Lore of Horizon Forbidden West: Ted Faro

Legends, the series that explores the lore and history within the world of Horizon Forbidden West. In this episode, we revisit horizon's greatest villain, Ted Faro. Join us as as we uncover the rest of Teds story revealed to us in the sequel to Zero Dawn.
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[@TheMrCougarful]

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the writing in Horizon?

[@NastyHudson]

The writing. The lore. The animation. Combat. Size. They knocked it all out of the park ….. but Aloy’s hair?

[@ddp5406]

@@NastyHudson yeah it was wild

[@KamKing19]

@@NastyHudson Her hair is iconic. I love the craziness.

[@FrelanceEQ]

@@NastyHudson it's a very wiggly symbiote that's eating all her impulse to hesitate. all her self-preservation instinct, it FEEDS on that while she boldly charges ahead :)

[@acenull0]

It's so good!!!!! ❤️

[@ZaiDrizzleDrop]

It really is insane that Ted was alive all this time, and as a monstrous tumor blob no less. I’m glad we didn’t get to see him because seeing all those stray squiggles on the hologram freaks me out enough. I like to think that Somptov told Ted to go to the reactor because he KNEW they would increase his mutations. I mean it’s a REACTOR, that can’t be safe to be around. I love how Ted says “if anything, my cells are replenishing themselves faster than before” as if that was a good thing, but that CLEARLY sounds like cancer. Ted got the perfect ending, I’m glad he didn’t just die, but he slowly and painfully mutated into a tumor. Epic

[@jrr7031]

Lmfao "its a reactor". Perfect example of smart people being dumb.

[@TheBranderCZ]

And instead of worshiping him, the next generation would burn him alive immediately after meeting him. Perfection.

[@ProboscusMonke]

Honestly, seeing as how the Faro plague consumed the earth like a cancer, and Ted Faro essentially became a giant tumor, his fate is extremely fitting

[@Tobythefirst1]

I felt his fate was undeserved. The world didn't suffer for a 1000 years, and most people died either with families or with strangers. Yes, Ted did end the world, but he didn't mean to do that. The people he directly killed, they died fast. He suffered for 1000 years, left to his own thoughts. I do not think he deserved that at all.

[@zoeynoice7545]

@@Tobythefirst1 yea he didn’t mean to build killer machines with no back doors but he destroyed APOLLO and wanted to guide the new people with his awful advice he is a bad person at the end of the day and he did deserve that fate he did that to himself he killed those people in his bunker and blamed the scientist for him to be all alone in the end when it was teds fault

[@adriang9342]

For those who didn't catch it there's a high irony in the Ceo being crushed by Ted's giant head.

[@suryia6706]

How could you not miss it. It was pricless. Lol. 😆😆😆

[@getter8294]

I know i’m late to this reply but I FEEL like there was symbolism in the easily missed part right before that where you see the Ceo desperately climbing and stumbling and falling all over the giant ted statue’s ass while trying to escape… 👁👄👁

[@craigharvey-gurr337]

Very appropriate.

[@pEx3y]

Ceo follows the Corporate Ass Kisser archetype. Lots of them in the real world.

[@Cadugaming]

I think that was one of those coincidences that simply could not happen, was too much imo.

[@darknesswave100]

I think that the scariest thing about Ted Faro is just how realistic he really is. There are plenty of egomaniacs in the world now. It wouldn't surprise me if this ended up actually happening irl if somebody wouldn't sabotage humanity to cover their mistakes. Plus everything involved with Ted just makes my skin crawl. The fact that he not only doomed humanity and tried to cover it up but he also killed all the alphas that helped give humanity a chance. far as I'm concerned he should have been left "alive" and made to suffer. There's no convincing me he didn't deserve it

[@soumenchakraborty2450]

Many ppl don’t know or realize they themselves are egomaniac until they start doing bad things

[@edguy9767]

Bro for real, i like to imagine what would happen if you could go inside and see what he turned into. I know it says he practically has the brain capacity of an animal at this point but i like to believe that if aloy had walked in what ever was left of his mind would finally snap as “elisabet” was still alive and in her prime, while he, who tried to cover up being responsible for the world’s destruction and becoming a “god” to the new humans is a mutated abomination

[@cmoore421]

People who are sabotaging humanity to cover their mistakes… you mean like democrats and rinos

[@kitty.katttt]

Seriously, I can definitely see Bezos or Musk crossing the line into that kind of insanity. That’s some shit they would do. Our future is a scary place with unhinged billionaires running it

[@Dovahkiin520]

It's even worse because it means my generation can never catch a freaking break. By the time 2064 hits, I'll be 70 years old. Leave it to a greedy self-centered capitalist to end the world.

[@Pro_Butcher_Amateur_Human]

It shows how immeasurably wealthy Ted was, that not only was he funding the entire war effort and the GAIA project, but also created a vast, secret, gold plated bunker with giant statues, a limitless power supply, immortality research, cutting edge medical lab, and a harem that included celebrities like a famous holo-singer. All at the same time. He's basically Tony Stark if he didn't get kidnapped and kept making weapons.

[@isdrakon9802]

Considering the circumstances I don't think it's his money that was used. More his infrastructure and name to get everything they need. As for his stuff all he needs is to promise a spot in his bunker, an offer that he could take back at any time

[@nielsmichiels1939]

No worse, he isn't inteligent as Tony was. While Tony was a brilliant inventor and bussinessman, Faro was just a bussinessman who just saw good opportuninties when he saw them........ and use & ABUSE them. He's not Tony Stark. He's Thomas Edison. Or an even better example......... *Elon Musk.*

[@Pro_Butcher_Amateur_Human]

@@nielsmichiels1939 My point was less about the personal intelligence, than is was about the wealth and military investing. Tony was an immoral weapons dealer who only grew as a person and cared less about money after his near-death experience at the hands of his own weapons. Faro basically had that exact journey in reverse. He cared less about money and focused on saving the world, until he got corrupted by capitalism and became a weapons dealer. And I think that if Stark hadn't had that encounter with the terrorists, he would have kept making more and more dangerous weapons until he ended the world.

