| FROM AN ARG OR ARE This article discusses content originating from the ARG or ARE Marble Hornets and thus is confirmed to be fictional. Characters and organizations discussed are portrayed by actors. |
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| Jay Merrick | |
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Name |
Jay |
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Identity |
Human |
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Series |
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Condition |
Deceased |
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Actor |
Troy Wagner |
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Height: |
5`10" (1.78 m) |
Jay Merrick was the main protagonist of the MarbleHornets ARG and was the central point of view in MH for the majority of the series until he was fatally wounded via gunshot by Alex during Entry #80. Although he was teleported away by the Operator after being shot, his fate wasn't revealed until his body was discovered by Tim in Entry #83, confirming his death.
History
Originally brought in as the main cameraman for Marble Hornets, he began to catalog the strange occurrences, notably Alex and his mental breakdown. After watching the tapes that showed the odd events, Jay continued searching for answers, leading to several sights and encounters with an individual known as The Operator and various people caught in its existence.
During Entry #83 Tim's search for Jay finally comes to an end as he encounters Jay, now dead with a bullet wound as he was teleported to various locations. His body was surrounded by pieces of paper with the Operator symbol on them, and a note that read "YOUR FAULT". Assuming Hoodie was responsible, Tim goes after him to get revenge for Jay's murder.
Appearance
Personality
Jay was a very determined individual who seemed to give out a great deal of effort into figuring out what was going on, with repeated ventures into areas he had seen The Operator in before, alone. He also seemed rather oblivious and slightly unintelligent at first, but as time went on, he learned as seen from the beginning when sharing his location to his audience about going to the red tower, and then in later entries as he continues to change locations without telling anybody where he was going. The overall growth of Jay's character is paced but quickly becomes noticeable as time through Marble Hornets progresses. Like Alex, he videotaped himself constantly, although this was more to keep his thoughts intact as well as keep a record of his accounts due to many different lapses of memory. He did show coughing fits, lapses in time, amnesia, and many odd symptoms assumed to be prolonged exposure to The Operator.
Jay's biggest problem was certainly his impulsivity, which ultimately led to his demise. Whether he was going to Brian's House at night with no defense, attempting to break into Alex's place when he was taking out the trash, wandering into the woods by himself while waiting for Alex, or trying to follow Tim into Benedict Hall, Jay made a large series of irrational decisions with little problem-solving. He, at one point, told Tim that his plan was "Find Tim", then "Find Jessica", with no details on how he precisely wanted to perform these actions and pull this off. Unlike Tim or Alex who often contemplated how to perform specific objectives and what to do, Jay rarely put any forethought into his actions, and tended to react rather than proactively plan. While he escaped death multiple times throughout the series despite this, he ultimately died as a result of his impulsive decisions.
Jay was also prone to anger. He would vehemently defend his actions to others even when he truly needed help or was wrong, and told Tim several times that he refused to see a doctor, instead blaming his psychosis on lack of sleep. Regardless of what Tim tried to tell him or the suggestions others gave him, Jay was stubbornly determined to allow his plan to play out as it was.
