NIGHTMARE EYES | A Night in the Woods character analysis

Night in the Woods is a great game and Mae Borowski is a great character. This will not be the last time I talk about this game.
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[@cipher8523]

I love this game, and Mae. I truly saw myself in her. I played this game at the perfect time in my life: after a mental breakdown at collage, i had come live at home in my crusty little hometown, struggling with how the world was moving on, and the existential dread of not seeing a future for myself, yet unable to truly fall back into my past role in life. This will just be some rambling thoughts that came to my mind lol Part of Mae's problem with people is tied to her dissociative disorder, i think. Her episodes make the world outside her head seem fake to her. I think that probably contributes to why she has trouble seeing things from other people's perspectives. She's not actively malicious, and she feels awful every time she realizes she really hurt Bea or others with her actions. Some of her behaviour brought to mind autism as well, when she struggled to understand complex issues or seemingly had gaps in her basic knowledge of the world. And not many people have patience for people who struggle with these things: like Mae, they're quickly labeled dumb or childish. I don't mean to excuse Mae's hurtful actions, but i don't think the world always treats her with particular kindness either. She's told that she's an immature kid for not having a job or succeeding academically, constantly reminded of the traumatic mental breakdown of her childhood, and made to feel like a burden to her family because of the money spent on her failed education, even though Mae probably did not beg parents to spend that money on her, as it sounds like academic expectations were put on her ever since she was born. (To be clear, i think both Mae and her mom were out of line in the fight they had, but i think too many people blame Mae for the situation even though she's clearly deeply distressed by the thought that she's at "fault" for her family's struggles, when her mom explictly says the bank took advantage of them. It's not Mae's fault, and not her parent's either for getting tricked. The system is faulty. Education shouldn't cost enough to send people into crippling dept, and banks shouldn't take advantage of people.) In many ways, Mae is not allowed to feel like an adult, and then is shamed when she's not acting like one. She's still really young - 20 is not a lot at all! And i think she hasn't had the chance to really mature yet. College was too overwhelming to take on, and that's understandable. If she had had some sort of support system and real help with her mental illnesses and possible neurodivergence, maybe that could have been the place where she grew to be a young adult. But instead she spent those years stuck in her dorm room, barely taking care of herself. That's not being lazy or childish - that's being deeply unwell. She also spent an extended amount of time outside school after the incident in her teens. The social isolation has probably stunted her social development and emotional intelligence. I started college in 2020 myself, and it was the start of hell years - stuck in my tiny room in a strange city far from home, somehow supposed to just start adopting the identity of a collage student when i didn't come to ever know my fellow students and had barely even seen campus. I've never been particularly skilled at socializing, but that long isolation really eroded what skills i had had, and did certainly not allow me to learn new ones. Idk where i'm going with this, but i think the isolation from others and the untreated mental illness have really taken a toll on Mae and not really allowed her to mature into an independent, balanced adult. One relationship that i haven't seen talked about a lot is the friendship between Lori M. and Mae. Lori's maybe easy to miss and many people skip her hangouts, but she's probably my favorite supporting character in the game. I think she's a lot like what Mae probably was like as a teen - somewhat of an outcast, doing petty crime, struggling with undiagnosed mental illnesses and/or neurodivergence. Lori clearly has some kind of anxiety disorder, and describes having intrusive thoughts like thinking about pushing someone on the path of a train. She's never seen with other people and is clearly lonely, and her mom is dead. She probably lacks both friends and supportive adult figures in her life. This is where Mae come in, in a way that's so touching to me. She's not someone Mae knows beforehand, so there's really no old patterns for her to fall into. Instead, she meets this kid at her level and just, gets to know her. She's not judgemental when Lori tells her about her "weird" thoughts, doesn't lecture her about her rebelliousness and petty crimes. But she's not like, actively encouraging Lori to be "bad" either, even though Mae probably was constantly in a lot more trouble that Lori is at her age. Instead, when Lori confesses having tried smoking at 12, Mae tells her that's a good time to quit. Mae tells her that she's not ugly, all teenagers feel bad about their appearence. Mae listens to her, shows interest in her thoughts, and actually grows to be like a supporting big sister figure to Lori. I think she might be way more important an adult presence in Lori's life than she realizes. I think with Lori, Mae actually does step into a responsible adult role in a very important way - being a safe and understanding adult friend to a younger kid who's going through a lot of the same struggles she went through. Honestly, I feel like Lori is so important to the themes of the game and to Mae's character arc, it's a shame i don't see many people talk about her.

