This is the first upload set of my finding and commentary on the EMH suggested viewing order playlist found on my page. For further reading, see the EMH wiki, everything here is mostly opinion, and anything that I present as fact, I have found on the wiki.
so, EMH has been my favourite ARG since I first watched it, it managed to edge out TJAP by just a little bit, and in turn MLAnderson0 as well. I think the reason I love it so, is that I came into the game a bit late, so there were a lot of entries waiting for me to take a look at and I wasn't trying to figure stuff out for myself the first time. I was just watching. But this is my 4th viewing of the series, and the 2nd viewing of the suggested viewing order playlist that is up on my channel. I hope to give a play by play commentary basically, each paragraph about the next video, starting at about entry 5 purely because the first 4 entries can be summed up pretty easily.
So the first 4 entries aren’t that special in terms of what to look for and secrets. The main point is that you spot the “hidden” slendermen and detect that they are too obvious and therefore faked. Well some of them anyway. The videos follow a decent pattern, showing the characters well though not really developing Jeff yet. Entry 3 is the first major point of interest really, the point where Vince reveals the dream in which he is chased through the woods, and you can clearly see that Evan has either had the same dream, or an equally freaky recurring dream of his own, and he recedes into his commonly silent and ponderous state in which he just seems a little bit scary. There is also the cardio and outside video that gives away a lot of decent hints towards the storyline. There is a lot of slenderman sightings, though most are presumed to be fake. Evan spends most of the video in his deep thoughtful mode, often seen pondering the small doll he was allegedly given. The main point in this video is that the fake slendys become more obvious, and Evan is given a slenderman doll by a little girl, though this may not be real or fake, at this point it is hard to determine, though Evan's reaction suggests that it is real. Anyway, that about sums up the major plot points of these first few videos.
Entry 5
The next point of interest would be the upper-body and arms segment in the basement. Where slendy can be seen walking behind Vince while he talks about curls. Its a small viewing stage, in the upper left basement window. First the shape moves across then minor audio distortion comes in as you see the slendy head. Then when the head snaps to look inside, “the lights go out”. Well, not really, the camera has a flash effect and fades to blank, not darkness, and then fades up after Evan has “fixed” the problem. It is possible that this slendy could be real, as the effect is very distinct on the lighting, though it could still be a set up. The major point that I found was the shadowy figure at the back of the room at about 3:31. it moves off-screen and makes a bit of noise, prompting Evan to peer over repeatedly, sparking his interest. This is the first time that you can see Evan's inquisitive side, that borders on the aggressive at times. Its the same side that forced him to run after slendy and the rake in later entries. Oh yeah, that would be a spoiler.
. . .
following on from Entry 5 we have the first of the Morse videos, videos that are not uploaded or even detected by the team at EMH, and later on have a theory confirming effect on them. This sets the trend for the rest of the Morse videos, basically its a series of clips running through plots points that we should not be seeing, that the team does not want us to see. In this entry we find out that they had faked the slendy sightings, albeit kind of obvious. We also find out that someone has broken into Evan's house, which is revealed in the next entry I believe. The song “who could win a rabbit” by Animal Collective makes its first appearance in the series, prompting the words rabbit and habit in the lyrics, and foreshadowing the appearance of these two vital and significant devices.
We also see signs that Evan is exhibiting the “slender-sickness” has the interwebz has dubbed it. I am not convinced that this is the case and the other symptoms never are shown and the effects are still as prominent in the entries anyway. I feel that this is purely the first sign in the iteration theory.
By the way, the iteration theory basically predicts that the characters are merely avatars of higher characters and that they live through the same struggle in various periods. Evidence is the Corenthal letters and so on, there will be more on this theory when I can type about it without giving away spoilers. So anyway, it is basically the first sign that Evan is becoming the aggressive and potentially dangerous character that is presented later on. This is also shown by the compulsive sharpening of the knife to which the link is made. We are shown that Evan has a strong affinity for knives, and this is the first point in the series that SPOILER ALERT Evan might be HABIT, and I strongly believe he is. And finally we are shown the closing door, almost able to see slendy behind it as well. Anyway, onto the next one now.
Entry 6
this starts off fairly normally, a side gag at the lack of Vince due to his ugliness. It may just be a throw-away gag, but I have a feeling it could be a precursor to a potential rift between the group, be it in the past or future. The lack of Vince also begs the question as to, who is filming this episode?
