Gail Barrows was a resident of the Valhalla Nursing Home. Sometime during the events of Alan Wake 2, Gail becomes a Taken and must be defeated by Saga Anderson during Return 5: Old Gods. Like others in Bright Falls, his background may be influenced by the writings of Alan Wake.
Background[]
Gail Barrows lived in Bright Falls and was residing in the Valhalla Nursing Home as of 2023. His room is on the 3rd floor, across the hall from Cynthia Weaver and sharing a wall with the stairwell. The manuscript page Gail Taken reveals that Gail was dying, suffering from a condition in his left lung. The Dark Presence preyed on Gail's fear and pain, eventually causing him to lose himself and become Taken.[1] Before being fully Taken, he had shown visible signs of deterioration, becoming aggressive and lashing out violently. Rose Marigold recognized his decline and had him quarantined in the Wellness Center (alongside Tor Anderson, who was being manipulated by the Taken Cynthia Weaver), to be restrained at all times until he could be properly medicated.[2]
Gail eventually became fully Taken and broke out of his restraints. However, he was left stuck inside his patient room due to the Wellness Center's security system.
Events of Alan Wake 2[]
While venturing through the Wellness Center, after using Vladimir Blum's computer to unlock the Wellness Center's doors, Saga will encounter the Taken Gail in Rehabilitation. Gail is the first Taken Diver fought in Alan Wake 2, which appears half-submerged in water. This Taken type favors grappling and can dive into the water to hide from Saga.
Trivia[]
- Aside from bosses, Gail Barrows is one of the few Taken we can name, based on their appearance and location in the Wellness Center.
Cut content[]
- Gail Barrows was originally an old woman named Abigail Barrows. The internal ID for everything related to Gail uses the word "Abigail" instead, and Saga has a number of unused lines referring to Abigail Barrows but not to Gail.
- There is an unused set of unique combat lines marked as being for BINDER_ABIGAIL; "binder" is the internal descriptor used for Taken Divers. These lines are also the only place where "Emmet" (presumably Emmett Elwood from the Manuscript page Emmett Taken) is mentioned. Gail instead only has generic Taken Diver lines.
- Notably, Abigail has subtitles indicating that she was Taken after drowning in her bathroom, unlike what happens to Gail. This happens to Cynthia Weaver instead in the final game.
Abigail screamed. The dead hands found her throat. The hands were freezing. Abigail choked. Down into the water. Into a dark ocean, surrounded by smiling corpses. Abigail smiled back. She had grown old. How had that happened? Abigail wondered if she was having a stroke. She’d always been afraid of losing her mind. 
- ― Abigail Barrows
Abigail Barrows stood over her bathroom sink. She stared down at the water. She saw a warped face looking back at her. The face smiled. She smiled back. - ― Alan Wake
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Gail Taken
- ↑ Rose: Oh my god. You’re the hero! You’re here to save Alan! Now I feel so silly for trying to keep you out of the Wellness Center. I locked Tor and Gail in there after they lost it and I didn’t want you getting hurt. Before I forget, here’s the page Wake told me to give you. Oh, and you’ll need my keys to get around.
(Conversation during Return 5: Old Gods)