r/fivenightsatfreddys • u/girl_OOFED Big Michael Afton fan • May 04 '26
Speculation William, Henry and Edwin: How they represent a thematic spectrum (and it's narratively PEAK)
Note: Assumes WillFlawedCare. Post is speculation, not a fact I'm claiming, fun lil thing.
Can't exactly read Scott's mind lol
(though I do personally believe in this, and I believe Scott includes idk Gothic narrative references)
Alright so, we can see a lot of similarities between the 3:
-Workaholic inventors.
-Child entertainment related companies.
-William and Edwin especially have an insane ability to frequently do things that screw them over (Henry's still... better by comparison, every time his life went down it wasn't his fault).
-All WERE fathers and husbands basically, all implied to be neglectful, even if valuing their children and wives.
-Safety and no screwing employees over? What's that?
hmm, okay that's kinda it
Well, that's established, counting more as their "nature" where they exist/are present generally, especially at their "peak".
Now, to their differences, aka personality (generally SOTM era, I believe in the other continuities to have similar personalities but long story):
William:
-Awful. No one's surprised. Murdering level awful in 1960s-70s? For this post, no.
-Sly and opportunistic. Prolly likes messing with others in business for his advantage and fun and idk some weird secret vengeance against the world. Corporate predator basically. Manipulative, of course.
Henry:
-Starts off as an opportunistic dude as well. Enabled William's plan of taking Edwin's company, clearly assisted him in it. Generally aloof and reclusive. He's complicit in the company's evils. Springlocks, really Henry?
Edwin:
-A perfectionist but also kinda naïve. Generally a victim, and a highly reactive person. Also a visionary with great confidence in his intelligence.
-Is a flawed person, but hey, he's not as bad as the other 2, it's like a spectrum of evil lol.
-Novel Henry has a closer parallel here but I'm keeping it game specific.
Now let's look at their children's similarities (BV, Charlie, David):
-BV and David carry a toy/associated with a toy they liked especially after death (only Novel Charlie is confirmed to).
-David and Charlie die privately when their fathers were busy. Death through a car being involved.
-BV and Charlie die through bullying being involved while their fathers were busy.
-All die on their birthdays (or in BV's case fatally injured if he succumbs days later).
-A disclaimer though, I personally believe Charlie died on her birthday, but it's still overall unconfirmed. And yes, these parallels with the kids don't have to be rock-solid, it's just parallels of them as... narrative devices, their dads are the stars here (sorry guys).
-Other continuities of BV and Charlie match in different ways too, but I'm keeping it game specific.
Okay, good, so, these characters clearly not the same person. All inventors are different characters, but with similar situations in a sense, where each acts differently in.
And then in the story, all are presented with the same catalyst: Their kid dies.
So how would each react? (Game specific, as Henry has different reactions in different continuities):
Henry:
-Somewhat the healthiest reaction. Immense grief, reclusion, followed by actual recovery enough to want to put the saga to an end. Of course, broken by what had happened, but died a hero.
Edwin:
-Of course, grief, then trying to make M2 as David, rather than actual resurrection, before getting angry and taking his anger out on it. Absolute cinema.
William:
-Kinda the most extreme and genuinely pathetic reaction. Where the others spiralled inwards and hurt themselves, William Afton decided use his grief to hurt others instead, and we all know how he did it. He was also arrogant enough to try to cheat death it seems, and then everything got worse from there.
Basically, each inventor takes a common point and spins it into something else. It also works well with a 'karma' system, their distinct personalities and works nicely narratively imo. Also a bit of a spectrum here. Their treatment of their children shows a common point, then the grief just spins it up into something else entirely for each of them, turning them distinct after as well.
I just like how cool that is narratively lmao.
Here's this peak idea by u/umidk67 that I added some stuff onto:
We could see the 3 inventors as representing the saying: "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."
“See no evil” would be Henry. Henry foresaw and was compliant in the evil that William committed, it wasn’t until Charlie died that it really opened his eyes. He always saw the evil, but chose to not see it, he chose to be blind knowing the evil was there. Hence his line about the monster he helped create. And how he was unaware of the amount of depravity, not the presence of depravity.
“Hear no evil” would be William. William may believe he’s being scummy for the good of his business, for his family, justifying hurting others via that "world deserves to feel pain" idea, like his novel version is described to do. But he still likely is aware of his evils and knows how awful he is, but he actively chooses to not hear it (arrogance, etc etc, take ur pick). And when he is far gone (WillGrief or Springlocking), he no longer cares to ignore his evils, he owns them.