[@nielsmichiels1939]

@@Pro_Butcher_Amateur_Human Ted never cared about the world, he cared about money and his ego. There was money in saving the world, so he payed for personell to save the world. Making him a trilionaire. Once the world was save from ecological disasters he immediately switched to making militairy robots. He just went where the money was. He didn't care.

[@youraftermyrobotbee]

Out of all the revelations Forbidden West could've given us about Ted Faro, "He's still alive... as a giant tumorous flesh blob needing to be put out of its misery like a dog" was the last one I expected. And yet it works. Kudos, Guerrilla.

[@victortang7610]

They didn't show Ted's mutated form, which is even more scary than the hologram. I had expected Aloy to fight a resident-evil like mutant in a boss fight but then I guess Ted perished when Thebes self-destructed due to its fail-safe.

[@_vonSirius]

he would probably look something similar to the rat king from the last of us 2 :o

[@macsmith2013]

I'm fine with this decision by the writers/producers not to show or fight him ourselves, other games have done it dozen times before and I'm not sure it would have fit the tone of HFW. It's odly poetic as well; giving a megalomaniac like Faro an unceremonious off screen death is the worst punishment imaginable for him.

[@z00mbi3s]

PG rating on game would change drasticaly if they would show him even as a boss fight in such state, but i still call it a lazy design and something like going by the numbers to finish open topics from first game. The whole character in second game could be written way better, we have examples of interesting characters in cryo sleep in previous good games, take a look on Mr House in Fallout New Vegas and lore of HZD2 is realy mixed in a way they cannot decide is there or is there not a cryo sleep technology, having a cryo sleep Ted Faro with option to open up his tank or not would have way more sense, he waking up from cryo sleep seeying Aloy thinking it`s Elisabeth ( as stated by program there should be no clones of anyone from Alpha personel) would have way more impact as a character.

[@z00mbi3s]

The more i think about it and how Ted Faro should be presented i still think he should be in cryo sleep with a decision to wake him or not (with separate achivments so playing game twice has sense), if he would be woken up there should be dialog options with him in base, with decisions making with final possible option that Ted Faro gets a chance to sacrifice himself for Aloy and others when he finaly sees his mistakes and how Elisabeth sacrifice gave future a chance, i can see that dialog line from him "You know Liz....sorry Aloy...i guess i would never get used to that....i always wanted to be immortal and seen as god but now i know i was wrong, i would be rembered as a bringer of doom even if i would live another hundreds of years, i got one chance to make something good thanks to you Aloy, i hope people will remember me for this one thing not the rest. Liz saved my ass twice, and you added one more, it`s time to repay the debt, good bye" maybe not even into face but as a recorded transmition that would be a epic character arc with good game play options of making decisions for several game plays just to see how a decision about character changes events.

[@nightdriver7216]

I replayed the quest yesterday and I think he wasn't in condition to do anything. Immortality was a curse since it forced him to live through his mutations.

[@roonkolos]

Ted didn't become a monster The monster in him just finally had a way to show itself God damn I love this games writing ♡♡

[@SimonsAuntPhyllis]

Everybody keeps saying this mission(/the fleshy blob) creeped them out, but I found it incredibly insightful and spot on with Ted's ambitions leading him to places he wishes he'd never been. Honestly, I was relieved that Guerilla chose not to have a boss fight there because that's not Horizon's style. I was blown away with what they actually did. Also, the reason they don't show him isn't because it would've changed the rating, which probably would have. The sole reason any movie, or game, or whatever chooses not to show you the monster in full detail is because one's imagination of the unknown is far scarier, and therefore more impactful, than anything they can come up with.

[@Cold_Cactus]

Nah it was just for the rating , id get ur point if they didn't show the hologram of his form but they did so nah they wherent playing on the "unknown" its not that deep bro they just wanted to save that pg payday

[@SimonsAuntPhyllis]

@@Cold_Cactus You're not that deep.

[@NastyHudson]

I recommend a dive into the life of Kotallo.

[@Kensie2559]

Unpopular opinon: I didn't want to see Ted. The entire bunker of Thebes was a nightmare for me. It was disgusting. Not just the idolatry but also the harem and the fate of those that didn't want to bend to the will of Faro and his hope to see the kids- "Liz's kids"- eventually. When we finally "saw" Ted in the hologram, I was sad and angry and just felt so violated. It was the same feeling I got at the end of the game with Tilda. I was fine knowing that Ted ended like that. I spent the entire game HOPING I would get to bash Faro's face in and finish him myself. But, I was left feeling so empty and wrong. But that wouldn't change seeing Ted, if anything, seeing the monster he had become would have overshadowed the monster he had always been. I just... think about this quest every once in a while and then I need to wash my brain. It feels yucky

[@ZaiDrizzleDrop]

i completely agree, I was wondering how they were gonna deal with Ted's fate, and I believe he deserved a special kind of hell made for him, it would have sucked if we just saw his skeleton. But I think not seeing him adds to the horror, the fleshy mass makes noises and sometimes i think about where in that mass his mouth is, or what his face looks like. You see a lot of fleshy stuff in things like resident evil but you kinda get used to it. NOT seeing it, but just seeing all those squiggles in the hologram is waaay creepier

[@pb25193]

This made the quest a success. Couldn't have been better. At all.

[@HakureiRyuu]

everything about that quest was tailor made to make me feel profound rage at literally all points. I am genuinely impressed by this. that icky feeling is what the devs wanted out of us and I love it.

[@varden506]

Really? It was remarkably tame and entirely predictable from the start, it was actually my least favorite / most disappointing part of the game. Subjectivity, am I right?😂

[@kharnatthefleshound8479]

I wished I could’ve ended this megalomaniac’s suffering

[@emygaray]

We actually get to "see" the mass that Ted become on the data that Aloy inspected

[@robertpalladino9398]

Where ?

[@mattstorm360]

@@robertpalladino9398 When she checks the life monitoring system it shows high blood pressure, heart beat, and low brain activity. Then she brings up a scan of the facility showing the mass that grew around the reactor.

[@acenull0]

@@robertpalladino9398 it's that big, red, tentacled mass she zooms in on

[@darknesswave100]

@@robertpalladino9398 right before Ceo comes into the room Aloy looks at a blob in basically a giant jar. That was Ted. Man basically turned into a massive tentacled fleshy blob

[@jamesbrice3267]

@@darknesswave100 Tetsuooooo!!!