After the shopping scenes at the beginning we are presented with some audio distortion and a blank screen for a couple of seconds before being taken to the car.
From there we hear the end of a sentence, the camera blurs and the audio heavily distorts. Then it is shown that something is in the back of Evan's car, and Vince and Jeff notice this. They think its their friend trying to scare him. But its not. It is most likely slendy, and I reckon this could be another point that moves Evan more towards the aggressively paranoid character we later see. After this the camera goes all fish eye and a disturbing sound of a crying baby is played. Then we arrive home. Jeff asks “where’s Dave?”, the guy who was thought to be scaring Evan in the car. Again, this is false and it could be that Dave was taken by slendy, though he is actually back at the house, and Evan was alone in the car, well apart from slendy. The audio and camera distorts once more.
As the continued distortions plays out Evan is told “second story dude” and we see slendy in the window. This is the first occurrence of a real slenderman sighting, or at least one that the group acknowledge. Frantic running and entry to the house follows.
They find Dave, I think, upstairs ready to shoot with the slenderman stuff in the car. Evan seems pissed and a door is heard to slam. The camera pans round jaggedly and we see the first image of slenderman fully in the door frame, shaking his head. The door closes of its own accord and Vince and Evan try to break it down. Evan is on the offensive from the beginning, more aggressive than we have previously seen. They break down the door to a dark and empty room, they finally conclude that they all saw it and the video ends.
Public Address video
so this is the tipping point of the early series really, this is where the group admit they were planting the slendy stuff, but its gotten serious. Vince seems worried, Jeff seems cautious and Evan seems pissed, and rightly so. Other than that, the video seems to be purely about the group admitting what we already knew from the last two videos, and Evan issues the amnesty which goes unanswered. He also sets the threat at this point.
A Day In The Life
not sure why, but this is one of my favourite videos. This is the first time we see Jeff's girlfriend JessA, not to be confused with JessE. We are also introduced to Ryan and Alex, Jeff's brother who goes a bit psycho later on. The video progresses normally with no major plot point until the 3:49 mark when we see Evan staring off into a fallen tree, appearing to ignore the others for a while, and Vince remarks “Evan is just...being Evan”. It is unclear what this means at this point, though it is another instance where Evan is seemingly far away and despondent He doesnt seem like Evan. He then goes to touch the tree and the group call him on, snapping him out of whatever had him staring off. Evan is again seen to be separated from the group, either walking ahead or in the wrong direction. The group is also seen investigating an old tool shed, and they happen upon what is widely believed to be the old Corenthal house, or at least a place of significance with the Mining Town Four. It is the same place Evan ends up in later videos after SPOILER ALERT chasing the rake through the tunnel in Alex's bedroom.
At the back of the house there is what looks to be an old overgrown garden, to which Evan stares into again.
Near the end of the video Evan displays a clear need to get out of the woods as it is nearing the evening, and he needs to be back indoors before nightfall. Another symptom that he is under the effect of the slenderman.
Sleep and dreams video
this basically sets up the next set of videos really, nothing important is said or should be noted here.
Sleep lab part 1
starts off with the set up for the video, and the duo, Jeff and Vince, note that they will be drawing down any hallucinations they may encounter. Though it should be noted that while they are seen to be drawing in the video, these drawings are not shown later on. The video breaks nearing the 2 minute mark and it is clear that the U-stream video has just ended. The duo have found a shrine type collection of photos in a closet in the house, and remark that Evan will go mental if he sees it. The photos are typically vandalised with pen and bare phrases like “the words” and “can you see”, and the iconic purple tape is seen. At 2:20 a slenderman has been inked into a photo. The duo believe that someone is trying to mess with Evan, but in my own theory SPOILER ALERT I reckon that Evan did this. I reckon that he switches between HABIT and Evan, and when he stares off into the distances and goes aggressive, is HABIT coming through. There is strong evidence that Evan is HABIT, and we shall see this later on. The duo say that Evan will freak out, and that he isn’t getting back to normal, meaning that they have noted the change in him, and can sense his other side.
The duo then try to prank Evan into a play fight, but he is too despondent and focussed on the “can you see the words” (last I checked the blog is empty, meaning I missed the good stuff) blog he is reading on the computer, that he doesnt react much, until the real Evan comes back and he engages in the play fight. He does look around, pissed and almost snapping, but Jeff laughs it off.
