User:Ghost Hunter 85/Carter Blake

"Think you can do a better fucking job than me with your psychology degree and your great glasses? That don't mean zip when it comes to getting out there. You're just a fucking bureaucrat!
 * —Blake to Norman Jayden"

Lieutenant Carter Blake is a major antagonist and the investigator in charge of the Origami Killer case, and works alongside FBI investigator Norman Jayden throughout the Heavy Rain story. Blake's consistent police brutality, closed-mindedness and self-conviction that Ethan Mars is the Origami Killer creates massive tension between him and Jayden, making him along with Charles Kramer the two secondary antagonists of the game.

Personality
Blake is rash and ruthless in his pursuit of the killer; he is quick to ignore protocol, engage in police brutality, and jump to conclusions about suspects in order to close the case quickly. As such, there can be intense friction between Blake and Jayden, who insists that Blake's suspects do not fit the psychological profile, and may interfere with his more aggressive actions. Blake dismisses Jayden's analytical approach as being useless and bureaucratic; the player can decide to be similarly insulting and call out Blake's lack of progress in the case. Regardless, Blake maintains an antagonistic relationship with Jayden for the entirety of the game. His only other relationships are with fellow officer Ash and Captain Leighton Perry, for whom he seems to have some respect.

Events of the Game
Blake first appears in Crime Scene, the fifth mission of the game (and also one of two missions available in its demo). Despite a search by Jayden and others, nothing conclusive is found -- but hints of a rivalry between Jayden and Blake are shown. He then next appears in Welcome, Norman where he is introduced to Norman more properly. Along with another police officer, he interviews Ethan Mars about his son's disappearance; Blake does not appear to be indifferent or spiteful to Mars (as he is with Jayden), but he does appear confused by Ethan's explanation of how he disappeared.

The real rivalry between Jayden and Blake begins in Blake's next appearance, in which he directly calls out and insults Jayden's profile of the Origami Killer. Blake later assists Jayden in pursing the religious fanatic Nathaniel, whom Jayden witnesses Blake taunting and physically assaulting (and Blake may then even see Jayden kill Nathaniel). Blake accompanies Jayden in pursing Miroslav Korda, the next suspect, in Covered Market; regardless of whether or not Jayden manages to catch Korda, he is ultimately proven to be innocent due to his alibi.

Ethan Mars as a suspect
In Police News, Grace Mars explains to Blake how Ethan Mars once said that he was thinking of "drowning bodies" -- the M.O. of the Origami Killer. This convinces Blake that Mars is the killer, and after demonstrating more police brutality and forcefully interrogating Ethan's shrink, he orders the entire city's police force to search for Mars. Norman Jayden then decides to pursue his own lines of inquiry (in the missions Mad Jack & Fish Tank).

Blake (along with Jayden) leads a squad of police officers to confront and attempt to arrest Mars; depending on whether the player is or isn't able to use Madison Paige to get Ethan to safety, Blake will either succeed in arresting him or fail. If he succeeds, Jayden — convinced he isn't the killer — will later secretly break him out. Blake also makes a cameo appearance in Manfred if Scott Shelby fails to remove his and Lauren's fingerprints (thus getting him arrested).

Blake then tracks Ethan to a motel, where Ethan is hiding from the media. He then organizes a SWAT team to raid the motel and arrest Ethan. If Ethan escapes, then he will be able to flee; but if Ethan is arrested, then he will either be able to break free in the mission Under Arrest (but only if Norman Jayden is still alive and if he wasn't arrested in Fugitive). However, if Ethan is arrested for the second time (or for the first time whilst Jayden is dead), then he will be imprisoned for the rest of the game.

Possible suspects
In Solving the Puzzle, Blake tells Norman that (whether Ethan was arrested or not) since Ethan is confirmed to be the Origami Killer, that Norman's services are unneeded and insultingly tells him that he will return to the FBI. Unconvinced, Jayden — realizing that this is his last chance to save Mars since the previous victims all died after three days — uses ARI one last time to find the clues he needs.

After investigating the Blue Lagoon, Jayden notices that the gun used to kill Paco was supposed to be locked up in police evidence, meaning only a police officer could retrieve it. Additionally, while Jayden is putting together the final pieces of the puzzle with the ARI, he notices the killer is wearing a gold watch in the video footage of their fight. The watch is the same type given to officers that make lieutenant. The player is then given the option to either "investigate further" or "accuse Blake." If the player accuses Blake, he angrily questions what Jayden is doing, and the player has several more chances to drop the accusation, or pursue the accusation. If Jayden insists on arresting Blake, he holds Blake at gunpoint and threatens to turn him in, but Perry removes Norman from the investigation. (The game basically treats Norman as having "failed" the puzzle.)

