. If you like this video don’t forget to give it a thumbs up, let me know what you think in  the comments and there’s timestamps in the description so you ca
n skip around if you  want to, and let’s get started with tier one. The first entry of the Life is Strange iceberg  is The Catcher in the Rye. This refers to the multiple references to the J.D Salinger novel,  from the main character’s last name Caulfield, to the movie poster in Max’s room that looks like  the original edition of the Catcher in the Rye. There’s also deeper similarities  in character traits and storylines. Hidden rewind sounds. Whenever Max uses her rewind power, a strange sound
can be heard. If you pay close attention, this sound  contains lines from past and future dialogue. Back when the episodes were released one by one,  this would give players clues as to what could be expected from future episodes. Katesvid.com Previously, if players visited the link that  Victoria Chase wrote on the bathroom mirror in episode 2, they’d land on a blog with a single  post and a video that was "removed" by YouTube, linking to the fact that Victoria took the video  down after Kate's
exit or exit attempt. It’s now just a link that redirects you to  the Life is Strange website unfortunately. What if? This could be referring to several different things, such as the fan film or  the webcomic of the same name, both linked below. But it could also be in reference to the fact  that Life is Strange was originally named What If? It ended up not being used because of a  Daniel Radcliffe film of the same name that was released in 2013. It’s also the name of the  achievement that the
player gets for unlocking all other achievements in the game. License plates The various license plates seen around Arcadia Bay  aren’t random. They’re based on TV shows, movies, books as well as real people. Sometimes, their  names make a lot of sense with the character that the vehicle belongs to. For example, Frank’s  license plate is based on Breaking Bad, which makes sense obviously since he’s a drug dealer. Raven symbolism In Before the Storm, a raven can be seen in a lot  of scenes, inclu
ding Chloe’s nightmares. The raven is said to represent transformation and is also  feared as a "trickster spirit." According to the Native American Tribes that inhabited Arcadia Bay:  "The raven is to be respected but never trusted." In the Native American stories, the trickster is  the protagonist of most tales, and their actions, while not meant to change the world, end up having  a profound impact upon the world. In this sense, the raven in Before the Storm symbolizes Rachel. Max’s doodles I
’m not entirely sure what this entry is referring  to. Max doodles a lot in her diary, so this could be what this is about. But one thing that’s really  interesting is that if you look at Max’s diary in the nightmare sequence in Polarized, you  will see that the doodles look different and a bit creepier. 8 Episodes If you look into the game files, there’s a  reference to Episodes 1 through 8, although only 5 episodes of the game ended up being released.  Also Dontnod's CEO, Oskar Guilbert referr
ed in an interview (recorded before the first episode  came out) to more than five episodes saying "We want to be able to tell the players when  episodes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc will be available". This goes along with the rumours that the game was  supposed to be longer but ended up being cut down due to time or money constraints. Chaos theory Chaos theory is the name of Episode 3 of Life is  Strange, and it refers to “the branch of maths that deals with complex systems whose behaviour is  highly se
nsitive to slight changes in conditions, so that small alterations can give  rise to strikingly great consequences.” Hinting at the fact that Max’s  tampering with time does indeed have big consequences. Warren spying on Max At the beginning of episode  2, just after Max wakes up, if you look through the window you can see  Warren’s hiding behind a building and seemingly spying on Max. Max doesn’t seem to notice him. Hey David, watcha hiding? This is a reference to Ashly and Anthony Burch’s  ser
ies of sketch comedy videos called “Hey Ash, Watcha Playin’” from 2008. Ashly Burch  is the voice actress for Chloe Price. Twin Peaks Life is Strange contains a lot of references to the TV show Twin  Peaks. A few examples are: Chloe’s license plate, the Pacific Northwest setting, the plot  surrounding the disappearance of a popular teenage girl, down to the fact that Rachel Amber  and Laura Palmer share the same birthday, the phrase “Fire Walk with Me”, officer Anderson Berry  being modeled afte
