Mark Jefferson


 * "Remember my number one rule, always take the shot."
 * ―Mark Jefferson

Mark Jefferson is one of the two primary antagonists in Colors and later on primary antagonist in a possible ending in A Thousand Miles.

Appearance
Mark Jefferson is a tall man of average build in his late 30s. He has brown hair and brown eyes. As an arts subject teacher, Mark has a laid-back modern look. His hair is a choppy messy style, and he has a light trendy beard. His attire is smart casual; he wears black loafers, blue jeans and a white button-up shirt with a black blazer over it. He also wears black and white trendy glasses.

Personality
Outwardly Jefferson appears to be a charismatic and charming man, an active and passionate photographer and teacher. He seems to care about the work of his students, making sure all of his students enter the "Everyday Heroes" Contest with a gentle reminder at the end of his photography class session in order to have a chance at progressing their artistic careers. However, his dismissive treatment of Kate's problems as she asks for help in "Out of Time", already portrays him as somewhat callous and insensitive at that point.

Jefferson seems to be cautious around the flirtatious nature of his student Victoria Chase. Despite her efforts to flirt with him, he declines; especially as she becomes more explicit in "Chaos Theory". This could be because of the value he places on innocence.

In reality, Jefferson is a cold, methodical, sadistic and nihilistic individual, with an obscure obsession to capture the frame of "innocence" in others. He is obsessed with the idea of "capturing that moment innocence evolves into corruption", and is prepared to kill anyone who he deems a liability to him or his plans, stopping at nothing to achieve his personal objectives. He is willing to manipulate others to his advantage while making sure that they remain silent. Jefferson seems to have situations planned out well in advance, this combined with his high intelligence and extreme cunning has allowed him to continue what he is doing without being caught.

History
Jefferson was born in Arcadia Bay and at some point in his life, developed an interest in art and photography as a student. He attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, most likely majoring in photography. It is likely that he graduated with high honors. Eventually, Jefferson's work would become widely recognized during the 90's and this would lead to him becoming a well-established photographer with his most popular work being his black and white shots. His work is specifically focused on black and white portrait photography and shots involving female models in sexualized positions though he does have a diverse portfolio. His shots have been published on front covers of various fashion magazines and also has his own book published on taking the perfect photograph.

It appears that Jefferson has very strict opinions on art and photography and is prepared to criticize other artists' views and opinions on specific art styles, for example, his early comments on the famous photographer Diane Arbus. He believes strongly in the beauty and innocence that art should maintain, such that he believes true beauty is almost impossible to obtain "without a beat".

In the late 2000s, Jefferson took a well-publicized detour into teaching around the country, inevitably ending up in a permanent position at Blackwell Academy. When he was offered a teaching position at Blackwell Academy back in Arcadia Bay, Jefferson accepted this position as art lecturer. This would lead to a huge increase in popularity of Blackwell as numerous students applied from around the country just to get a place on Mr. Jefferson's art course including Victoria Chase as well as Max Caulfield who was successful. Much of his work is displayed around the Blackwell campus, particularly at the front of the building in large-scale, outdoor frames. However, Jefferson used his position as an art teacher to find and seduce suitable models for his secret illegal photography he pursued in the Dark Room, a bunker in the possession of the Prescott family.

It's unknown when exactly Jefferson became involved with the Prescotts. It's highly likely that they had some sort of connection prior to Jefferson returning to Arcadia Bay to teach. It is further likely that they had involvement in Jefferson's criminal photography for quite a while. Upon his return, they allowed him complete access to the bunker, dark room and their fortune. In return, Jefferson would mentor Nathan and allow him to photograph his subjects in the dark room but in reality, Jefferson was manipulating Nathan.

Alternative Timeline
Although we do not directly meet him in the alternative timeline, his photographs are still on display around the Blackwell campus. This calls into question whether alternative Max came back to Arcadia Bay for his teaching or not. However, Rachel Amber is still missing, meaning that Jefferson's involvement with her kidnapping and murder could still be possible in the alternative timeline.

