Most of us old school video game lovers are quite familiar with the term "point of no return" which, in the games that we played in the past (and still play, for that matter!), was used to describe a pivotal moment in the course of the gameplay that marked the final one-way route towards the culmination of the adventure. This practically meant that, from that point and on, it would be impossible to go back to areas you had visited or explored up to then, and it could happen equally in both adventure and action games. Simply put, it is a gameplay - and sometimes plot - device which warns the player that they are moving towards the end of the game, and if there is something that needs to be done in stages visited before, it has to be done now, before passing the point of no return as after that, going back will be impossible. As a gameplay device, it is still being used quite extensively, although in open world games it is not always terminal: in the new generation of the Tomb Raider games, for example, you reach a point of no return after which you cannot go back to previously explored areas, but when you complete the game you can roam the full map as much as you want. In the remake of Resident Evil 2, you reach a point of no return when you leave for the secret NEST lab: up to that point, you can explore the sewers and go back to every single area of the Raccoon Police Department as many times as you want; but once you get on the funicular that leads to the lab, you can never go back. Resident Evil 4 and its recent remake feature several points of no return, each one corresponding to an extended area of the map, progressively locking previously visited stages.
Life is Strange 2 has a very different logic as far as its gameplay is concerned, as it features separate chapters that get completed within their own map, and the limitations that may affect the outcome of each episode stem from the different decisions that we are called to make in order to proceed. In each chapter, there is a dramatic event that causes the initiation of the next episode, but there is a specific one, namely the fourth chapter with the title "Faith", that is, in practice, the story's actual point of no return. As an episode, "Faith" may not seem too impressive at first, especially if you consider the terrific "Wastelands" that precedes it and the emotionally wrenching "Wolves" that follows it. Excluding the agonizing finale, on first look it feels rather slow-paced, and even the appearance of Karen, the long-lost mother or the protagonists, is set up and presented as quite toned down and neutral. All this on a first level; because on a second level things are much more complicated and interesting.
After being separated from Daniel during the dramatic events at the end of "Wastelands", Sean finds himself heavily wounded but still alive in a hospital, under guard and getting regular visits from a therapist, all in an attempt to make him recall and describe what actually happened in Merrill's farm where Daniel, in a state of uncontrolled confusion, let loose the full extent of his power. Devastated for not knowing Daniel's fate, Sean refuses to co-operate, mainly because he cannot tolerate the one-sided views of the people who oversee him, but most importantly because he is unable to bring himself together - and naturally so - to reveal Daniel's power which was the cause of everything. Regardless, Sean gets his sketchbook back, and while going through it, he notices a cryptic message from Jacob, one of his companions of the previous chapter, which basically gives him a valuable clue concerning Daniel's current whereabouts. He manages to escape without being noticed and begins a long journey so as to reach the place where Daniel hopefully is and get him back.
The place in question turns out to be a church of sorts, run by Lisbeth Fischer, a charismatic but creepy vicar with a dubious and dark past, who exploits Daniel's powers, presenting him to her flock as some kind of modern prophet and healer. Sean painfully discovers that Daniel has been brainwashed by Lisbeth, which means that the process of freeing him from her and getting him back will be anything but easy. Karen shows up at just the right moment, but instead of stepping forward to resolve things, she only offers Sean moral support in a twist that may seem strange at first, but in reality it is just the right option: Sean needs to do everything himself, and Daniel needs to realize how harmful Lisbeth is for him and see it with his own eyes. For both brothers, it is a complicated and tough process that will, however, help them find themselves and grow up emotionally and spiritually.
Karen's role as the mother is, in this episode, mostly a typical one, highlighting the figure of the parent who might have been absent throughout the lives of her sons up to that point, but is still holding some degree of moral and emotional power that can affect them, even indirectly. Even so, I admit I initially expected her to take action and save Daniel from Lisbeth, subsequently rescuing both her sons and offering them the protection that she failed to provide all these years. Karen however chooses to stay back and give Sean all the space to act on his own. A rather unexpected development - given that Sean, in spite of being more mature than his age, is still a young boy - but in the full course of the events, it turns out to be the right one. With her stance, Karen allows Sean to follow his instinct and employ his inner strength, because she believes in personal freedom and will. Partly, though, she may feel inadequate to handle things because family life was never her forte; she literally does not know her sons, she would practically be unable to bring Daniel back the way Sean eventually does. At this point, her maternal instinct is only mildly developed, and she too follows her intuition in simply supporting Sean and his choices. On another level, script and plot-wise, it would have been quite unfair for Sean to have Karen save the day, after all the tragedies and troubles that he had to go through up to that point.
The church environment, prominent and looming throughout the whole episode, proves to be a setting of major importance, both as an actual setup and as a symbolic feature. Lisbeth herself carries a dark past, possibly hinted as early as in episode 2: in one of the documents that are scattered around in the cabin where Sean and Daniel have taken temporary shelter in the forest, there is a letter signed by a certain Dr Fischer, reminding a patient of a programmed chemotherapy session that would take place at a clinic named Hope Patient Center.