r deputy Andy Brennan, and more. Homeless lady is Max A theory exists that the homeless lady that Max meets behind the  Two Whale Diner is actually Max from the future, but this has been denied by Michel Koch and Luc  Baghadoust from Dontnod during the Blackwell Podcast Extra Life livestream. Homeless lady is Chloe Another theory is that the woman is actually  Chloe, or an alternative version if she hadn't reconnected with Max. As far-fetched as  it seems, there are a number of facts that suppor
t this claim. The blue butterfly  shirt she wears underneath her dark jacket, the fact that she eats the same cereal as Chloe  and Max, the fact that Max feels she can trust her as much as she can trust Chloe, and the  fact that she knows Max's name without her ever introducing herself. Some people say even her  physical appearance, eyes and mouth in particular, resembles an old battered version of Chloe. The butterfly effect The game’s events start with a photo of a blue  butterfly and ends wit
h a tornado. The butterfly to tornado thing perfectly mimics the scientific  paper written in 1972 by a meteorologist called Edward Lorenz entitled Predictability: Does  the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas? Lighthouse symbolism The lighthouse represents safety and  guidance and it’s quite literally a beacon against the darkness. It can be interpreted that  the building watches over Arcadia Bay. It’s also present in the vision that warns Max against the  storm. In
episode 5, it becomes apparent that the lighthouse is the only safe place for Max and  Chloe as it’s out of the path of the tornado. Nostalgic feel of the game Despite the game taking place in 2013, which is just two years before it came out, its overall  atmosphere provokes a sense of nostalgia in the player. I think it’s due to a combination of the  music, the lighting, the references to movies and songs from the 80s and 90s, the overall artistic  style that almost looks like paintings someti
mes, and the fact that Chloe and Max are two former  childhood best friends that are reunited. Tier 2. Chloe’s phone wallpaper Chloe originally has a photo of herself and  Rachel Amber as her phone wallpaper. However, after Chloe and Max leave Blackwell in episode 3,  you have a chance to look at Chloe’s phone again, and there’s a chance that she might have changed  her phone wallpaper to a photo of Max. For that to happen, you have to pick three of the 4 following  choices: Take the blame for C
hloe’s weed, don’t answer Kate’s phone call, choose to shoot  Frank, steal the money from the handicapped fund. Rachel is the storm This is the theory that Rachel is behind the storm, that the storm is her  revenge for the way she was killed, and perhaps her way of destroying the town she never got to  leave. Also linked to the next entry in a way. Rachel has superpowers There’s a few things that hint towards Rachel having the ability to  control the wind or the fire. For example, when the bin c
atches fire, she screams and the  wind seems to pick up, making the fire spread quickly. Later, when she’s in the hospital, you  can hear a firefighter say that the fire died all of a sudden, which can be linked to the fact  that she got stabbed and lost consciousness. Another theory is that she also has time powers  like Max, which she used to become popular, get good grades without doing much work, and  guess every one of Chloe’s truths and lies when they’re playing the game on the train. Ouro
boros In Polarized, Chloe wears a tee-shirt with an  Ouroboros, which is a serpent eating its own tail. It represents the endless cycle of life,  death and rebirth. It can be linked to the fact that Chloe can start a new life by leaving  Arcadia Bay behind. It could also emphasize the fact that history repeats itself, and that  Chloe is doomed to die no matter what happens. There’s also a fanfiction by the same name. Director’s commentary There’s a whole Director’s commentary which  is too long
to talk about in detail here, but they did mention a few interesting  things, such as the fact that the name Rachel was chosen because it's a hybrid of the  first names of the directors Raoul and Michel, and that the directors confirmed that the  doe is a presence of Rachel that guides Max throughout the game. No fucks given Max wears a t shirt with jumbled up letters in  2008, and the letters read “No Fucks Given”. Cassidy then has a “No fucks” patch in Life  is Strange 2 which is a reference t
o that. Thanks for crying! At the end of the credits for "Dark Room", which has a horrible ending, the screen reads "Thanks  for crying!" instead of "thanks for playing". Rachel gave Max rewind powers Another Rachel theory is that she gave Max her powers so that she could save  Chloe, find her body, get revenge, and in turn create the storm and destroy Arcadia Bay which  she always wanted to escape from but couldn’t. Max and Chloe are in New York If you chose to save Chloe at the end of Life is
