I was originally going with Timothy because he sounds like the ideal candidate to me, plus he has some pretty legitimate qualifications for the job (fate unknown after the events of the Pre-sequel, must hide identity at all cost, recognizable even by non-Borderlands players since, y'know, Handsome Jack is kinda a thing for the plot)...
... but that would be extraordinary if Telltale managed to pull that one.
Since Borderlands 3 is in the making, I was thinking he would be a new character/vault hunter.
I mean, he clearly is a badass, whoever this stranger is.
Wait, wasn't there a moment in ep. 2 where a pair of hands with oddly bulky and stranger-reminiscent armor sleeves picked up the Fiona & Sasha childhood photo? And weren't those hands ring-adorned, and wearing nail-polish?
Tho don't quote me on this I might have been slightly... inebriated.
My favorite crazy theory is that he is the Traveler from the Vault of the Traveler. Either he's released unknowingly when Rhys and Fiona eventually get there, or he got lost/separated from/has been looking for the Vault this entire time and finds out that these two get there first. So he's interrogating them to find out exactly what happened to lead them there, etc, etc. It'd explain why he's interested in the Gortys Project, which I just assume is tracking this Vault in particular.
It's kind of a long stretch, especially since every Vault we know of so far has had some lovely monster in it, but the Sentinel from the Pre-Sequel was rather humanoid in shape. Either way, I'm pretty sure it's no one we know as of yet.
Wait, wasn't there a moment in ep. 2 where a pair of hands with oddly bulky and stranger-reminiscent armor sleeves picked up the Fiona &… more Sasha childhood photo? And weren't those hands ring-adorned, and wearing nail-polish?
Tho don't quote me on this I might have been slightly... inebriated.
Ah, yep, that makes sense. Though in that case, I doubt she is the Stranger. It's probably someone we knew or saw before, just for the reveal factor. But who knows.
Not me, mind you, cause there's only two episodes out so far...
Nah, that's Vallory as seen in the ep 3 title card:
She's August's boss and is very likely the woman in the photo with Felix that we … morefound in his safe house.
She could still technically be The Stranger, though - after a quick costume change, of course.
Ah, yep, that makes sense. Though in that case, I doubt she is the Stranger. It's probably someone we knew or saw before, just for the reveal factor. But who knows.
Not me, mind you, cause there's only two episodes out so far...
I've been utterly convinced that it's about 12 different people (and seem to change my mind on a whim), but Lilith's always been one of my t… moreop contenders. It's not the first time she's pretended to be someone else/concealed her identity... And coupled with the genderless pronouns, relative niceness and quirky personality etc. she definitely fits.
I actually want that to turn into a pop culture reference from that cafe fight from Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, like, Hyperion personnel rip off jackets to reveal their Hyperion sweaters, Raiders rip off their jackets to reveal THEIR Raider sweaters, and an epic fight begins while Roland and Jack quietly beat each other up in the bar counter.
I don't think it would be a bandit, I don't think the bandits would know about the " Gortys project" I mean sure they would be interested in a vault anyone would but I don't think they would know the name of the project itself.
so I am guessing it a vault hunter possibly working Zer0, or someone who Rhys and Fiona piss off, some one the player makes angry someone who we met in the next upcoming episodes. I hope it isn't Vasquez or August trying to mess around with in the future, if it was it would kind obvious.
So, I posted a thread a few months back explaining how I thought he was Timothy, and while I'm proud of that theory, I don't think it's right anymore. Someone ended up posting a comment somewhere (I forgot where, sorry) suggesting that the stranger was actually Vaughn, and despite how absurd that seems, there's a lot of evidence behind it.
There just seem to be lots of little things that point toward it. Vaughn's design has a few little similarities to that of the stranger (an arm band and a yellow strip on the shoulder, for example) and in Episode 1, we saw a visual transition from past to present where Vaughn was pacing back and forth, and then the scene changes with the stranger pacing back and forth in the exact same way.
Really though, I'm agreeing more with the theory after Episode 2. We see a lot of developments with Vaughn; in addition to the fact that he's "surprisingly ripped", his comment "I've never felt so alive!" when talking about all the things on Pandora that can kill him suggests a change in attitude and general character development that would make such a change be possible further down the road. Remember, we still don't know how much time has passed between now and the stranger's appearance.
