Respawn has released its ninth Apex Legends Stories from the Outlands animated feature, "Fight Night," which reveals quite a bit about Pathfinder’s past. The story follows Victor Maldera, an ex-cop who was laid off after failing to capture Alexander Nox, also known as the Apex Legend Caustic.
The animated story teases Pathfinder’s creator and his purpose, all while keeping enough secrets to keep fans on their toes. The video also features lots of easter eggs for previous lore and storylines released. The biggest ones involve the already on-edge trio Wattson, Caustic and Crypto, while the smaller ones are pointers towards Loba, Revenant and the deceased Forge.
While there are hints to previously mentioned lore throughout the video, the most important scenes to note are the ones that come from Pathfinder’s memories. After Victor falsely assumes Pathfinder is a lethal weapon, he uses an unknown piece of tech to access Path’s internal memory archives. We get to see Pathfinder fired from multiple jobs, but one memory that sticks out is one of a burning Humbert Labs, with the presumed dead Dr. Nox front and center. With this new knowledge, Victor can come to the absolute conclusion that Alexander Nox is still alive.
In an attempt to go back to the Nox footage, he lands on some of the coolest easter eggs of the entire video. In one clip, we get to see that Path was a weatherman for Typhon and was mid-forecast when the planet exploded. This was put in as a tribute to Titanfall 2, as it ended with that planet being destroyed. In the next clip, we see Pathfinder was still working at the restaurant where Loba’s parents were killed when the attack took place. It was hinted that he was hired at the Tenmei in a season 4 loading screen where he listened off the cooking instructions for the restaurant’s famous Leviathan Stew.
Finally, we see Pathfinder’s creator leaving a video log for him. She says he’s their pathfinder, and he’s been made for a great purpose. On the screen, she's identified as "Dr. Amelie P," and she activates an emergency self-destruct protocol. Crucial things to note about the doctor are her familiar French accent and her last initial, P. Fans were quick to make the connection to the game's well-known French scientist Wattson, who grew up without a mother and whose last name happens to be Paquette.
The entire time this is happening, the mob is on their way to collect Pathfinder after a mobster’s bullet ricocheted off Path’s chest and directly back at the shooter, killing him. The first mobster to greet them disconnects Victor’s unknown device and ends the video signal. With Pathfinder a valuable witness to the Nox case, Victor leads the pair to overtake some lesser mobsters and steal their airship as a getaway vehicle.
The mob continues to chase after Pathfinder and Victor, and in a moment of weakness, Victor betrays Pathfinder only to be instantly betrayed and shot by an enemy Spectre. Pathfinder ends up discovering a grapple gun and having an awesome fight with a Spectre on top of a moving ship that he ends up winning. Victor is able to recover from the shot he received to support Pathfinder, shooting the main mobster out of the enemy ship and giving the two of them the chance to escape.
Once Pathfinder grappled the two away to safety, it is clear that he is in critical condition and his files are being deleted. Victor is quick to try to access Nox and Humbert Labs' memories again but instead grants Pathfinder what he believes to be his dying wish, another look at his creator’s video log. Dr. Amelie’s video attempts to play but with the damage Pathfinder has taken, the video has corrupted and skips. We can make out that his role is vital to the Outlands' survival and that there is something important he has to share.
Pathfinder appears to shut down as the doctor repeats that he’s been made for a great purpose. Thinking Pathfinder won’t be turning back on, Victor says goodbye, leaving the friendly robot behind on a pile of trash. It’s clear Victor will go back to searching for the now confirmed alive Alexander Nox at the end of the video. However, years later, Caustic is still around in the games, and Pathfinder’s Apex story begins with him waking up by a dumpster with no memories.
Another important thing to note is that "Fight Night" also hinted that Crypto and Mila’s foster mom is related to Caustic, and possibly his real mother. This makes the story between Wattson, Caustic and Crypto more tangled than we could have imagined. Finally, another small hint towards Crypto was at the beginning of the animated feature. The mobster that tries to shot Pathfinder and gets shot himself can be seen getting a call from a "QW." In the previous Stories from the Outland video "Forever Family," the person who sent Crypto and Mila the Apex Games algorithm prediction program only gave the initials "QW." This person ended up ruining Crypto's life with the program as people came to hunt down the two foster siblings for accessing it, and Crypto had to go undercover.
The addition of “Fight Night” to the Stories from the Outlands collection not only connects a lot of dots to various legends; it also leaves the story open for even more growth and development. It will be fascinating to see where the legends’ stories continue to go as Respawn grows their family feud.