It takes crazy... to know crazy! - ― Odin Anderson
Odin & Tor Anderson are major characters in the Alan Wake franchise and Remedy Connected Universe. The Andersons lived in Bright Falls, Washington and formed the rock band Old Gods of Asgard. Odin Anderson was the lead singer and guitarist, and Tor was the band's drummer. The Andersons came from a lineage of seers, with clairvoyant abilities that allowed them to see the world for what it truly was. They were aware of the power held in Cauldron Lake that allowed the works of art created there to shape reality. They used their powers and artistic talent to fight against the Dark Presence, an entity originating from the Dark Place beneath Cauldron Lake. Their band dissolved after the death of bandmate Bob Balder, and the brothers retired to the Cauldron Lake Lodge under the control of Dr. Emil Hartman.
Requested by their friend, Thomas Zane, the Andersons used their art to assist writer Alan Wake in his war against the Dark Presence. In 2010, when Alan first arrived to Bright Falls, they advised Wake to drink their special moonshine at the Anderson Farm to learn the truth about his wife's disappearance, and directed him to Cynthia Weaver in order to save his wife. Alan's friend, Barry Wheeler, then revived their careers for a reunion tour in 2012 before retiring them to the Valhalla Nursing Home. In 2023, the Anderson Brothers once again used their art to help free Alan from the Dark Place, with the assistance of Tor's granddaughter, FBI Agent Saga Anderson. Following Alan's release, the Anderson Brothers entered Cauldron Lake into the Dark Place together.
Background[]
The Anderson brothers are of Swedish heritage.[1][2] Their family owned Anderson Farm, located near Cauldron Lake in Bright Falls. Sometime before 1971, the brothers started their careers as professional musicians, but found little success. They believed this was because they lacked a memorable presence as performers.
This led to the brothers' founding of the Old Gods of Asgard in 1971. Inspired by Norse Mythology and their own Swedish heritage, the brothers legally changed their names to Odin and Tor and adopted their namesake gods' identities as their stage personas. They were joined by Bob Balder and Loki Darkens, the latter of whom left (disappeared from) the band in 1972. With their new theme and presence, the band quickly gained traction and brought the brothers fame and success. The brothers were not particularly concerned with mythological accuracy, but as the band became more and more popular, Odin and Tor's stage personas become more and more natural to them, "an irrevocable part of their lifestyle and public image." They embarked on nationwide tours and enjoyed the flamboyant lifestyle of rock musicians, while using the Anderson Farm as their headquarters. The Old Gods of Asgard disbanded sometime following 1978, after Bob Balder's death due to complications from illness. In the aftermath, the Anderson brothers retired to their family farm.
This was the publicly-known information regarding the brothers' music career. A bigger secret involved the Andersons' awareness of the reality-altering effects of Cauldron Lake, and their encounters with the Dark Presence. In 1976, Deerfest was cancelled one day early because of a sudden thunderstorm and flash flooding from the direction of the Anderson Farm. Frank Breaker, then the Sherriff of Bright Falls, was asked by Freya Anderson (Tor's daughter) to check on her father and uncle; when Breaker arrived, he found them alive but wounded, with Tor struck by lightning and Odin missing his right eye. The brothers claimed they had fought and defeated a "dark army of the scratching hag" (the Dark Presence in the form of Barbara Jagger) which had attempted to escape Cauldron Lake.[3] They had also been drunk on moonshine, which they made using the unfiltered water of Cauldron Lake.
This account seems to conflict with a page from the manuscript of Return by Alan Wake. The page states that Odin lost his eye in 1988 when the brothers faced off against a "dark one who yearned to stand in-between, who had always stood in-between, who would soon stand in-between." The brothers struck a deal with the "dark one," saying that they would help him in exchange for him staying away from the Anderson family. The "dark one" accepted, but took Odin's right eye as collateral before being struck by lightning and disappearing. Odin was angered because he lost the "wrong" eye; previously he had always worn his eyepatch over his left eye for his stage persona.[4] However, it is also suggested that both of these events occurred. A note written by Odin in his room in the Valhalla Nursing Home states that he has removed his eye three times, and that it will happen again in the future:
- Before time - I gave it to Mimir to drink from the well of wisdom (the cauldron)
1976 - I took it out myself to see – drank the moonshine
1988 - he who stands on the threshold took it from me
The time will come again, to be writ again
By 2010, the Anderson brothers were suffering from mild dementia and undergoing treatment from Dr. Emil Hartman at the Cauldron Lake Lodge.