Strange, when meeting David  in Life is Strange 2, he gets a phone call from Chloe and mentions something about New York,  hinting at the fact that that’s where they are. Rachel is the ghost doe As mentioned earlier, the theory is that the ghost doe is Rachel in spirit form, which  makes sense since it appears over her burial site, and again when Rachel is discovered. The  directors confirmed that in their commentary. 555 phone numbers Whenever a phone number is mentioned in the game, it is give
n the prefix 555. This is a fictional  prefix which is widely used in American TV shows, movies and video games in order to prevent  callers from bothering real people by giving them fake phone numbers. Japanese dub Not much to say about this, other than  there is a Japanese version of the game. Max breaks the fourth wall In the diner sequence of Max's nightmare in Episode 5, "Polarized", Max has  to enter a code to exit the diner bathroom. If you enter the incorrect code 50 times,  the door wil
l open and Max will say: “Santa Monica Dream” is about Rachel and Chloe In Before the Storm, Rachel tries to convince Chloe to escape with her to Santa Monica. Later  in the timeline, in Life is Strange, Chloe listens to Santa Monica Dream, which undoubtedly reminds  her of Rachel and how their dream never came true. Tier 3 Dana, Courtney and Taylor acclaiming Mr Jefferson When Mr Jefferson gets on stage to do his  speech during the End of the World party, a few female voices can be heard acclai
ming him.  The audios for the game confirm that it’s Dana, Courtney, and Taylor. Dana calls him sexy, whereas  Courtney and Taylor both say he’s hot. Yikes. Kcbeliever I believe this is referring to a post by a user called kcbeliever on gamefaqs.gamespot.com in  which they discuss possible plot points based on content that was leaked prior to the release  of Episode 2. The post is still up and it looks like their predictions were pretty much all  true, unless the post was edited afterwards. Arca
dia bay zip code The zip code for Arcadia Bay seems to change depending on where you look. In  a postcard sent to Chloe, Rachel wrote Chloe's address stating that Arcadia Bay's ZIP code is  97141 (which is the real ZIP Code for Tillamook, OR). Another postcard sent by someone called  Amaury contains the same ZIP code. However, on the auto repair invoice, the shop's address  in Arcadia Bay states a different ZIP Code: 97603 which belongs to Klamath Falls, OR. Max is Rachel Amber Some people theor
ise that Rachel is Max from a  different timeline, while other people say they are two different personalities belonging to the  same person. This is very easily disproven since they have different dates of birth and look  different, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Unused Music There is a bunch of content that ended up not being used in the final product. For  example, for Before the Storm, there is a Firewalk song that didn’t end up being used, as well as an  instrumental version of A Hole in
the Earth, by Daughter. They’re both linked in the description. Episode 1: American Chrysalis If you look at the Entertainment Software  Rating Board website, Life is Strange Episode 1 is called American Chrysalis. I’m not sure if it  was the original title or if the ESRB just goofed and gave it a different name. Episode 2: Time out Same thing for episode 2: it’s called Time out on  the ESRB website, instead of Out of Time which is its actual name. Aurora Creek This was the original name of Arc
adia Bay before  writer Christian Divine suggested "Arcadia Bay" as a name. Leftovers of its original name can still  be found in the game's files: the textures for the Arcadia Bay map by the lighthouse are called  "Aurora Creek Map"; the game file for the large picture of Arcadia Bay that hangs in the upstairs  hallway at Chloe’s house is named "AuroraCreek". Life is… This is in reference to the fact that the characters of the game sometimes get  close to saying the title of the game, but never
actually do. For example, after altering the past  by handing in her Everyday Heroes contest photo to Jefferson in Episode 5, Max finds herself  in a San Francisco Art Gallery and she says "Life is... weird.". Also, in Max's nightmare,  Alternative Chloe appears and blames Max. Before she disappears, she says "Life is... so not fair." Polarized title reference The term “polarized” isn’t only a photography  term, it also refers to a choice between two big, conflicting decisions. This is an obvio
us  reference to the huge choice that Max has to make at the end of the game, between saving Chloe and  saving Arcadia Bay. By the way, make sure you let me know in the comments which one you picked. Characters were looking directly at the eclipse This refers to the fact that at the end of  episode 2, characters such as Max and Warren are staring directly at the unexpected eclipse.  This would realistically be very dangerous and could cause retinal damage, so it’s a bit weird  that they’re doing
