A Psychological Analysis of Fran Bow

I choose to believe that she finally found peace and happiness, Fran deserves it after all she went through, especially knowing that the inspiration behind the game is a personal experiences.

To me, what makes this game so powerful is that it doesn't shy away from the horror of trauma or mental illness but also doesn't just use it for shock value. A lot of games will just use the "aesthetics" of mental illness without actually portraying the experience of mental illness. I think the game's strongest part is being made by someone that has this experience first hand. great video!

This game beautifully embodies the saying that art is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable… It really hit some spots in a younger me, that no game before or after ever has.

“You can break something in two seconds , but it can take forever to fix it”

Fran Bow Theory 1: If you look at the family picture of Fran, Aunt Grace, and her parents you notice something. The mother has a black collar and is off to the side - strangely framed by her husband. Aunt Grace in the white collar is wearing a white collar, smiling, and standing close to Fran (like a mother would). One of her hands is hidden behind Fran. Fran’s father has one hand hidden behind Fran. They could be touching Fran’s back… or they could be holding hands. I think dad and Grace had an affair. Here is my speculation: The mother killed her husband and Grace one night. And then, the mother stole Grace’s identity. That is why Grace acts strange. The mother is Remor. Remor wears a dress that looks like hers. As Remor, she blames the murder on Fran because Fran liked Grace better or told her about the affair by accident. The mother drugged Fran, Grace and dad. That is why Fran saw the face. Being an adult, the mother would have had the strength to kill both Grace and her husband when she found them passed out at the foot of the wedding bed. But she had help. The mother might have had an affair herself with another man. He could have helped “free” her from the marriage so they could be together. They could have put the pentagon on the floor to make it look like a cult thing but Fran interrupted them and they sent her to the asylum to erase her memories with the help of Dr. Oswald. I would suspect Oswald of being the lover, but he is in a wheelchair and we saw the man carrying Fran at the beginning was not. Edward makes sense. It explains why he was around at night to tell Fran stories. We see his jacket hung up in the house and Fran wonders what he looks like naked. I wonder if she walked in on her mother and Edward having this affair? Edward would also have been strong enough to help kill her parents. The only problem is that in the narrative he is shown to be a good guy. He helps Fran and saves her from the gun shot wound at the end. So, I am not sure it is him. My final suspect is Dr. Deer. We see deers a lot in the visions. Including in the Queen’s bedroom where she sleeps. You are right. How would Fran know that his father abused him with a knife? She knew because she overheard him and her mother talking. He is strong enough to do the murders and he has a history with Knives. AND when Dr. Deer picked her up in his car - he took her to the graveyard to dig up bodies. That is not kind. That is not good. Edward tried to help Fran get home. Dr. Deer took her to the graveyard to dig up bodies. This man is not right. And to top it off he is the one who gave her the first taste of the drug in the asylum. Yes, he said it was an accident and acted concerned… but he was concerned when he took her to a graveyard to dig up body too right? At the end of the game, his eyes bleed and we are told he is completely under Remor’s influence. If Remor is the mother. Then, he is completely under the mother’s control. I am calling it. Dr. Deer had an affair with the mother. He used his strength and his knives to cleanly slice through Grace and the father after the mother drugged them. Fran didn’t pass out. She had a hallucination. She went to the bedroom and saw the whole thing. Traumatized- she ran to the woods but the drug kicked in and Fran fell asleep. Dr. Deer took her to the asylum where he “accidentally” gave her a dangerous drug to remove her memories. The mother met him at the asylum when she was having second thoughts only to find he would not let her take Fran home* (correction). The mother went to see Fran and blamed her for liking Grace better. Saying Grace and the father died because of Fran. Fran internalized that. At the end when you can shock Dr. Deer and inject him with the drug. I bet that reflects what he did to Fran to erase her memory and that is why she is messed up when we meet her. And that guard is sexually abusive. I don’t think Dr. Deern knew about that, but it all explains Fran’s trauma and why she acts the way she does. That is my theory. I have no way to prove it but that is what I think happened in the game. Update: I watched a misfortune play through and after thinking it all over… I am putting in this quick theory Theory 2: Remor is two people. A man and a woman find Fran in the woods. The man is the doctor (represented by the deer skull head). It is a pun on his name. Dr Deern = Deer 🦌. The dress represents Fran’s mother. - Evidence: When Fran goes home, the house is ruled by Mother Mabuka - not Aunt Mabuka. It can’t be Aunt Grace. That has to be the mother pretending to be Aunt Grace. - Dr Deern is the head. Symbolic of the fact he is the mastermind behind the murders. Trigger warnings for sexual abuse of adults and children. Time to speculate: 1. Fran was in the asylum as a child but it was to visit her mother. Her mother had mental health issues and it did not help her husband was cheating on her with her sister while she is locked up. It think the mother had a few revenge affairs. Dad probably used it as justification to lock her up in the asylum so he could openly be with her sister. Dad was a fool because none of those affairs were real to her until she met Dr. Marcel Deern. 2. Dr. Deerne worked there and developed a weird crush on Fran. He started an affair with the mother (his patient) to get close to Fran. He was plotting to add her to his collection of children - All the children in the are sexual assault victims and one boy even saw Remor. Fran’s mom wouldn’t care about the kid. Dr. Deern has a collection of kids - and he wanted to use Fran’s mom to add her to the collection. 3. Dr. Deerne gave Fran’s mom the drugs and played on her pain and his position as her shrink to manipulate her into drugging Grace, Dad, and Fran so he could come in and kill the unfaithful husband and mistress at the foot of the wedding bed where they betrayed the mother. - But Fran gave part of her food to her cat. She accidentally killed Mr. Midnight and feels responsible for it. Because she ate less, she was awake and witness the murders. 4. This was perfect for Dr. Deerne. Since the mother was his patient he knew how to control her. He convinced her to take Grace’s identity so she would have less power to take Fran from him. But he framed it as poetic justice- her sister Grace had tried to steal her husband, her daughter, her life. It was the perfect revenge to now steal Grace’s life. 5. Dr. Deerne used drugs, electroshock, and gaslight to try to rewrite Fran’s memory so she would be his perfect girlfriend. - When he caught Fran with that pig guard on her way to escape- he was mad she was escaping but he reads as jealous too. I think Remor flew into a jealous rage and killed the predator guard. 6. There is one scene of the mother and Dr. Deern together. On a rewatch - it shows Dr. Deern is the one keeping Fran locked up and in the dark. Dr. Deerne: Absolutely not! You cannot tell her Mother: You cannot keep me from her (the mom was the one who wanted to tell her the truth and take her home!) - Mother wants to tell Fran the truth and take her home. Dr. Deerne hides behind medical reasons and is trying to keep them apart. Again he doesn’t want Fran to go home. - He even calls the mom Grace to remind her she is no longer Fran’s mother. Digging in her lack of power. - Fran even said to herself that the Doctor has no soul - At the end when Fran is shot - Deern cries blood not because he is sad but because he cannot have her. He gives into Remor. He gives into his dark side. A deer monster that wears the fur of innocence but is evil underneath. The game lies. Later Deern will pretend to be trying to help Fran gee answers only to lure her into the car. The mother will be shown chaining up Fran and killing Mr. Midnight… but not everything is as it seems. - in that conversation with Fran’s mom we learn Deern was the one who kept Fran in the dark - Fran mom was able to bring her home for a bit. And going home was scary. But it was important and probably the only way the mom was allowed to bring her home was in chains - the mom probably told Fran the truth. Mr. Midnight is not dead because Fran fed the cat human food but because mom drugged the food and it was too much for a cat. Fran no longer had to blame herself and attacked her mother. Oswald was a good guy who the mom went to and reported Dr. Deern too. Yes, she had to tell on her crime but though unpleasant. She was finally telling the truth. Wild crazy Misfortune theory: Dr. Deern would have lost everything. His practice and credibility. Would he have goes to jail or would the asylum have done a cover up? I think cover up. That is why in Misfortune his family is living in a dump… and he is now murdering kids because he can’t collect them anymore. He even goes after his own daughter. But at least he goes to jail - there are no children there for him to hurt. Just because I write these theories… it doesn’t mean I am done thinking about them or they are THE answer. I am just opening up new way to engage with these games. They are well made games that are worth thinking about. That is why I think about them so much.