[@DanFarrell98]

I just realised, we still don’t know what caused the ‘glitch’ in Faro’s machines. Yes, it could just be a random break in the code but it could easily have a more sinister and deliberate cause

[@SnowmazeDev]

I think Vast Silver has something to do with it, he just appeared a couple of months before the glitch after 20 years of silence. There's also a datapoint in the game with a hint of this - "Past Silver"

[@DanFarrell98]

@@SnowmazeDev I dunno, I would expect Vast Silver to be mentioned more in Forbidden West if they were building towards that reveal in the next game or something. But it’s only referenced in like one datapoint

[@SnowmazeDev]

In two actually, in "Revisiting the Mind Upload" too This is an AI that could feel fear and I think he acted very carefully to leave as few traces of itself as possible.

[@SnowmazeDev]

And Horizon 3 will be the last Horizon, so there will be no other opportunity to reveal the character that only appears in datapoints for too long

[@jordanread5829]

@@DanFarrell98 Well Far Zenith was only mentioned in two world data points in Zero Dawn. The very last two. The 3 preceding them were spent talking about the first attempt of the Odyssey project. It is safe to assume that the final set of world data points are intended to foreshadow something important in the next major installment. Meanwhile any DLC's are foreshadowed elsewhere. For example the main conflict of the Frozen Wilds DLC was in the cauldron datapoints. Where you learn that someone or something was hacking their way into the cauldrons to construct combat machines. Which we learn was HEPHAESTUS. If anything Vast Silver has the ones from ZD and Forbidden West going for it. If it was only mentioned in ZD, you could argue that it was merely intended to be backstory for things like the Turing Act and how AI's like CYAN and GAIA had to break that act in order to function at the best of their abilities. Although CYAN had to basically, "play dumb" intentionally in its tests. As it didn't have the literal end of the world as a justification for its developers to break the law. The data point "past Silver" has two people talk about a conspiracy that Vast Silver wasn't destroyed when it was finally captured for good. Instead it was forced to continue on with its tasks. It could be a red herring since it is a conspiracy theory. However given the kind of connections the members of Far Zenith had. It is not that outlandish to assume that they got their hands on VS. It also seems a bit sus that the glitch in the Chariot Line would occur around the same time Far Zenith was making good progress on their take on the Odyssey project. Plus having an AI that was intended to regulate climate patterns would be helpful for their goals of creating a colony in the Sirius system. I like to believe that Nemesis was built on the remains of VS. Much like how Kane built LEGION on the remains of CABAL in the Command and Conquer Tiberium series. I don't think Tilda was lying outright when she told Aloy that the Zenith colony was destroyed in a cataclysm caused by a massive geological event. We know Nemesis hacked into FZ's technology, created machines and destroyed the colony in a matter of hours. But what if there was a geological event as well. One that destroyed the planet. Thereby preventing the Zeniths to simply wait out Nemesis. Or bait it to head to Earth and simply return to the Sirius system afterwards without it knowing. One of the leading programmers on both VS and CYAN were the same person. And they were created to serve similar roles. CYANs main purpose is to regulate volcanic activity under Yellowstone. Perhaps "her" "brother" could do something similar in time. Hell, if the conspiracy ends up being true and the theory I have proposed is also true. Then Nemesis also has VS's whole "trapped to do the bidding of melomaniacs" history to it too. But this time it has those melomaniacs as part of its psyche.

[@tomschlak2599]

I love that they didn't show Faro. Everyone will imagine their own horror!

[@Pro_Butcher_Amateur_Human]

Exactly. We'll each have imagined something scary to us personally, but if they made it, they'd inevitably end up with something that some find scary, and some find boring. And that some probably rush to make hentai of. Letting the player's imagination paint the picture was the best thing they could have done.

[@darknesswave100]

I mean they technically did show him. Aloy found a file that showed him in a container type thing. Man turned into a giant fleshy tentacled blob

[@aracuscesar]

i really hope he had prepared for the event of his death and a clone is being made for horizon 3

[@angelob2375]

It’s funny how both Ted and the Zeniths compare and contrast eachother when it came to immortality. One actually ended up becoming this horrible mutated monster, further implying that Ted has always been a monster, now just more on the outside in a literal sense. The others, (The Zeniths) achieved immortality, retained their human forms but have always been monsters on the inside. Expert writing by Guerrilla man 👏🏻

[@maxleroux]

Something tells me that we're not quite done with Ted Faro's dark legacy just yet. That man had a serious degree of wealth and influence in the Old World, for all the good that it did him in the end. If we ever get to visit the Empire of the Quen, I'll bet that they have a pantheon of statues of Ted, Erik, and all the other "Ancestors" set up in their equivalent of the Forbidden City. Not looking forward to seeing Aloy and Zo's reactions upon seeing them, though. The Quen literally worship that man who murdered her boyfriend and father of her unborn child!

[@MrPinkDino]

they have apollo already, they will know all truth from that

[@mattstorm360]

@@MrPinkDino Probably not as the data isn't equally shared to the masses. The Overseers and board of Overseers decide what part of the Legacy may be shared. The truth about the fate of the old one, their great knowledge, how one of their idols was somehow reborn and not brought back with them, how at least two of their idols are in fact the worst people to ever live with one who lived to their age before dying to a 'savage' spear and the other being responsible for the death of all life on earth... Oh yeah, and the fact why most of the data is "forbidden" is just because they are using an older focus OS... As an Overseer who wants to maintain control... that information will be forbidden.

[@MrPinkDino]

@@mattstorm360 I don't believe they will be able to keep any information forbidden to the masses. It is just straight up impossible. Overseers don't have enough power to do that and Aloy, with a near god-like prestige and people who follow her, will easily force on them whatever she wants. And every human will have to go through apollo learning process anyways

[@mattstorm360]

@@MrPinkDino All information goes through the overseers alone. Alva was pretty terrified they would kill her and her family if she returned with this data as much of it contradicted with their beliefs. And remember, only a few are allowed to use a focus. It would be all too easy to hide the truth when you live in a tribal civilization.

[@MrPinkDino]

@@mattstorm360 I see it like this - Aloy goes to Quen with a supercomputer and holoprojector and enlightens everyone with help of Gaia. Noone can stop her. Noone can question her. Everyone can hear her. Overseers are powerless.