that without consequences. To all of You interpretation The song “To All of You” by Syd Matters plays on a loop at the beginning of the game.  The song romanticises the American lifestyle, and highlights the role of the "American Girl".  The simplest interpretation is that the game focuses on the fate of its female characters, who  are indeed American girls. It can also be seen as criticizing the way that women are traditionally  presented in American media, with “shiny smiles and plastic bodie
s”, whereas the main characters  in Life is Strange don’t fit this stereotype, either in their appearance or in the way  they take their destiny into their own hands, showing strength and courage. Alyzian’s journal pinterest board. This refers to the fact that Alyzian, the  illustrator that worked on Max’s diary, created a pinterest board to gather her inspirations, which  is still up and definitely interesting to look at. Amaury references Amaury Balandier is a French illustrator and environmen
t artist  working for Dontnod Entertainment. As the lead environment artist for Life is Strange, he  was significantly involved in the game's creation and development. His name can be  seen in a few different places in the game, such as on the list of Yearbook committee  members, or on a postcard to Chloe Price. Tier 4 Don’t Nod This is in reference to the fact that Max nods her  head when the Dontnod logo comes up in the intro. William and Rachel were  supposed to be in the nightmare According
to unused voice lines, Chloe’s  dad was supposed to be in the nightmare, asking Max why she didn’t save him. Rachel  was also supposed to have several lines of dialogue during the sequence,  but they were never recorded. Old Choice Music This refers to an unused audio which could have been the “choice” background music,  but it was replaced by the one we know and love. Mr Jefferson’s phone call In episode 2, Mark Jefferson has a weird phone call where he seems kind of stressed  and eager to cut
the conversation short. There’s a lot of theories as to who he could be talking to,  but one of the most popular is that he’s talking to Sean Prescott, Nathan’s father. Max was going to have a roommate In early concept art for Max's room, Max appears  to have had an environmentally conscious roommate. A poster that appears in Victoria's room in the  game can be seen under the bunk. This could mean that Victoria was going to be Max’s roommate,  but concept art for Victoria's room also exists, so
it could also be someone else. Blue Moon Diner The Two Whales Diner likely is based on the  Blue Moon Diner, located in Beaverton, Oregon. The interior is incredibly similar, and there is  a newspaper article in the airplane in Episode 5 with the headline "Two Moon Diner?" which connects  the names of the two diners with each other. Native American Culture Native American tribes have originally inhabited and founded Arcadia bay, and their culture can be  seen around the town, such as the tobanga
totem, currently standing on the Blackwell dormitory  grounds. Some of the theories behind what caused the storm suggest that the Native American  history of the area has something to do with it. Kate’s doodles Kate’s drawings used to be cute and child-friendly, fit for a kid’s  book, but with all the bullying and her declining mental health, they seem to take a dark  turn. If you save Kate, when she’s in hospital, she starts drawing children's illustrations again;  planning on creating a new b
ook about bullying. Forest fire theories As mentioned earlier, there is suspicion that Rachel is somehow  controlling the fire. She seems to be able to make it gain intensity at will, and then it seemingly  becomes extinct right after she gets stabbed, to the amazement of two firemen at the hospital. Unused tattoos outfits and hairstyles This is part of a load of unused content. Here  we can see a different tattoo design for Chloe, as well as different outfits and  hairstyles for some of the cha
racters. Raymond Wells concept art This refers to the early concept art of Principal Wells, in which  we can see various ethnicities and outfits. Tornado theories This refers to the various theories surrounding the cause of the tornado. The game seems to  want us to think that Max caused it but a lot of players aren’t satisfied with this explanation.  Theories go from blaming the Prescotts, to suggesting Native American involvement, or saying,  as mentioned earlier, that Rachel caused the storm