There's also the comment the stranger makes in the scene where the loader bot rescues Fiona and Sasha from Athena, saying "Loader bots can't do that" and the fact that he uses a Hyperion Shotgun, suggesting a knowledge of Hyperion products and even affiliation with the company. Also, the stranger seems to have a similar height to Vaughn, as well as a similar posture, with him being slightly hunched forward.
The last big thing that narrows my list is that, if the stranger is a character we've met before, it has to be one who has appeared in a significant role in Tales from the Borderlands, and not simply in a previous Borderlands game. This is simply required from a storytelling perspective. Telltale love their cliffhangers, and a big reveal like that would be too good for them to pass up; however, there are many people playing Tales who haven't played previous Borderlands games, and as such, they would be completely lost if it were a character they had never met before, as would Rhys and Fiona.
At any rate, that's just what I'm currently thinking. I'm likely wrong, but hey, it's a possibility. We don't really know the status of any characters at this point save for Fiona and Rhys, so anything could happen.
I thought it was Vaughn for a while after I noticed the things you've mentioned, but after episode 2 I've begun to think that it's Lilith. Because firstly the Conference Call is not the type of weapon just anyone could obtain, as someone pointed out already it can only be gained by defeating the Warrior, so the stranger pretty much has to be a vault hunter (or at least be as badass as one). Second, the stranger in general just has that kind of moody/badass tone about them and the way that they speak which I think could also sound like Lilith, for example the line "I'm not a patient person" sounds like something post-BL2 Lilith might say. Also the fact that they are interested in the Gortys Project could be another indicator that they are a vault hunter, and it seems like something that the Lilith in the post-BL2 scenes of TPS could be interested in also. And third, if you watch the opening to the second episode closely (the part after Marcus' recap), you can see that there is nobody standing by the edge of the shattered Oasis sign, but when the camera draws closer to Rhys and Fiona and then pans over a little that same spot is revealed to be where the stranger is standing, as if they've just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Could this be Lilith appearing from Phase-walk? I think it's a possibility...
So, I posted a thread a few months back explaining how I thought he was Timothy, and while I'm proud of that theory, I don't think it's righ… moret anymore. Someone ended up posting a comment somewhere (I forgot where, sorry) suggesting that the stranger was actually Vaughn, and despite how absurd that seems, there's a lot of evidence behind it.
There just seem to be lots of little things that point toward it. Vaughn's design has a few little similarities to that of the stranger (an arm band and a yellow strip on the shoulder, for example) and in Episode 1, we saw a visual transition from past to present where Vaughn was pacing back and forth, and then the scene changes with the stranger pacing back and forth in the exact same way.
Really though, I'm agreeing more with the theory after Episode 2. We see a lot of developments with Vaughn; in addition to the fact that he's "surprisingly ripped", his comment "I've never felt so alive!" when talk… [view original content]
You all will think I'm crazy...but I think it's Athena,why? Because she hates Atlas and probably wants anything that has any sort of relationship with Atlas destroyed, including the Gortys project.
The biggest problem with Lilith is the way the Stranger carries themselves. The Stranger obviously has a hump, and Lilith not only walks straight-backed, but even carries herself a little higher. She would not have too easy a time getting in that outfit. And even if she did, from a storytelling perspective, she'd be a terrible reveal. Imagine- this is the first thing you've seen of Borderlands (which is what the writers have said was meant to be a possibility) and the stranger reveals their face to be... some random tattooed chick. I think Vaughn would be a fantastic reveal (for obvious reasons), and- though I'm slightly debating it now- Timothy would be great. The stranger takes off his mask to reveal Handsome Jack? That's a plot twist if anyone's ever seen one! As for Lilith's equipment, remember Vaughn has access to the money in Hyperion. It wouldn't be hard to get a conference call if he wanted one. Especially if Rhys managed to get power back from Vasquez before he's kidnapped.