Deaths
Mark Jefferson can possibly be killed by: If Max reveals to David that Jefferson killed Chloe, David becomes incredibly angry and distraught. In a fit of rage, he pulls out his gun and shoots Jefferson in the head, killing him.
 * Max Caulfield (Indirectly Caused, Determinant) Or (Possibly Caused, Determinant)
 * David Madsen (Direct)
 * Himself (Indirectly Caused)

Or he could have been killed by the storm if Max decides to sacrifice Arcadia Bay.

Associated Deaths

 * Kate Marsh (Indirectly Caused/Intended, Determinant) - Kate was dosed at a Vortex Club party by Nathan Prescott with the purpose of being taken to the Dark Room. Jefferson took photos of her while she was drugged, contributing to her feeling of "being dirty" which, along with the party video of her kissing people while being dosed and the bullying resulting of said video going viral, was part of the reason for Kate's suicide (attempt, unless she was saved by the player). In Episode 2, he tries to gaslight Kate not taking her worried confession of her unhappiness seriously. If Max manages to stop Kate from committing suicide, Jefferson will later imply to Max that he plans to kill her.
 * Rachel Amber (Indirectly Caused, Involved) - Jefferson was involved in the coercion and kidnapping of Rachel Amber, which led to her accidental overdose caused by Nathan Prescott.
 * Chloe Price (Caused, Direct) - Jefferson shot Chloe in the head after sedating Max with a needle, causing her to be unable to use her rewind.
 * Nathan Prescott (Caused, Direct) - Mark informed Max that Nathan was a flight risk and he could not "keep him as a protégé" for much longer after Rachel's overdose. Jefferson says to Max that he is "dead and buried."
 * Victoria Chase (Caused, Direct, Determinant) - After Max's return from the timeline in which Mr. Jefferson is arrested before her capture and she is sent on the "Everyday Heroes" trip, if Victoria believed Max's warning and was kidnapped by Mr. Jefferson, he informs Max that he "had to let Victoria Chase go", keeping it vague at first until Max's hope of her being alive were sparked to which he corrected in saying, "Don't be stupid, okay? She is exactly where she deserves to be."
 * Maxine Caulfield (Potential (Alternative Timeline), Intended) - Jefferson had intended to kill Max after he finished photographing her in the Dark Room. If Max warns David too early then Jefferson attacks her with a tripod, forcing her to rewind.
 * David Madsen (Potential (Alternative Timeline), Intended) - Once David entered the Dark Room to find any surviving Dark Room victims (Max) and apprehend Jefferson, Jefferson tried to kill him. In the first course of events without Max rewinding and asking for a last wish from Jefferson, Jefferson will bludgeon David unconscious or dead with the camera tripod. Jefferson will also reach for a gun and shoot David dead after David manages to disarm Jefferson and cause him to drop his tripod. With the aid of Max's ability, after several trial and errors, David will finally overpower Jefferson. David may also get a scar on his forehead during the fight with Mark Jefferson.

Family

 * Wife - They are seen to love taking photos of girls together, they love the Dark Room and trust each other immensely since they have been together since they were teenagers.
 * Amelia - His daughter, he considers her his angel and wouldn't dare be rude to her.
 * Noah - His unborn son that he loves so much. He cannot wait until he's born and grows up so he can see if he'll be able to handle being in the Dark Room.
 * Paisley Christopher - Throughout the story, he mocks her, abuses her verbally, emotionally, and physically. He only likes her when he can get something from her and always orders her around, thinking that her fear is actually respect for him. He trusts her only sometimes and second guesses her actions and often dumps her off with Nathan where he know she wouldn't dare to do anything wrong.

Friends

 * Principal Wells - Throughout the game, it seemed that Wells and Jefferson were on good terms together. In reality, Jefferson only saw Wells as a drunk foolish headmaster, as he revealed in "Polarized".
 * Sean Prescott - The depth of Jefferson's relationship with the Prescotts is unknown. There appears to be, to some extent, a level of trust the Prescotts have/had for Jefferson by allowing him to mentor Nathan and giving him access to their fortune. Jefferson also had hold of personal information regarding the Prescotts and their history. Despite all of this, Jefferson does not seem to hold the Prescotts in high regard and mainly sees them as a tool to get what he wants. Principal Wells reveals in "Polarized" that Sean was the very person who gave Jefferson a position at Blackwell.
 * Nathan Prescott - Jefferson was his mentor and father figure. At the start of their student-teacher relationship, Jefferson found it quite touching but he eventually became irritated and annoyed with Nathan's incompetence. After Nathan, according to Jefferson, accidentally overdosed Rachel Amber and probably messed up the kidnapping of Kate Marsh by giving her too low of a dose, he decided to get rid of Nathan and began to plan his elimination. This could also be an excuse to eliminate him because he knew the most about the Dark Room; as Nathan is known to be quite unpredictable and this would increase the threat of him being exposed. If Max claims to have cared more about Nathan than he did, Jefferson will get furious and deny this. This may indicate that he did care about Nathan.(See here for more information on their relationship.)

