"Boom: Butterfly Effect." - Plot and ending details follow.

“	You hold onto your horses. I don't take kindly to you kids coming up here to my mountain.	”
	— Jack

Jack Fiddler,^[1] known in-game as The Stranger or Flamethrower Guy, was a hermit who lived on Blackwood Mountain, hunting and trapping the Wendigos that inhabited it. He was voiced and motion captured by writer, director, and actor Larry Fessenden.

Appearance

Jack has neck-length graying hair and a scar over his right eye, likely acquired from a Wendigo encounter. He is missing several teeth on the left side of his mouth. Despite being middle-aged, he's physically fit enough to carry a full flamethrower at a jogging speed with little effort.

He wears thick clothes to insulate himself from the elements, and when wielding his flamethrower, he dons a bandana and welding goggles as protection against the instrument's heat. His outfit consists of khaki-colored jeans, a dark sweater, a green, hooded utility jacket with fur trim, heavy boots, a knit cap, and thick gloves. Across his chest, he wears a small Native American artifact that resembles a dreamcatcher.

Personality

Hunting the Wendigos inhabiting Blackwood Mountain has become an all-consuming obsession for Jack: he is adept at tracking, trapping, and killing the creatures, a pursuit he devoted his life to at great personal cost. He is also savvy in hand-to-hand combat and wielding weapons, as he is able to disarm Chris or Mike with ease. He keeps track of visitors to the mountain, but prefers isolation and only makes contact with people when they enter the Wendigos' preferred hunting areas, such as the mines. As evidenced by his journal, his years-long experience of hunting Wendigos made him very knowledgeable about them, as he documents their characteristics, origin, transformation process, and weaknesses.

Despite his intimidating outward appearance, he is not a malevolent character. In fact, he goes to great lengths to help and protect those endangered by the Wendigos. When the Makkapitew chased Hannah and Beth off the cliff, he killed it in an act of revenge, mourning that he was unable to save them.^[2] His protectiveness is further shown when he defends Emily in the mines, and - along with Chris - attempts to retrieve Josh from the shed. He also informs the group about the Wendigos and advises them on how to survive, despite him and the Washingtons having a conflict.^[3]

Until Dawn

Biography

Jack Fiddler, AKA The Stranger, lives as a hermit on Blackwood Mountain, spending his life hunting and trapping the Wendigos that inhabit it, continuing the work of his grandfather, who was unable to capture the fiercest of the Wendigos and died while attempting to trap it. He had warned the Washingtons against pursuing their construction projects on the mountain as it was sacred to his forefathers.

Involvement

Chapter Appearances
Prologue:	Debut
Chapter 1:	Cameo
Chapter 2:	Cameo
Chapter 3:	Mentioned
Chapter 4:	Cameo
Chapter 5:	Cameo
Chapter 6:	Absent
Chapter 7:	Appears
Chapter 8:	Appears
Chapter 9:	Absent
Chapter 10:	Cameo
Credits:	Determinant

One Year Ago

On the night of Hannah and Beth's disappearance, the Stranger had finally tracked down the Wendigo that killed his grandfather. After noticing the girls, he realized they were being chased by it, and tried to save them. Unfortunately, he was too late as they fell off of a cliff while trying to escape the Wendigo. Stricken with grief and anger, the Stranger killed the monster, avenging the girls and his grandfather at the cost of releasing its spirit.^[2]

Chapter 1

Before the chapter opens, Sam will be seen listening to a news report about the disappearance of Hannah and Beth. The Stranger watches Sam from a distance as she gets off the bus. Based on the human-like vision and breathing that make up the alternate camera angles along the path to the Washington Lodge and outside of the house itself, he is likely watching from the woods as the main characters arrive. If Chris looks at the security cameras near the cable car, he will see the Stranger for a brief moment in the second shot. At the end of the chapter, he can be seen riding up to Blackwood Pines in the cable car.

Chapter 2

The Stranger follows Jessica and Mike up to the cabin. He can be seen behind Mike after he starts up the generator and when he jumps into the mines after Jessica. In the original game, he is also seen watching Matt and Emily as they search for Emily's bag.

Chapter 3

The Stranger is mentioned on the back of a Native American Letter by Melinda Washington, who recalls seeing a "crazy guy" hanging around the generator shed.

Chapter 4

After Mike chases after Jessica's attacker in the mines, he sees the Stranger walking out of the mines and toward the Sanatorium. Mike attempts to shoot him, thinking that he had killed Jessica, but his gun will jam, regardless of previous usage of the gun.

Chapter 5

Mike follows the Stranger to the Sanatorium and watches him head inside. Mike continues to follow him and sees him inside the locked Chapel. After Mike finds a key card to the Chapel, he watches him disappear through a gated door and follows him yet again.

Chapter 7

As Emily makes her way through the mines, the sounds of the Stranger's flamethrower and a Wendigo screeching can repeatedly be heard. After she finds her way to the top of the caverns, she notices him standing around the corner. She attempts to run away from him but hits a dead end, where the Stranger confronts her.

Chapter 8

The Stranger hands Emily a pack of flares and tells her to get out of the mines as a Wendigo closes in on him. Soon afterward, he manages to escape the mines and head to the lodge. After entering through the front door and disarming either Chris or Mike of a gun, he orders the remaining survivors to listen to what he has to say. He explains that the mountain is cursed, and anyone who succumbs to cannibalism will unleash the spirit of the Wendigo and transform into one. He tells them to find somewhere safe to wait until dawn, to which Sam suggests the basement. This prompts Mike to remember that he left Josh tied up in the shed. The Stranger tells them that Josh will already be dead, but Chris insists on going after him. The Stranger tells Chris that going alone outside is suicide and offers to come with him.

