Chris and Josh

Chris and Josh
Relationship	Friendship Rivalry (Josh as the Psycho)
Status	Best friends
← Previous	Ashley and Chris
→ Next	Chris and Sam

“	Chris, hey, come on Cochise, we're partners...	”
—Josh

Chris and Josh is a friendship in Until Dawn.

Overview

Chris and Josh have a long history as best friends. According to Chris, they met in third grade and have remained close ever since - a friendship which Sam remarks is "a match made in heaven." Josh speaks to Chris affectionately, referring to him as his "bro", partner and by the nickname "Cochise." At the start of the game, they are each other's highest relationship stat – Josh sharing this placement with Ashley in Chris' case.

Although the two are very close, they can sometimes get under each other's skin. Josh reveals that he has become impatient with Chris' reticent attitude towards Ashley, and that he wants Chris to just make a move. To this, Chris can laugh or ask Josh to "cut it out."

The disappearance of the twins has caused Chris to feel concern for Josh, and he discusses these concerns with Sam in the cable car and may voice them to Josh himself outside the lodge. While facing the saw trap, Josh claims that he and Chris have been through a lot together. However, he also reveals that the two have had some problems because of Josh's mental health concerns, and that they haven't been as close lately. As the Psycho, Josh spends a large portion of the night tormenting Chris, but, when Josh is in trouble, Chris will go to save him, either claiming he won't let anything else happen to him or that he's supposed to be Josh's best friend.

It is possible that Josh feels some internal resentment for Chris. If the player likes Chris the least, Dr. Hill will ask Josh if he somehow believes that Chris deserves to be tormented. However, Hill will revisit this later, pushing Josh to question how he could hate his best friend.

By the end of the game, if Chris is the sole survivor, he will be asked about Josh's whereabouts. To this, Chris will tearfully tell the police to search the mines.

Until Dawn

One Year Ago

Chris and Josh as seen on the camera.

Chris and Josh were the only protagonists besides Sam to not participate in the prank on Hannah. Instead, they were passed out drunk together in the kitchen. In the 2024 version of the game, Chris is asleep on a couch while Josh is passed out at the counter. Hannah and Beth later move Josh to the sofa next to Chris'. The two can be seen having drinks together in a camera picture.

Chapter 1

At the gate, Sam will find a note from Chris saying that the gate is busted, and can, upon flipping the note over, read an email exchange between Chris and Josh regarding how to get up to the mountain. In the remake only, Sam can find an engraved heart with the words "Chris 4 Josh" written in the snow on top of Josh's truck.

In the cable car, Chris will start to explain the story of how he and Josh met, and how if they never got moved next to each other in class, they may never have become friends. Chris will also mention Josh was really excited to get everyone together again.

Chapter 2

Chris and Josh walk up to the lodge along with Sam, and Chris comments on the poor reception, asking when Josh will install some cell towers. In response, Josh asks if he has a spare million dollars lying around, and Chris jokes that he's left the money for it in his other coat. Outside the front door, he has the option to express concern for Josh and wonder if Josh is doing alright regarding the loss of the twins. To this, Josh will curtly respond that he's fine, though his relationship with Chris will increase. They discover the lock is frozen shut, and head to the side of the lodge to find a window. On the way, Josh will start to tease Chris about Ashley, telling him that it's time to finally go for it, since they're up on a secluded mountain. Chris may either agree with Josh or become agitated and ask him to back off.

If Chris remains idle before tying to move the dumpster outside the lodge window, he begins to complain about his phone, saying it’s out of juice and that he’s had to turn off his GPS. Josh tells Chris to “cool it on the phone talk” and says there are no apps for getting into the lodge or getting laid.

Josh will compliment Chris' idea to push the dumpster under the window for better access, and then toss him a lighter, instructing him to let everyone in by grabbing the deodorant from the bathroom using it like a flamethrower just like they did with their toys. Josh will then leave Chris to it, saluting him. When Chris finally opens the lodge door, a wolverine which had been in the bathroom cabinet will burst from the lodge, startling Chris. In response, Josh will tease Chris, saying he'll be a big boy soon.

Later, after Mike, Jessica, Matt, and Emily have left the lodge, Josh tasks Chris and Ashley with locating the spirit board. Josh heads down to the basement with Sam to turn on the boiler, where Chris will prank them with the costume pieces he's found. Josh will praise Chris for his prank and high five him.

Relationship Status

• If Chris chooses to worry about Josh, their relationship will slightly increase.
• If Chris agrees with Josh about Ashley, their relationship will slightly increase.

Chapter 3

Upstairs, Chris, Josh, and Ashley prepare for a séance with the spirit board. Chris will joke about how all present will have to remove any garments under his discretion, and Josh will admonish him for not taking things seriously. After a series of questions reveal that they are speaking to one of Josh's sisters, the pointer will fly off the board. Josh goes into a fit of panic, trying not to believe what he just saw. He then accuses Chris and Ashley of messing with him and storms off in anger. Chris believes it'd be best to leave him alone for now.

