Nathan Joshua Prescott (born August 29, 1995) is a secondary antagonist in Life is Strange. He appears again in Before the Storm (the prequel to the events of Life is Strange) and is mentioned in Life is Strange 2 (determinant).
In the original game, he is a student at Blackwell Academy and is associated with selling drugs to fellow students at the school. It is consistently implied that he is mentally ill and is in therapy.
In the prequel game, he struggles to fit in with other students at Blackwell and is not well liked by other students at the school. He is regarded as a spoiled brat due to his family name and wealth.
- For detailed information on Nathan's original appearance in the franchise, click here.
Appearance[]
Nathan's only visual appearance in the game is in the form of a mugshot in David's trailer if Chloe was killed. The mugshot was taken the day after he fatally shot and killed Chloe, and therefore, his physical appearance hasn't changed much. He's wearing a grey shirt or jumpsuit.
Background[]
Nathan was a resident of Arcadia Bay and student of Blackwell Academy. He was the big man on campus and practically ran the school thanks to his family's fortune. Alongside his dear friend Victoria Chase, he served as co-founder of the revamped Vortex Club, an elite clique which was home to the most popular, wealthy students in the school, in sharp contrast to its humble beginnings as a refuge for outcasted, unpopular students. Not many people knew it, mostly due to his father's attempts to cover it up, but Nathan suffered from many severe mental health issues, sometimes melting down publicly and often getting violent with anyone who challenged his authority. Due to his father's negligence and abuse, Nathan sought out a "real" father, eventually falling in with Mark Jefferson, a photography teacher at the school, who saw the unstable, yet vulnerable boy with wealthy connections and preyed on his issues to meet his own malicious ends. Nathan's story ends in tragedy in both endings of the original Life Is Strange. Either he accidentally shoots and kills Chloe in a fit of rage, getting arrested and still serving jail time even three years later, or he is killed by the very man he looked to as a father figure in an attempt to erase all of the latter's involvement in the Dark Room and Rachel Amber's disappearance.
Episode Five - "Wolves"[]
Nathan is mentioned by and can be seen in a mugshot kept by David Madsen if the former killed Chloe Price. He was booked on the day after her murder. Sean Diaz can inspect the mugshot and finds David's possession of it creepy. During a phone call to Joyce Price, David can say that he hopes "they never let him out."
If Arcadia Bay was sacrificed, it's unknown how Victoria Chase reacted to his death, or if she found out that he conspired with and/or was murdered by Mark Jefferson, but she does mention in a letter that she's attending therapy for her kidnapping, so it can be assumed that she also found out about her dear friend's death.
Relationships[]
Friends[]
- Victoria Chase - Victoria Chase was one of Nathan's few genuine friends at Blackwell. They were very close, having a brother-and-sister dynamic, and practically ran the school, being influential members of the Vortex Club. Victoria claimed to be the only one who truly knew what Nathan was going through. It's not mentioned whether or not she explicitly knew about Nathan being abused by his father but considering their relationship, it's evident that she was his confidant and someone he trusted more than anybody else, even Mark Jefferson. It's unknown how she reacted to his death if Arcadia Bay was destroyed, or if she knew/presumed that Jefferson murdered him, nor his arrest for accidentally killing Chloe Price if Arcadia Bay was saved, but her letter to David Madsen in the former ending implies that she seeks therapy partially for that reason, but overall for the trauma inflicted on her by Jefferson.
- Rachel Amber - Rachel and Nathan were friends as far back as 2010. During that time, they seemed to have a much more healthy relationship, due to the Vortex Club still being the haven for outcasts that it started out as, and both of them not being involved with drugs. However, by 2013, they're both recreational drug users deep into the new, toxic Vortex Club culture. Despite this, their friendship never died, and they remained close until a fateful night in which he or Mark Jefferson drugged and kidnapped Rachel, taking her to the Dark Room and photographing her while she's vulnerable. While she was unconscious or possibly even dead, a photo was taken of the two of them sprawled out on the ground, in the exact same place she ended up being buried. Nathan unknowingly gave her too high of a dosage, accidentally killing her, which he deeply regretted and contributed to his declining mental health. This was Jefferson's convenient scapegoat to pin the Dark Room conspiracy and Rachel Amber's disappearance on him.
- Hayden Jones - Hayden is another one of Nathan's few actual friends. Like Nathan, Hayden was also interested in photography, attending Jefferson's class along with Max Caulfield and Victoria Chase, even if he usually seems disinterested during the actual classes. Other than photography, Hayden and Nathan had a shared fondness for drugs, as Hayden notes fondly that Nathan can be absolutely hilarious under the influence, and he seems to be his main supply for marijuana. Hayden strongly believes that people judge him unfairly due to his family.
- Samantha Myers (determinant) - Samantha always noticed Nathan's treatment from his fellow students at Blackwell, and always wanted to stick up for him but could never quite find the courage to do so, being a very quiet, shy girl. Because of this, she looks to Chloe Price to stand up for Nathan on her behalf, and possibly get them together. Depending on Chloe's choices, she can either do exactly that and stand up for Nathan at every opportunity, boosting his confidence, go the extra mile and encourage Samantha to speak to Nathan which makes them good friends, or brush off the idea of helping someone she deeply hates entirely, which will contribute to Nathan's downward spiral and even worse, could get Samantha seriously injured if she's encouraged to reach out to him without all the proper steps taken, as Nathan will attack her, allegedly in self-defense.