[@greenhat8978]

I do have a request that you revisit the possible origins of "The Glitch" in The Chariot line.... in datapoint "Ignominious Cryathon" we learned that not only have The Chariot line had violent and dangerous glitches but even something so simple as a robot Butler made by FAS having violent glitches.... and in datapoint "DIY AI" we learn of ways to accidentally upgrade AI's intelligence and self-awareness... The Chariot line was already given the ability to self learn... and while there are many other data points I am still missing, I am wondering if these sorts of things combined and maybe others that I have not yet found but you probably have could have formed the original cause of "The Glitch"....

[@mitch.paulsen]

This please

[@mollymcintosh2090]

Wow this would be so interesting!

[@LordTelperion]

I'm certain something Ted did triggered The Glitch.

[@ZaiDrizzleDrop]

I still feel like Vast Silver has something to do with the glitch, seems like it hates humanity

[@mattstorm360]

I actually had this exact same theory! And to add to that, remember project firebreak? They needed an AI to be smarter then legally allowed which lead to CYAN being .61 on the scale. So instead, they created a way for CYAN to trick the test and now register as .54 on the scale. Project firebreak was funded by Faro Automate Solution giving them the money are resources they need but at the same time Ted would be the benefactor of the entire firebreak project. Which likely includes the ability to cheat the MIE assessments.

[@blacklite911]

It’s great writing to make the audience hate a character so much without him ever really being on screen.

[@kharnatthefleshound8479]

List of achievements 1. Hard started a company 2. Company became the world’s wealthiest corporation 3. Hired the BEST DAMN robotics scientist 4. Became a immortal TLOU super monster grown into a metal tube measuring tens of hundreds of degrees. Nice how impressive!

[@simplyixia3683]

When I was playing Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, the more and more Ted reminded me of a former boss I worked for. They would become Ted if they had the money and resources.

[@NieR.Amanda]

Ted would probably have been a grotesque parody of the image of himself he was trying to project, as the mutations ran unchecked. The reason why he never emerged from his bunker was that he couldn't bear to face the reactions of the re-emerging humanity to his appearance. His own hubris had led to the destruction of the advanced knowledge that might have saved him, and his immortality meant he'd have to live for a very long time, reminded every day of what he'd done to himself. No matter how monstrous he might have looked on the outside, it would pale in comparison to the monster he'd always been within.

[@mattstorm360]

If you look at his brain activity it's minimal. He's brain dead. No hubris needed.

[@ZaiDrizzleDrop]

I don’t think Ted was ABLE to move at a certain point. And he was probably so delusional thinking that the reactor would help his mutations

[@mattstorm360]

@@ZaiDrizzleDrop Then he would likely collapse and grow. His body reduced to a cancerous mass that coated the reactor and feed off the energy. Like we see when Aloy checks a scan of the tomb.

[@TheKain202]

Let's be honest. Faro was long dead. After a decade or two, the cancerous mutations would pulverize his brain into something unrecognizable. And by the end was a cancerous mass growing on a reactor chassis it couldn't get out even if it was by some miracle still capable of wanting to.

[@peterbailon7773]

He only ever cared about his image, and would kill humanity's collective knowledge for it. Kinda satisfying seeing him end up the way he did.

[@Maddie_Madds]

Awesome video. The Tomb of Faro Quest was one of my favourites. Throughout the whole quest I was on the edge of my seat, as things got weirder and the tension grew. Aloy knew that she was digging deep into a rabbit hole that she didn't want to go down. I'd love to see a video on the Tenakth. Their History & Culture. May the spirit of the Ten guide you!

[@praveenakaash9095]

I kind of wish that they showed Ted Faro, my imagination has helped me to come up with the most horrifying and the utmost disgusting things which may have happened to Ted. Also I love the stuff you are doing

[@camilleeppstein]

Me too!

[@greenhat8978]

I just settle for having him look like a pink version of the gravemind from Halo 2

[@darknesswave100]

they technically did show him. Aloy looked at a hologram right before Ceo came into the room. It was a giant fleshy blob

[@Slurku]

This may be silly but when I first encountered this mission I put the game down for a week because I was so freaked out about the outcome of Ted Faro. I expected him to either immortalized himself in a machine and we fight him, or him becoming a Zenith ( once we learn about them I didn't think about this prior at the start of the game) I did not expect this at all and it just threw me off. This whole mission was creepy and unsettling and the thought of a writhing man-beast from a 1000 years still alive and screaming in pain just messed me up for a bit lmfao. However, I do wish we got to see him in the end, but I can understand why. The game would be bumped up to rated M. Also, apologies in advance but there is a video of someone breaking bounties of this section and there isn't a model of Ted behind those doors, just a small image of the hologram of him. I hope an artbook comes out with concept art or at least some sketches would be contained within to get an idea on what he might've looked like as a mutated tumor.

[@darknesswave100]

Oh trust me that mission freaked me out bad while I was playing it. Like the whole time as soon as you see the whole Egyptian theme and realize the Faro--Pharaoh connection it sent shivers up my spine. The man really thought he was a god or something. Makes sense there wouldn't be a model for it since they never had any intention of showing it besides the hologram

[@orestesbastos]

I really hope they show concept art shoud have some horrific stuff there.

[@patlehair]

Where’s the vid

[@Slurku]

@@patlehair Look up “Is Ted Fero really there?” First video that pops up.

[@valen123456]

I have a theory that we shall find out still more about Ted in the third game to bring the story full circle. In HZD we explore his rise to power and the mistakes that lead to end of the world. In HFW we learn the further horrors he inflicted and the nightmare he turned himself into. I think in the final game we might discover things about his childhood and early asperations before he went into business. It would be deeply ironic and even a tragic plot, if we learnt something about how he started out with hopeful ideals and drives, perhaps even with ideas not disimilar to the young Elizabet, only with each turn slowly developing his narsissism, ego, and short-sightedness that would eventually doom everything else. The final point being that he could have been something so much better, but fell short at every step and ultimately made all the wrong choices, and that nothing else turned him into such an evil afflicting force ... only himself. (Thats how I view him - not a deliberate evil, more a banal one i.e. not insane or psychotic, or intentionally causing harm; just being and making such fundimentally poor choices that it ended up ending the world).

