The Beast in Me, Claire's e-mails [Spoilers]

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So I finished this mission by convincing Claire to spare Sampson, and she gifted me Beast, like in aaaall my other playthroughs. This time tho, instead of driving away as soon as Claire gets out of the car, I followed her to her garage. To be quite honest I can't remember if her laptop was there the first time we visit it, but I noticed it as soon as I walked in and decided to take a peek (Claire just decides to sit on he couch and then she shuts the garage down behind you after you leave)

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So I think sparing Sampson is the best option. You can see Claire even wanted to convince Dean to let it go before rage possessed her. And like Sampson said, Dean wasn't that great of a husband. Not only would he bury himself in work so much that he couldn't even holocall Claire for days, he also didn't wanna let go of his jealousy towards Sampson even when she asked him to, which eventually lead him to his death.
 
I think, the laptop is here at the start (first time you meet Claire in the garage). Because I remember those messages and I never return after :)
And yeah, Sampson is a rat, no doubt, but he didn't kill Dean :)
 
It still amazes me how Claire is so angry and vengeful towards Sampson because she thinks he killed her husband, in a race when you literally SHOOT at the other cars while driving...

I mean, it's not like you join this type of things if you care about your own safety. Claire should actually be angry with Dean, and herself for not stopping him. I interpret her thirst for revenge as a way to unsee where the real responsibilities are.

I think, iirc, she somehow admit it herself at the end of the questline, if you take the right choice regarding Sampson's fate.
 
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[...]

So I think sparing Sampson is the best option. You can see Claire even wanted to convince Dean to let it go before rage possessed her. And like Sampson said, Dean wasn't that great of a husband. Not only would he bury himself in work so much that he couldn't even holocall Claire for days, he also didn't wanna let go of his jealousy towards Sampson even when she asked him to, which eventually lead him to his death.
If you listen to what people are talking about pre-race when cars are in the grid, you learn that Sampson hired Maelstrom gang to take some of his competition out. So while it's very high risk racing to begin with, he went further and got bend even those rules and got someone assassinated when he couldn't beat that crew on track. Considering he has to resort to that while having the best car of the grid of NPC's, that may tell us something else too.

What I like in that it's that IMO there really isn't best option. During my first playthrough when my Nomad V realised he got played something weird happened [LOAD SAVE] and... he went to win the race and told Claire to go to hell or something.

On my second playthrough my StreetKid V was not that surprised, everyone in the city has their angle to play. Lot's of tales of injustice and sorrow and while V really didn't care of that for him, Sampson not a racer but a poser who got people killed just to keep his act up and scene didn't lost anything of value, when he died there.
 
Sampson not a racer but a poser who got people killed just to keep his act up and scene didn't lost anything of value, when he died there.
In fact, my point of view on that, it's not really about Samson or Dean (In my opinion, they have played with fire and be "toasted").
But it's more to not let Claire to be eaten away by revenge or become a murderer (even if Samson deserve to die) :)
"spoiler" in the title, so I can do it :
  • Continue the race and lose > the worst, no need to expand.
  • Continue the race and win > Claire always want to take revenge, she don't feel better and she hate V.
  • Follow Samson and let Claire kill him > Claire takes revenge, but she don't feel really better and just kill someone with cold blood without a real reason, except avenging Dean (Samson didn't really "kill" Dean).
  • Follow Samson and convaince Claire to not kill Samson > Claire have a "face to face" with Samson to empty what she has on the heart, recovers herself by realizing that he did not really kill Dean and that she was blinded by her pain (and that it is surely not what Dean would have wanted). She feel way better and it's seem obvious in the messages that she send you later.
 
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In fact, my point of view on that, it's not really about Samson or Dean (In my opinion, they have played with fire and be "toasted").
But it's more to not let Claire to be eaten away by revenge or become a murderer (even if Samson deserve to die) :)
"spoiler" in the title, so I can do it :
  • Continue the race and lose > the worst, no need to expand.
  • Continue the race and win > Claire always want to take revenge, she don't feel better and she hate V.
  • Follow Samson and let Claire kill him > Claire takes revenge, but she don't feel really better and just kill someone with cold blood without a real reason, except avenging Dean (Samson didn't really "kill" Dean).
  • Follow Samson and convaince Claire to not kill Samson > Claire have a "face to face" with Samson to empty what she has on the heart and recovers herself by realizing that he did not really kill Dean and that she was blinded by is pain (and that it is surely not what Dean would have wanted). She feel way better and it's seem obvious in the messages that she send you later.
Yeah, but what I tried to say really is that it leaves lot of options for V and each V may be quite different. I'm not really good in this in-universe thing, but in this I like how things are presented, regardless of what each players V does.
 
Based on Claire's account Sampson was going to win a race and inexplicably slammed the brakes. This resulted in Dean's death. That sounds more like intentionally trying to kill/harm someone instead of incidentally doing so via the normal rules of the road, so to speak.

If I'm being honest.... I was on board with blasting the guy simply because he came off as a bit of a dick before the race even started. Granted, by that point my V had filled up a great many dumpsters. :)

The other angle boils down to trust. On the one hand you had Claire. Someone V had some positive interactions with. Perhaps even someone approaching friend status. On the other you had a guy pleading for his life while a gun was held to his head. A guy acting like an egotistical asshat, talking big and deliberately sticking a hot poker in old wounds before the race. At the time it seemed more reasonable to place trust in Claire's recollection of events over Sampsons.