Events of Alan Wake[]
The Anderson brothers are a catalyst for Alan's escape from Cauldron Lake Lodge. Speaking to Alan as Hartman wanders off to fix the power, the aged rockers tell Alan he has to go to their farm to figure out what to do next. When the power goes out, they start behaving in an unruly manner, angered by Hartman's attempts to exploit the residents of the lodge and his lack of attention to the dark presence threat. Eventually they knock out nurse Sinclair with a hammer and corner nurse Birch, a tough-talking orderly who flees from them to hide. The lodge is then attacked by the Dark Presence. Alan starts his escape (finding Barry Wheeler along the way) in the midst of all the chaos. Manuscript pages reveal the Old Gods also manage to find their way out, leading a group of the lodge's former patients.
One of their songs is the key to finding out how Alan must progress to find his wife; the lyrics of 'The Poet And The Muse' states in part:
"And now to see your love set free
You will need the witch's cabin key
Find the lady of the light, gone mad with the night
That's how you reshape destiny."
Alan correctly interprets this as meaning he has to speak to Cynthia Weaver, the woman with the strange obsession with maintaining the lighting systems within Bright Falls.
At one point Alan and Barry must protect themselves using the Anderson's old band stage, using the stage's lights, pyrotechnics, and other equipment lying around, whilst Old Gods Of Asgard's song 'Children of the Elder God' plays in the background.
They are last seen during the ending cinematic of the game dancing together and laughing with their moonshine.
The Signal (DLC)[]
Though never seen directly outside of a distorted memory from episode 1, the Anderson Brothers have cardboard cut-outs located within the DLC.
The Writer (DLC)[]
The Andersons are seen at the end of the DLC as enemies. When Wake fights with Barry Wheeler, he is attacked by Taken clones of people he knew in real life. The Anderson Brothers fight together as Tele-Flankers, and they both wield guitars as weapons.
After Alan Wake[]
In both Alan Wake's American Nightmare and Control's AWE DLC, it was revealed that the Anderson brothers returned to the musical world as the Old Gods of Asgard with their Return tour. During this time they were managed by Barry Wheeler and wrote the song "Balance Slays the Demon" alongside a few others.
Eventually, Barry couldn't take the brothers' extreme partying and, worried for their health, cancelled the remainder of the Return tour. After this, Barry paid for the Valhalla nursing home to be founded for the brothers in 2014 and left for New York. Unfortunately, when the contractors realized Barry wasn't coming back, they "took the money and ran", leaving the nursing home partially unfinished.
Events of Alan Wake 2[]
The Anderson brothers are still residents of the Valhalla nursing home, whose other residents include Pat Maine and Cynthia Weaver, the latter of which Tor became infatuated with. However, Cynthia was corrupted by the Dark Presence, becoming a Taken and slowly corrupting Tor as well.
During the nursing home's visit to Watery, the Anderson brother's snuck off to drink at the local trailer park. The corruption within Tor began to manifest until Saga Anderson arrived to find her supposed trailer. There, the two brothers revealed their familiar relationship with Saga, with Tor being her grandfather.
When Saga returned to Bright Falls, Tor phoned her to get Saga to visit him for something important but Cynthia's corruption took hold of him again, resulting in Tor being put into the Wellness Centre after he injured himself and trashed his room. During this time, Odin was left bedridden, unable to help Tor fight of the Dark Presence's influence but able to communicate with Saga via her Mind Place. As Saga reached the Wellness Centre, Tor was lured into an Overlap by Cynthia, with Rose Marigold failing to stop her. After Cynthia was defeated, Tor was freed from the Overlap and revealed everything about the Anderson family's past, Saga's Mind Place, and the importance of the Clicker, promising Saga that the Old Gods of Asgard will have her back in she needed their help.