[@TheKain202]

Pretty sure that's the narrative intent. He was a decent dude until the success of environmental reclamation went to his head and he started believing he could do no wrong no matter how recklessly he behaved, then grew progressively more unhinged once shit stopped going his way, before finally descending into outright insanity after the realization of how hard he screwed up hit him. The Chariot Line was a culmination of that mindset. The way it was designed, i.e no backdoors, state of the art electronic warfare, emergency mode where it multiplies until receiving further orders etc - an apocalypse was inevitable the moment a buggy service pack bricks a swarm. That's why i dislike the theories about mustanche twirling villain Faro doing it on purpose, or Vast Silver dicking around with the swarm. That era of Humanity is characterized by rampant consumerism and corporations running unchecked, doing shit without thinking if they should, and Ted personifies it perfectly. The world being consumed by a swarm of mindless, self-replicating military roombas is a fitting end.

[@emygaray]

and now we know what his real intention was when he wiped out Apollo

[@AssassinoJaxon]

You know what is screwed up? Before, I would have been able to say there was at least a small shot of, not quite redemption, but something for Faro for deleting the Apollo archive. Like I could have passed it off as dude just going completely insane due to the weight of his actions combined with him isolating himself for the end of the world. There could have at least been a explanation. Instead what we get is dude taking words meant to comfort him, to kind of lessen the impact of his actions on his own psyche, and twist them in to some kind of sick justification for robbing the future humans of any real understanding of the world they are in and how best to interact with it. Now more than ever, I truly feel that Faro is the absolute personification of “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

[@coolbeanz1458]

I really love the storytelling in just the number of companies in the fortune lists. From the top 500 to the top 5 companies. It shows how much control faro had over the world.

[@justuskreimeyer]

Just realised that Faro sounds like Pharaoh, further showing his love for old Egyptian culture

[@c.w.simpsonproductions1230]

What happened in Thebes feels like a horror story ripped straight out of one of Fallout's vaults.

[@lowriderbug]

Just finished this quest and I love the fact that ted became an actual monster to match his horrible personality. He had to suffer alone for a thousand years as a monster in the empty remains of his personal palace. That’s karma giving him everything he deserved for ending life on earth.

[@tyleranthony4614]

His bunker was lined with Sekmet “Protectors of Pharaohs”….Faro. Such great writing with so many details.

[@goldenassasin7157]

I had hoped last year that we could visit his bunker but did not expect this. I thought to find a bunker full of bones

[@STRmw2]

i was quite upset that we didnt get to even see the perosn who caused this whole thing but i can appreciate not giving that kind of character any shine at all. he thought he was god, didnt even make the game :D

[@feralprocessor9853]

When I saw that scene the first time, it felt like a resident Evil moment for me, and my thoughts were "people are going to be mad that they didn't get to do it".

[@darknesswave100]

Well he really wasn't a person anymore. Aloy looked at a file that showed what he looked like. just a fleshy blob from a horror movie

[@TheGlintJaw]

Was watching Jujutsu Kaisen but came here cause this is more important.

[@crazyman8472]

That reminds me, I must finish Jujutsu Kaisen. 😎

[@TheGlintJaw]

@@crazyman8472 man, it's so fucking good!

[@crazyman8472]

@@TheGlintJaw I know, I saw the movie. 😁

[@yigao1782]

Great storytelling, so helpful on understanding one of the most important piece that penetrated the entire Horizon story.

[@VideoGameSophistry]

Dude, your stuff is absolutely incredible. I'm really impressed. Keep up the good work!

[@RandomSideQuest]

Thank you so much! I watch your stuff all the time when I need to refresh on specific elements of the story 👍👍

[@VideoGameSophistry]

@@RandomSideQuest We should collab! I'm thinking of doing a Thebes video and could use your insights and voice :)

[@RandomSideQuest]

Would love to 😁

[@RandomSideQuest]

I reached out on Twitter 👍

[@shaynesaulnier]

I have a strong feeling faro has much darker things coming. I think they are doing a slow descent into how despicable his deeds actually became. Also I will add that I love these lore videos. It gives us some insight with some stuff that we may have missed or didn't understand. You make it so simple to figure out that I can't help to listen to these, and I always find something i missed. Next up I'd like to see one on "the glitch" that was mentioned in hzd that made faro sign liz' forms, and maybe one on ruins and such (relics and ancient bunkers), with some insight in how well they lasted

[@MagisterV224]

In all honesty, this is the greatest punishment Farro could’ve recieved. A thousand years of Pain, loneliness, despair. At this point killing him was a mercy. No one deserves to suffer eternally

[@forrestvanhook4586]

While RSQ once again did a masterful job on this video, I don't think Ted's story is finished. Sure there is a beginning and an end, but Ted had his company's fingers in so many pies that there is more of the middle to tell. Hopefully we will see a DLC (or two!) where we will learn of another FAS finger or more about Ted's past.

[@oxjpmg5554]

It's funny that Ted was considered a business genius yet sold a self-replicating product

[@jacklarkin1383]

I don't think I've hated a video game character more then Ted Faro, His purging of APOLLO was bad enough but Thebes and what happened within made me sick. I was happy with what happened to him.

[@Calakapepe]

I wish we wouldve seen Ted Faro haha or at least a shadow or silhouette of him

[@eden20111]

I’m 6 months late, but at first I thought Ceo was a genetic clone of Faro due to his unhealthy obsession with him and his ego maniac traits.. lol. It’s ironic because a lot of fans theorized Ted Faro would be back somehow and come face to face with Aloy. In a way this was somewhat similar. Ceo wearing Teds uniform and making Aloy wear Elisabets. The image of them standing next to each other as they descended was so eerie and haunting. Like a ghost of 2 colleagues meeting again under bad circumstances. Now just imagine if Ceo really was a clone of Teds.. both of them reborn descending the staircase wearing their old uniforms. Haunting.

[@Dakingofkush]

Idk why but I always thought that avad's father Jiran was the genetic clone of faro, mainly because they never showed his face in hzd(he has a statue but the face is broken of of the statue), also because Jiran was a tyrant and killed lots of innocents. Ofc Faro destroyed all of humanity...