I thought it was Vaughn for a while after I noticed the things you've mentioned, but after episode 2 I've begun to think that it's Lilith. B… moreecause firstly the Conference Call is not the type of weapon just anyone could obtain, as someone pointed out already it can only be gained by defeating the Warrior, so the stranger pretty much has to be a vault hunter (or at least be as badass as one). Second, the stranger in general just has that kind of moody/badass tone about them and the way that they speak which I think could also sound like Lilith, for example the line "I'm not a patient person" sounds like something post-BL2 Lilith might say. Also the fact that they are interested in the Gortys Project could be another indicator that they are a vault hunter, and it seems like something that the Lilith in the post-BL2 scenes of TPS could be interested in also. And third, if you watch the opening to the second episode closely (the part after Marcus'… [view original content]
The biggest problem with Lilith is the way the Stranger carries themselves. The Stranger obviously has a hump, and Lilith not only walks str… moreaight-backed, but even carries herself a little higher. She would not have too easy a time getting in that outfit. And even if she did, from a storytelling perspective, she'd be a terrible reveal. Imagine- this is the first thing you've seen of Borderlands (which is what the writers have said was meant to be a possibility) and the stranger reveals their face to be... some random tattooed chick. I think Vaughn would be a fantastic reveal (for obvious reasons), and- though I'm slightly debating it now- Timothy would be great. The stranger takes off his mask to reveal Handsome Jack? That's a plot twist if anyone's ever seen one! As for Lilith's equipment, remember Vaughn has access to the money in Hyperion. It wouldn't be hard to get a conference call if he wanted one. Especially if Rhys managed to get power back from Vasquez before he's kidnapped.
I want to give this comment an infinite amount of thumbs ups, but the forum won't let me, so a simple comment about how akasharose has made the greatest comment ever will have to suffice. Thank you, good sir, for that beautiful combination of words.
As a filmmaker and screenwriter myself, I explain this from one word:
CONTINUITY.
Did you know Captain America's shield can teleport?
Did… more you know that Buffy is occasionally followed around by a small microphone at the top of the screen?
Did you know Spider Man has an infinite supply of bedroom lamps on his night table?
Did you know that Snow White's Dwarfs once opened a door, forgot they opened it, then opened it again to run through it?
Did you know, that the plane robbed in The Usual Suspects once lost two engines in the matter of ONE FRAME!?
Continuity mistakes are made in games, and films constantly. Watching that scene, it's not a phase-walk: it's a single detail missed or ignored by Telltale. Nothing more.
As a filmmaker and screenwriter myself, I explain this from one word:
CONTINUITY.
Did you know Captain America's shield can teleport?
Did you know that Buffy is occasionally followed around by a small microphone at the top of the screen?
Did you know Spider Man has an infinite supply of bedroom lamps on his night table?
Did you know that Snow White's Dwarfs once opened a door, forgot they opened it, then opened it again to run through it?
Did you know, that the plane robbed in The Usual Suspects once lost two engines in the matter of ONE FRAME!?
Continuity mistakes are made in games, and films constantly. Watching that scene, it's not a phase-walk: it's a single detail missed or ignored by Telltale. Nothing more.
Motivationally, I think Athena makes sense- but I think Athena's already a major part of what's happening. Obviously, her red eyes are going to be majorly coming into play- though I don't know how. That whole plot gives me the feeling that Athena isn't the masked man- though maybe the Stranger isn't actually trying to learn about the Gortys project- what if the Stranger is trying to learn about Athena's connection to the project? This is off in the middle of nowhere, I know- but there is never a theory too insane- only ones that are slightly less sensical.
You all will think I'm crazy...but I think it's Athena,why? Because she hates Atlas and probably wants anything that has any sort of relationship with Atlas destroyed, including the Gortys project.
I want to give this comment an infinite amount of thumbs ups, but the forum won't let me, so a simple comment about how akasharose has made the greatest comment ever will have to suffice. Thank you, good sir, for that beautiful combination of words.
Hm... TT had quite a lot of time to work on this episode, I don't know if they'd make such a big mistake like that, and I can't recall any glaring mistakes like it in the first episode - but then I'm not an expert :P Also, having thought about it I'm starting to remember why I dismissed the idea that the stranger is Vaughn - why would Vaughn ask Rhys and later Fiona to recount events that he witnessed himself (with the only exception being when Rhys is in Vasquez's office and the beginning of Fiona's side of the story)? It doesn't make sense, as he would already know pretty much everything they are telling him.
As to the idea of it being Timothy though, I love this idea and really hope it is him as he was one of my favourite characters from TPS ^_^
As a filmmaker and screenwriter myself, I explain this from one word:
CONTINUITY.
Did you know Captain America's shield can teleport?
Did… more you know that Buffy is occasionally followed around by a small microphone at the top of the screen?
Did you know Spider Man has an infinite supply of bedroom lamps on his night table?
Did you know that Snow White's Dwarfs once opened a door, forgot they opened it, then opened it again to run through it?
Did you know, that the plane robbed in The Usual Suspects once lost two engines in the matter of ONE FRAME!?