The Stranger and Chris walk to the shed and find that Josh has already been taken away by the Wendigo. As the Stranger warns Chris to get back to the lodge immediately, he discovers that a Wendigo has tracked them. At first, the Stranger tells Chris to stand still. Regardless of whether Chris moves or not, the Wendigo notices both of them. The Stranger tries to burn the Wendigo but it dodges the attack. Knowing they are out in the open, the Stranger frantically tells Chris they must get out of here. Before the Stranger can act, the Wendigo decapitates him.

Back in the safe room, the survivors look through the Stranger's belongings. Among them is a map of Blackwood Pines and a journal detailing his experiences with the Wendigo. The journal tells the survivors that the Wendigo can only see people when they move, the only sure way to kill them is with fire, they can imitate people's voices, their bites are not infectious (noting he had been bitten by a Wendigo and he never transformed), and that whenever possible, they should be captured, not killed.

Chapter 10

Sam and Mike find the Stranger's body hanging from the cavern ceiling inside the Wendigo's lair on their way to find Josh. It is seen again when Josh and Mike walk back through the lair towards the lake.

Credits

• If Chris survived until dawn, he will talk about the Stranger, stating that he saved his life and Chris watched him die.
• If Josh survived until dawn, he will be seen still trapped in the mines and he will either be eating the Stranger's decapitated head for survival purposes or holding out hope for rescue as the Stranger's body is seen hanging (the latter only possible in the remake).

Death

Shortly after leaving the shed with Chris, they are attacked by a Wendigo. In an attempt to defend himself and Chris, the Stranger then fires his flamethrower, which the Wendigo dodges. It then lunges toward him swiftly, decapitating him, and killing him instantly.

Killed Victims

• Makkapitew
• Five other Wendigos^[4]

Trivia

• In real life, Jack Fiddler was a Cree shaman and chief, known for killing those believed to be possessed by the cannibalistic spirit of the Wendigo in Indigenous folklore. In 1907, he and his brother were arrested by Canadian authorities for murder. Jack escaped custody and took his own life, while his brother was sentenced to prison and later died. His story highlights the clash between Indigenous traditions and colonial law.^[5] It is likely the developers refrained from using the character's actual name in-game due to relatives of the real-life Fiddler.
• When Sam walks up to Chris' backpack in Chapter 1, Jack can be seen briefly in the background (without his goggles and mask) and then walking away. This is quite noticeable in the demo, but in the game's final version, it's much harder to see due to the blurring.
• Jack says that the Wendigo immobilizes its prey and eats its organs while it is alive, yet this style of death is not seen in the game when it attacks the protagonists.
  • This is possibly indicated by the dark wolf's death, as it was strung up on a gate and eviscerated.
• He had used the machete that Mike finds.
• He regularly smoked cigars, as indicated by the clues Cigar Stub (Mike), Cigar Stub (Matt), and the Cigar Box.
• Larry Fessenden, Jack's actor, was also one of the game's screenwriters.
  • Wendigos have also been featured in other titles that Fessenden wrote and/or directed before Until Dawn, including the 2001 film Wendigo and the episode "Skin and Bones" of the 2008 TV series Fear Itself.
• Jack has unused dialogue where he presents more Wendigo lore and details to the group in the lodge and then to Chris on the way to the shed.
• Jack, along with Beth and Hannah, is one of the few characters who will die regardless of the player's choices.
• Jack appeared in the PlayStation 3 iteration of the game as well, where he was also portrayed by Larry Fessenden.
  • In this previous version of the game, he was bald and did not have a scar on his left eye, he also did not wear a hat or glasses. He also seemed to have a simpler outfit.
    • In the PS4 alpha version of the game, he also didn't wear a hat and glasses, as seen in the Gamescom 2014 Announcement Trailer.
• By using Unreal Engine 5 Unlocker on the PC version of the remake, the player can access a level where they can walk around the mountain as the Stranger, along with a buggy character menu screen for him. Walking towards the cliff will trigger a cutscene of Jack being confronted by the Makkapitew and him killing it with fire. This moment is seen in The Events of the Past video as well, and it takes place during the Prologue, right after Hannah and Beth fell off the cliff.^[6]

Quotes

• "Use these! And get the hell out of here...now!" - the Stranger saving Emily.
• "Ok. Everybody just calm down. Now just move over there. Go on, move! Let me say what I came to say. I'm here to tell you what you're up against being back on this mountain. You should never have returned. I don't know why you did after what happened last year." - the Stranger warning the group.
• "Well this mountain don't belong to me, it's true. But it don't belong to the Washingtons. This mountain belongs to the Wendigo."
• "There is a curse. That dwells in these mountains. Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods the spirit of the Wendigo shall be unleashed."
• "Ha! First, the Wendigo, he'll render you immobile. And then he strips the skin off of your entire body, piece by piece. And then he keeps you alive and aware and feasts on your organs, one piece at a time."
• "RUN! GO! NOW! NOW! BACK! BACK! We're right out in the open, we gotta GET OUT OF HERE!" - the Stranger's last words.
• "I couldn't save your friends. But I could avenge them. I hunted the Wendigo down and I doused it with fire. The Makkapitew was dead." - in The Events of the Past.

Gallery

References

Characters
Protagonists
Sam	Mike	Josh	Ashley	Chris	Emily	Matt	Jessica
Supporting Characters
Hannah	Beth	The Psycho	Wendigos	Dr. Hill	The Stranger	Wolfie	Minor Characters