herself. I find those theories really interesting,  so make sure to tell me yours in the comments! Tier 5 This file name This video is an early version of the Episode 5 teaser video. It shows what seems to be an  unfinished Mark Jefferson in the Dark Room. This file was removed from Episode  3's files with Episode 4's release. Unused letter from Nathan to Mr. Jefferson This can be found in the unused graphics for the game. This letter is interesting because it gives  some clues regarding Nathan’
s relationship with Jefferson, and it also suggests that Nathan did,  in fact, hurt and maybe even kill Rachel Amber. Jessie The name of some of the assets of the game such as the photo of Chloe and  Rachel found under her bed and the postcard from Rachel suggest that at some point in the game's  development, Rachel was going to be called Jessie. Destroyed Lighthouse This entry refers to the fact that in the cutscene following the save Chloe ending, the lighthouse,  which was partly destroyed du
ring the storm, can be seen missing its top part, making it  seemingly half as tall as earlier in the game. Kate’s rabbit In episode 2, we are introduced to Kate’s rabbit, Alice, which is obviously an Alice in Wonderland  reference. Depending on whether or not we manage to save Kate, in the next episode, Max  will either be taking care of the bunny until Kate gets out of hospital, or will adopt  it after Kate’s death which is heartbreaking. Unused character Among the unused graphics, a seemingly
unused character’s concept art by Fred Augis can be seen. Ladybug in clock When entering Chloe’s living room in  episode 4, Max notices that the clock is stopped. This causes her to wonder if it was  her messing with time that caused it to break, but upon closer inspection, it appears  that there is a ladybug stuck in the dials. Why Max got her powers This is pretty much up to the player’s interpretation. While the wiki refers to her  powers as being “likely triggered by the shocking experience
of seeing a blue-haired girl get shot  in the girls' bathroom at Blackwell Academy”, most players seem to think that there is a lot more  to it. Let me know your theories in the comments! Max is a scapegoat Anima Gaming made an excellent video about this theory which I will  link below. Basically, this is the theory that Max wasn’t responsible for the storm. The actual  reason was a lot more complex, but a lot of the story had to be cut. This led to Max taking  the blame for it even though she
is innocent. Kate’s secret wine Despite Kate telling Max that she doesn’t drink, you can find a bottle of wine in her room. This  led people to believe that she was using alcohol to cope with her depression. Kate bought drugs from Frank There is a “Katie” on Frank Bowers’s client  list, codenamed as Chihuaha. This led some people to believe that Katie is Kate Marsh,  however the developer confirmed that Katie and Kate Marsh are not the same person. Jefferson knows about Max’s powers A popular th
eory is that Mark Jefferson knows  about Max’s powers. He does seem to hint at her special abilities throughout the game and  mentions her “gift”. However this theory can be disproven by his surprise when Max warns David  before he even comes into the room in Episode 5. Samuel’s office This refers to the unused concept art of Samuel’s janitor room. Samuel is a cross dresser This refers to the box containing shades and  “other crap” as well as a silk scarf and a fashion magazine, that can be foun
d in Samuel’s  shed. People have said that this could mean he likes to dress as a woman, or that he collects  those items as a lost and found, or, my favourite, that he bought them as gifts for Mrs Grant. These two file names Both are early version of the intro to  episode 3 which ended up not being used. Tier 6 “Lua” interpretation "Lua" is a song by Bright Eyes which appears  in Life is Strange during the third episode, where it is played by Chloe Price in her room,  and the fourth episode, wh
ere it can be played by Max Caulfield in Chloe's room. The song's line "We might die from medication but we sure killed all the  pain" could be foreshadowing Chloe's fate in the alternative timeline. Stella bought drugs from Frank Frank’s drug dealer book shows that Stella has  bought ADHD medication from him at least once. ADHD medication is known to be used by college  students as stimulants to help study and improve concentration. Since Stella doesn’t have much  money and needs to work as wel
l as study, it unfortunately might lead her to resort  to those pills to improve her performance. Nathan knew about the storm This refers to an unused audio of Nathan after fighting with Warren in the dorms. “The  storm is coming! You’re all gonna die! I see you, I see all of you and you’re all gonna  die! Haha, the storm is still coming, and you, you’re all dead, you’re all dead,  you hear me? Dead! I saw it, I saw the storm.” This unused audio file indicates that it  was planned to reveal that
