Life is Strange Wiki
Advertisement

"You're just... Just like your Mom. Every time I look at you... Every time you talk..."Charles Eriksen to his son, Chris, in Captain Spirit

Emily Eriksen (née Wyatt) is the deceased mother of Chris Eriksen and wife of Charles Eriksen in The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit and Life is Strange 2.

Background[]

"'I'm math and she's art,' says a shy, blushing Charles, clearly a man in love. 'Which are actually the same thing from opposite sides', adds Emily with a warm smile, taking her new fiancé's hand."
— "Neighbourhood Watch: 'The Jock & The Artist'", 2005

With a passion for art since kindergarten and being among the highest grades in her class at Eugene High School, Emily Wyatt received an art scholarship to the prestigious Blackwell Academy in Arcadia Bay, Oregon, which she attended until her graduation and continued to support years afterwards as an alumni. Following her time at Blackwell, Emily attended Eugene State College, where she continued to study art and became a known cartoonist. During her 2005 final exams, Emily met basketball star Charles Eriksen in the college's library, where they helped each other study and eventually fell in love. The couple became engaged later that year, and they married on May 1, 2006 with Emily taking on Charles' last name. Before finishing her degree, she left Eugene State in September 2006 to prepare for the birth.

In 2007, Emily gave birth to her first and only son, Christopher, and moved with her family to Beaver Creek, Oregon, where she began her career as a kindergarten teacher. During her spare time, Emily ran a humorous web comic surrounding her family life, earning her a sizable online following.

At 7:15 PM on December 16, 2014, Emily was struck head-on by a speeding car while walking from her own stranded vehicle. The assailant fled the scene and was never found. She was rushed to the hospital, but despite the doctor's efforts, Emily died soon afterwards. Fully paid for by Charles, her funeral was held at 12:00 PM on December 20th at Eugene Willow Hill Cemetery.

Circumstances Surrounding her Death[]

Emily's killer was never found, and it is implied that police are no longer interested in the case. Charles, however, remains obsessed with finding out the truth. Two years after the incident, he is still making phone calls, writing letters, and hiring private investigators to get to the bottom of what happened to his late wife.

Charles says that Emily would never have gone out that night if it weren't for Chris, implying that she may have been shopping for a Christmas present on the night of her death. Chris says that Charles does not want to put up Christmas decorations because they remind him of Emily.

In a newspaper article from the week of the incident, Captain Anderson from the Beaver Creek Police Department is quoted as saying, "We're treating this as a case of vehicular homicide," and said that the toll cameras may hold important clues. At this point in time, police were requesting witnesses to call the anonymous police hotline at 555-CAPTURE.

On January 20, 2015, Barbi Bracamonte, a State Highway Monitor for Oregon, sent a letter to Charles stating that surveillance data for the intersection of Mantle Street and Asteroid Drive on the night of the incident is not available unless accompanied by an official state or federal investigation. It is implied that law enforcement did not deem her case important enough to escalate to that level.

On April 10, 2015, Charles sent a letter to Captain Lee of the Beaver Creek Police Department threatening legal action as he believes they have not done their due diligence in solving the case. It is worth noting that this letter was sent to a different police captain than the one who was originally assigned to the case (Anderson).

On September 28, 2016, Mick Collings, a private investigator, sent Charles a letter stating that he has exhausted all his resources and will be dropping the case, charging Charles for only one month of work.

Relationships[]

Family[]

  • Charles Eriksen (widower) – Emily and Charles seem to have had a long-lasting and loving relationship, from their meeting in college to the former's passing. The bits of conversation between him and Chris about Emily indicate that their marriage was a happy one, as well as the loose humorous comic strips drawn by Emily centering around their relationship. Following her death, Charles has been falling further and further into despair and alcoholism, and he partially blames Chris for what happened.
  • Chris Eriksen (son) – Emily seems to have had a close relationship with her son, as seen in his continued reminiscence and grief over her death two years later. She seems to have encouraged Chris' drawing activities by Emily, buying him several comic books and a "How to Draw: Super Heroes" art book. In Chris's imagination, Emily was killed by Mantroid, the arch-nemesis of Captain Spirit, and the one enemy he cannot defeat. Mantroid's name is a portmanteau of Mantle Street and Asteroid Drive, the intersection where Emily was killed.

Theories[]

Main article: Captain Spirit - Theories
  • Emily Eriksen may have been killed by a rich and powerful individual who has influence over the police due to the surveillance camera data being kept under wraps and the police captain originally in charge of the case being replaced with one who did not see it as a priority. 
    • Angus Lee may be the full name of Captain Lee in Charles's most recent letter to the police department. He is the police officer who shows up to arrest Sean and Daniel at the Reynolds' house. Whether there is some connection between the Diaz brothers' case and Emily Eriksen's within the police department is unknown. One alternate possibility to a police coverup is that they simply diverted their resources to finding the Diaz brothers instead of searching for a killer with very little evidence to go on.
  • Emily's killer is speculated by some to be Charles' old friend, Nick, due to being the only named character who appears in both Captain Spirit and Life is Strange 2 that could have a remotely plausible motive for covering up their involvement. Nick's friendship with Charles and his reputation among Beaver Creek's townspeople (which he values, as indicated by him talking with various vendors and shoppers at the Christmas market in "Episode 2: Rules") would be irreparably damaged if word got out that he caused Emily's death. Since he mentions being involved to some extent in Beaver Creek's town council, Nick would also run the risk of losing his job due to negative public opinion. Additionally, Nick expresses sympathy towards Charles during their conversation [2] and is implied to have helped him find his job[3], which could be rooted in guilt over being the cause of his current state.

Trivia[]

  • Emily's zodiac sign is the same as her son Chris's, Aquarius.
  • Emily lived from January 25, 1986 – December 16, 2014, making her 28 years old at the time of her death, and on January 25, 2016 she would have been 30 years old.
  • Emily owned a selection of vinyl records, including "Moon and Moon" by Bat For Lashes, which can be played on the record player in Charles's room.
  • Prior to her death, Emily owned the book "Teen Spirit: Seattle 1990-1995" by Mark Jefferson, a famous photographer and major character in Season 1.
  • Emily hated sports of all kinds, as mentioned in a 2005 newspaper article about her and Charles' relationship. If Chris asks Charles about whether Emily liked basketball, Charles reinforces this by saying that she "wasn't a big sports fan" and would rather sit next to him and read.
  • The circumstances surrounding Emily's death are similar to those surrounding the death of William Price, the father of Chloe Price in Season 1. Both died in car-related incidents where the perpetrator remains unknown to the present day, leaving their respective spouses and only children behind.

Gallery[]

Photos[]

Comics[]

Screenshots[]

References[]

  1. She refers to herself as "Super-Mom" in a note to Chris.
  2. Nick - "I know, I know. Um... How's Chris?"
       Charles - "He's... strong, as usual. Way stronger than me... He's really gonna be somebody, I can tell."
       Nick - "I'm... sure he will. With his Dad's help."
       "Charles - I'm trying, Nick. I swear."
       Nick - "I know... Well, it was nice talking to you. Gotta go look around, but see you around, 'kay?"
  3. Nick - "What about you? Sam tells me you're doing, uh, great work."
       Charles - "I try... It's... been rough, but it helps. Can't thank you enough."
       Nick - "Hey, don't worry. That's what friends are for, right?"
       (Episode 2, "Christmas Market" - Nick and Charles' conversation.)
Advertisement