How It Really Went

How it really went

"The Visit" - Little Nightmares Short Comic

Anyways, I love batshit insane, bastard Thin Man. It's my favorite interpretation of him, and is actually what I believe him to be as in Little Nightmares 2. Let me explain.

At first, I liked the interpretation of the Thin Man wanting to save himself from repeating the same mistakes, only to be trapped in a time loop. This paradox is cool, but that's too hopeful for a game like Little Nightmares.

The world of LN is twisted, and cruel. Innocents turned guilty. Victims becoming abusers. Regular people becoming monsters. Children becoming Adults. And I think... The Thin Man is no exception to this rule. I think, he is most definitely a bastardized version of Mono.

A twisted view into what kind of monster Mono becomes, if he doesn't let go of his grievances; which, spoiler alert--he doesn't.

That older, more selfish version of the little paperbag boy who becomes so obsessed after his betrayal, that he was willing to kill his younger self for even trying to take his "friend" away from him. Similar to The Lady who hungers like her Guests', I think he is under the influence of the transmission's broadcasts like his own Viewers as well, in order to distract himself from the betrayal that happened to him.

After all, how do you sit in a chair for so long? The answer is by being distracted and preoccupied, of course. I think he doesn't allow himself to think about it entirely, because it'd make him spiral badly.

And when Mono finally opens the door to his room, that distraction is interrupted.

And while yes, I believe that he isn't even known to be real by the residents of the Pale City, I think he still influences them somewhat via the Transmission, and he is the blueprint on what makes every adult so monstrous and so one-track minded. His influence is just THAT strong.

Besides, he is the big bad of LN 2. You should feel sorry for the circumstances that lead him to why he chooses to remain in his seat, but not for the atrocities he commits because he's an adult that's purely powered by his instincts: which is to retrieve his long lost companion at all costs. Which, he doesn't even succeed at, seeing as to how he keeps snagging the wrong kid every damn cycle.

It's this neglectful nature that spurs on the generational abuse, and in turn, keeps the cycle going. Getting physical isn't the reason abuse exists, it's always been neglect; Physical only comes next either on it's own, or an after effect of neglect. Which is also why I've began to dislike the idea that The Thin Man has good intentions, the moment he is "set free" from his prison.

You can't expect a person to stay sane and clean after spending a lifetime in the belly of a huge beast that's constantly consuming him. And that, I think, is the case of The Thin Man; He is no longer the sweet little boy who just wants to keep his friend safe as much as possible, these intentions of his have been twisted to the utmost extent that he becomes obsessed. Possessive. Isolating.

Keeping his friend safe is no longer the priority, it's just keeping his friend by his side for as long as he can, whether she wants to or not.

As for the relevance of the topic to the comic? This comic is actually just a concept scenario of "What if, he knows who his friend really is, and knows where she lives". But I don't think The Thin Man canonically--nor fully-- is aware of the fact that The Lady might actually be the very person who he's looking for.

He is a paradox caused by his own actions, and his inability to break free from this toxic mindset. After all, the adults of LN are all monsters in their own way. And the most normal looking ones? They're typically the most depraved.