The memory of Alice that Zane sends to Alan after her appearance in The Writer.
During Chapter 3, after the incident at the police station, while you're on your way to the coal mine, the next radio you encounter has Pat Maine chew out Agent Nightingale, and address Alan directly, apologizing for possibly getting Alan into trouble. He goes on to say he believes Alan isn't the bad guy in all this mess, and wishes him luck. "Godspeed", indeed. After all this mess, it's nice to know there's someone other than Barry who's on your side, even if he doesn't know what Alan is really dealing with.
Barry showing quite a bit of legitimate concern for Alan's well-being as he heads out in the dark with the Clicker in hand, ready to strike directly at the Dark Presence, giving him a good ol' manhug and even tearing up a little. It definitely goes a long way to show him and Alan being truly close friends. Even before then, in the Anderson brothers' house, while he and Alan are having an "unwinding night" together off the brothers' moonshine, he heartily says that despite their arguments, he wants to stick with Alan "like a brother", and when Alan winds up sagging and telling Barry that he misses Alice and wishes she was there, Barry walks over to him to pet him and just-as-heartily tell him that it's going to be okay.
After being separated from Barry and Sheriff Breaker on the way to the Well-Lit Room in Episode 5, Alan gets a call from Barry, only to hear their helicopter being attacked by flocks of Ravens. When Alan says they need to go help them, Cynthia Weaver pragmatically insists that they leave the other two behind so they can reach the Well-Lit Room where they’ll be completely safe from the Dark Presence, as Alan is far too important to risk losing, even calling Alan selfish for wanting to risk everything on the off-chance Barry and Sheriff Breaker survived. Alan rounds on her furiously, shouting “[Barry’s] my best friend!”, before leaving the safety of the lighted tunnel they were traveling through to go after his friends. The best part? Alan doesn’t even have to think before making his decision. He is NOT going to abandon his best friend, even if he does trying or if it means delaying Alice’s rescue. Alan may bicker with Barry a lot, but clearly the man means the world to him, just like Alice.
Alice and Alan finally reuniting at the end of American Nightmare. It might not be real,note which Control confirms, as lampshaded by the Narrator, but it's still a case of Earn Your Happy Ending for a series that desperately needed it.
Alice and Barry working together to preserve Alan's memory while he's trapped in the Dark Place. They don't get along, but they set aside their personal feelings to ensure Alan and his works won't be forgotten by the world at large.
Alan's behavior overall in American Nightmare. In the original game he came off as a bit of a stuck-up Jerkass, but his time in the Dark Place has mellowed and humbled him. He goes out of his way to help the people he encounters and ensures their experiences, which for Emma includes being murdered several times in the various iterations, aren't as traumatic as they were for him.