Saga enlists the brothers to write "Dark Ocean Summoning" in an attempt to retrieve Alan Wake from the Dark Place. They ultimately succeed, but due to the Dark Presence's effect on time, Alan returns to the real world days in the past. After Scratch, in Alex Casey's body, throws Saga into Cauldron Lake, trapping her in The Dark Place, the Anderson brothers walk into the lake to help both Saga and Alan inside.
Inside the Dark Place, the Anderson brothers serve as the in-house band for "In Between With Mr. Door", performing and presumably writing "Herald of Darkness" in collaboration with Alan and Mr. Door. As the Old Gods of Asgard, they are de-aged and reunited with a mental representation of "Fat" Bob Balder. The brothers are not present in the Dark Place in the first loop when Saga enters the story spiral, but in The Final Draft, prior to escaping the Dark Place, Saga can reunite with Tor and Odin there. When she suggests they all leave together, the Anderson brothers decline, saying their time in the real world has come to an end. They also tell her that, despite Alan telling them not to divulge any more information, Saga will see them again in the future.
Manuscripts[]
Alan Wake[]
The Anderson Brothers in the 70's[]
It’s 1976. Madness reigns at the Anderson Farm. Contrary to all logic, the headiest ingredient of their moonshine is unfiltered water from Cauldron Lake.
The Andersons feel like gods.
Odin can’t stop laughing, he contemplates cutting his eye out.
Tor runs across the field, naked, shrieking, hammer in his hand, trying to catch lighting.
Their songs have power, something ancient is stirring in the depths, coming back.
Tor Hits Nurse Sinclair[]
Lighting flashed behind the window of Cauldron Lake Lodge. Tor Anderson laughed and held the steel hammer above his head. Nurse Sinclair was trying to calm him down without success.
Tor grinned madly and shouted: “My hammer’s up! Here’s a friendly poke from Mjöllnir, wench!”
He brought the hammer down with all the might on Sinclair’s head. “We’re on a comeback tour, baby!”
The Patients Escape the Lodge[]
The storm raged on as the Anderson brothers walked unsteadily away from the clinic with the other patients in tow, knowing, that this time they wouldn’t return. The darkness around them seethed with horrors, but Tor and Odin were unafraid.
Their eyes glinted with guile they knew every secret path, and there was blood on their hands. They had fought these shades before.
Alan Wake's American Nightmare[]
Old Gods of Asgard[]
Tor and Odin Anderson. Old Gods of Asgard. I still don't quite know what to make of them. I know they used to be rock stars who modeled their stage personas after Norse gods. I know they're old. I know that in their day, they fought the darkness as I do. I know they're demented and insane, ravaged by age and self-abuse.
But there's something in them, something powerful that took hold when they were touched by the powers beyond, a thing that goes far beyond just stage names. Something godlike.
Barry and the Old Gods[]
The Anderson brothers should probably have been in a facility somewhere, despite their tendency to escape from such places. It could be argued that they had no business being on tour, considering their condition. Their lives mostly revolved around a laundry list of ailments and their endless quest for liquor.
But Barry Wheeler managed them now. And whatever else they might say about Barry, he knew how to make things happen...
And honestly, it wasn't like the Andersons were the most difficult clients he ever had.
Old Gods in the Studio[]
Getting the Andersons into the recording studio was a struggle and a half, but once they actually picked up the instruments, something happend.
They were two old men, and they weren't; they were doddering bags of bone, and they were barely contained power... And there was music.
Barry rubbed his hands together; he knew how to pick a winner. Now all they needed was some direction on how to make things a little more modern.
Barry had never produced a thing in his life, but he knew what he liked. He knew "Balance Slays the Demon" was going to be a hit.
Alan Wake II[]
Odin Loses an Eye[]
It’s 1988. A face-off between deities on the rim of Cauldron Lake, high above its dark waters.
Thunder roared. The Old Gods facing something even more powerful — something harder to define, even. Or, changing the perspective, raging lunatics all, caught up in the frenzy of a shared delusion.
The Old Gods, the corsairs of the sea of night, and the dark one who yearned to stand in-between, who had always stood in-between, who would soon stand in-between.
”We help you, you stay away from our family,” Tor Anderson snarled over the thunder.
”Yes, until you all come to me,” came the answer.