Continuity mistakes are made in games, and films constantly. Watching that scene, it's not a phase-walk: it's a single detail missed or ignored by Telltale. Nothing more.
Personally I think we have to operate under one of two assumptions:
A: it's someone we haven't seen yet.
B: It's someone we've already seen.
If it's A, guessing is a waste of time, so let's assume B for the time being. If it's B, it is a character with a medium to large-ish build, so it can't be Brick, Salvador, Tina, Gaige, Claptrap or Krieg. Roland is pretty conclusively dead. Zer0 doesn't have 5 fingered hands. Mordecai is blind(and therefore unlikely to be able to navigate in that tin-can of a helmet). Jack is(at least as far as we know) still dead. Axton and Maya are possible but honestly thus far so lacking in characterization that I think if they were important they'd have been introduced by now like Zer0 was. Most of the Sanctuary townsfolk/quest npcs aren't strong enough or good enough with a gun to be the Stranger, aside from Marcus. Marcus is possible but so lazy and/or busy and/or greedy that he isn't likely to go to this much trouble, if he wanted something done he'd hire someone else to do it, not do it himself. It's on Pandora so it's not likely to be any of the Pre-sequel npcs. Wilhelm and Nisha are confirmed dead. Sasha isn't strong enough to lug around that outfit while also pulling off the stuff the Stranger does, to say nothing of gun proficiency(which also eliminates Vasquez). Felix is potentially very clearly dead depending upon your decisions.
The Stranger clearly has some kind of familiarity with Loader Bots' combat capabilities judging from the scene with Athena. This means it's likely either a Vault Hunter or a Hyperion employee. That narrows things down quite a bit. If we cut the list down to Hyperion employees and Vault Hunters whom we haven't eliminated, and cut Rhys and Fiona off the list for obvious reasons, that leaves a few possibilities remaining. Lilith, Athena, Vaugn, and Yvette(including her here only because thus far we know so little about her it's impossible to rule her out).
Whether Athena or Lilith can be safely ruled out or not depends heavily on whether this occurs before or after the events surrounding The Pre-Sequel. If it's beforehand, Lilith is unlikely to be involved as she's likely too preoccupied by revenge at the time. If it's afterward I feel that Lilith is more likely than Athena(simply due to the fact that Lilith seems to be the leader of the remaining vault hunters judging from The Pre-Sequel's narrative). Athena is quite possible, but if it's after TPS Athena has little reason to be hiding her identity. Prior to TPS however she is potentially hiding from Lilith & co. Either way however neither have much reason for wearing a disguise.
Based on this I personally think it's Vaugn. Lilith and Athena have no reason to believe(at the current time in Tales' narrative) that their identities would matter to Rhys and Fiona(neither of which are bounty hunters themselves or in a position to turn the tables on their captor). Vaugn is the only one I think that's likely to care how their identity colors Rhys and Fiona's reactions. His familiarity with using a gun seems out of character for a guy working what appears to be a desk job, though, especially someone as seemingly unfamiliar with fighting as Vaugn appears to be in Episodes 1 and 2.
I've been considering the Stranger being Mr. Blake today.
Claptrap wears the strangers head in the Pre-Sequel, tieing him to the stranger, Mr. Blake is first introduced in the Claptrap Robo-lution DLC in Borderlands, and has been recently heard speaking in the Clap-tastic DLC for the Pre-Sequel.
The Stranger doesn't seem too alarmed by the mention of Rhys having Handsome Jack's AI in his head. They don't question Rhys on if he's crazy or not either, possibly hinting further that someone knows that the Handsome AI was on Nakayama's id drive, that Rhys used it, and now they need Rhys' body to retrieve "something" that someone on Vasquez's level in the company isn't allowed to know about.
Blake is the previous Vice President of Hyperion, with Jack gone, he's most likely the President. (He's probably the reason everyone's wearing pinstripe suits.) He'd be the person that Vasquez is trying to hide the Gortys project from, and why he'd have to take on the role as the stranger to find information about the situation from Fiona and Rhys. He'd hide his face in order to seem like a common bandit and to make sure Rhys doesn't change his recollection of the last few days (I mean, you'd want to emit every little thing bad you were going to say about the company if you knew your boss was listening). This interestingly brings up the fact that The Stranger kidnaps Fiona first, but leaves her to get Rhys. Someone with an interest of how their company is involved with this Vault when they never sanctioned it would want to hear from someone that fit the piece and was working under them.
