Bad Parenting story and ending explained

An incredibly dark and grotesque tale, Bad Parenting 1: Mr Red Face tells the story of a young boy and his bad parents.

Here is our explanation of Bad Parenting 1: Mr Red Face‘s story and ending.

Bad Parenting Mr Red Face: Story explained

Bad Parenting 1 follows the story of Ron. Ron’s mother is neglectful as she spends every day at work, coming home around midnight. As Mom is the only parent bringing in the money, Dad stays home drinking all day and takes his frustrations out on Ron. At the beginning of the game, it is heavily implied that Dad thinks Mom is having an affair. Ron misses out on the rest of this conversation as Mom tricks him to go back to his room and sleep so that “Mr. Redface” can leave him a birthday present.

Awakened by a clap of lightning. Mr. Redface appears at night to give Ron a gift. A doll appears, with the same name and features as Ron. Weirdly, the Ron doll has a bent neck and can “feel” everything Ron feels.

The game consists of two main events. First, the dad is taken by Redface (referred to as “Master” by Ron doll), and then the mom gets taken. Both events lead Ron into the closet, which acts as a portal to another world. Ron first attempts to rescue his father, who’s trapped in prison, shaking and begging for something to “stop punishing” him. His mother is seen crying at a table, where the doll gets Ron to throw a spell to defeat Mr. Redface.

We learn that Ron needs medication for his hallucinations. Mom is concerned for his health, pointing out his lack of eating and saying that while his made-up stories keep changing, the doll always remains part of the story. Redface is defeated, and the morbid truth behind the “Master” is revealed.

Bad Parenting Mr Redface: Ending explained

Mr. Redface is confirmed to be Ron’s father. His repeated drinking gives Dad the “red face,” manifesting as Mr. Redface. His created stories are an attempt to cure his relationship with his father, who physically abuses him.

That creepy scene of Mr. Redface darting around the room like a stop-motion film of Nosferatu actually has a much darker meaning. Truth is, Ron was murdered by his father on the first night (when the game began).

Ron never made it past his birthday. His “gift” from Redface was actually his death, where Dad came into his room at night and murdered him in a drunken rage after Mom told him they were getting a divorce. What we first see of Redface going into the closet was Ron’s dad dumping his now lifeless body inside. The bent neck of the Ron doll is the physical manifestation of Ron’s cause of death.

The next day, Mom finds his body inside the closet and falls to her knees, sobbing. She’s seen speaking to the police, and an anonymous tip is dropped off. This tip tells the police that the Dad is hiding inside a motel, haunted by Ron as he sees his dead son every night, asking him to come home. These scenes correspond to the events of Dad and Mom’s disappearance.

Ron’s hallucinations weren’t fake at all. The portals and other worlds we see act as a limbo for the lost children. Ron, alongside the other (seemingly) murdered children, can peer into their real world to “find their parents.” Using these portals to his advantage, the “doll” version of Ron (called the “knowing” part) haunts his father to learn of his whereabouts and tells the police with the spell to defeat Redface. Dad is arrested, and justice is served through Ron’s haunting.

The final scene shows each child and what we presume to be the spot where they died rather than their final resting place. Ron is inside the closet, the girl is inside a grave (presumably buried alive), a red-haired boy sits on a campfire (died in a fire), and the last boy is inside the trunk of a car (kidnapped). Based on Ron’s death and the position we find these children in, we can only assume that they were murdered, too.