First of all it is Lisbeth's obvious faith in her calling, which however is distorted and pretentious. Contrary to it, is Jacob's innocent and sincere faith in the divine power, which in turn gets shattered as he gradually opens up to Sean, revealing shocking details about his "treatment". Then it is Daniel's controlled faith which is a result of severe brainwashing. There is also Karen's faith in Sean's will and power of mind and, most prominently, Sean's faith in himself and all that he can achieve. In an unexpected twist of the plot, the key phrase that subsequently unlocks Sean's decisiveness and gives him the ultimate urge to do whatever it takes to save Daniel comes from no one else than Lisbeth herself: when they first meet, and realizing that Sean cannot get tricked like Daniel did, the Pastor turns him away, refusing to accept him in her church. As her goon Nicholas throws him out, she yells "You need to have faith!", hinting that she may allow him in her church if he admits her divine gift and does not interfere with her handling of Daniel. At this point, all seems lost; but Sean is able to turn this phrase around and make it work to his own benefit: he regains faith in himself and moves forward instead of stepping back, determined to never stop until he brings Daniel back, achieving it with his own human power of mind and heart.
Although in every chapter Sean makes huge steps forward towards his full emotional and spiritual development, it is at the end of "Faith" that he literally leaves his old self behind and becomes a new person, similarly how Daniel snaps out of his false prophet persona and it is as if he is reborn. It is a dual transformation that begins simultaneously at the beginning of the chapter's final part and is established and completed as soon as the two brothers step out of the church together. Having this dramatic sequence take place inside the main hall of the church, turns it into a dramatic but unavoidable rite of passage. No matter of the actions that we need or decide to take - depending on our choices at the end of the third chapter - the essence of the outcome is the same: Sean and Daniel leave the church grounds as two completely different people, having achieved both emotional and spiritual growth.
On another level, lies the conflict between the two mother figures, neither of which is actually a complete one. Karen, the biological mother of the brothers who is connected to them with blood ties, only now makes a physical appearance, gradually and discreetly gaining back all that she had lost during her absence. For Karen, it is mainly about her confirming her role in the lives of the boys, and much less about them connecting with her with family ties. Lisbeth, on the other hand may be a false mother figure for Daniel, but at the same time she had somehow filled a gap in his life, that of the protection and guidance that he needed during the time when he was separated from Sean. This was on a superficial level, of course; because Lisbeth's guidance was all wrong and the protection that she seemingly provided for Daniel was in reality a well masked exposure to many kinds of danger. At the end of the episode, the actual mother figure defeats the false one, a development that even has a literal depiction in the version where either Sean or Daniel kill Lisbeth: this extreme twist, which essentially turns them into murderers, also symbolizes the death of their innocent selves and the painful beginning of their new life, reminding both them and us that everything comes with a cost.
While every chapter's conclusion marks the completion of a full circle, "Faith" is the one from which there is literally no turning back: after leaving the church with Karen, the brothers follow her to her camp in the Nevada desert, from where the next phase of their journey - no matter which one it will be - shall begin. The start of the final chapter finds Sean and Daniel somehow settled for a brief period of time, and about to confront the consequences of all their actions and decisions that led them there. Throughout the first three chapters, there are still connections with their past lives, but all bonds appear to have already broken with the start of "Faith". This is something that does not only have to do with the plot or the gameplay, but with the overall atmosphere, the environments and even the physical appearance of the two protagonists. We find Sean with his luscious black hair nearly totally shaved, and later Daniel shows up with a nasty haircut, courtesy of the Pastor herself. The cutting of hair in both cases, as simple as it may seem, in fact carries considerable weight: it acts as some sort of ritual that symbolizes the transition of both Sean and Daniel to new directions in their lives. It is as if they are stripped of all the elements that constituted their personalities up to that point, and in the aftermath they are both reborn.
As far as the visual aspect and the ambience are concerned, with the exception of the tumultuous finale of the chapter, everything before that point is moving at a slower pace; even the darker sequences feel more like bad dreams and less like reality. Then at the church grounds there is this suspicious serenity that cunningly conceals all the evil that lies beneath it. The finale is an explosion, not unexpected but still shocking; and the fact that Sean leads Daniel to realize what is going on by himself instead of forcing him out of the sick situation where Lisbeth had placed him, makes that sequence even more powerful, and highlights its importance for the events that will follow.
One element that foreshadows the fourth chapter's unique place in the story is the transition to it. Each episode ends with the brothers being on a means of transportation, something that indicates the urge to be constantly on the move and run away: at the finale of the first chapter, they are on a bus (notably, the chapter even begins with Sean stepping off a bus); the end of the second chapter finds them jumping on a freight train, again escaping. As episode four reaches its conclusion, they are inside Karen's car, heading to the Nevada desert; and in the game's dramatic finale they are attempting to cross the border to Mexico in a car that Sean is driving. Between chapter three and chapter four however, there is no such transition: the final scene of "Wastelands" is the aftermath of Daniel's rage in Merrill's house - a static situation from where there seems to be no way out. This change marks the start of the painful but necessary start of a new approach to things, especially for Sean: it is now time to stop looking for ways to escape, but instead stand on his feet and face things directly. Falling down - and literally doing so, as it happens at the end of "Wastelands" - is part of the process, as then, with the opening of "Faith", he is already on the route to take his life in his own hands, even if he does not know it yet.
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