At this point, the stranger can be literally anyone when you look either too deep, or on the surface. I just can't wait for them to be revealed in the future and will be surprised by whomever is under that mask.
Personally I think it being Lilith makes no sense due to the disguise. Lilith has no reason to disguise herself. After BL2 the only person out to get her of any significant consequence(Jack) is dead, and she's always been shown as a very egocentric character who doesn't care what other people think of her. She also has no reason to believe that Rhys or Fiona even know who she is much less care who she is, and as a result her disguising herself just straight up makes no sense.
So, I posted a thread a few months back explaining how I thought he was Timothy, and while I'm proud of that theory, I don't think it's righ… moret anymore. Someone ended up posting a comment somewhere (I forgot where, sorry) suggesting that the stranger was actually Vaughn, and despite how absurd that seems, there's a lot of evidence behind it.
There just seem to be lots of little things that point toward it. Vaughn's design has a few little similarities to that of the stranger (an arm band and a yellow strip on the shoulder, for example) and in Episode 1, we saw a visual transition from past to present where Vaughn was pacing back and forth, and then the scene changes with the stranger pacing back and forth in the exact same way.
Really though, I'm agreeing more with the theory after Episode 2. We see a lot of developments with Vaughn; in addition to the fact that he's "surprisingly ripped", his comment "I've never felt so alive!" when talk… [view original content]
Personally I think it being Lilith makes no sense due to the disguise. Lilith has no reason to disguise herself. After BL2 the only person… more out to get her of any significant consequence(Jack) is dead, and she's always been shown as a very egocentric character who doesn't care what other people think of her. She also has no reason to believe that Rhys or Fiona even know who she is much less care who she is, and as a result her disguising herself just straight up makes no sense.
I've been considering the Stranger being Mr. Blake today.
Claptrap wears the strangers head in the Pre-Sequel, tieing him to the stranger… more, Mr. Blake is first introduced in the Claptrap Robo-lution DLC in Borderlands, and has been recently heard speaking in the Clap-tastic DLC for the Pre-Sequel.
The Stranger doesn't seem too alarmed by the mention of Rhys having Handsome Jack's AI in his head. They don't question Rhys on if he's crazy or not either, possibly hinting further that someone knows that the Handsome AI was on Nakayama's id drive, that Rhys used it, and now they need Rhys' body to retrieve "something" that someone on Vasquez's level in the company isn't allowed to know about.
Blake is the previous Vice President of Hyperion, with Jack gone, he's most likely the President. (He's probably the reason everyone's wearing pinstripe suits.) He'd be the person that Vasquez is trying to hide the Gortys project from, and why he'd hav… [view original content]
Even if they encounter her it still doesn't provide a situation in which her identity changes their situation. It doesn't make her any less capable of just showing up, beating them senseless and dragging them off, same as the current situation. She wouldn't need a disguise for that.
Comments
Nobody we know. I think the Stranger is just "The Stranger" and that is that. The early concept art on another thread led me to believe this.
It was the Skag we hit with the car during the intro. Dun dun dun!
A thought thats been sitting in my mind is that the choices we make over the course of the game determine whose in the suit at the end.
I was originally going with Timothy because he sounds like the ideal candidate to me, plus he has some pretty legitimate qualifications for the job (fate unknown after the events of the Pre-sequel, must hide identity at all cost, recognizable even by non-Borderlands players since, y'know, Handsome Jack is kinda a thing for the plot)...
... but that would be extraordinary if Telltale managed to pull that one.
Exactly, mainly since his face was shown for every other design. That implies that he was right off the bat intended to just be a new character.
At this point, it'd be a bigger plot twist if it wasn't someone we knew.
miwkshaiks
I love Jack saying that word
Since Borderlands 3 is in the making, I was thinking he would be a new character/vault hunter.
I mean, he clearly is a badass, whoever this stranger is.
What if Bossanova isn't actually dead and he's the stranger?
Wait, wasn't there a moment in ep. 2 where a pair of hands with oddly bulky and stranger-reminiscent armor sleeves picked up the Fiona & Sasha childhood photo? And weren't those hands ring-adorned, and wearing nail-polish?
Tho don't quote me on this I might have been slightly... inebriated.
My favorite crazy theory is that he is the Traveler from the Vault of the Traveler. Either he's released unknowingly when Rhys and Fiona eventually get there, or he got lost/separated from/has been looking for the Vault this entire time and finds out that these two get there first. So he's interrogating them to find out exactly what happened to lead them there, etc, etc. It'd explain why he's interested in the Gortys Project, which I just assume is tracking this Vault in particular.