While exploring the lodge for clues about what happened to the twins, Chris and Ashley hear Josh screaming from the kitchen. They hurry to help him only to both be knocked out by the Psycho.

Fourth Therapy Session

In this therapy session, Dr. Hill tasks the player, aka Josh, to pick who he prefers out of different pairs of the friend group. This exercise affects Josh's relationships with the other characters in-game. In the first 4 sets, the person the player picks to like the most will gain a slight relationship boost with Josh, while the person that was not picked will have their relationship with Josh slightly decrease.

Relationship Status

• If Josh prefers Chris over Ashley, Chris and Josh's relationship will slightly increase.
• If Josh doesn't prefer Chris over Ashley, Chris and Josh's relationship will slightly decrease.

Chapter 4

Chris wakes up on the kitchen floor and finds that Josh and Ashley are missing. He heads up to the shed and discovers them tied up to a wall opposite a saw blade. The Psycho will instruct Chris to choose whom he wants to save between Josh and Ashley.

As Chris decides, Josh will plead with him and comment on the state of their friendship, saying they haven't been as close lately and that he [Josh] has been "messed up." He'll swear that he's getting better. However, even if Chris decides to save Josh, the saw blade will always turn onto Josh's track, bisecting him. Chris will untie Ashley and guide her from the shed. When the pair run into Emily and Matt, Chris will cry and say it's his fault that Josh is dead.

Relationship Status

• If Chris decides to save Ashley, his relationship with Josh will decrease.
• If Chris decides to save Josh, his relationship with Josh will slightly increase.

Chapter 6

Chris and Ashley search the lodge for Sam in an attempt to save her from the Psycho. On their way down to the movie theater, Ashley will try to talk to Chris about Josh's apparent death. She'll tell him she understands that he and Josh were close and that losing him must be hard. Chris will refuse to talk about it, saying he doesn't want to think about what happened and wants to focus on finding Sam.

Later, when Chris and Ashley are stuck in a saw trap together, the Psycho will begin to speak to them. Chris will recognize him as the person who killed Josh and call him "a murdering piece of shit" and a monster.

Chapter 7

Josh reveals himself to be the Psycho, claiming that everything he did was for revenge because of the prank on Hannah, to make his friends understand how the twins felt, and to get everyone views online via a video of the prank he intends to post. After Sam and Mike release Ashley and Chris, Mike accuses Josh of murdering Jessica and knocks him out.

Mike and Chris escort a now-bound Josh outdoors to the shed, despite his protests. If Josh had previously punched Ashley for stabbing him with scissors, Chris will pay him back with a punch to the face, stating he should never hit a girl. Chris also has options to either brush off what Josh is trying to tell them or be skeptical, believing Josh would never do something like hurt Jessica.

After he and Mike tie Josh to a support pillar, they all talk. If Chris had said he'd save Ashley over Josh in the saw trap, Josh will antagonize Chris. After Josh makes inappropriate comments about Jessica's supposed death, Mike loses his composure and points a gun at him. Here, Chris may disarm Mike, hit Josh, or do nothing. If he chooses to hit Josh, he will angrily knock him out with a piece of wood and then will be shocked at what he's done. Regardless of Chris' choice, Mike tells Chris to return to the lodge to check on everyone else, while Mike guards Josh for the night.

Relationship Status

• If Chris chooses to scold Josh, their relationship will slightly decrease.
• However, if Chris scolds Josh, but is skeptical afterwards, their relationship will slightly increase.
• If Chris chooses to dismiss Josh and is aggressive instead of angry, their relationship will slightly decrease.
• If Chris is aggressive instead of defensive, his relationship with Josh will slightly decrease.
• If Josh is able to taunt Chris, their relationship will slightly decrease.
• If Chris disarms Mike, their relationship will slightly increase.
• If Chris hits Josh, their relationship will slightly decrease.

Chapter 8

The Stranger will arrive at the lodge and inform the group about the Wendigo curse. When Mike tells the others he left Josh in the shed, the Stranger says that means he is dead. Chris will respond in disbelief, saying they only just left him. If he'd previously hit Josh, he will say that he cannot let anything else happen to him after knocking him out. If he hadn't hit Josh, he will say that he's supposed to be Josh's best friend and has let him down. Regardless, he will insist on leaving to bring Josh back inside, despite the risk.

The Stranger accompanies Chris to the shed where they discover that Josh has already been seized by the Wendigo. Chris urges that they have to continue to search for Josh, but the Stranger convinces him that they must return to the lodge. Chris may still look inside the shed and interact with buzzsaw and Josh's fake body used in the first trap.

Chapter 10

During his hallucinations in the mines, Josh will hear Chris’ voice (alongside Ashley, Mike and Sam’s), telling him that he manipulated everyone. He calls Josh a coward and asks if he’s insane. This indicates that Josh is struggling with what he did to Chris and with how Chris might think of him now.