Endings
If Jayden manages to crack the case, he departs from the police department to pursue the Origami Killer. Blake notices Jayden leaving, and decides to follow him with a team of other officers. However, he only appears in the following two scenarios at The Old Warehouse:


 * Ethan Goes Alone: He will order Chemo to kill Ethan Mars as soon as he exits the warehouse.


 * All Characters Go: Unless Madison can get inside the warehouse to warn Ethan, Blake will order his men to kill Ethan when he exits the warehouse.

This creates two plot holes: However, in several of the news reports it is said that the Origami Killer died in a "massive police operation" despite only Norman being there. this suggests that the police response time varies between playthroughs.
 * 1) Why do the police only go if Ethan alone or all characters go?
 * 2) Why does Blake not go if Jayden goes by himself or with one of the other characters?

If Ethan is killed by the police at the warehouse, but Shaun is rescued by Norman, it is mentioned during the epilogue that both Blake and Captain Perry are suspended from duty pending a misconduct investigation.

Blake will appear in Epilogue - Uploaded, if Jayden is killed. Perry invites Blake to Norman's funeral, but Blake declines, stating he and Jayden didn't see "eye to eye" on much. Perry does not mind, and lets Blake keep his ARI glasses, stating Jayden obviously doesn't need them anymore. After a moment, he puts them on, and appears to be enjoying himself until a manifestation of Norman appears, terrifying Blake, and the scene ends.

Chapter appearances

 * Crime Scene
 * Welcome, Norman
 * Kick Off Meeting
 * Nathaniel
 * Covered Market
 * Police News
 * Shrink and Punches
 * Fugitive
 * Under Arrest
 * Manfred (if Scott is arrested)
 * On the Loose
 * Solving the Puzzle
 * The Old Warehouse (only if Ethan shows up alone or with all other characters)
 * Epilogue - Uploaded (if Jayden is killed outside of Epilogue - Smoking Mirror)

Trivia

 * Besides Ash and Perry, the only character whom Blake instinctively acts friendly towards is Scott Shelby. However, he is also somewhat tolerant of Grace Mars, as he is willing to listen to her explanation. He is also tolerant of Ethan Mars (as seen in Welcome, Norman) before he becomes convinced of his complicity.
 * Blake has the greatest number of appearances for a non-playable character, with 12 chapters (one is optional).
 * SPOILER!

Surprisingly, if Scott is arrested and Blake lets him go, he actually helped the Origami Killer escape.
 * Blake is one of only two characters (the other being Ash) that can interact with all four main characters.
 * Norman has the option to push Blake twice (Shrink and Punches and Under Arrest), punch him in the face (Under Arrest), and to accuse him of being the Origami Killer (Solving the Puzzle).
 * He is one of the few characters to survive the entire story regardless of which ending is earned.
 * The only chapters he appears in without Norman are Manfred and On the Loose, although Norman can appear in the latter if Ethan gets arrested the second time.
 * The only chapters Norman appears without Blake are Jayden Blues, Mad Jack, Fish Tank, and The Old Warehouse (only if Ethan does not make it).
 * Carter Blake also resembles American actor Daniel Roebuck from his Nash Bridges (TV Series) character, even in character.nd
 * Blake can be considered the main antagonist in Norman's story, due to their hatred for each other.
 * Despite his fierce approach and aggressive personality, Blake sometimes shows signs of (vague) sympathy. When Ethan asks if the Origami Killer could have kidnapped Shaun, Blake first suggests that Shaun may have just wandered off. If Norman shoots Nathaniel, Blake later says, 'It always does something to you the first time, then you get used to it". If Scott is placed in the police station following Manfred's death, Blake lets him off easily and even promises to sweep it under the rug.
 * In Manfred, if Scott Shelby forgets to clean something in Manfred's shop and is subsequently sent to the police station, Blake and Shelby have a conversation, and it is implied that Blake already knows who Shelby is. It's possible that the two of them used to work together in the police force before Shelby became a private investigator. Blake tells Shelby to inform him if any of his ideas on the identity of the Origami Killer develop and he tells him he will help as Shelby helped him out once in the past; he never forgot.
 * If the player pushes Blake twice in the chapter Under Arrest, Blake will say he's been waiting for this moment and will tell Norman he is a pussy and is that all he's got. If the player pushes him again, Blake will pull his gun out and say, "Let's play a game," to which Norman says Blake is out of his mind.
 * Blake owns a SIG Sauer P226 chambered in 9×19mm.
 * Blake is 5' 8" (1.73 m) tall, this can be seen due to being slightly shorter than 5' 9" (1.75 meters tall) Norman Jayden of the FBI.

Carter Blake Carter Blake