It's kind of a long stretch, especially since every Vault we know of so far has had some lovely monster in it, but the Sentinel from the Pre-Sequel was rather humanoid in shape. Either way, I'm pretty sure it's no one we know as of yet.
Nah, that's Vallory as seen in the ep 3 title card:
She's August's boss and is very likely the woman in the photo with Felix that we found in his safe house.
She could still technically be The Stranger, though - after a quick costume change, of course.
Ah, yep, that makes sense. Though in that case, I doubt she is the Stranger. It's probably someone we knew or saw before, just for the reveal factor. But who knows.
Not me, mind you, cause there's only two episodes out so far...
Yeah, I personally don't see it being her, but at this stage it could be literally anyone so I wanted to add a disclaimer.
Hopefully we get more clues in Ep 3!
Timothy, Pollux, or Axton. Or Lilith.
I actually want that to turn into a pop culture reference from that cafe fight from Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, like, Hyperion personnel rip off jackets to reveal their Hyperion sweaters, Raiders rip off their jackets to reveal THEIR Raider sweaters, and an epic fight begins while Roland and Jack quietly beat each other up in the bar counter.
I don't think it would be a bandit, I don't think the bandits would know about the " Gortys project" I mean sure they would be interested in a vault anyone would but I don't think they would know the name of the project itself.
so I am guessing it a vault hunter possibly working Zer0, or someone who Rhys and Fiona piss off, some one the player makes angry someone who we met in the next upcoming episodes. I hope it isn't Vasquez or August trying to mess around with in the future, if it was it would kind obvious.
I wonder how we will find out who that guy is?
it was a really ugly person actually
news flash he got squished by 3-5 ton peace of metal
So, I posted a thread a few months back explaining how I thought he was Timothy, and while I'm proud of that theory, I don't think it's right anymore. Someone ended up posting a comment somewhere (I forgot where, sorry) suggesting that the stranger was actually Vaughn, and despite how absurd that seems, there's a lot of evidence behind it.
There just seem to be lots of little things that point toward it. Vaughn's design has a few little similarities to that of the stranger (an arm band and a yellow strip on the shoulder, for example) and in Episode 1, we saw a visual transition from past to present where Vaughn was pacing back and forth, and then the scene changes with the stranger pacing back and forth in the exact same way.
Really though, I'm agreeing more with the theory after Episode 2. We see a lot of developments with Vaughn; in addition to the fact that he's "surprisingly ripped", his comment "I've never felt so alive!" when talking about all the things on Pandora that can kill him suggests a change in attitude and general character development that would make such a change be possible further down the road. Remember, we still don't know how much time has passed between now and the stranger's appearance.
There's also the comment the stranger makes in the scene where the loader bot rescues Fiona and Sasha from Athena, saying "Loader bots can't do that" and the fact that he uses a Hyperion Shotgun, suggesting a knowledge of Hyperion products and even affiliation with the company. Also, the stranger seems to have a similar height to Vaughn, as well as a similar posture, with him being slightly hunched forward.
The last big thing that narrows my list is that, if the stranger is a character we've met before, it has to be one who has appeared in a significant role in Tales from the Borderlands, and not simply in a previous Borderlands game. This is simply required from a storytelling perspective. Telltale love their cliffhangers, and a big reveal like that would be too good for them to pass up; however, there are many people playing Tales who haven't played previous Borderlands games, and as such, they would be completely lost if it were a character they had never met before, as would Rhys and Fiona.
At any rate, that's just what I'm currently thinking. I'm likely wrong, but hey, it's a possibility. We don't really know the status of any characters at this point save for Fiona and Rhys, so anything could happen.
I thought it was Vaughn for a while after I noticed the things you've mentioned, but after episode 2 I've begun to think that it's Lilith. Because firstly the Conference Call is not the type of weapon just anyone could obtain, as someone pointed out already it can only be gained by defeating the Warrior, so the stranger pretty much has to be a vault hunter (or at least be as badass as one). Second, the stranger in general just has that kind of moody/badass tone about them and the way that they speak which I think could also sound like Lilith, for example the line "I'm not a patient person" sounds like something post-BL2 Lilith might say. Also the fact that they are interested in the Gortys Project could be another indicator that they are a vault hunter, and it seems like something that the Lilith in the post-BL2 scenes of TPS could be interested in also. And third, if you watch the opening to the second episode closely (the part after Marcus' recap), you can see that there is nobody standing by the edge of the shattered Oasis sign, but when the camera draws closer to Rhys and Fiona and then pans over a little that same spot is revealed to be where the stranger is standing, as if they've just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Could this be Lilith appearing from Phase-walk? I think it's a possibility...