Nathan knew about the storm. One of the game directors  later confirmed in an interview that it was thought to be in Episode 5, but was  scrapped pre-release because it didn't make enough sense story-wise and there weren't  enough hints to this before the final episode. Out of time (leaked build) This refers to a leaked build of Episode 2 which was allegedly  posted on 4chan on February 6, 2015. The leak for Episode 2 was confirmed to  be genuine on the Steam community forums and fans were urge
d not to download the incomplete  build and instead wait for the official release date which was scheduled in March 2015. The  early build had some glitches and graphical bugs which confirmed that it was an unfinished  build. There were also elements in the leaked build that were different or no longer present  at all in the complete version of the episode. Bayocean, Oregon This is in reference to the fact that Arcadia Bay might be meant to represent the town  of Bayocean, OR which was destroyed
over the course of 40 years by man-made erosion. Warren’s violent nature Although Warren comes across as your typical good  guy at first glance, there’s a few signs that show he might not actually be that nice. As mentioned  earlier, he fully spies on Max through her bedroom window. He also mentions some really weird films  such as C*nnibal H*locaust (pretty sure I can’t say that on Youtube) and says he laughed  his ass off at it. He also seems to lose control when beating up Nathan if Max does
n’t  intervene, showing a new, violent side to his personality that neither the player, nor  Max has come across before. Interestingly, in Max’s nightmare, she comes across Warren’s  locker which is full of creepy stuff showing his obsession with her, which shows that Max  is also a bit worried about his behaviour. Rebirth, not death This is the title of a video by Vexwolf, which talks about how Life is Strange  is about rebirth and second chances rather than death and consequences. It’s linked 
in the description, go check it out! Future Max left the message in Farewell Another really interesting theory is that the message that Max left on the tape  recorder for Chloe to find when she gets back from her dad’s funeral was recorded by  19-year-old Max, and not 13 year-old Max. I’ve linked a video by channel Stop me Oh that  goes into this theory a bit more. It’s easily debunked, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Melissa Lee Grayson is the homeless lady Another theory in regards to the i
dentity of  the mysterious homeless lady behind the diner speculates that it’s Melissa Lee Grayson, who went  missing in 1997. The photo of her provided on the Arcadia Bay Police Department’s website is said  to look similar to the homeless woman. You let me know what you think! Red vs Blue This is another fun theory that opposes blue  characters to red characters, with the blue ones being the good characters or the ones that the  player tends to like, while red represents the bad guys. This is
based on a video by Kiuchow which I  really recommend, once again in the description. Hospital ending The Hospital Ending was an alternate version of the "Sacrifice Chloe" ending  planned for the original Life is Strange, in which Chloe Price would have fallen into a coma instead  of being killed. The scene would have shown Max Caulfield waking up in the hospital next to  Chloe's hospital bed instead of attending Chloe's funeral. As much as I would have preferred that  ending because obviously I
don’t want Chloe to die, I do understand why it was scrapped, because  it does reduce the impact of your decision. Kelly Davis At the end of Chrysalis, you can see the red folders in the Dark Room and  you can see that the one just before Rachel’s is named Kelly. Later on in Polarized, during the  Nightmare, Max walks around the dorms as they were when Rachel was attending Blackwell and you  can see on the map that a girl called Kelly Davis was staying in room 217 which is opposite Rachel’s  ol
d room. It has been confirmed by DONTNOD that these two are the same Kelly. And finally moving to Tier 7 Fate always wins This is a bit of a vague entry but to me, it refers to the  fact that maybe Chloe is destined to die, as shown by how many times she “dies” throughout  the game and Max has to rewind time to save her. Max’s nightmare was her in purgatory I couldn’t find a post or video regarding this theory, but I believe this refers to  the fact that some aspects of the nightmare, especially
the repeating corridors in the  dorms, and the reminders of her choices and their consequences, seem consistent with  descriptions of what purgatory is supposed to be. The Prescotts are Ritualists/Cultists I believe this is in reference to the fact that the Prescotts, a rich and influential  family, could be linked to a secret society or New World Order type thing, hence why they know  about the storm and own a literal bunker that’s called the Stormbreaker... Ideograms These Chinese characters
