The 2016 indie game Firewatch was a huge success thanks to its engaging story, artistic visuals, and interesting characters. Though Firewatch only has a few characters, the ones we interact with are deep and complex—especially Delilah.
Delilah is somewhat of a mystery, so we’ll look at her character in a little more detail, and also explore whether it’s possible to meet her in-game. Keep in mind that we’ll be discussing key narrative points from Firewatch, so be wary of spoilers ahead.
Who is Delilah in Firewatch?
Delilah is technically the deuteragonist of Firewatch, though we don’t see her in person, and you don’t play as her. She is voiced by Cissy Jones and has a sardonic sense of humor that helps her form a bond with the protagonist and player character, Henry.
Henry and Delilah both work in the Shoshone National Forest, with Henry being a fire lookout and Delilah being his supervisor. The two are based in separate areas, with Delilah located on the Thorofare Lookout, which is to the far north of Henry’s tower.
Because of this separation, a good portion of the game revolves around Henry and Delilah’s relationship as they communicate via walkie-talkie. Players can contact her at any time when there is something to talk about. There are only two situations when it’s impossible to contact Delilah: during cave sections and when Henry irritates her, and she doesn’t want to speak with him, like when she discovers that you eavesdropped on a conversation she had with somebody else. These are only temporary moments of lost contact, though, as you will be able to talk to her again afterward.
Henry and Delilah’s relationship plays a significant role in the narrative of the indie title Firewatch. You can choose how you speak to her and how much you tell her, with the relationship between the two characters changing slightly depending on the dialogue options you choose. Your conversations can become quite flirtatious, too, if you pick those dialogue choices.
Delilah makes various decisions that lead to Henry becoming suspicious about who she actually is, and what she knows. For instance, she delivers a new radio to Henry, but won’t give it directly to him. Instead, she purposely seems to avoid him by delivering the radio elsewhere. She also purposely lies and falsifies certain events, like when she informs Henry that she would feign ignorance to the higher-ups at the park about the son of a former employee hanging out with him in his watchtower, as it is against regulation to allow children in the towers.
You can decide whether you are going to report your discoveries to her, but it is also your choice as to whether you want to be completely open and honest with her, even if you suspect that she isn’t doing the same for you.
Can you meet Delilah in Firewatch?
Delilah remains a mystery even after you complete Firewatch, as you never get to meet her in person. Toward the end of the game, you have to hike to Thorofare Lookout—Delilah’s watchtower—to evacuate from Shoshone National Forest. This is a tense moment for players with lots of anticipation, as it seems like you’re finally going to meet Delilah—but this isn’t the case.
By the time you get to Thorofare Lookout, Delilah is long gone. You will say your goodbyes to her, but this will be over the radio, in the same way you’ve been communicating with her for the whole game.
If you try and visit Thorofare Lookout early on, you will be blocked from doing so. A video from YouTuber BehrmanTheBeerman demonstrates this; you can approach the Thorofare cable car access point that takes you over to the tower, but it won’t work and you will be forced to remain in your section of the park. No matter what you try, there is no way to meet Delilah in Firewatch.
What can you find in Delilah’s tower in Firewatch?
There are some clues about who Delilah is scattered around Thorofare Lookout, such as an empty alcohol bottle in the trash along with another one opened up on the desk. These bottles, along with her admission that she was drunk when you spoke to her at one point in the game, suggest that she is fond of drinking, perhaps a little too much at times.
You can also find a crossword puzzle book in Thorofare Lookout, which isn’t too surprising, as Delilah tells you that she enjoys them in one of the radio conversations that you have with her. As well as that, you can find a shirt and a pair of slippers in the tower along with a sign for Pork Pond, an important location in the game.
The sign in her tower is another example of Delilah’s odd decisions when it comes to what she lies about, as she reports to Henry that the Pork Pond sign often gets stolen. She is clearly the one who took it this time around, but why does she feel the need to be dishonest about it? This is just one of several occasions where Delilah seems to lie about unnecessary things, making it hard not to wonder what other, more important matters she is being dishonest about.
Thorofare Lookout only offers a small, surface-level glimpse of who Delilah is, but it is still difficult to get a proper read on her from her tower alone. She is an enigma from the beginning, and even when you learn more about her via your radio conversations, you can’t help but feel as though she is still just as much a mystery by the time you have completed Firewatch.