At around 4:35 slenderman can be seen standing on the right hand of the screen, something I only noticed on this viewing. The others don't seem to notice him. At 4:30 the red poster has changed and reads a vital plot point I reckon “surrender the ARK” though some reckon it might be “surrender two the ARK”, possibly referring to the leaked videos, totheark from Marble Hornets, or the candleverse, or even the actually ARK, a place that is believed to be safe from the slenderman, though hasn’t been proven yet and is merely hypothetical.
Sleep lab part 2
so heres the second part of the sleep lab, featuring Evan's dream diary. There's not a lot of awfully important plot points here, obviously the dream is the most prominent point. The screaming and running and the woods are all majors points in the plot line, and could be a precursor to the later entry of Evan finding the bags of blood and shit in the woods. It should also probably be noted that the HYBIRDs cannot see the bad dream sequence, much like they cannot see the Morse videos. Im not entirely sure when this happens, but this http://twitpic.com/1x6vqn picture shows the dreams that group have been having, and it completely foreshadows the Joke's Over video where the bags are found in the woods.
- - -
again this video is showing footage that wasn't supposed to be leaked, mainly of the cast discussing the slenderman and possibly HABIT stuff, and whether they should stop the videos. Obvious the Freddy Krueger glove could be a foreshadow for Evan's affinity for knives, and the video passes through showing odd disjointed clips in the typical Morse video way. The only real noteworthy stuff that I found, and I mean stuff that doesnt simply confirm what we the viewers knew, but that actually enters new evidence, is the following text from the video.
Jeff: I’m sorry guys.
Vince: Jeff, don’t worry about it. We- we get this. [Jumpcut] He’s had this happen before.
Evan: Yes sir.
Vincent: And you know, the way that I see it is… I mean, I honestly thought it would be over with Evan, but it seems like… it’s come full circle.
This is vital in my eyes, the way that we now know that Evan has had this happen before, meaning that the group may have experienced the same set of events before these videos, and the way Vince says its come full circle, supports the iteration theory.
Damsel 1
http://canyouseethewords.tumblr.com/post/727606551
the next video in the correct order is damsel's first video
not a lot to be said on this, only that Damsel watches the EMH team and knows more than she is letting on.
Slushpops and Surprises
only really two noteworthy pieces here, the card is actually coordinates leading to the first box, and the final message at the end “enter the tragic hero and his unattainable companion”, which I believe to be the official entry point for both HABIT and the rake. Mainly due to the boxes being part of HABIT's game from the numerical annotations, and the whole sentence seems to indicate them.
Again, the end part of the video is not seen by the cast.
The time line then splits, either going on with Box 1, the second EMH ustream, which I will be covering in the ustream post, and the next EMH video.
Self Defence
another set of key clues here, and the precursor to Evan sitting alone and talking to himself. Mainly, the points to look out for are the hidden slendys, and the sheer prowess that Evan shows with defence and offence. Another point is the knife fight scenes, Evan can seem quite uneasy with being left without a knife of his own, shown when Vince points the knife at Evan, who nervously laughs and says “dont do that” in that quite serious way he has. Its also the sheer violence he talks about when defending against the knife, “biting his throat out” was one line that really drives the psycho side home.
Some point after this video Damsel releases her second video here http://canyouseethewords.tumblr.com/post/918054121, which shows her and JessA were friends, we also see Evan running behind them at full spring, though this is never referenced or mentioned later on.
Box 1
So after the self defence video we have the first box, this one from GreenFeathers, who appears in the EMH videos later. The boxes are usually graffitied with phrases and words that seem linked to the crew, and they usually contain stuff that aids the viewers in working the plot out. It is likely that the boxes are sent ans stashed by HABIT, as they play into his trials quite easily.
The first box here shows the typical style of boxes we will see later, the slenderman images, and the usual plot defining pieces found within. This one has the photos from sleep lab 1, where the little shrine is set up. The boxes usually have a relatively important quote as well. It should also be noted that the photos seen here are all seen by Evan first, in fact the last time we see them before then end up in the box, its in a twitpic here http://twitpic.com/1we6cl with Evan looking at them, supporting the facts that Evan is HABIT and HABIT is sending the boxes out.
Jokes Over
the clip begins with Evan sitting behind Vince, who tells us about the seriousness of What’s going on. The clip also starts with a metallic sound, which the crew later explain away to be either the tripod or the usb part of the camera, and Vince says that it was not Evan's knife, though I still believe it is. The looks on both Evan's and Vince's faces can show that Evan is forcing Vince to be calm by holding a knife to his back, and even though this has been said to be false, this could also be the group trying to cover it up in case Evan flips out of them telling us and does something worse. I strongly believe that the group know exactly how affected Evan is, and they know what he is capable of.
