Like How Lyle Fans Collectively Agree That That Man Is Not Neurotypical - Blog Posts

Wanted to try analyzing Lyle in depth/just my general thoughts and opinions about him. all under cut 👇

Alright. I want to preface this by saying that I am not justifying anything unethical that Lyle has done by any means- moreso I am trying to figure out a reasoning as to why he is the way that he is. Nor am I trying to “woobify” him or whatever, I just think he’s genuinely an interesting character I’d like to dissect. Morally greyish. I also apologize if it seems I am grasping at straws at some points, hopefully I’ll be making good enough reasoning for my thoughts.

First off, I believe Lyle has Bipolar Mood Disorder. It seems he’s been suffering through a manic episode during the events of the game and even beforehand. He talks of a project he has been working on in his dark room, and while its clear these are just photographs of Sam (for the most part), Lyle could still consider this an actual project; likely something he’s obsessing over because of a drawn-out manic episode. Because he has an interest in photography, he likely reverts to similar activities during these episodes.

His chronic obsession with Sam could also explain this. It’s not uncommon for people with Bipolar Mood Disorder to become obsessed with another person, and y’know, being turned into a giant mechanical camera spider probably isn’t helping much. It’s clear he’s ashamed of his new form (based on his reaction when you look at him), and he knows Sam probably wouldn’t relish in his appearance either, which only worsens the obsession.

Obviously Lyle has a crush on Sam. I… don’t need to explain that. Lol. Clearly Lyle isn’t treating this crush the same as the average person would, though, and I believe this is because he literally doesn’t know how else to. Bipolar heavily influences on one’s relationships with other people, and assuming he’s not exactly an extroverted individual (anxiety meds? being a weird nerd?), he tends to be ‘creepy’ towards Sam with the photography and all. I’m lenient on calling him creepy because I don’t think he fully understands what he’s doing is bad, nor do I think being ‘creepy’ is necessarily intentional. It’s just a combination of disordered thinking, romantic obsession, and emotional irregularities.

I understand he stole Sam’s spare key. Again, Im not trying to justify it, it’s.. not good at all, but I don’t think there’s actually any proof he’s used it before? So I cant really speak on that topic too much. Maybe he took it in a frenzy and was too anxious to return it. I dunno 🤷‍♀️. Its a little too far even for him, I mean, he asks Sam for consent to kiss. Whatever you wish to believe, I suppose.

In general I think some therapy and mood stabilizers would help him plenty. My boy just needs some help regulating his emotions is all… thanks for listening to my rambling. I love him a lot!