[@WritingWomen]

thank you for this comment. I somehow missed it in notifications and I'm glad I manually checked the video so I could see it.

[@aazhie]

I think people don't always acknowledge too... just because her dad wasn't a monster like Angus's parents, doesn't mean she isn't suffering from trauma. I don't think Stan is a terrible guy, and he does clearly love and try to support his family. I recently found out I have ADHD and also that my parents may have similar things. I get ADHD rage outbursts, but I usually channel it into anxiety or yelling when I am alone. I cannot FATHOM how hard it would be to try to raise a kid and not occasionally freak out. My parents aren't perfect and I can see my own issues in times where they would have meltdowns, even when it was very rare. It still messed me up, even though they never hit or abused us. It's rough and she is sympathetic, even when I think she's a jerk and oblivious. I also liked Lori and she reminds me of people I try to help by telling them about my own dumb mistakes!

[@dlr_rosa254]

I never thought of their dynamic like that. Those are some interesting points!

[@snoobinn]

I feel so strongly about Mae because I relate to her so much. I have autism and I speak in the way she does, I think like her and like Mae I feel very out of the loop of normal people life. I even experience her troubles with dissassociation when things I'm not used to or large change takes control of my life. In her younger years there were patterns and routines she could follow and there was a kind of safety in the fact that she had a set path for her, and when she moved on to college I think she felt very scared that there wasn't a backbone for her anymore. She'd grown up in Possum Springs and she didn't know anything but Possum Springs, so to be away from what she was used to was probably an absolute trainwreck of fear and sadness and confusion which set off all of the things she would later experience, and when she finally hit the point where she was at rock bottom, she fled back to what she knew so she could feel okay again. She tried to move back into her old routines, but everything had moved on without her, which was like coming home to something that wasn't her home anymore. Now she had no place to ground herself and she really had no way to explain what she was going through because there weren't the right words to describe it, and she hadn't come to terms with what exactly she was feeling either; there was just a lot of confusion and disorientation. As much as Mae would like to stay still and stagnant, time will always move forward, and she will always have to face change. I've also had to realise this as I've grown up and I think it's something that Mae starts to creep up on by the end of the game. She definitely doesn't make the right decisions at times, but I don't think she's a jerk, or at the very least I don't think she has terrible intentions. She's just trying to make sense of her weird and confusing brain alongside her rapidly changing life, where she feels out of place and misunderstood. She needs stability but when she can't even make sense of the things she's feeling it seems like the world is crashing down, and when she can't relate to anybody or find a way to understand herself, she holds onto the only things her mind feels is stable - which is the routine of her old life. (At the end of everything, hold onto anything). The people in around her don't have the time to try and disect her behaviour and get to the bottom of it, as they're also dealing with their rapidly changing lives in their various ways, so she is seen as childish and people have concerns for her. I think Mae is just very different and if she were given the tools to make sense of herself she would feel more stable and okay; but she never gets that, and that's the tragedy of this game and her life. She just has to learn to deal with it and accept it. When it seems like nobody can get her and she can't even get herself, I can understand why she would feel so disconnected from the world around her, and I think her neurodivergency impacts how she processes these problems, and her social skills/the way she interacts with others show how she projects this disconnected feeling. She really is trying her best. I've definitely rambled my ass off but I feel so so passionately and I have so many thoughts that I need to get down that I just HAVE TO WRITE !!! If you took the time to read this & understand, thank you :) Mae da best

[@tbarnestb]

I clicked on this video not expecting to get much out of it. I've never played this game, only heard of it, so I expected to get bored for lack of context. But I actually really enjoyed this video. It's well made and you describe the story so well. I love it. Great job!

[@WritingWomen]

Thank you so much for saying so!