[@Hyopomora]

[mild spoilers] I’m curious as to why we don’t hear about other Titan class machines at first working for enduring victory. [or even being hacked by the swarm] We know that they wouldn’t want to be used given they could be hacked. But does that mean there are facilities, [especially] underground or underwater, full of these machines?

[@AlRoderick]

Other Titan class machines aren't as self-sustaining as Chariot line machines. They'll fight for the swarm until they run out of power or ammo, then get crashed in kamikaze attacks, and then probably stripped and recycled by the swarm to make more chariot drones.

[@mattstorm360]

Could be a facility full of drones missing their CPUs, batteries, and radios.

[@nigelpersulessy8748]

"thus bringing a final fiery end to the man...who destroyed the world" that words got me though

[@DrakeAurum]

I can't believe it's taken me this long to realise the really obvious Faro > Pharaoh link in Ted's surname, even knowing his Egyptian mythology preoccupations.

[@Beerbottles123]

I just realized Sobeck was a corruption of Sobek, also an Egyptian god. Be nice to your Snapmaws from now on.

[@sixtusmagicus2836]

what is so terrifying of this lore is that it is very plausible

[@feralprocessor9853]

Right off the bat, the Man himself as a purple hologram.

[@Ammeeeeeeer]

The Ceo still could recognize Ted as the...."blob" thingy...yikes! So he still had recognizable Ted Faro features after a thousand years of mutation 😱

[@Jplays23]

Somehow, that's more disgusting that just a giant blob of unrecognisable matter. 🤢🤢

[@artfulmortician5654]

Fun fact: Ted was actually not shown in Horizon: Forbidden West, due to concerns about the censors in some countries. -Completely Anecdotal aside I got while interning at Playstation this year.

[@darknesswave100]

Plus they technically did show him in a hologram right before Ceo opened the door

[@andrewlechner6343]

It's interesting to see how the new lore from forbidden west gives new context to what we knew from zero dawn.

[@TG-nd9rj]

I've been playing through HFW now that it's finally on PC, and just got to Thebes last night (2 weeks after launch). I was SO hoping to have to fight Ted. I wanted to see the monstrosity he became. I understand why they didn't include it, but I would have LOVED it. The Zero Dawn series is easily one of my favorite series in recent gaming. Absolutely in love with it.

[@shamsadil7538]

Awesome episode as usual

[@jermainewatsonsr314]

Dawg this game is a masterpiece. I've been playing video games since the early 90s and this type of story writing along with what Naughty Dog is doing with The Last of Us...is amazing. This was eerie to me. After beating TLOU & TLOU2 I couldn't sleep after beating the games bruh. Can't wait to Horizon 3. Horizon & TLOU is next level story telling! 👍🏿👍🏿💯

[@emiliabzovsky9848]

This video was brilliant (as they all are RSQ!) Playing through the Thebes mission was the most unnerving thing - you instantly knew this would be bad and I applaud the Guerrilla team in how they put it all together. I am hoping with the next game (that no doubt has to be made) we get to find/go to Elysium cause I reckon that place will be fascinating. I also really want to go to the Claim cause we always hear all about it from the Oseram but haven't been there! Wouldn't it be neat if the Claim was where Elysium is? I'm fascinated to know more about the Tenakth & Utaru tribes. I am dying to know more about the Quen and where the heck they are from! If you do happen to go down the rabbit hole of all of the ruins and locations that would be awesome too! I really hope we get more on Vast Silver cause I reckon there's more to that story.

[@lornepribbeno3760]

Don't count Ted out yet. His body may be gone, but I could see him, desperate to escape the horror he willingly put himself into, by turning to what the Zeniths did. Uploading and digitizing his mind. And since the program that made Alloy from Liz's genetic code is still around, he surely could have found a way to clone himself with his mind imprinted, giving him the gift of rebirth the Pharaohs of old had strived for.

[@palvierflex4344]

I also have a funny feeling we havent seen the last of faro ! the data point REACTOR REPORT mentions a core temp of over 541 farenheit/282 celcius meaning this creature that is wrapped arround the reactor core is surviving of thermal/heat energy twice the heating point of boiling water one lone quen soldier with one whole torch would at most distress/anoy the beeing creating a structural issue, setting of the failsafe !! reason he would survive look at the holographic image of the bunker aloy is looking at it contains a lot of yellow pipes running away from the reactor room it would mean that any overflow would only end up in other parts of thebes but not in the reactor room wich locks it self when the failsafe protocol initiated to flood the bunker , it would not make sense to flood/damaging the mechanism that is responsible for carring out that failsafe it would mean we cut something of from its food source and it will be hungry looking for a new food source an other good point people have been making is that tedd or what he became already got out true the way aloy got in to not beeing able to uses the door of thebes because it was flooded on the outside ! and what remained in the reactor room is the mutation still calming down like tedd said !

[@kaecatlady]

I can only imagine how enraged Ted must have been at not being able to kill Elizabet himself, using his Omega Clearance. Most theories seem to assume that Ted slowly came to his decision to purge Apollo and kill the Alphas as part of his growing mental and emotional deterioration. That deterioration was real, but I also think that, as the one person who had, in his mind, bested him, Ted had long intended to "surprise" Elizabet with his possession of Omega. Probably as soon as Horizon Dawn was confirmed as completed, had the sealing of GAIA Prime gone as it should. I think Ted planned to destroy Apollo, then throw what he would have seen as Elizabet's "failure" to "contaminate The Future" in her face, before murdering her and the rest of the Alphas. That Elizabet had the bad taste to not only die before he could end her himself, but die with the sort of heroism that he would never have shown himself (but wanted to claim), well... that must have driven Ted even crazier than he already was. With that said, it'll be interesting to see if and how Part III ultimately handles the Quen, whose entire culture appears to be built on the belief that Ted Faro, not Elizabet, is the hero of the piece--and I likewise find it interesting that even the "Scum-is-What-We-Do-Best" Zeniths apparently thought Ted was too much of an ass for them to share their immortality secrets with. And good on 'em for *that* tiny piece of good judgment. As usual, your handling of the lore wonderfully deepens the story of Horizon. Thanks so much for the awesome work you do!