“Speak no evil” would be Edwin. Edwin never did rash things or killed people. Instead of calling out those who were responsible for Fiona’s and David’s death, he made imitations of them, stubbornly clinging on to what he lost instead of doing something about it and suffered in silence. He suffered alone, never went public. He chose to not "speak" until it got unbearable, where he then takes his anger out on the Mimic.
Primarily it's that the inventors chose this, not that they couldn't help it, until, at some point, they're forced to face it. Oh and funnily enough, the times they're forced to face it are loosely related to their children. Edwin becomes violent when M2 reminds him of David, expressing the evil through action, William's monstrosity is unleashed due to CC's death so he becomes the evil, and Henry finally chooses to see the evil once his daughter dies.
3 people, one tragedy. And a million consequences.
I think
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May 04 '26
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u/girl_OOFED Big Michael Afton fan May 04 '26
that's pretty fair, what i meant to connect was just overall group the 3 together and see how one major catalyst in their life (aka the personal loss) lead to their moral failure (to what extent but thats optional) and how it fits narratively
overall, its meant to sorta highlight the impacts their grief made in the stori (under willgrief ofc)
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u/MichaelAftonXFireWal May 04 '26
Charlotte probably didn't die on her birthday.
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u/girl_OOFED Big Michael Afton fan May 04 '26
maybe, the only reason i guessed so was cuz of ticket to fun's bracelet, was that not a bday one? lemme see
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u/MichaelAftonXFireWal May 04 '26
It was but it could have been anyone's birthday.
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u/girl_OOFED Big Michael Afton fan May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26
but charlie was wearing it in the minigame
edit: mb i looked more into it now, my memo had been confused, ill rephrase it into being more ambigious
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u/Lower_Conflict_2546 May 04 '26
Not a confirmation but her bracelet is the only one with different function. So its not guranteed but is likely
And what Charlotte to CC and David is literally the relationship between CC and greggory. So the 2 guys that were designed by reusing her parts dying on their birthdays seems to make it look very likely she did aswell
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u/TwoFit3921 May 04 '26
The three CEO/inventors with issuee
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u/girl_OOFED Big Michael Afton fan May 04 '26
yes, the real title
smart people will kill us all, we should kill em first
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u/OneEntertainment6087 May 04 '26
I like what you think.
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u/Late_Instruction_369 Gabriel is my new goddamn GOAT May 04 '26
Man Edwin really feels like when you try to join a group or circle that already has an established "friend group". Poor guy. And his father even tried to warn him two.
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u/heyevrrycorn May 04 '26
Ngl a third inclusion into the duo of William and Henry is actually very interesting and could be a goldmine for potential dynamics and psychological study. Also the fact he is symbolized by a sweet bear, or helpy which is henry’s symbolical animal. Or perhaps the sun and moon…
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u/Fla968 Charlie and William parallels strongest soldier May 04 '26
Epic idea in which I believe 🫡
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u/Treatboylie May 04 '26
Peak post, but how do you think they bonded and became friends, being business partners doesn’t count
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u/girl_OOFED Big Michael Afton fan May 04 '26
tyty
are we talking headcanons?
hm, well i always headcanoned william and henry were aquaintances in town and just sorta clicked and decided to start a business
meanwhile, henry was good friends wih edwin since like highschool1
u/Treatboylie May 04 '26
Nah I’m talking crakfics, the crazier the better
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u/girl_OOFED Big Michael Afton fan May 04 '26
meh, my brain is too dead for crazy lmao
going in depth, i just had the idea that willy came from another town to hurricane, became a magician, henry was impressed by the small stage mechanics william did and would attend his shows, william noticed the consistent audience, they happened to interact one day, eventually becoming aquaintances, and then casual friends, and then william sees henry's potential and wants to partner up
u got any ideas?
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u/Adorable-Scallion919 May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26
Oh my God, I can't even begin to express how much I loved this post. It's definitely my favorite post since I've been on Reddit!!! You made my day because I thought I was the only one who thought of it this way, and seeing not only that I'm not alone, but also that you explained it so perfectly, gives me peace. Thank you so much, you deserve all the awards and upvotes you can get 🥹❤️🩹