”That’s never gonna happen,” shouted Odin.
”I will take this as collateral so you’ll remember our deal,” said the dark one.
Blood arched from Odin’s face as he fell to his knees.
Lightning hit the dark figure on the cliff, and with that, he was gone.
Tor rushed to his brother. “Are you alright, bro?”
Effectively blind in that moment, the eyepatch covering his left eye, his hand over the now empty socket of his right, blood oozing out of it, Odin cursed:
”The bastard took the wrong eye.”
The History of the Valhalla Nursing Home[]
The Valhalla Nursing Home. Founded in 2014 for Odin and Tor Anderson of the Old Gods of Asgard fame. For their twilight years. Built after the Return comeback tour. Flip-flopped to be their farewell tour. Cut short. Cancelled. As their agent, Barry Wheeler had managed to coax a few hit songs out of them before that. Balance Slays the Demon, a couple of others.
The old men rocked like their namesakes. The backstage parties got out of hand. The air was thick with smoke. Wheeler squinted. His migraine flared. Booze and drugs. A rock n’ roll cliché. They ran off after every gig. Wheeler had security track them down to the craziest afterparties.
Building The Valhalla Nursing Home[]
Barry Wheeler cancelled the Old Gods tour. Called it off. It was over. He couldn’t stomach the idea of another client dying on him.
Wheeler set up a foundation with the sales of their Greatest Hits album. He used the cash to build a nursing facility. The old men deserved it. An old manor in Bright Falls. Wheeler hired a contractor to have it refitted as an old folks’ care home.
At this point, Wheeler felt good about himself. He had a heart of gold. No need to feel guilty. Wheeler left the work to the contractor and returned to New York City. He had done his part. It was time to turn over a new leaf.
The contractors figured out Wheeler was gone for good. They took the money and ran. When the fall rains came, the leaks started appearing.
Tor Is Bewitched[]
Tor Anderson had lightening in his veins. This was rock 'n' roll, baby. That Weaver girl had cast a spell on him. Tor would do anything she'd ask. Tor deserved this. Tor wanted this.
She wanted the song. A gift. He had to get it for her. Afterwards, it was too late. Tor swung his hammer in frustration. The spark was gone. Black liquid clogged his mind. A bad trip. Tor fought it. He was strong. He'd never be taken. But the darkness could still drown him.
Tor needed to warn someone. It was all happening again. Tom was back. Coming back. Tom would need help too if he was going to make it. But the bothers were too old to stop it this time.
Tor had called someone. Someone who could help. The name escaped him, drowned beneath dark water.
Odin Stuck In Bed[]
Odin Anderson stirred in his bed. His vision was hazy, smudged. He felt weighed down by an ocean of dark water. Through the haze, he made out Saga.
Odin felt useless. He wished he could tell Saga how his silly faces made her smile when she was young. Too young to remember. Odin used to joke that Tor was her grandfather, but he was the All-Father. He smiled at the memory.
Odin was the kinder of the Anderson brothers. Tor lacked patience. More volatile. The brothers fought a lot, but they were inseparable. Now Tor was missing. Dragged into darkness. Odin could feel it. Time was running out for both of them.
Appearances[]
- Alan Wake
- Episode 1: Nightmare (first appearence)
- Episode 4: The Truth
- Episode 6: Departure (Seen celebrating at Deerfest)
- Special 1: The Signal (as a memory and cardboards)
- Special 2: The Writer (as imaginary Tele-Flanker)
- Alan Wake's American Nightmare
- Act I (through Night Springs Radio shows)
- Alan Wake 2
- Initiation 1: Late Night (as part of Old Gods of Asgard)
- Initiation 4: We Sing (as part of Old Gods of Asgard)
- Return 3: Local Girl
- Return 5: Old Gods
- Return 7: Summoning
- Return 8: Deerfest
- Return 9: Come Home (The Final Draft only)
Trivia[]
- In Alan Wake, Tor and Odin were portrayed by Lloyd Floyd and Cliff Carpenter respectively. However, the roles were recast for the second game, with Harry Diston playing Odin and Stuart Milligan playing Tor.