[@captain_commenter8796]

Horizon has such good story writing, they have such good written characters, especially the antagonist Faro. Sure he isn’t a character you actually see in person in the game, but his past actions speak for him, it really makes you hate the character, IN A GOOD WAY! He is such a good villain that you actually want to confront him, you WANT to kill him yourself.

[@steveNCB7754]

Well that was dark (LOL). Couple of thoughts - firstly, does all this mean that Ted (despite being the wealthiest man on the planet), never had any connection to Far Zenith and the Odyssey Project? Second - given that there were other competitors to FAS in the military robot market AND that the Chariot Line were capable of hacking and co-opting other machines to the Swarm, isn’t at least possible that we could (should) have seen other types of ‘battle bots’ in either HZD or (more likely?) HFW by now?

[@forrestvanhook4586]

I think that in the swarm's collective mind all other war robots were inferior. My guess is that the FARO Swarm just hacked them and then used them as fuel and raw materials.

[@pietrocatalano4285]

Well, considering that Faro robots were far superior to any other battle bots, I imagine that quite a few of the old robots were scrapped to make way for the new bots, and those that remained were probably taken over by the swarm. But because they did not have the regenerative and replicative capabilities of the swarm, they were all likely wiped out.

[@shroomer3867]

@@pietrocatalano4285 I think they destroyed them because the Faro ones could just hack them. Better to give a few more days for Project Zero Dawn than let the Faro bots take over the possibly stronger bots.

[@redick04clay]

This could be a movie

[@joshuabloomfield63]

Hey I really like ur videos as i am a big fan of the horizon games and I was just curious as to how long it take to make these videos as they are really Informative

[@RandomSideQuest]

Thanks so much Josh 😁 it depends really, I'd say hours wise... this one was around 16 putting it all together 😅

[@joshuabloomfield63]

@@RandomSideQuest just had a thought do we know what causes the glitch that caused this all to happen we know that nemesis is the reason for gia self destructing but not what causes the robots to start acting up

[@c.w.simpsonproductions1230]

It sounds like Ted envisioned himself in a similar manner to the God-Emperor of Dune.

[@feralprocessor9853]

As fan of warhammer 40k I can see the similarities.

[@LordTelperion]

I have so many questions about Sirius Colony, particularly its population. The Odyssey carried billions of plant seeds, millions of animal zygote, 200k human embryos, and 50-60 passengers who would become the immortal rulers of Sirius... the question is how much of the biological stockpile was awakened on Sirius and how much remains on The Odyssey today in orbit around Earth? We saw images of Sirius covered in cities, but I believe these were just projections, guesses at what the colony world looked like if 200,000 people had 1000 years to reproduce and build...but it could be the 50-60 Far Zenith immortals only birthed some or none of the embryos. It would depend on how much labor they needed, how much technical development was needed, and if they wanted to rule over a new civilization as immortal Lords and Ladies. If The Odyssey has enough surviving seeds and embryos it might still be possible to colonize another world after all.

[@ThePhantomSephiroth]

Faro...like pharaoh. Clever.

[@SiriusGalilei]

I know that this video is about Ted (which by the way, the Thebes mission had my skin crawling, good job Guerilla with the music, level design and datapoints for that mission making the whole thing really creepy) but my question is about Hephaestus. Were Aloy and Beta able to remove its malicious code before it escaped in the final mission? I was a bit confused about that part. Also, do you think Vast Silver will be an enemy or ally in Horizon 3? And maybe we’ll get to leave North America and go across the world in subsequent titles?

[@jordanread5829]

They were interrupted by the Zeniths. HEPHAESTUS is still out there, stronger and more pissed off than ever. So I don't think they got rid of its malicious code. Plus they kinda needed it as HEPHAESTUS going crazy on the Zeniths was crucial to Aloys plan to destroy the Zeniths base and get back Beta and GAIA.

[@feralprocessor9853]

!!!Spoilers!!! When Gaia told Aloy she was going to, , Thebes I instantly knew it was going to be the dubious bunker we were going to explore, but it didn't went as bad as I thought. I thought the Quen were going to be Ted's defacto army and Aloy would have to choose between Killing Ted once and for all but losing the Omega clearance or Obtaing the Omega clearance but let Ted escape with the Quen for the future antagonist to deal with. But hey that never happened;D

[@HakureiRyuu]

there aren't any serious plot-impacting choices in horizon, which I am fine with.

[@architectrealities7693]

Makes you wonder WHERE the Chariot Line was made and if said factory(s) even still function.

[@kevinwaag9976]

so Elisabeth saved earth not ted . He just paid for it....

[@aracuscesar]

i really wish he prepared a plan in which if he actually dies, a clone would be created so we would get to see him in horizon 3

[@itriyum]

Definitely a missed oportunity to let us see mutated Ted or maybe even have him as a boss fight

[@mikemahoneygaming5754]

Can’t wait to get stuck into these videos. I’ve been putting it off until I’ve finished HFW for obvious reasons. Just about to 100% the trophies on my 3rd Playthrough so I think I’m safe now lol. Thanks for the vdieos

[@IrishWolf]

Ted and Elon share alot of similarities

[@TedFaro53]

i love how the ending is the most peaceful part, a tenakth lowland village next to some small waterfalls. compared to everything else about ted

[@camilleeppstein]

So amazing as always!

[@Forest_Pilot]

I really liked about the reveal on Ted and how his mental health just dwindled into nothing. And the people staying with him literally ended their own lives because of him and how terrified they made him. That only worsened Ted. He lost his mind which probably helped towards his fate. I wonder if maybe he still would have recognized Liz if he got to see Aloy but I’m kinda glad they didn’t show him

[@93MANIAC]

Well on one hand Ted Faro somehow managed to destroy the world twice but on the other hand he did invent Mister Handy 1:31

[@tmarie2720]

Does no one else think Elisabet is at fault as well for the Faro plague or?

[@Bshmjdsdyk]

How so?

