Our 10 Biggest Unanswered Questions After Control

As a suspenseful mystery, Control is filled with questions that remain unanswered long after the credits roll. The latest game from Remedy, developers of classics like Max Payne and Alan Wake, Control is a wildly entertaining action title with a focus on environmental storytelling and deep lore.

The Federal Bureau of Control is a mystery wrapped in an enigma locked inside of a puzzle box. Its secrets have secrets. Player-character Jesse Faden doesn’t know exactly what’s going on when she first becomes Director, and even afterwards, she’s pulled along by the momentum of the story more than her own fine understanding of the events transpiring around her. Control‘s story is told both through in-game progression and environmental storytelling, like lore documents, audio recordings, video files, and greater context clues.

Even after Control ends, there are still numerous questions that are still missing answers. Perhaps some are being saved for DLC, others for a full sequel. Maybe players will never get definitive answers to all of Control‘s many questions – but that’s all part of the adventure.

10. How Old is the Bureau and The Oldest House?

The Federal Bureau of Control has been around for a while, but how long? Zachariah Trench mentions that it’s been existence, in one form or another, for centuries, but just how long have government agents been collecting Altered Items and Objects of Power? The Oldest House was discovered in 1964, but had surely existed before then. What brought this Place of Power into our realm of existence? The upcoming DLC, The Foundation, looks like it may at least partially answer some of the questions about the origins of The Oldest House, and maybe even the Bureau.

9. Who are The Board?

Jesse’s mysterious allies seem less than benevolent, but they oppose The Hiss, which makes them aligned with Jesse, at least for now. Their messages are filled with literal double meanings and thinly veiled threats. They’re helping Jesse, but clearly to their own ends. Their origins are as mysterious as that of The Hiss, but they’re implied to be the true bosses of the Bureau. Perhaps they have some long-term use for a government agency that collects and stores supernatural objects. The Hiss are the immediate threat, but it almost seems like a foregone conclusion that Jesse will inevitably find herself in conflict against The Board in prospective future games in the series.

8. What’s the Deal with Ahti the Janitor?

Early on in Control, Jesse comes across Ahti the Janitor, a Finnish maintenance worker who doesn’t seem too bothered by the invasion of Hiss overtaking The Oldest House. Ahti aids Jesse at key moments in the game, and seems pretty nice, if cryptic and uncomfortably unfazed by the Hiss incursion. He doesn’t wear the HRA equipment that protects other Bureau personnel from The Hiss, but is nevertheless immune to their malignant corruption. There are a number of theories as to the truth behind Ahti. Perhaps he is a retired Director who took on another form to oversee the Bureau from a different perspective. Maybe he’s a genuine Norse God, protecting the Bureau while keeping his godhood a secret from the world at large. Whatever the case, we’re just glad he’s on Jesse’s side, for now.

7. Where is Marshall?

Of all the supporting players, Helen Marshall is the one with the least screen-time, and the one who mysteriously disappears during the post-game epilogue. Random chatter suggested she might be in the Black Rock Quarry, but we checked (for a really long time), and found nothing. Our best guess is Remedy is saving her for a key role in one of the upcoming DLC expansions.

6. What happened to Darling?

Throughout the game, the player comes across many reel-to-reel film recordings of Dr. Casper Darling explaining some of the key concepts of the Bureau. He’s a key character throughout Control, but he never appears face-to-face with Jesse. In fact, as far as we can tell, he doesn’t even have an in-game character model. He’s only ever seen in live-action segments. Near the very end of Control, he communicates with Jesse via the Hotline, but it’s unclear exactly what happened to him. It’s implied he died in the room holding Hedron, but The Hiss couldn’t access that room until near the very end of the game. Did he die before then? Was he somehow absorbed into Hedron?

5. Is Dylan Okay?

Jesse finds herself at The Oldest House in time to become Director and fight The Hiss, but she also has a more personal motive for seeking out the Federal Bureau of Control. Her brother, Dylan, was taken by the Bureau after both siblings were involved in an Altered World Event that seemed to kill every adult in the town of Ordinary, Wisconsin. During his years of imprisonment, Dylan was subjected to unthinkable torture while being groomed as Candidate P6, a potential Director. Jesse was Candidate P7.

At the end of the game, Dylan, corrupted by The Hiss, is defeated by Jesse. During the epilogue, he is in a coma, and nobody knows if or when he will wake up. Between Bureau brainwashing and Hiss intervention, it’s unknown how much, if any, of the original Dylan is in there, or if his waking up would be a good thing or a bad thing for the Bureau.

4. Why is Jesse Special?

Jesse is referred to by The Board as “The Chosen One”, in that she is able to wield the Director’s Service Weapon, which thus makes her the Director. What makes her special? Is it because she carries Polaris inside her? Or was Polaris drawn to her because she was already special? Clues in the game hint that Jesse might be from another dimension; one of Dylan’s dreams (heard in optional conversations with him in Central Executive) suggests she and Dylan might be one person who was split into two halves, but there isn’t enough evidence to draw a definitive conclusion. One way or another, there’s more to Jesse than meets the eye, and the relationship between her and her brother will no doubt be explored in prospective Control sequels.

3. What is the Connection Between The Hiss and Polaris?

Polaris and The Hiss both made their way to our reality through the Slide Projector. Polaris passed through during the Ordinary, Wisconsin, Altered World Event, while The Hiss were unleashed years later, when the Slide Projector was turned on in the depths of The Oldest House. Even though they were released years apart, it’s reasonably to conclude The Hiss and Polaris share an origin, particularly since they seem to be directly opposed to one another. Using Polaris, Jesse can “cleanse” corrupted objects and take back control from The Hiss. But is she taking control for herself and the Bureau, or for Polaris?

2. What is FORMER?

Control is full of optional bosses, from Mold-1 to the Hiss-corrupted form of Dr. Tommasi, but none are as spectacular or unexpected as FORMER. This Lovecraftian boss is encountered after meeting Dylan and returning to the Refrigerator Altered Item. Though it reminds Jesse of The Board, she can’t understand what FORMER is saying. What is FORMER? Is it nothing more than a giant parasite of the Astral Plane? Is it some kind of scout sent by The Board to control Altered Items from beyond our dimension? Why is it called FORMER? Could it be a rogue version of The Board who betrayed its purpose to pursue its own agenda? The whole boss fight is a non-sequitur, even within the outlandish reality of Control, so FORMER remains one of the game’s most elusive question marks.

1. What Happened to Alan Wake?

Alan Wake exists in the universe of Control. It’s not just Easter eggs or winks and nods; Control is a full-fledged pseudo-sequel to the 2010 psychological thriller/third person shooter. So what happened to Alan Wake in this universe?

About The Author

Zak Wojnar
(946 Articles Published)

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Zak Wojnar is a writer from New York City. He’s covered everything from video games and movies to maple syrup and deli business. Thanks to Screen Rant, he’s discovered his newest passion, interviewing artists. He takes great joy in letting film and gaming legends tell their own story and share their passion for their art.
Zak’s first memory is going with his dad to Tower Records and buying the VHS boxed set of the original Star Wars trilogy. Over the next decade or so, those tapes would be completely worn out through overuse. When he’s not preparing for the next big interview, he can usually be found sitting too close to the TV, either re-watching Miami Vice or The X-Files, or getting lost in a video game.
Zak has bylines at Game Informer, Muscle & Fitness, PopCultureGalaxy, Men’s Fitness, Cheese Connoisseur, and Deli Business (see, that wasn’t a joke before!), among others.
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