- The Anderson Brothers had their own distillery, where they made moonshine. The secret ingredient was unfiltered water from the lake. It seems to have a strong effect on the mind. It is said to help 'clear the mind'. When Alan Wake drank it, it helped him piece together the memories he had lost.
- Tor seems to have an obsession with hammers. One of the manuscript pages describes him running around naked with only a hammer in his hand. Inside the Cauldron Lake Lodge he keeps a squeaky toy hammer and he keeps hitting objects with it. Finally, it's Tor who hits the nurse on the head with an actual hammer. This is probably why he chose the name Tor, which is the Norse name for Thor, the Norse God of thunder who always carried his trademark hammer Mjöllnir.
- Odin tells Alan Wake how he used to have two ravens called Thought and Memory, but the Dark Presence took them both away. The Norse God Odin also had two Ravens called Hugin (Thought) and Muninn (Memory). It's possible these two ravens are the origin of the flock of birds that the Dark Presence now uses.
- It is also possible that Odin's two ravens could be the same two ravens in the study where Alan wrote "Departure" under the influence of the Dark Presence.
- A manuscript page in Departure heavily implies that Odin took out his own eye out of curiosity, under the influence of their own moonshine. However Alan Wake II reveals that Mr. Door was responsible for the loss, taking Odin's eye as "collateral". In addition, the Nordic God Odin sacrificed his eye in the pursuit of knowledge which draws parallels to the Andersons' experiences with the Dark Presence.
- Even though they are suppose to be locked up in the clinic, they seem to escape on a regular basis. Alan Wake first meets them in the Oh Deer Diner in Episode 1 and in Episode 4 Alan and Barry Wheeler notice that the Anderson Farm seems like they are still living there. Also, at the end of the game you can see them celebrating and drinking moonshine during Deerfest.
- The Anderson Brothers refer to Alan as , "Tom". Whether this is just their dementia confusing the two writers or an awareness of the connection between Alan and Thomas is not clear.
- It is implied that the brothers were the ones that first awoke the Dark Presence from its long slumber sometime during the 70's before Zane had done it. They tell Alan that he "opened the door," but that it was already "open a crack," presumably by the two of them. This is also implied by a manuscript page written from the perspective of the Dark Presence, it talks about 'the rockstars'.
- One of the manuscript pages details their journey through the night along with the other patients of Cauldron Lake Lodge and suggests that they have faced the Dark Presence and the Taken before.
- Tor and Odin referenced Barbara Jagger (Baba Yaga) because she had taken something away from them. This could also mean that they had met Barbara Jagger in her Dark Presence form. They also knew that Barbara Jagger took something from Alan, they could refer to Alice. Also "Baba Yaga" is evil witchlike (evil spirit) character in Slavic folklore, that usually guards the border between world of mortal and the land of the dead. It may be a clue to a nature of Dark Presence.
- Both Tor and Odin knew Thomas Zane very well, and even offered some home-made "medicine".
- The in-game songs credited to the Old Gods of Asgard are actually composed by Poets of the Fall. These songs are available on iTunes, credited under the Old Gods name. Marko Saaaresto, the band's lead singer, and Markus Kaarlonen, the keyboardist, appear as the younger Odin and Tor in Alan Wake II.
- In Alan Wake's American Nightmare, the Biker taken is wearing an Old Gods of Asgard shirt.
- In Control, an Old Gods of Asgard disc can be found in the junkyard in the Ordinary AWE area.
- Odin's appearance and name bears a similar resemblance to the character Alfred Woden from Max Payne as they are both are a reference to Norse mythology and have an eye patch.
- Originally, there planned to be hints that the Anderson Brothers had real godly powers, as the storm in Episode 4 would be influenced by Tor during the escape from the Lodge. In would also be connected to the lightning that activated the stage and saved Barry and Alan later.
Gallery[]
Alan Wake[]
Alan Wake II[]
Concept art[]
In-game and Renders[]
Live action[]
References[]
- ↑ Ahti refers to the Andersons as "my Swedish brothers" multiple times in Alan Wake 2.
- ↑ GameInformer: "An Interview With Sam Lake About Alan Wake's 10-Year Anniversary And What Comes Next For Control"
- ↑ AWE Collectible: Bright Falls (1976) Supplement
- ↑ Odin Loses An Eye