Students

 * Victoria Chase - Victoria very much had a crush on Jefferson which he seemed to be aware of but completely ignored her at anytime she tried to make advances on him. He revealed to Max that he saw her as a spoiled brat and will decide to kill her if you warned Victoria about Nathan. Despite all of this, Jefferson still gave his time and dedication to Victoria as a teacher to help her with her artwork.
 * Max Caulfield - From the beginning of Episode 1, Jefferson saw Max as "special". Why he saw her as unique and having a "gift" compared to any other student is never really revealed but it's possible that he saw her as the most innocent out of the bunch. From that point onwards, he tried to passively persuade her to enter her photo for the Everyday Heroes contest so they could go to San Francisco together, most likely to lure her into his Dark Room. Having her captured in the Dark Room, he praises her innocence and beauty and explains that he always was impressed by her perfect self-image. At least from this point on, it became clear that Jefferson had a sick obsession with Max. Max was very much inspired by Jefferson's work, so much so that she applied to Blackwell Academy specifically for Jefferson's art course. He was certainly a very influential figure in her life and she had a large amount of respect for him. She admired him and never dared to suspect him throughout the game; until she finally found out about his true nature as a sick and manipulative psychopath who uses art and passion to seduce people, after Jefferson mercilessly killed her best friend, Chloe, kidnapped her to take photos of her, and later even tried to get rid of Max herself.
 * Kate Marsh - Kate was one of Jefferson's past victims, he saw her as pure and sweet but naive. He tells Max that Kate could have been his masterpiece instead. Sometime during the semester, Kate became Jefferson's classroom assistant and it appears that she trusted him enough to some extent to go to him for help in Episode 2; but he dismisses her telling her she was overdramatizing everything, most likely to get rid of her and evidence of the Dark Room. If Max saved Kate and says Kate will outlive Jefferson, Jefferson will become annoyed and say that after he is done with Max, he will return to Kate to kill her.

Romantic

 * Rachel Amber - Although it is now clear that Rachel was in love with Jefferson, and that they were in a rumored sexual relationship, it is unknown whether he reciprocated her feelings towards him or if he took advantage of her love for him to get her to pose for his photography[4]. Jefferson appeared to know about Frank and Chloe while they were totally unaware of each other's relationships with Rachel as well as Jefferson's relationship with her, which begs the interesting question if Rachel trusted Jefferson more than anyone else. Regardless, while explaining her fate to Max, Jefferson seemed hardly emotional which does imply that he never really cared about her.

Color Symbolism
Jefferson is heavily associated with the colors black and white, due to both his clothing and photography style. These colors have been heavily associated with death in the game, and back up theories about Jefferson being involved with the disappearance of Rachel Amber. As of Episode 4, these theories have been confirmed.

Spirit Animal
It is highly possible that Jefferson's spirit animal is the owl. Its appearance twice in Episode 4 could mean his association with the areas in which it is featured; the barn, which he has obviously been associated with due to the Dark Room beneath it, and the junkyard right before Jefferson appears to intercept the girls. This owl could have been foreshadowing; ideal in this particular situation considering the symbolism of the owl totem.

The owl is highly representative of wisdom and change, as well as the ability to look beyond the ordinary and take inspiration from the things most people cannot see. This makes complete sense considering Jefferson's profession as a photographer; finding inspiration in the tiny details of the world creates good photos. His personal inspiration taken from the beauty of innocence, vulnerability and desperation could be symbolized with this totem. Most importantly, the most traditional symbol associated with the owl is the approach of death, creating change. This is highly applicable for Jefferson after his encounter with the girls, and his association with Rachel's death.