You all will think I'm crazy...but I think it's Athena,why? Because she hates Atlas and probably wants anything that has any sort of relationship with Atlas destroyed, including the Gortys project.
It's Tiny Tina sit upon Salvador's shoulders, pretty sure of that.
The biggest problem with Lilith is the way the Stranger carries themselves. The Stranger obviously has a hump, and Lilith not only walks straight-backed, but even carries herself a little higher. She would not have too easy a time getting in that outfit. And even if she did, from a storytelling perspective, she'd be a terrible reveal. Imagine- this is the first thing you've seen of Borderlands (which is what the writers have said was meant to be a possibility) and the stranger reveals their face to be... some random tattooed chick. I think Vaughn would be a fantastic reveal (for obvious reasons), and- though I'm slightly debating it now- Timothy would be great. The stranger takes off his mask to reveal Handsome Jack? That's a plot twist if anyone's ever seen one! As for Lilith's equipment, remember Vaughn has access to the money in Hyperion. It wouldn't be hard to get a conference call if he wanted one. Especially if Rhys managed to get power back from Vasquez before he's kidnapped.
But then... how do you explain them appearing from nowhere? :P
I want to give this comment an infinite amount of thumbs ups, but the forum won't let me, so a simple comment about how akasharose has made the greatest comment ever will have to suffice. Thank you, good sir, for that beautiful combination of words.
As a filmmaker and screenwriter myself, I explain this from one word:
CONTINUITY.
Did you know Captain America's shield can teleport?
Did you know that Buffy is occasionally followed around by a small microphone at the top of the screen?
Did you know Spider Man has an infinite supply of bedroom lamps on his night table?
Did you know that Snow White's Dwarfs once opened a door, forgot they opened it, then opened it again to run through it?
Did you know, that the plane robbed in The Usual Suspects once lost two engines in the matter of ONE FRAME!?
Continuity mistakes are made in games, and films constantly. Watching that scene, it's not a phase-walk: it's a single detail missed or ignored by Telltale. Nothing more.
Motivationally, I think Athena makes sense- but I think Athena's already a major part of what's happening. Obviously, her red eyes are going to be majorly coming into play- though I don't know how. That whole plot gives me the feeling that Athena isn't the masked man- though maybe the Stranger isn't actually trying to learn about the Gortys project- what if the Stranger is trying to learn about Athena's connection to the project? This is off in the middle of nowhere, I know- but there is never a theory too insane- only ones that are slightly less sensical.
Hm... TT had quite a lot of time to work on this episode, I don't know if they'd make such a big mistake like that, and I can't recall any glaring mistakes like it in the first episode - but then I'm not an expert :P Also, having thought about it I'm starting to remember why I dismissed the idea that the stranger is Vaughn - why would Vaughn ask Rhys and later Fiona to recount events that he witnessed himself (with the only exception being when Rhys is in Vasquez's office and the beginning of Fiona's side of the story)? It doesn't make sense, as he would already know pretty much everything they are telling him.
As to the idea of it being Timothy though, I love this idea and really hope it is him as he was one of my favourite characters from TPS ^_^
Personally I think we have to operate under one of two assumptions:
A: it's someone we haven't seen yet.
B: It's someone we've already seen.
If it's A, guessing is a waste of time, so let's assume B for the time being. If it's B, it is a character with a medium to large-ish build, so it can't be Brick, Salvador, Tina, Gaige, Claptrap or Krieg. Roland is pretty conclusively dead. Zer0 doesn't have 5 fingered hands. Mordecai is blind(and therefore unlikely to be able to navigate in that tin-can of a helmet). Jack is(at least as far as we know) still dead. Axton and Maya are possible but honestly thus far so lacking in characterization that I think if they were important they'd have been introduced by now like Zer0 was. Most of the Sanctuary townsfolk/quest npcs aren't strong enough or good enough with a gun to be the Stranger, aside from Marcus. Marcus is possible but so lazy and/or busy and/or greedy that he isn't likely to go to this much trouble, if he wanted something done he'd hire someone else to do it, not do it himself. It's on Pandora so it's not likely to be any of the Pre-sequel npcs. Wilhelm and Nisha are confirmed dead. Sasha isn't strong enough to lug around that outfit while also pulling off the stuff the Stranger does, to say nothing of gun proficiency(which also eliminates Vasquez). Felix is potentially very clearly dead depending upon your decisions.
