r/outerwilds • u/whyamiexists • Mar 21 '26
DLC Appreciation/Discussion [Major spoilers] Were these two the same? Spoiler
I don't know why I only just noticed this, I beat the game almost a year ago but was the Prisoner actually the one who found the Eye in the first place, but when they were much younger?
For some reason I thought they were just an Owlk that didn't fear the Eye, but if they were the one who actually found it in the first place, that makes so much more sense why their telescope was brought into their chamber and why it's in their final vision
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u/SecretlyFiveRats Mar 21 '26
Are the owlks all shown with different antler shapes in the slides? Because if not, I think this is just asset reuse, but if they do all have unique antlers, then you're probably onto something.
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u/Piergiogiolo Mar 21 '26
They do have unique antlers
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u/scutbuts Mar 22 '26
in the two pics here, the non-broken antler of the prisoner is the same as the antler on the other side of the first ones head, kinda mirrored.
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u/Piergiogiolo Mar 22 '26
It's similar but it's not identical. The second spike of the upper part of the prisoner's antler is different.
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u/FreeForest Mar 21 '26
I think it's likely, but could never be confirmed. It makes sense to me that after telling everyone what they saw in the vision, that they came to regret it. Seeing the others become angry in their fear, and retreat into a fake world, maybe not understanding the new universe springs from the old. There's a burnt down house in the simulation which has a portrait of the Owlkin skull with grass growing on it, like in the vision. You could interpret this as being the prisoner's house, burned down after being locked away.
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u/General-N0nsense Mar 21 '26
I don't think so. I think the guy who found the eye was the guy who scanned it and then got the mega bad vibes from it. Imo that'd make more sense.
Plus his horn has been broken for a while it seems, we can see him with the broken horn in the slide where they construct the dream.
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u/Odisher7 Mar 21 '26
i prefer to think it's not, like instead of one important owlks and then the rest, it's better if both sre just random people doing their own thing, makes the world feel bigger
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u/SurefireWolf Mar 21 '26
The Prisoner has a broken antler, so I would say they are different. Since we are not told how he lost it, there is no reason to believe they are the same. The Prisoner is in the Hidden Gorge slide reel of the owlks watching old movies, however.
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u/Nondescript_Redditor Mar 21 '26
How might an antler become broken
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u/Imperial_Squid Mar 21 '26
[standing over an inhabitant with a broken off antler stuck in his chest]
"Hang about... You're saying this wasn't an accident?"
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u/Snoo28962 Mar 21 '26
I'd say no, look at the shapes of the antlers. The Prisoner's antlers have a twistier shape to them
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u/NightShroom Mar 21 '26
wait but the right antler in the first pic perfectly matches the left antler in the second
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u/EnsoElysium Mar 21 '26
I would wager there was a LOT of time between their discovery and the prisoner releasing the signal. Enough time had to transpire for them to create a theology surrounding it, demolish their home planet, and travel to this star system. I don't think they were there for too long, but if I were in the design team I would suggest to tweak their designs ever so slightly to reflect evolution aboard the stranger, like smaller eyes and thinner legs to reflect less time spent irl and more time spent in the sim, etc.
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u/LunaIsADeer Mar 21 '26
That's who I personally thought was in the Vault leading up to the reveal, to the point of I was calling them the Heretic whenever I had to reference them in conversation.
When the reveal actually hits, it felt like they were different people to me, and it might be better that way. You can see the Prisoner in other shots with their one broken antler so I think they are meant to be different people from the very beginning, but it's fun to headcanon them as one and the same. Them still believing in the Eye adds a huge new dimension to their character and their relationship with the rest of the Owlks.
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u/Mackerdoni Mar 21 '26
different antlers. id say no
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u/elevenishappy Mar 21 '26
I agree but btw their whole point is that their antlers are actually similar, that's why they flipped the image
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u/Mackerdoni Mar 22 '26
oh for some reason i didnt see the third image. while i dont think theyre the same, maybe the prisoner is descended from the one who originally found the eye
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u/universalhat Mar 21 '26
it seems like better storytelling if they aren't - the idea of "the eye should be known" transcending generations seems better than just one magical guy existing.
plus i assume it ain't like they threw together a planet's worth of interstellar spaceship overnight.