[@lorettabes4553]

I never really saw Mae as a jerk. I was I think 17 when I watched Jacksepticeye play NITW. I related to Mae as a teen who looked at her own body, as someone with mental illness too. Not as extreme as Mae, but it was still tough on me. I understood, could always see, where her outbursts were coming from even if I didn't know her backstory. And since then I've played the game myself a lot. I relate to Mae now too, but I'm now older than her. I think it's thanks to games like NITW that made me feel seen, that I became a pretty ok adjusted adult in the end. At 17 I had more similar stuggles to Mae, having to be 'the smart one' of the family, pressure from school to perform, feeling like a burden to your parent. The difference was that I'm from the city with a parent I can talk to about my problems and getting help at the time. I will treasure this game always, because In another life... if we maybe had never moved to the city... i might've ended up exactly like Mae

[@thedistinguished5255]

huh? i love may every bit!!!

[@sixfeetundertheradar6080]

I literally played this game the month my grandpa died (he was a major part of my life) it helped me get through the pain of loss

[@WritingWomen]

wow. I can't imagine how hard that must have been considering how the game starts. I'm sorry for your loss but I'm glad you could find some comfort in this game.

[@sixfeetundertheradar6080]

@@WritingWomen thank you, the scene in the church library made me sob but it makes me smile now six years later. I play the game at least twice a year usually a third time in the fall. Halloween was my grandpas birthday and so I know he would’ve loved this game

[@elihart7576]

I had the same experience. I first played it right after my papa died from Covid in 2020 and 4 years later it’s still my go to game for when I have something I’m going through. I love nitw so much, I even have a tattoo from it.

[@gregsfilms3986]

I've always found Mae to be insanely relatable as a character. I was honestly surprised to hear that people don't like her. She's undeniably a jerk and messes up so many times through the game, but to be honest, so do I in real life. I sort of expected most people to at least relate to periods of their lives in which they acted like Mae and I think that's what makes the game so special. It reminds us of our brokenness and why that's okay and normal. Simply boiling it down to Mae being a jerk and not liking her for that reason is missing so much of the point of the game in my opinion. Even though a lot of her reactions made me cringe, it was impossible for me to dislike her for them, simply because it was so easy for me to think of a time when I had the exact same reactions she did. So, while playing the game I didn't even really see her as a jerk, I just saw her as human and loved her so much for that exact reason.

[@carna-9501]

How do you not have more subs? The audio quality is amazing, the writing is even better, your analysis would give PhDs a run for their money

[@jaimefillingim2293]

I really love this game! I definitely walked away from your video with a new perspective on it. 😄❤️

[@WritingWomen]

Thank you! :)

[@TrainsGD]

Ayyyy, Night in the Woods! Great video, always love a character analysis on obscure stuff, keep it up!

[@WritingWomen]

More to come! Bea is next...

[@_grievous_the_epok_gamur_7140]

NIGHT IN THE WOODS, YEAH BAYBEEEEEE

[@sosaysjay]

I really enjoyed this video, I am excited to start up this game soon!

[@Cartoonshipper]

I have Autism and I get anxiety really bad sometimes

[@axinxol4739]

i relate to Mae when it comes to the dissociative bits, as well as her fear of change

[@aPink_Lemon]

Love this channel, we all have to start somewhere, and I hope to see you at the top! :)

[@Robin-234]

found your channel through these nitw videos and I'm so glad I did! new subscriber right here, can't wait to see future videos :)

[@Jdmenendez22]

Glad to see more videos on this wonderful game, especially on my favorite character. Side-note, is it a red flag that I had a crush on Mae for over a year, in spite of the various flaws you mentioned?

[@zmcanais]

I never knew the general consensus for Mae was that she was a rude jerk, honestly I find her very relatable and sometimes funny

[@linopare.4321]

hell yeaaaah

[@evan9601]

I personally think Mae is very likeable, shes me. I genuinely love her so much, she's amazing.

[@evan9601]

shes autistic and bipolar like me

[@cylusonsteam]

This fascinates me, as Mae being unlikable was one of the reasons I didnt like night in the woods. Now, I realize that this is a very popular game, but it just didnt resonate with me, and i wish I knew why

[@WritingWomen]

it can be really hard to retrain your brain to play through something with an unlikeable protagonist. I think it was easier for me because some books I really like have unlikeable protagonists as well and I actually have an abandoned script somewhere about the value of that type of character

[@Mayday_On_Mars]

Thank u for not portraying her as like some evil jerk wad. Yeah she is not the best of people but jesus people r so harsh on her character