Author Avatar: Similarly to the first game's DLC segments, this chapter establishes that the Player Character version of Alan Wake is a portion of himself — described by Mr. Door as a form of Astral Projection — that the Alan in the Writer's Room wrote into existence as a method of reaching out, hoping to create a way out of the Dark Place in the form of a cohesive narrative.
The Big Board: The chapter establishes Alan's equivalent of The Mind Place — the Writer's Room — where he uses a blackboard with collected facts ideas that he uses to alter the world and make progress.
Call-Back: While interrogating Wake, Saga brings up his encounters with Agent Nightingale in the first game.
The Cameo: Ahti the Janitor makes his first official appearance here in the Dark Place, in the studio's janitor closet. He implies that he and Alan have met before, calling him "Tom" like Odin and Tor, and he gives him directions on where he's going.
Flashback B-Plot: The chapter frames the segments where you play as Alan as this, Alan staring at the janitor's closet with sudden recollection. The camera pans and dives into a dark puddle where we start experiencing what Alan went through in the Dark Place since last we saw him.
Leaning on the Fourth Wall: A lot of Mr. Door's dialogue during his "interview" not only explains to the audience how the Alan segments of the game work, but a lot of how he describes Alan's new "book" (the meta-aspects and the wait time) sounds like he's talking about the game itself.
In the studio, Alan comes across a large neon sign labeled "665: Neighbor of the Beast" that Alan uses to open a locked door, a Numerological Motif used in every Remedy game.
In one of the dressing rooms, Alan finds a copy of My Interpretation of Many Worlds by Dr. Casper Darling, his face on the cover. To the upper-right of it, there's even a carton of Black Pyramid-brand cigarettes.
Recursive Reality: Playing into the Surreal Horror inherent to the Dark Place, we find Alan Wake watching himself on the TV as a guest-host on In Between with Mr. Door, only for him to realize that he actually is there in the studio about to be interviewed, the Old Gods of Asgard (now young) acting as the house's band and musical guests. After he's killed by a manifestation of the Dark Presence, he wakes up in the Writer's Room where he writes the interview segment over again, establishing how the Dark Place works and how Alan plans on escaping it. To confuse things even further, the chapter ends with the Alan in the Writer's room running himself ragged trying to figure out what to write next, while the character version of Alan is passively watching it happen on a TV.
Reestablishing Character Moment: Much like when we first meet Ahti in Control, Alan finds him alone in an ominous building, reassuring him that he is capable of facing the horrors waiting for him and tells him where to start (the Angel Lamp) and even gives him the janitor's key, all the while being his usual cryptic self. He even implies that he is the reason why the player can swap between Alan and Saga via the puddle in the janitor's closet, further showcasing that he's helping in both player campaigns.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Initially Alan doesn't notice anything unusual about Door's "interview" beyond mild confusion, as if he led a normal life as a celebrity and made a series of interviews on a talkshow he can't remember clearly.
Playing into the Surreal Horror inherent to the Dark Place, we find Alan Wake watching himself on the TV as a guest-host on In Between with Mr. Door, only for him to realize that he actually is there in the studio about to be interviewed, the Old Gods of Asgard (now young) acting as the house's band and musical guests.
Playing into the Surreal Horror inherent to the Dark Place, we find Alan Wake watching himself on the TV as a guest-host on In Between with Mr. Door, only for him to realize that he actually is there in the studio about to be interviewed, the Old Gods of Asgard (now young) acting as the house's band and musical guests.
