He is the first face you see in the 2024 remake's updated prologue. Slumped over a kitchen table, passed out from too much booze while his sisters walk into a death trap. It's a brutal way to start a story. Josh Washington is arguably the most tragic figure in Until Dawn, yet for years, players have written him off as just another "slasher" villain.
They’re wrong.
Josh isn't a killer. He never was. While the rest of the cast—Mike, Emily, even the "sweet" Ashley—can literally murder each other depending on your choices, Josh's hands are technically clean of blood. He's a guy who lost his mind because he couldn't handle the weight of a world that took his family and gave him a bill for it.
The "Psycho" Who Didn't Actually Kill Anyone
Josh Washington spent an entire year planning his "revenge." He bought movie-grade special effects. He rigged an entire mountain with traps. He wore a terrifying mask and stalked his best friends through the snow.
But look at the results.
If you play the game through, you'll realize the "Psycho" never actually inflicts physical harm. He punches Chris once. He knocks out Ashley with some gas. The "saw" that threatens to rip them apart? It’s a prop. The "blood" on the floor? Corn syrup and dye. Josh didn't want his friends dead; he wanted them to feel what he felt. He wanted to "heal" them through shared trauma, a logic that only makes sense to someone deep in a psychotic break.
Honestly, it’s kind of heartbreaking. He calls himself a "healer" in his final breakdown. He truly believed that by putting Chris and Ashley in a life-or-death situation, he was helping them finally confess their love. It's the most twisted wingman move in gaming history.
Why Rami Malek’s Performance Still Hits Different
Before he was winning Oscars for Bohemian Rhapsody or hacking the world in Mr. Robot, Rami Malek was giving us one of the most nuanced performances in horror. In the 2015 original, his "Josh" was already unsettling. In the 2026 landscape of gaming—where facial capture technology has peaked—looking back at his performance reveals how much he did with just his eyes.
Malek portrays Josh with a frantic, desperate energy. You’ve got to watch the way he "joshes" around with Sam. It’s forced. He’s performing "Happy Josh" because the real Josh is drowning. When the mask finally comes off in Chapter 7, the transition from smug mastermind to a weeping, broken kid is jarring.
He didn't just voice a character. He did the full motion capture. Every twitch, every stutter, every look of pure terror when he realizes the "real" monsters are actually there—that’s all Malek. It’s a reminder that Josh is a victim of the mountain just as much as Hannah and Beth were.
The Misunderstood Medical History
If you're a completionist, you've probably found the psychiatric reports scattered around the lodge. If you haven't, you're missing the core of his character.
- Early Diagnosis: Josh was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder at age 11.
- The Wrong Meds: Dr. Hill (or the version of him in Josh’s head) mentions he was on high doses of Phenelzine.
- The Schizophrenia Debate: Many fans and some in-game clues suggest Josh was actually misdiagnosed. He wasn't just depressed; he was likely dealing with undiagnosed schizophrenia or severe psychosis, made infinitely worse by the fact that he stopped taking his medication after the twins vanished.
Imagine being 20 years old, off your meds, and living in the spot where your sisters disappeared. You’d probably start seeing giant pigs and talking to your psychiatrist's ghost too.
The Tragic Truth of Josh's Endings
Most characters in Until Dawn have a "good" ending. They get rescued by the chopper, they give their statements to the cops, and they go home to process the trauma.
Josh doesn't get that.
In the original game's logic, Josh has the most binary fate of the group. He is the only character who cannot be "saved" in the traditional sense. You can’t get him on that helicopter.
Outcome A: The Head Crush
If you fail to find Hannah’s journal in the mines (the one where she details her transformation), Josh won't recognize the Wendigo when it attacks. Hannah—now a monster—doesn't recognize him either. She crushes his skull like a grape. It’s fast, it’s violent, and it’s the end of the Washington bloodline.
Outcome B: The Wendigo Transformation
This is what people often call the "Good Ending" for Josh, which is a bit of a stretch. If Sam finds the journal, she tells Josh about Hannah's tattoo. When Wendigo-Hannah grabs him, he recognizes her. She drags him off into the darkness instead of killing him.
The post-credits scene reveals the cost. Josh is found by the authorities, but he’s already "turned." He’s hunched over, eating a human head (usually the Flamethrower Man), with his skin turning that sickly, pale white. He becomes the very thing he feared.
How to Get the Best Possible Result for Josh
While you can’t get Josh a happy ending where he’s sipping lattes in a city, you can ensure he survives the night. To do this, you have to be meticulous. One wrong move and he's gone.
- Be Nice as Sam: When playing as Sam, don't mock Josh. When he mentions playing baseball with his family, take it seriously. It keeps his "mental health" stat higher.
- The Shed Decision: When Chris and Mike take Josh to the shed, have Chris disarm Mike or refuse to hit Josh. It doesn't change the plot, but it changes the tone of their "friendship."
- The Journal (Crucial): In Chapter 10, when Sam and Mike are wading through the water in the mines, hug the left wall. You’ll find a ledge you can climb. Up there is Hannah’s diary. If you don't read this, Josh dies. Period.
- The Tattoo: Because you read the diary, Sam will mention the butterfly tattoo to Josh. This is the "flag" that keeps him alive during the encounter with Hannah.
Why Josh Matters in 2026
We've seen a lot of horror games try to tackle mental health lately. Some do it well; most do it poorly. Until Dawn’s portrayal of Josh Washington remains a gold standard because it doesn't make him a "villain" because of his illness. It makes him a villain because of his grief, and his illness is just the lens that distorts his response to that grief.
He’s a reminder that the "monster" isn't always the thing with claws. Sometimes, it’s the guy who just wanted his friends to stay for one more drink so he wouldn't have to be alone with his thoughts.
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If you're jumping back into the game, pay attention to the background details in the Washington house. Look at the family photos. Look at the trophies. Josh was a kid with a bright future who got hit by a tidal wave of bad luck and bad decisions. He deserved a better doctor, better friends, and definitely a better ending.
Next Steps for Players:
If you want to see the full extent of Josh’s breakdown, try a "worst-case" playthrough where you intentionally fail the psychiatric segments with Dr. Hill. Choosing the "scariest" options (like the needle or the clown) will actually change the props Josh uses later in the game, giving you a deeper look into his fractured psyche. Just don't forget to grab that journal in Chapter 10 if you want him to make it to the credits.