The Stranger clearly has some kind of familiarity with Loader Bots' combat capabilities judging from the scene with Athena. This means it's likely either a Vault Hunter or a Hyperion employee. That narrows things down quite a bit. If we cut the list down to Hyperion employees and Vault Hunters whom we haven't eliminated, and cut Rhys and Fiona off the list for obvious reasons, that leaves a few possibilities remaining. Lilith, Athena, Vaugn, and Yvette(including her here only because thus far we know so little about her it's impossible to rule her out).
Whether Athena or Lilith can be safely ruled out or not depends heavily on whether this occurs before or after the events surrounding The Pre-Sequel. If it's beforehand, Lilith is unlikely to be involved as she's likely too preoccupied by revenge at the time. If it's afterward I feel that Lilith is more likely than Athena(simply due to the fact that Lilith seems to be the leader of the remaining vault hunters judging from The Pre-Sequel's narrative). Athena is quite possible, but if it's after TPS Athena has little reason to be hiding her identity. Prior to TPS however she is potentially hiding from Lilith & co. Either way however neither have much reason for wearing a disguise.
Based on this I personally think it's Vaugn. Lilith and Athena have no reason to believe(at the current time in Tales' narrative) that their identities would matter to Rhys and Fiona(neither of which are bounty hunters themselves or in a position to turn the tables on their captor). Vaugn is the only one I think that's likely to care how their identity colors Rhys and Fiona's reactions. His familiarity with using a gun seems out of character for a guy working what appears to be a desk job, though, especially someone as seemingly unfamiliar with fighting as Vaugn appears to be in Episodes 1 and 2.
I've been considering the Stranger being Mr. Blake today.
Claptrap wears the strangers head in the Pre-Sequel, tieing him to the stranger, Mr. Blake is first introduced in the Claptrap Robo-lution DLC in Borderlands, and has been recently heard speaking in the Clap-tastic DLC for the Pre-Sequel.
The Stranger doesn't seem too alarmed by the mention of Rhys having Handsome Jack's AI in his head. They don't question Rhys on if he's crazy or not either, possibly hinting further that someone knows that the Handsome AI was on Nakayama's id drive, that Rhys used it, and now they need Rhys' body to retrieve "something" that someone on Vasquez's level in the company isn't allowed to know about.
Blake is the previous Vice President of Hyperion, with Jack gone, he's most likely the President. (He's probably the reason everyone's wearing pinstripe suits.) He'd be the person that Vasquez is trying to hide the Gortys project from, and why he'd have to take on the role as the stranger to find information about the situation from Fiona and Rhys. He'd hide his face in order to seem like a common bandit and to make sure Rhys doesn't change his recollection of the last few days (I mean, you'd want to emit every little thing bad you were going to say about the company if you knew your boss was listening). This interestingly brings up the fact that The Stranger kidnaps Fiona first, but leaves her to get Rhys. Someone with an interest of how their company is involved with this Vault when they never sanctioned it would want to hear from someone that fit the piece and was working under them.
At this point, the stranger can be literally anyone when you look either too deep, or on the surface. I just can't wait for them to be revealed in the future and will be surprised by whomever is under that mask.
Personally I think it being Lilith makes no sense due to the disguise. Lilith has no reason to disguise herself. After BL2 the only person out to get her of any significant consequence(Jack) is dead, and she's always been shown as a very egocentric character who doesn't care what other people think of her. She also has no reason to believe that Rhys or Fiona even know who she is much less care who she is, and as a result her disguising herself just straight up makes no sense.
That's a damn good theory. I want to believe this so bad.. it just makes so much sense.
It's obviously Doakes.
Oh God, it's been so long since I laughed at this meme - gets me every time, man...
We know Brick is in episode 3, who's to say we won't encounter Lilith at some point in the flash-back?
The fact that he's in possession of a Legendary Hyperion shotgun also supports that he's a hyperion man, whoever he is.
Even if they encounter her it still doesn't provide a situation in which her identity changes their situation. It doesn't make her any less capable of just showing up, beating them senseless and dragging them off, same as the current situation. She wouldn't need a disguise for that.