In terms of the bad husband angle... I mean no disrespect but that strikes me as highly speculative. I don't think it's quite fair to judge a relationship over a couple texts where one party says they have to remain away from the other for a few extra days of work.

The only part I didn't quite get is why Claire insisted on bagging him during the race. We coulda like... won the race and paid him a visit later. Well, that and the fact NCPD didn't magically teleport from the great beyond to enact Dwemer Law upon us....
 
Yeah, but what I tried to say really is that it leaves lot of options for V and each V may be quite different. I'm not really good in this in-universe thing, but in this I like how things are presented, regardless of what each players V does.
Yep ;)
But it's a mix of all the ways you could finish the quest.
Obviously, if you play once and don't spoil you (or reload, but in this case, it doesn't really help, the "right" dialogue line have to be said way before), you can't know all of those results. You could only constat the consequences of your previous choices/answers.
And I must admit, the first time, Samson die and I had no problem with that :D
Based on Claire's account Sampson was going to win a race and inexplicably slammed the brakes. This resulted in Dean's death. That sounds more like intentionally trying to kill/harm someone instead of incidentally doing so via the normal rules of the road, so to speak.
"Normal rules of the road" ? On a race where you can shoot your opponents and kill them like that... For me, there is no rules, except drive a car (with four wheels) and trying to stay alive until the finish line :)
 
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"Normal rules of the road" ? On a race where you can shoot your opponents and kill them like that... For me, there is no rules, except drive a car (with four wheels) and trying to stay alive until the finish line
If you're already winning and slam on your breaks to cause a crash for someone behind you it stands to reason anyone surviving said crash would be upset about it though. It's different to be shooting at other vehicles, trying to run them off the road, etc. because you're trying to win the race. It's another matter to do it for the hell of it or to remove the competition when you've already won.

I distinctly recall going into that race thinking I'm undecided on the whole "let's kill Sampson" idea. As soon as Sampson started talking that changed.
 
If you're already winning and slam on your breaks to cause a crash for someone behind you it stands to reason anyone surviving said crash would be upset about it though. It's different to be shooting at other vehicles, trying to run them off the road, etc. because you're trying to win the race. It's another matter to do it for the hell of it or to remove the competition when you've already won.

I distinctly recall going into that race thinking I'm undecided on the whole "let's kill Sampson" idea. As soon as Sampson started talking that changed.
Yep totally ok, with that ;)
I don't remember the exact "rules" on the shard that Claire give you at the first race. I will search if I find it.
And also for Samson who probably deserve to "disappear", but by Claire's hand, I don't think so :)
(If I remember right, V said the "right" words in a message to Claire)
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I don't remember the exact "rules" on the shard that Claire give you at the first race. I will search if I find it.
Found a video with this shard, nothing about "the rules"
 
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It still amazes me how Claire is so angry and vengeful towards Sampson because she thinks he killed her husband, in a race when you literally SHOOT at the other cars while driving...

I mean, it's not like you join this type of things if you care about your own safety. Claire should actually be angry with Dean, and herself for not stopping him. I interpret her thirst for revenge as a way to unsee where the real responsibilities are.

I think, iirc, she somehow admit it herself at the end of the questline, if you take the right choice regarding Sampson's fate.
it's amazing indeed, but that's what grief does to you. We can see it from outside in a logical way and say "WTF Claire, you're mental! It's obvious Dean wasn't murdered, and if you wanted him alive you shouldn't had to have participated in a race when you literally can shoot people to death, you crazy woman!". But she was consumed by anger, pain, and losing the love of her life. She even says she loved him more than life itself, so it makes sense why she'd behave in such a weird way, even when it doesn't make sense and we can see how flawed her logic is.
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What I like in that it's that IMO there really isn't best option. During my first playthrough when my Nomad V realised he got played something weird happened [LOAD SAVE] and... he went to win the race and told Claire to go to hell or something.

On my second playthrough my StreetKid V was not that surprised, everyone in the city has their angle to play. Lot's of tales of injustice and sorrow and while V really didn't care of that for him, Sampson not a racer but a poser who got people killed just to keep his act up and scene didn't lost anything of value, when he died there.

I have to agree with LeKill3rFou said, the best option for Claire, if you look in her best interest, is making her see that what she was going for is wrong. By sparing Sampson you free her soul and all that rage is gone, she even apologizes to you for using you and thanks you for being there an stopping her. She didn't seem to be that invested in the races, Dean was. And she only wanted to go back to them to murder someone in cold blood.

But also, there's the beautiful thing I love about this game and the people who play it. Different opinions, different ways to approach the same issue. You even played your character, both nomad and streetkid V in a different way, as they saw this issue with different eyes depending on their lifepath (I also do that with some missions).

Me personally, I went with my gut that in this case, murdering Sampson wasn't okay, and after I saw the different outcomes I feel like when you spare him Claire seems to be more at peace with herself in comparison to the other options.
 
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The most surprising for me is that behind a "banal" car racing quest,
- There is a choices (very strange, another one...) with consequences. Because yes being hated or welcomed by Claire at each visit to The AfterLife, not having the car, having to pay for it or being offered it are not "little" consequences for me.
- Maybe more interesting, there is matter for debate for us on something other than the race itself, revenge and the reason to take it.

Pretty good for a "banal" racing quest, isn't it :)
 
I have a fun take on this with the idea that V is a professional hitman and merc so KILLING PEOPLE IS WHAT THEY DO. However, this like Us Cracks and Kerry is something where they suspect that it is more than just a regular job.
 
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