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Life is Strange: Settling Dust #1 begins both the final arc and final volume of this series. Things have been building towards something big. We got all our characters in a particular place in their arcs where they either weather this storm or be swept away, both literally and metaphorically. And boy, does this issue have a lot of characters to juggle, along with all the other plot details it has to cover. Will the switch back to normal-sized issues as opposed to the double-sized used in the previous arc prove a hindrance or bear fruit?
Wake Up And Smell The Roses
Life is Strange: Settling Dust #1 serves as a wake-up call to a few of our characters, kicking them into high gear for the finale. Tristan finally snaps and confronts Lawrence in a bid to say his feelings and help him out. But, of course, the irony is that he finally worked up the courage, and this isn’t even his Lawrence, but an alternate universe version. Still, the heart wants what the heart wants, and love has no bounds, as they say. And I’m pretty sure that even includes multiverse barriers as well, or at least I hope so.
Zack, finally, stops being the classic tortured artist, the method actor that he pretends to be. After Tristan’s outburst, he goes over to Victoria, who has been dealing with her own baggage as seen in previous issues and just sits with her. It doesn’t matter if they are together or not; it doesn’t even matter if they are friends or not either. What matters is that Victoria needs someone to listen, and Zack has been throwing her around without a care because of his own selfish need to be the star of the show. Stage plays are a team effort; everyone has to pull their weight and help out when needed.
Then, of course, the wonderful Rachel Amber also stepping out of the way to let things play out. She has been on quite a journey of self-discovery, dealing with her own emotional baggage, her career, her relationship, her friendships, and of course, with the revelation of her alternate universe counterpart. So now, despite also being a people person and an actor, someone who likes the limelight, she steps out of the way. It isn’t her story, and she knows it. We all view ourselves as the center of the universe, and it takes a very mature person to get out of their own way and acclimate to the fact that the universe doesn’t even notice us.
Stand Tall, Stand Together
The ending of Life is Strange: Settling Dust #1 sees Tristan and Max, standing back-to-back, ready to face the storm. They each have run from this moment for a long time, and now they are facing it together. We saw Tristan use his powers to hide from emotionally troubling situations like this before, and we have seen Max go to another universe to flee the repercussions of deeds long past. So now they each have to stand in the face of that fear and look it straight in the eye.
What I like especially about this, and the way it is masterfully written by Emma Vieceli and drawn by Claudia Leonardi, is this isn’t about personal strength against fear, but rather unified strength. Fear can be both a positive and a negative force in our lives. It can keep us safe, ensuring we never take on more than we can handle. However, it can also hinder us by making us afraid of change or acting out harshly for uncertainty is dreadful. In times of great fear, many people can crack under pressure. It’s at those moments that friends and family are needed the most.
With Max and Tristan standing back-to-back, it symbolizes that the other will hold them up if one falls. This storm, or their fear, cannot be weathered alone in a more metaphorical sense. But together, they might make it. Friendship is this amorphous thing that is sometimes hard to define. It can hurt, and it can heal, it can make us strong, and it can make us weak. See where I’m going? It’s just like fear. Fight fire with fire, as they say. Well, the parallels of friendship and fear can work in the same way.
Life is Strange: Settling Dust #1 Provides A Great Beginning To The End
Life is Strange: Settling Dust #1 has a lot on its plate. It’s got to set up the final act, move our characters forward to the climax of their arcs, find a way to balance all these characters, and still deliver a thrilling tale. And while I think I may have been spoiled with the previous issues being double-sized, this issue works out quite well. This creative team never disappoints, but I do think after having got a taste of what they can do with a double-sized issue, I wish they had stayed the course with that. Their style is more suited to that format.