Credits

Should Chris survive, he can potentially mention Josh in his interviews. If he had hit Josh in the shed, Chris will say that Josh was acting like a maniac and was trying to mess with their heads.

In the event that Chris is the sole survivor (Josh notwithstanding), we will see him be asked about Josh. He sobs as he learns that Josh hasn't been found. He then tells the police that the Wendigo must have taken Josh to the mines, as that is the only logical explanation.

Trivia

• According to Josh’s Companion App bio, he is “something of an older brother figure to Chris.”
• Game director Will Byles has stated in a podcast that one reason, among others, for Chris’ removal from the prank was so that Josh would not be drinking alone during the party in the prologue.
  • In the remake, Josh is back to being shown passed out drunk alone at the counter because Chris passed out on the couch, although Josh still isn't the only one passed out.
• Byles has commented on Chris and Josh's friendship and the fanbase's response to it, saying: "There was even a kind of the shipping between Chris and Josh. That became a thing that we hadn't written in, but we did want to have them to have quite a close relationship."
• In the remake, Chris must be alive in order for the player to achieve Josh’s human survival ending.
  • This is because all the protagonists must be alive by the point where Josh is walking through the lair with Mike, heading to the lake. Chris is the only protagonist who has no deaths after this moment.
• Cut dialogue shows that, in an earlier version of the game, Chris was able to discover Josh's Psychiatric Report. He brings this up on the way to the shed as backing for why he does not believe Josh killed Jessica, telling Mike that Josh's history does not seem violent. Josh expresses anger at the fact that Chris read his file.
  • In another cut line from the shed, Josh asks Chris if he feels nothing seeing his best friend tied up and "waiting for the gas chamber."
• Chris and Josh are both fans of John Wayne.
  • In cut dialogue, after first getting into the lodge, Chris finds something related to John Wayne which causes Josh and him to start quoting characters.
  • The nickname Josh has given Chris, "Cochise," is a name associated with the John Wayne films Hondo and El Dorado.
• If the player takes a long time to reach the lodge window while Chris and Josh are trying to find a way to the lodge, the two of them will have an extra conversation about Chris' phone. Chris will complain about his apps not working, and Josh will express annoyance at Chris' reliance on technology.
  • Cut dialogue shows that this conversation was initially longer and involved Chris begging to use Josh's phone. Josh denies the request, saying that Chris is addicted, and Chris pretends to be a zombie who is an addict.
• Chris is one of four protagonists - the others being Ashley, Sam (remake only), and Mike - who Josh hears while hallucinating in the mines.
• If the player chooses to have Josh dislike Chris the most, Hill will refer to Chris again in the eighth therapy session.
  • If Chris is most disliked, Dr. Hill will say, "Why did you hurt them? Chris was your best friend... and yet you despised him THAT much?"
  • Chris, Ashley, and Josh himself are the only characters brought up again in the eighth therapy session if chosen as the most disliked.
• In the third therapy session, Dr. Hill brings up Chris if Josh/the player chooses to feel sympathy towards those who fear failure.
  • Chris is the only character who is brought up only after the player selects sympathy. Mike, Ashley, and Sam are discussed if their fears come up, regardless of whether Josh sympathizes with their fears or despises them. Emily is only discussed if Josh despises people who fear failure.
• In Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, both Josh and Chris are ranked within the top three on the scoreboard.
  • Josh's father, Bob Washington, is ranked first, while Josh and Chris are ranked second and third respectively.

Quotes

• "You know how Josh and I met?" - Chris.
  • "No...?" - Sam.
  • "OK. Third grade. Josh sat in the back of the room, I sat in the front. We didn't know each other existed. But the kid sitting next to Josh started strap snapping the training bra on the girl in front of him so the teacher made him move to the front - where I was sitting!" - Chris.
  • "Okay, so?" - Sam.
  • "So I got moved to the back!" - Chris.
  • "And?" - Sam.
  • "And next to Josh! That's how we met!" - Chris talking to Sam about how he met Josh, Chapter 1.

• "Should have paid more attention in climbing class." - Chris.
  • "You mean gym?" - Josh after Chris breaks down into the lodge and clumsily falls down, Chapter 2.

• "I'm supposed to be his best friend, and I let him down. I'm going to go get him." - Chris deciding to retrieve Josh from the shed, Chapter 8.

• "And Josh?" - Interviewer.
  • "What about him?" - Chris.
  • "We haven't recovered his body." - Interviewer.
  • The Wendigo." - Chris.
  • "What?" - Interviewer.
  • "It's the only thing that makes sense... The Wendigo took him down into the mines." - Chris during the Credits.

• "Why did you hit Josh?" - Interviewer.
  • "He was acting like a maniac, and I... I had to stop him." - Chris.
  • "I thought you said he was tied up-" - Interviewer.
  • "Yeah but- Okay, I-... Okay. I know it looks bad. But you don't understand... he was trying to fuck with our heads." - Chris if he knocked Josh out in the shed.