So, I've been thinking a lot about the ending of this episode and how it would seem to set us up for a major confrontation with Maya's Dad in the next episode, and whilst that is very likely, I feel like it could go in one of several different ways.
- The MC is waylayed by somebody and isn't with M&J when they enter the room.
- This would certainly fit DPC's overly dramatic moments because those 2 walking in together would obviously be very bad for Maya and could cause some serious repurcussions, like her Dad forcing her to leave the college and go home with him to get her away from Josy.
- Maya goes ahead of the MC and Josy and enters the room first.
- If Maya enters first and calls out, "Dad!", it would allow for Josy to be able to hold back from entering and either the MC stays with her and there could perhaps be a choice to stay outside or enter the room, and this might be followed by a choice to either confront her Dad or pretend to be her boyfriend.
- All 3 enter the room at the same time.
- Similar to the previous one only this time the Dad will see Josy and start to become enraged, again leading to a possible choice to either confront the Dad or pretend to be Maya's boyfriend.
- Maya's Dad isn't in the room when they return.
- This is another thing I think could be possible because of what it could mean for later and how it would fit DPC's penchant for shocking drama. We know he has a key and can get in any time he wants, but they don't, so if he's not in the room and ended up leaving because he couldn't find her, it means he could come back at an even more inconvenient time, say, when Josy and Maya are in bed together. This could cause her Dad to fly completely off the handle and maybe even drag Maya out and take her home to get her away from Josy.
Right now I really can't say which one I feel is more likely, but 2 & 3 are the kind of thing you might see in a rom-com type movie and I feel like this game largely doesn't have that tone anymore, so 1 & 4 are possibly more likely as they're much more dramatic and more emotionally impactful, which seems to be DPC's bread and butter.
What do you guys think?
I doubt it will be 1. It's very unlikely anything so important would come up on the walk back to their dorm, but more importantly it wouldn't really change anything; Maya is either going to have a confrontation with her father now, or not. If the MC isn't there for it he will just have to be filled in later, so I see no point to diverting him.
So the real question is if there will be a confrontation or not. I think that will depend on how close we are to the end game. If Maya is caught with Josy, her dad would pretty much have to take drastic action, something like dragging Maya out of college. I could see that happening; Episode 6 put a lot of focus on Maya, so if she was missing for most of Episode 7 the difference would be stark. It would also give Josy a chance to stand on her own for a bit. That could be useful for an eventual solo route, or just to develop her further than just being Maya's girlfriend. I can see some advantages to this approach (from a narrative perspective; don't hurt Maya!).
Still, that can only last so long. I doubt Maya'd be sidelined for more than an Episode, and I'm not sure there would be too many obstacles left to stand in the way of romancing her after that. So this seems like it could only happen if we're closer to then end than we thought.
It's also possible her father would instead carry through on his threat and terminate her loans (however that is supposed to work). That could put us in a position of having to scramble to find some way to help Maya, possibly using the $5000 as a partial payment. This seems like a more workable crisis for the mid-game. The MC can buy time to keep Maya in the picture (or not), but the final resolution is still a ways off. The question then is what happens for those who don't help Maya. Perhaps she drops out like above? Or just abandons Josy (much like Jill abandoned the MC)?
Alternatively, Maya won't have a confrontation with her dad just yet. Instead we'll get a taste of what's to come: a near miss, or Josy manages to hide in time so we get more threats and the uneasy sense the other shoe is waiting to drop. This is the most mid-game friendly, option, but it's a bit of an anticlimax. Yes, there are a bunch of other dramatic reveals for Episode 7 to deal with (Mona, Burke, Cathy, and all the older ones still awaiting resolution), but it will leave us more or less the same place we've always been with Maya despite all the buildup.
Tough call, but I guess I would go with 3, 2, then 4. I think some sort of near miss is the most likely, followed by a real crisis or heated confrontation. The dramatic irony of the characters not realizing he was there is a distant third place, IMHO.
But I reserve the right to change my mind once we learn anything about the new episode!
