Control: Everything You Need To Know About Polaris - TheGamer

seliranga.blogspot.com

For the first few missions in Control, the past that led Jesse to find the Oldest House after years of searching was finally revealed, alongside a mysterious entity she refers to as Polaris, her guiding star. While this entity is never seen, she is responsible for many of the events of both the game and Jesse's life in Ordinary.

As a resonant being, not unlike the Hiss, Polaris' powers are instrumental in not only allowing Jesse to traverse the Oldest House without succumbing to the effects of the Hiss incantation but also in taking back control from the Hiss and driving them back to their reality.

10 Originates From Slidescape-36

Needless to say, Polaris isn't from Jesse's world and comes from one of the many slide worlds that Jesse and Dylan opened up in their childhood thanks to the Slide Projector Object of Power. Referred to as Slidescape-36 and "Hand" by the Faden siblings, this is the home of both Polaris and Hedron, the catalyst for Jesse and Polaris' powers until its demise towards the end of the game, where Jesse replaced Hedron in this role. Unfortunately, while Dr. Darling saw Hedron as a revolutionary progression in the FBC's knowledge of the paranatural world, Trench saw only danger, which would eventually result in the Hiss invasion due to his meddling.

9 Dylan Knew About Her Existence In Jesse

While no other human in or outside of the FBC knew about the existence of Polaris until Jesse made them aware, Dylan was an exception. Not only was he affected very differently by the Hiss resonance than every other person inside the Oldest House, but he was somehow able to see Polaris inside Jesse upon their first meeting in years. This could be due to his inherent powers that made him a Prime Candidate in the first place, but could also be due to the powers the Hiss granted him as a result of his possession.

8 She Has Some Ulterior Motive

Speaking of Jesse and Dylan's first meeting, the latter makes it apparent that Jesse shouldn't trust Polaris, as she has an ulterior motive in bringing Jesse to the Oldest House in the first place. While Polaris seems benign and more than willing to help Jesse at every turn, there is reason to believe Dylan's claim.

Before finally finding the Oldest House, Jesse had been searching for the FBC for many years after they took custody of Dylan, though Polaris only guided her to the Place of Power when she became aware of the Hiss in their reality.

7 Dr. Darling Knew About Her - To An Extent

After Dr. Darling discovered the usefulness of Hedron, particularly in how it could defend the FBC against outside invaders, he poured the rest of his life into ensuring that the FBC remained safe from the Hiss. Darling never knew Polaris directly, but he knew that there were other entities from Slidescape-36 aside from Hedron and how valuable they would be when dealing with other, more sinister entities.

6 She Knew About The Hiss

Between Polaris guiding Jesse to the Oldest House and Dylan's somewhat incoherent ramblings, it seems apparent that not only did Polaris know about the Hiss before the invasion, but that they also knew about her. This could be due to Polaris' link with the Faden siblings, though it could also mean that the two realities are more closely connected than it first appears, which could be due to the fact that the only surviving slides were Polaris' world and the Hiss world.

5 How She Came To Be With Jesse Isn't Known For Sure

Despite being with Jesse for the majority of her life, Jesse isn't sure how Polaris came to join her or whether she had been with her the entire time. At one point, Jesse speculates that Polaris was always inside her, but it was Jesse's actions in opening Slidescape-36 that lead to her and Dylan's powers awakening. This theory isn't entirely out there, as it is established that both Jesse and Dylan have powerful paranatural abilities that can't be explained by either the Hiss or Polaris' possession.

4 She Is Able To Influence Jesse's Actions

Throughout the game, Polaris will project an image to Jesse whenever she needs guidance, usually in the form of the spiraling eye shape that also appears when the game wants to make players aware of Polaris' existence. Since Jesse nearly always follows these directions from a gameplay perspective, it's reasonable to assume she did the same before the events of Control began.

This could also mean that Polaris may have been trying to keep Jesse away from the FBC until the Hiss invasion, when Polaris realized that she couldn't keep Jesse away from the fight any longer.

3 Jesse Might Not Be Director Without Polaris

Although the Faden siblings have some degree of inherent abilities, it is clear that the bulk of Jesse's powers came about as a result of being with Polaris for most of her life. With this in mind, she may not have passed the Board's test to become Director without the aid of Polaris by her side. Since passing this test is a literal game of Russian Roulette using an Object of Power in place of a revolver, this may have ended the story before it even began had Polaris not been there.

2 She Has A Similar Physiology To The Hiss

It's only because of Polaris' nature as a resonant being that she and Jesse were able to fight back against the Hiss for so long. Once Hedron was destroyed and the catalyst for her powers was gone, both Polaris and Jesse succumbed to the Hiss incantation, though Jesse was able to become the new catalyst after some soul searching and trial and error.

1 All Of Jesse's Monologues Are Her Talking To Polaris

One of the biggest complaints some players have with Control is Jesse's constant monologuing when talking with other characters, as it takes the player in and out of the conversation rather abruptly every time it happens. However, these aren't necessarily monologues and they could also easily be viewed as Jesse talking to Polaris inside her own mind, which puts every monologue in a new context when viewed in this way.

Next: 10 Things Everyone Completely Missed In Control

Featured image for Xbox Series X exclusives

Next Every Xbox Series X Exclusive Currently Announced For Next-Gen Only

Related Topics

About The Author

Callum Archer (216 Articles Published)

Callum Archer is a freelance writer based in Perth, Western Australia. He is an avid gamer, Nintendo fanboy, and lover of weird sci-fi novels, who also dabbles in manga from time to time, usually dark and twisted work like Uzumaki and Death Note.