can be seen on various  items and can be translated to French Bread or French Pastry. They have been discovered on five  items so far: one of Jefferson's photographs, Jefferson's "ero guro" poster, which is  cropped here because it’s quite disturbing, a manga magazine belonging to Chloe in 2008,  the cardboard used by Frank to hide the inside of his RV and a poster above Max's desk. Chloe hooked up and had a romantic relationship with Eliot because he reminds her of William The channel “No Whisk
ey Rose” got into more detail about this but basically, it’s theorized  that after William’s death, Chloe needed comfort and found it with Eliot, and it’s possible that  his similar look to William, as well as his seemingly calm and down-to-earth personality  might have subconsciously reminded her of her dad. Blue sunshine (film) and Kate Marsh This really stumped me at first. When I googled Blue Sunshine, I discovered that it’s a  really wacky horror film from the seventies about a form of LSD
called Blue Sunshine that turned  people into bald murderous psychopaths. I really struggled to find the link with Kate Marsh, but  then looking at Frank’s notebook again, it looks like the acid he sold to that Katie we talked  about earlier is called Blue Sunshine. Since there’s a theory, albeit false, that Katie is Kate  Marsh, I think that’s where this entry came from. This file name. This is the name of an audio file that can be found in the game files for episode  3, it features Officer Ber
ry's voice: saying "Since you know so much about episode 2,  maybe you should tell me what's going on? I sure hope you're not proud of yourself  for playing a leaked, incomplete game, and, if you do it again, next time you roll  through Arcadia Bay might be your last time. Choose wisely." It is thought that this audio  file was left in the game files for the leakers of episode 2 to find. Robbery scene In the very early stages of writing, a robbery  scene was planned, where Chloe gets the idea to
do a robbery to test Max’s powers. It was  written as a way to show Max and Chloe early on, having fun with Max’s powers but the diner and  junkyard ended up serving the same purpose. The robbery would also have addressed the  topic of stealing, but this is presented at a later point in the game when Chloe wants  to take the money in the principal’s office. “I can’t live here anymore” secret message I can’t live here anymore is a song by Daughter that was on the Before the Storm soundtrack. It 
was soon discovered that the song seems to have subliminal messages hidden in it. Here is some of  it, reversed. Tell me if you can hear anything. Judging by Eliot’s outbursts in BTS Episode  3 he may have been inspired by Elliot Rodger Elliot Rodger was an incel who killed 7 people  in Isla Vista, California. The name choice, as well as Eliot’s aggressive behaviour in  episode 3 of Before the Storm, and his creepy poem seemingly about Chloe, does suggest that Elliot  Rodger was an inspiration
for the character. William is a Prescott I am guessing that this theory is simply that William Price is  somehow related to Sean and Nathan Prescott, but I actually couldn’t find anything about it  online. So if you know anything, let me know! Max of many faces This is another Anima Gaming theory, which suggest that each change that Max made  in the timeline created a new, different Max that has no knowledge of what’s to come. And finally, the loss of innocence. I believe this is in reference to
Mark Jefferson’s  obsession with the idea of "capturing that moment innocence evolves into corruption". He is so  obsessed with this that he goes way too far, even kidnapping, drugging and eventually  killing to get his perfect shot. And that brings us to the end of  this Life is Strange Iceberg video. If you made it this far, thank you so much!  I would love to hear your favourite part, or if you have a theory or trivia fact or an  easter egg that I haven’t mentioned, please tell me all about
it in the comments. I want to thank  thisismyusername189 again if you’re watching this, thank you for creating this Iceberg, I had so  much fun diving into all of the different entries. I hope I did okay for my first Iceberg video,  I really want to do more. Specifically I would love to do one about Life is Strange 2 so if you  know about an Iceberg for that game, let me know. As always, my sources are listed in the  description along with my social media. Thanks again for watching, subscribe if
you  haven’t already, I’m trying to reach a thousand subscribers, and press the notification bell so  you know when I upload. See you next time, bye!

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