Ryan Clayton

"You're special, Jodie… and Aiden has got nothing to do with this."

—Ryan during "The Dinner"

Ryan Clayton is a supporting character in Beyond: Two Souls.

Background[]

According to his gravestone, shown if he dies in "Black Sun," Ryan was born on April 24, 1977.

He reveals details of his background to Jodie in "The Dinner." According to himself, he was born in Oregon and grew up with an abusive stepfather. He moved out when he was 16 and joined the United States Army after college. A CIA recruiter offered him a position in the agency, and he jumped at the opportunity to leave the Army. He married an unnamed woman, but the couple separated two years before "The Dinner." He also tells Jodie that his parents and brother still live in Oregon, but he rarely visits them.

Events of Beyond: Two Souls[]

Separation[]

Ryan forcibly recruits Jodie into the CIA's Paranormal Division. Regardless of her reaction, he is cold and impatient, telling her he "doesn't give a shit about her pathetic adolescent pouting" when she refuses to leave with him. In the end, Jodie is forced to pack her things and leave the DPA facility.

Welcome to the CIA[]

For the next three years, Ryan oversees Jodie's training at Camp Peary alongside Vince and Nick. At the end of the final course, Ryan holds a gun to Jodie's head and claims that if the test were real, she'd be dead already. Undeterred, Jodie retorts that if the test were real, he wouldn't be able to open his mouth. Aiden possesses one of the operatives and holds a rifle to Ryan's head, causing him to back off and reluctantly congratulate Jodie.

The Embassy[]

Ryan accompanies Jodie on her first field assignment.

The Dinner[]

Jodie invites Ryan to her apartment for dinner. If there is no dinner by the time Ryan arrives, or if Aiden interrupts the date enough times, Ryan leaves early, upsetting Jodie. If Aiden leaves them alone, Jodie is given the option to kiss Ryan at the dinner table. If she rejects him, Ryan leaves the apartment. If she was not assaulted in "Like Other Girls" and kisses Ryan, they make love; if she was assaulted, she has a flashback and begins crying, causing Ryan to leave.

The Mission[]

Ryan sends Jodie on a mission in Somalia to kill a man on behalf of the CIA. He claims that the target is one of the worst warlords in the area, and warns that there will be no backup. Jodie has the option to kiss him before she leaves. After she completes the mission, inadvertently killing the father of a child she had befriended, Ryan retrieves her (contrary to his earlier warnings). As they are being flown home, Jodie turns on the news and discovers that the "warlord" was actually the democratically elected president and the nation's best hope for peace and stability. Incensed and disgusted, she confronts Ryan, who tells her they were only following orders. Jodie jumps out of the helicopter and goes on the run.

Briefing[]

After being caught by the CIA and offered a deal for her freedom, Jodie is assigned to destroy a condenser in the Republic of Kazirstan. At the conclusion of the briefing, she is reintroduced to her former team, including Ryan. Vince and Nick are happy to see her, but Ryan is hesitant to speak to her. Regardless of which dialogue option is chosen, Jodie is angry and distant towards him.

Dragon's Hideout[]

Jodie and Ryan are captured by General Wang Ziyang, who threatens to cut Ryan's eye out if Jodie refuses to divulge information. She can choose to speak up or remain silent. After escaping the base, Ryan confesses that he loves Jodie. She can choose to reject or forgive him.

Black Sun[]

When Jodie walks out of the meeting at the Pentagon, she encounters Ryan sitting alone. They contemplate their choices and discuss plans for the future, with Ryan stating that the agency already has his future planned for him. He asks her if they can build a new life together, which she can either refuse or accept. Cole approaches, saying that Nathan is looking for Jodie. He invites Ryan to share a drink with him in his office.

After Jodie is injected with the neuro-acid, she sends Aiden to find help. He finds Cole and Ryan in the former's office and disturbs objects in the room to alert them to his presence. Ryan immediately realizes something is wrong with Jodie. Aiden leads the men to the room Jodie is held in, and they free her just as Nathan deactivates the containment field around the Black Sun. As people evacuate the facility, General McGrath orders Ryan to help him escape. Ryan instead punches him to the ground and tells him to "consider that [his] resignation."

Ryan is reluctant to enter the rift, claiming they should leave it to the military. However, when Jodie grabs a containment belt, he reluctantly grabs one as well and joins her and Cole in the elevator. When he asks Cole how much time they'll have to escape after the explosion, Cole grimly admits that they won't be coming back. Inside the Black Sun, Ryan may help Jodie rescue Cole if she reaches him in time, or drag her back to the chamber if she fails to save Cole. Regardless, the duo continue without Cole and are separated.

Alone, Jodie comes across Nathan, who is searching for his family. If she is compassionate and tries to reason with Nathan, he will shoot himself; if she is cold, he shoots her in the shoulder. If Aiden does nothing after Jodie is shot, Ryan and Nathan both die in a struggle over Nathan's gun. If Ryan is killed, Jodie begs him not to die. Regardless of her previous choices regarding him, she tearfully admits that she loves him and shares a final kiss with him. If Ryan is still alive, they fight the attacking entities, only for Jodie's belt to malfunction. Ryan gives his still-working belt to her. If he is dead, she cries over his body before continuing alone.

If Jodie successfully deactivates the condenser, she is given the choice to die and enter the Beyond or return to life. If she chooses to die and Ryan is alive, he finds her dead body after the explosion and begs her to wake up. If Ryan is dead, he appears as one of the spirits waiting for her on the other side. If she chooses to live, she wakes up after the explosion and realizes Aiden is no longer tethered to her. Ryan, if alive, hugs her.

Epilogue[]

If he survives "Black Sun," Ryan appears in all of the epilogues (except for the cutscene shown if Jodie dies before reaching the condenser). If he is dead, Jodie mourns at his grave.

If Jodie chooses to enter the Beyond and Ryan is alive, she visits him as an entity but does not make her presence known. His appearance is noticeably haggard, and there are several photos of her on the table in front of him.

If Jodie chooses to live with Ryan, they go on vacation to an island together and try to live a normal life.

If Jodie chooses to live with Jay, with Zoey, or alone and Ryan is alive, she tells him that she cannot see a future with him. He accepts her choice, but tells her that he'll wait for her.

Trivia[]

According to himself in "The Dinner," he has a house with a small garden.
Ryan is one of two characters Jodie can sleep with, the other being Jay (if she chooses him in the epilogue). Jodie can only sleep with Ryan if she left the bar before the men invited her to play pool in "Like Other Girls." If she did not leave the bar and was assaulted, she will have flashbacks and Ryan will leave.
Ryan and Cole are the only characters to appear in every variation of the epilogue, if they are alive.
If Jodie chooses not to speak up when interrogated in "Dragon's Hideout," Ryan's left eye will be cut out and he will appear wearing an eyepatch in subsequent chapters.
Ryan is 13 years older than Jodie.
In "The Dinner," he states that he was approached by the CIA after being discharged from the Army. This would suggest that he was either a special operations and/or intelligence officer while in the Army, as they are more often approached for jobs by intelligence agencies rather than veterans of conventional units.
Ryan smokes, evidenced by the presence of an ashtray in his house if Jodie visits him from the Beyond. It is unknown whether this was a pre-existing habit or something he picked up to cope with the stress of her death.