Slight correction: the Other Fran in Chapter 5 is not a Past Fran, it's a Fran from a universe where she was never given Mr. Midnight and thus never had the motivation to escape the asylum. Kinda puts a hole in the Fran Was Raised In The Asylum theory, but other than that the video was wonderful!

I think one thing that history shows surrounding this topic is that it's a lot easier to break the human mind than it is to fix it. From the perspective of mental health research, pretty much all treatment methods of the past are seen as ineffective, unethical, and even barbaric compared to modern standards. Yet even in terms of modern standards, many people fail to find help with mental illness. It's crazy that over such a long period of time, we still have so many questions about the human mind. This game really brings that feeling to the surface for me, because the whole time you're left wondering what's really going on. Did Fran murder her parents as a result of duotine experimentation, or did all of her hallucinations begin after the murder, as a sort of subconscious defence mechanism to escape from the reality of what she did? This is obviously an extreme example, but our subconscious is unbelievably powerful in its ability to change our perception of reality, so it doesn't surprise me that we know so little about it. How are we supposed to know what's real? Great analysis as usual, and it's cool that you included all your sources in the description!

I personally always belived that it was aunt grace and oswald who killed fran's parents for interfering with oswald's plans- it makes more sense to me and helps reframe fran from "oooh creepy crazy girl" to a girl who was exploited and framed by those with power over her as dangerous. See how when she lashes against Aunt Grace in chapter 5, how oswald immidetiatly decides to use lethal force against her. Its because of how Oswald and Grace have dehumanised her, now seeing her as just a dangerous crazy girl so they can justify all the violence they inflict on her

i watched fran bow when i was like 8, played it for myself at 12, replayed it twice a few months ago at 15. Fran Bow honestly has always been the kind of comfort game i have always needed, to be able to believe in these wonderful magical worlds and creatures, just for a bit, is so so tun and distracting from the real world.