Neutral[]
- Sean Prescott - Nathan has an extremely low opinion on his father, and for good reason, as his father frequently neglects him, abuses him, and holds him to unrealistically high standards in the name of living up to the Prescott legacy. The only times he even slightly shows appreciation for his father's authority is when he can use it to assert dominance over fellow Arcadians. It's unknown how Sean and the Prescott family reacted to their son's death or arrest, but if the comic is anything to go by, Sean will attempt to absolve Nathan of any involvement with Jefferson and the Dark Room in order to save face for the family name.
- Mark Jefferson - Nathan, in a desperate attempt to have a real father figure, looked to Mark Jefferson, famed photographer and new teacher for Blackwell Academy. Unbeknownst to Nathan, Jefferson is a deeply disturbed and wicked man and saw Nathan as little more than a means to a sickening end since he comes from a family of fortune to fund his disgusting habits. Nathan blindly admired and constantly tried to impress Jefferson through adopting his photography style and conspiring with him in kidnapping and drugging young girls in order to photograph them. This all came to a screeching halt when Nathan accidentally overdosed and killed his beloved friend and Jefferson's romantic partner Rachel Amber. Ever since, Nathan's opinion on Jefferson soured and he became all too aware that he's yet again been manipulated, let alone by a father figure. Jefferson, however, didn't seem all that shook up by Rachel's death nor the loss of Nathan as an apprentice, therefore having absolutely no problem murdering his former protege in order to silence him.
Enemies[]
- Max Caulfield - Nathan never seemed to pay Max any mind until one day in the girls' bathroom, she bore witness to his murder of her best friend, Chloe. How much he hates her depends on Max's choices, specifically whether or not she implicates him in his destructive behavior around campus. If she stays out of his way, he expresses slight annoyance by her presence, but isn't too abrasive towards her unless she presses his buttons. At his angriest, Nathan will call Max sexist and homophobic slurs, and even physically assault her. However, if Max allows him to get beaten to a pulp by Warren Graham, he will sob and apologize profusely. Nearing the end of his life, Nathan will leave Max a voicemail, warning her about Jefferson coming for her after he's done with him. He is killed before he can properly reconcile with Max.
- Chloe Price - Chloe and Nathan were never fond of one another. Chloe always saw Nathan as a spoiled rich kid, while Nathan just saw Chloe as beneath him, even if she decides to stand up for him against Drew North. No matter how much she tries to help, he'll never acknowledge it. Later in life, Chloe attempts to swindle Nathan while he was drunk, but he spiked her drink and took photos of her while she was vulnerable. Thankfully, she came to her senses and escaped before he could do anything else. Eventually, Chloe learns that Nathan is dealing drugs on campus, and decides to use that in order to blackmail and once again try to shake some money out of him. Unfortunately, she tries this at the worst possible time and gets killed for her troubles until Max Caulfield rewinds time to save her life. If Max decides to save Arcadia Bay, Nathan has to live with the consequences of his murder of Chloe, apologizing frantically to her as she dies and getting arrested aggressively by her vengeful and heartbroken stepfather, David Madsen. As of July 2017, Nathan will still be in prison, and David hopes that he won't be getting out anytime soon.
- Warren Graham - Warren isn't usually on Nathan's radar, but his standing up for his friend Max gets the two into conflict on two occasions. Nathan attempts to grill Max about her witnessing his confrontation with Chloe and possibly ratting him out until Warren tells him to back off, causing a fight to break out. Later, when Nathan catches Max and Chloe in the boys' dorm, he attempts to assault Max again until Warren steps in, and can potentially give him a savage beating. Nathan begs Warren to stop, bawling and apologizing profusely. He makes it apparent in his last voicemail to Max that he never meant to hurt anybody, which could even include Warren.
- David Madsen - Nathan naturally disrespected David's authority as an enforcer of rules and regulations. He can be seen arguing with David on one occasion, presumably about his spying or simply just telling him what to do. David kept a close eye on Nathan and clearly suspected him of shady activity around the school, but never directly confronted him about it, instead targeting his hard suspicions towards, ironically, the most innocent students in school, such as Kate Marsh or Max Caulfield. If Nathan kills Chloe, David will be absolutely devastated and will arrest Nathan aggressively. Three years later, David will move away from Arcadia Bay following the grief of Nathan's killing of his stepdaughter, keeping the mugshot he took on the day after her murder. During a phone call, Joyce Price brings him up to her ex-husband David, to which the latter sincerely hopes Nathan stays behind bars.
Romantic[]
- Rachel Amber - Rachel and Nathan's romance is very ambiguous and unconfirmed. According to Mark Jefferson, Nathan was in lust with Rachel, and that can be supported by some graffiti written by him in the boys' locker room reading "69 REASONS TO BANG RACHEL". It's unknown if Rachel reciprocated any romantic feelings, as there's no documented relationship like there was Frank and Jefferson and Nathan never seems to imply that they had something more going on, but it's worth noting that not only were they very close, but Rachel has hooked up with numerous Vortex Club members, so they might've had some sort of fling and that influenced his stronger feelings and mourning for her.
- Victoria Chase - Victoria and Nathan are very close friends and are almost never seen without each other. When Victoria is sobbing over her treatment of Kate Marsh, Nathan drops by to check on her. According to DONTNOD, they have a relationship that can be seen as something more than just being friends, but it's not clear if that's exactly romantic. Like with Rachel, there's no documented evidence of any romance between them nor do they ever come across as being romantically involved, but their interactions and mannerisms in reference to each other can be seen as flirty.