This is the “wham” episode, the entry where the group gives up any pretence of fitness and well-being in their videos, and it purely becomes a documentary about their situation. Even though the group has been reluctant to talk about slenderman up until this point, this really is the changing point in the series, and though they are still reluctant to talk about him, they base all videos either on him or the events that they are a party to.
The person who spammed the group with the dead animal videos has not been named, and though there isn’t any solid link yet, I reckon that HABIT was behind this, as it fits his MO.
Basically this video is about the hiking video they tried to make, which was suggested in the last Ustream, and then something happened. Something not planned.
Evan has his favourite knife with him in this video as well, something he might need.
Slenderman can be seen over Vince's right shoulder from 1:45, though no distortion is seen and the group does not notice him. This is not likely to be a repeat of the fake slendy. Some strange roaring sound and the sirens come into play at about 2:05, visual distortion then appears and the group notice slendy behind them, Vince turns, as does Evan. Jeff notices on camera, and Evan grabs his knife and runs off in pursuit. This is either Evan himself, or it could be the possessing force, HABIT. Though there is strong evidence that HABIT is Evan, it could be a little less of a connection there, maybe HABIT being some sort of possessing spirit or a part of Evan's possibly split personality. Needless to say, Evan has run off in a fury over slendy, and is fully intent on killing him. The sirens disappear when slendy walks off but come back when they pass the first bag on the right. We then see Evan on the ground, kneeling, his knife sticking in the ground as if he had stabbed something there. He is surrounded by hanging black bags, which lead back to the original slenderman mythos. The sirens can also be heard here, though they slowly fade away, as if slendy is moving further away. Evan remains still until Vince stabs a black bag, to which he jumps a little and turns to watch the blood flow. He then begins to manically laugh throughout the rest of the video, maybe even taking joy in the suffering that could have come to what or who was in those bags. This is another clear indication of Evan's psychoses. Jeff backs away as Evan laughs on, looking at the terrified pair. Vince stands there, blood on his hands, disbelief over what they have found. There is some theory that says that JessA, Jeff's missing girlfriend is the victim of slendy, and that she is in those bags. It should also be noted that the sirens have been remarked upon beforehand, in the Ustream videos, Jeff mentions hearing sirens and the sound of children when slendy is around. This is also the video in which Jeff disappears, looking for something.
It should also be noted that after this video, and before the next one, Box 2 is found, and it all takes place on a blog, but the contents can be found at the EMH Wiki on this http://everymanhybrid.wikia.com/wiki/Box_2 page, so make sure to check that out before the next video.
Jeff
so the next video after all of that, if Jeff. Basically, Evan and Vince go to Jeff's house in search of answers. The first important point is the distortion and altered events of opening the front door, seeing Alex at the door with purple tape over his mouth, much like Evan in the 3rd Ustream, and the shadowy, possibly Jeff, figure in the background. Again, the crew cannot see this. The video then goes back to normal, and we see the normal door opening, albeit a little jittery Its also announced that JessA had broken up with Jeff prior to this video. We see a purple taped notebook with a slenderman drawing inside, and a note sayin that he is onto something. We also find the USB stick that has the 77of76 and 78of76 videos on it, though they are currently corrupted. The USB stick is also found on top of a copy of house of leaves. That's pretty much it for this video.
I'm Okay
this is the next video in the series, and it shows Jeff wandering through his burnt out old school. It can be quite hard to listen to the audio, so im just going to direct you to this transcript: http://everymanhybrid.wikia.com/wiki/I%27m_Okay, which is definitely worth a read. As noted on the same page, the audio distortion at 1:33 does sound like laughing, heavily distorted childlike laughter, almost like the sort that is heard when slendy is around. Not an awful lot of highly important plot details are in this video, the main point is the medical records that Jeff finds are the Corenthal letters, so this would be the right point to start reading those. Just like THESEVENTRIALSOFHABIT, The Leaked Videos and the Corenthal Letters, I will be posting my findings and observations about those separately, just like I did with the ustream videos. I suppose the other important note would be that Jeff was left alone to die in a burning building, possibly burning due to the slenderman, as he is known to do this, though the issues Jeff has with this incident are not brought up later.