LORD - This game really hits me hard :( I cried so many times while playing through it and at the end it was just so bittersweet :( Her connection with her cat is also something I deeply relate with, since I grew up with a cat of my own that only just recently died.

I feel like part of the game and it's story touches on misdiagnosis and how that affects someone who is being treated. The medication is clearly the wring one and at the time where the game takes place there was extreme explanations for mental illnesses and so extreme measures were taken. Fran has been giveing multiple differnt medications (if I remeber correctly) at this age but she is very young, and thar also impacts how a child grows up, she was expected to be obident, and 'insane' so, that's what her reality turned into. Her story is sad because she was never in control truely, her options allways lead her to the same end, atleast when she gets there, she finds her own happiness away from the judgement and dictation of the adults who failed her and pushed her into the position she was in during the game

I think that what Fran bow went through was real, but that the drug Works in phases and the first phase is linking you with your subconscious, followed by the differing realities. That's why in the beginning there's a clearer definition between reality and Fran's mind, and it's mostly horror content.

I was young when Fran Bow came out and to say that it stuck with me would be an understatement. It's been a sort of comfort game for me, if that makes sense to anyone. And despite the coverage it's had from big YouTubers, I don't think enough people really talk about it and its themes.

a little off topic but regarding the Where aspect of Fran Bow; starting off, I think there's more merit to the game possibly taking place in Sweden than the fact that the developers are from here. Our history with mental health and "asylums" especially is horrific not to mention our parts in the history of the scientific community (eugenics and such). But even more importantly I think getting hung up on where the game takes place misses the point of it. Because all of these countries have a long history of abusing mentally ill/neurodivergent/disabled people, which is why I think at least the studio were so vauge about location. Their other game explicitly takes place in Sweden so if they wanted to define where this all happens they would. But I think the crituiqe extending past borders and into the modern(ish) research practices of European science is an important aspect of the game. They're not making it to take a look at any specific country, but a specific medical practice that a lot of countries have adopted.

I like to believe that it's all real. The game itself is the metaphor, but not her actual journey. No 10 year old could imagine all that, and also she knew about Dr. Deern's past. I also choose to believe that Remor killed Fran's parents and was just gaslighting Fran. The way her parent's were cut cleanly with that little knife by a 10 year old girl, who somehow had no idea she did it while they also didn't expect it seems impossible. Their bodies were lying on the floor (out of their bed) meaning they would have had to struggle with her or see her coming in with the knife. But reports on the murder said there was no signs of struggle, which i interpret as Remor coming in, using his powers to lift them out of bed and slicing them both at once into pieces. It's the only way it could have happened. Even if they creators were to say "fran killed her parents and the rest is in her head," I would still believe the opposite because it makes me feel better. This is a great game.

I believe her hallucinations were real, the way the doctor reacts to her telling him his story is odd…. I mean he agrees to it and it would be highly weird that he would ever speak of his tale during his work. So it’s odd for her to nail the hammer on the head.

For the timeline, I’m not sure if this is relavent but near the end of the hospital sequence, if you click on the mop Fran says « a mop that will dance on the floor » which could be a reference to Disney’s fantasia. It could be an in-universe reference (meaning fantasia was out and Fran has watched it) or just a fun thing the game devs put in.

My personal idea was some aspects actually happened, however some didn't. [Spoiler for Little Misfortune as well, as it's a part of the same universe, be warned.] Thanks to the fact Little Misfortune and Fran Bow are part of the same universes, and Little Misfortune confirms the five realities' existence, the idea I have is the only way to access / see the 5 realities are Death [as seen in Little Misfortune] and Tainted Duotine [as seen in Fran Bow, the duotine she has is full of something i don't remember the name of, but it starts with ecto.], which allows you either permanent or temporary access / sight to the ultrareality and the other 4 realities [Pandora, which has earth and stuff, would be the 5th reality.] However, I'm pretty sure the murders in the opening cutscene didn't happen, but rather something tainted by fran's mind after seeing her parent's corpses, as the skeletons in the coffins weren't apart, and I doubt they'd put the time and effort to stitch two grown skeletons back together after multiple limbs were severed. However, the idea Fran killed her parents would make sense if this was the case. A young girl couldn't sever limbs of grown adults, but could definitely deliver a fatal stabbing.

I always tought it was set in Germany because of Fran's last names, the twins experiments and, ofc, the year.

I remember when this game out and I have been a fan ever since. Natalia (the artist/animator of Fran Bow) said this game is almost biographical for her, so it really is a personal one... I love killmonday Games, I have some pins and a Killmonday Games Shirt from when they had an etsy, as well as a makeshift palontras plushie :) My favorite is the Vegetative State chapter with the season clock, but I like the Asylum and Forest areas as well.