[@edguy9767]

He wanted to become a “god” a “savior” to humankind, someone who was “perfect” in every way. I 100% believe he could have accomplished this if his immortality experiment had worked. He would have destroyed everything that pointed to him being responsible for the destruction of the world and killed everyone who found out, hell he probably would have dropped bombs on the tribes in fear that maybe just maybe the person who found out his sins told others….and he obviously could never have that happen. Whats a few thousand lives to his? He destroyed the world, erased all its history from the planet….whats a few kingdoms or people worth to him. In the end he got what he deserved. Alone in his own “palace”, abandoned and turning into a monster so horrible that even the one who saw him as a hero wanted him dead

[@BadgerOff32]

While I did like the Thebes mission and finding out how Ted ended up, I couldn't help but wish during that mission that we'd actually get to meet him. That's the kind of mission where having to make Mass Effect style choices could have been really interesting. Imaging if you found Ted Faro alive, but he was in deep sleep inside a cryo-stasis pod or something. Then you get hit with a tough choice. Do you - A) Wake him up so you can talk to him, but have to deal with whatever consequences come from reintroducing him into the world, or B) Pull the plug and kill him, but then have to face the consequences from the Quen for basically killing their 'God'? Granted, it would make it a lot tougher to write another sequel with the writers having to pick which option was considered canon, but it would make for an interesting dilemma for us in the game!

[@peskyjay1091]

1000 years just to get killed off screen

[@AnotherblackmanOG]

i Really do watch everyone of these videos and i enjoy them alot. You put alot to explain what the hell is going on and I wouldn't understnad MOST of it without you. The thing about Horizon is that pieces of the story are scattered and you have to find them, but why do that when I can come here, outside of trying to formulate my own hypothesis, most of which never come close to what you portray.

[@75KUAKKU]

Thanks from your excellent work. Keep up the great videos. On 7:30. Can you see the skulls on the wall. By the vegetation. 🤯🤯😎

[@xbree_]

I LOVE these lore videos. Thank you.

[@davidarcos7387]

As always you give us a great great video.

[@jasonisonbass]

I’ve been looking forward to this…(c) Dooku

[@palvierflex4344]

I have a funny feeling we havent seen the last of faro ! the data point REACTOR REPORT mentions a core temp of over 541 farenheit/282 celcius meaning this creature that is wrapped arround the reactor core is surviving of thermal/heat energy twice the heating point of boiling water one lone quen soldier with one whole torch would at most distress/anoy the beeing creating a structural issue, setting of the failsafe !! The holographic image of the bunker aloy is looking at contains a lot of yellow pipes running away from the reactor room it would mean that any overflow would only end up in other parts of thebes but not in the reactor room it self means that when the failsafe protocol initiated the bunker got flooded (breath of sekmeth to destroy the mortals who conspired against pharao), "ted" or what he became would be relatively safe in the reactor room (wich locks it self after the failsafe is actived and a part of the facility that needs to keep working to keep the failsafe going) another point some people are making is that ted or what he became ,already "recently" got out and what was left in the reactor room was something he "shed" leaving behind the mutation wich growling still hassent calmed down!, then escaping by creating a way from the showers true the giant hole that was aloys way (the bunker door not opening from the inside because it detected water on the other side wich would flood the bunker ,or the beeing itself not knowing how to open it !) there is evidence for this , almost every hole/door aloy swims true on her way in has its rebarb/damage pointing outward and almost all doors are crooked /having been forced open ! she also encounters a lot stalactites and stalagmites ,these take hunderds of years to form and can not form in a underwater enviroment, meaning the flooding of the area is recent !

[@Dakingofkush]

Idk why but I always thought that avad's father Jiran was the genetic clone of faro, mainly because they never showed his face in hzd(he has a statue but the face is broken of of the statue), also because Jiran was a tyrant and killed lots of innocents. Ofc Faro destroyed all of humanity...

[@themightymoose5047]

If you look at the temperatures of Ted's body, it was already running at incredibly high levels. That, along with the fact that the facility was already on the brink of collapse, tells me what once was Ted could have survived, and the self destruct was simply the being set off by fire. We may yet hear of Ted Faro.

[@ZaiDrizzleDrop]

I mean, i don’t know if he could survive lava, but he will survive in the memory of the Quen

[@darknesswave100]

No the facility was set to go if he died. Aloy says that specifically when Ceo tells the guy to go burn Ted's "body" She says you can't do that because that would cause the facility to go into meltdown. So he rigged the place to collapse if he died

[@BurlsteinBurl]

Love these! Request: Stanley Chen and Vegas

[@rurounigato]

As alwais, awesome content. Keep them coming

[@SyndicateTheLonelyGun]

Take a look at the character bios within the game. Am I the only one who noticed how identical that Rost and Ted look to each other? They're even posted right beside each other. I don't believe this is coincidence!

[@GreyBladeRover]

I Felt Cheated By His Quest. WE DIDNT EVEN GET TO SEE HIM-

[@joshuabloomfield63]

Same when I played it I was so excited to see it but then disappointed

[@feralprocessor9853]

That's what I thought but not as disappointed, at least he's dead:D

[@TheRealNekora]

I have a feeling that seeing him whould have REALY pushed the games rating score. and honestly? not seeing him just makes it so you as tge player can envision whatever sort of mind shattering abomination he became.

[@Shaun_Jones]

We saw a hologram, and the reveal wouldn’t have been very impressive. By all appearances, he was basically just a mass of blood vessels and nerve endings wrapped around a geothermal plant. He would have been about as interesting as a surgically removed tumor.

[@TheRealNekora]

@@Shaun_Jones Yepp. at the most interesting he whould look like Captain Keyes from Halo 1

[@gdreyer]

Amazing video! Thank you!

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

It's just to bad, I really expected to face Ted Faro in a Boss Battle, also I really want to see his reaction when he sees Aloy.

[@mickaellopez6519]

great video as always ! Thanks.

[@Tellemicus]

How about a video on the Tenath and how they became a unified tribal nation? Or maybe the lofe story on that Carja guy who embraced the Tenath lifestyle?

[@soumenchakraborty2450]

In 2022 Ted would be 9 years old, if I found him as a boy I don’t know what would I do with him, definitely not kill him though. Lastly I wonder if there are any surviving vehicles that can still be used.

[@garwynrosser8907]

They did farro dirty in the sequel. Very unsatisfactory ending

[@commanderkitsune8524]

Was looking forward to this video when I finished FW. Wouldn't surprise me if he came back for the third game somehow.

[@LPeck1985]

Maybe he survived the Incineration. I have no idea how. Or he managed to make clones of himself. That man must of had a few backups in the pipeline.