Who Is Birdie’s Husband? | Stardew Valley Theory
If you’ve fixed Willy’s boat and paid him to take you to Ginger Island, you might notice a little shack on the far West side. This shack belongs to Birdie, an old woman with a purple bowtie and a starfish in her hair dedicated to preserving the memory of her late husband.
“He set sail one day,” she recalls, “never to return.” Since then, she’s walked along the beach every day to see if anything new has washed up, his “wrecked ship on the south shore” a constant reminder of her loss. When you first speak to her, she tells
You she’s looking for a keepsake of his, something to bring her some peace. Shortly after, she gives you an old photograph of a soldier that she found on one of her many walks along the beach. This photograph leads you on a gift-giving journey that includes nearly everyone in town;
You go from Kent to Gus to George and pay a visit to the wizard eventually receiving a wriggling worm. This worm just so happens to be the perfect catfish bait for Willy and, as luck should have it, he trades it to you for a Pirate’s Locket. THE Pirate’s locket which once
Belonged to Birdie’s husband. But that’s the big question isn’t it? Who does this locket belong to, who is Birdie’s husband? Well I think I’ve figured it out. The crazy thing is, if you’ve ever married someone in Stardew Valley, you’ve met him.
If you’ve ever slept the night at the Island Farmhouse, you’ve been in the same room as him. Today I’ll be telling you exactly who it is and exactly how he and Birdie lost each other in the first place. This is the story of the lost pirate.
Okay so when I started trying to figure this out, I thought it would be easy. Like, let’s look at all the characters from Stardew Valley. It’s Birdie’s husband so right from the get go, that rules out quite a few candidates. It’s most definitely not any of the bachelors or Vincent
Since they probably weren’t even alive yet when Birdie was of marriageable age– I mean look at her. And some of the men in the town like Kent and Demetrius are already married, so we’re left with Gunther, Lewis… uh… Krobus?… but we’re also left with one very promising candidate.
Marlon. I mean, look. He’s got an eyepatch. He says he lost his eye in the caves, but he never specifies which caves, it very well might have been the caves on Ginger Island when he was with Birdie. Additionally, right behind the counter in the Adventurer’s Guild,
He has a map with a classic red X marking where some treasure might be hidden. And despite clearly saying that he never misses any of the town festivals, he isn’t in attendance at all during the Moonlight Jellies Festival and during the Luau he stays far,
Far away from the shoreline. Perhaps he’s afraid of the water due to his involvement in a terrible, traumatizing shipwreck? That would explain why out of all the villagers he lives the absolute furthest away from the Gem Sea. So, yeah. Marlon is a seemingly perfect fit. He’s about the right
Age, has a rugged, adventurous demeanor that suits a pirate, and a suspicious aversion to the ocean. And, you know, I could definitely see Marlon and Birdie living happily together. But there is one glaring issue here that brings this entire Marlon theory crumbling down.
See, when you talk to Birdie, she says it took her… uh… “three years sailing the high seas to find his REMAINS.” Birdie’s husband is dead and she even has his bones so that rules out any living villager in Pelican Town… with bones.
Alright so let’s re-group and review the facts: Birdie’s husband is most certainly 1) dead 2) a pirate and 3) the captain of the wrecked ship on Ginger Island. After hours reading through the Stardew Wiki, I realized that the answer is even
More fitting than Marlon. And like I said before: if you’ve ever married anyone in Stardew Valley, you’ve already met him. That’s right, Birdie’s husband is Lewis. No, just kidding. But Lewis does play a big part by sending you a letter telling you that “to ask for someone’s hand in marriage,
You’ll need to give them a ‘Mermaid’s Pendant’. Don’t worry,” he says, “everyone in Pelican Town understands the significance of the amulet. It’s an ancient tradition in this region.” In one of the Lost Books, too, paid by Pierre, it reads that “on stormy days,
It’s rumored that the ghost of an Old Mariner appears, clutching just such a pendant.” And, yeah, that’s our man. Birdie’s husband is the Old Mariner who sells you the Mermaid’s Pendant on the eastern side of the beach. And you know what? I can even tell you his name.
But I’m sure you’re skeptical, I mean, how could I possibly know this? Well, for starters, he talks like a pirate. “Ah, I can see it in yer eyes… There be a special someone in yer heart. Just so happens I’m sellin’ a ‘Mermaid’s Pendant’. Give that te yer intended and
They’ll know exactly what ye mean.” Some of the most substantial evidence, however, lies in the Journal Scraps you find scattered around Ginger Island. These Journal Scraps are written by a sailor who washed ashore, documenting his story of survival on the Island.
I have good reason to believe that this sailor is Birdie’s Husband and, therefore, the Old Mariner. OK, let’s start from the beginning: Journal Scrap #1: Day 1. My Ship is lost… Shattered by a tempest in the unforgiving sea. I find myself stranded now, on these strange shores.
My crew has perished, but I still live.” I believe that this ship, shattered by a storm, is the wrecked ship you see on the southern shores of Ginger Island. Birdie says that her husband was the captain of that ship, which checks out because the author of
The Journal Scrap says that HIS crew had perished, HIS ship had gone down, leaving only him. If that’s not enough evidence, the author of these Journal Scraps MUST be a pirate because nothing says pirate more than a map with a red X to mark a buried treasure and Journal Scraps #4,
6, and #10 are all treasure maps. Plus, Journal Scrap #9 is about like… sirens and mermaids and Blackgull’s treasure. So…. preeetty pirate-y if you ask me. So with all this in mind, we now have evidence that the sailor that
Wrote these journal scraps was a pirate and not just any pirate, but Birdie’s husband, the captain of the wrecked ship. And what’s another word for sailor? Mariner, perhaps??? But let’s take a step back. How did Birdie’s husband even get the Mermaid
Pendant and how did he end up in Pelican Town? Well, I think this is how it goes. Birdie’s husband was the captain of a ship in search of Blackgull’s Treasure, but one day, a huge storm broke out, sending his ship crashing into the Ferngill Islands. Everyone perished,
Except him. He builds a new life on Ginger Island and he writes his experience in a tattered journal that survived the shipwreck. “I’ve no choice but to make a life for myself here,” he writes. “There’s fresh water in abundance, food to forage, and fertile soil to work.”
He learns about the island, the parrots, the golden walnuts, even the strange machines in the volcano. He builds a shelter and finds others living on the island as well. “Perhaps lady luck has blessed these wicked bones of mine” he ponders, “Or has her own designs for
My fate…” And lady luck certainly had plans of her own, because while exploring the island, he meets Birdie and they soon fall in love. Together, they create the Pirate Cove, a way to remember his former days as a captain. We know that he first discovered the hidden cove
On his *sixth day on the island writing about how “[he] … caught a stingray in the caves by the southeast shore,” the Pirate’s Cove being the only place to catch stingrays. Birdie and her husband had a wonderful life on Ginger Island. He gifted her a Mermaid’s
Pendant and they became a married couple. But Birdie’s pirate husband still longed for the sea. He was thirsty for adventure and soon enough, he set off to find one, taking Birdie’s Mermaid Pendant as a keepsake to remember her and setting
Out on a small rowboat much like the one we see in the pond of the Pirate’s Cove. The pirate was on the open seas once more, but this journey would go as poorly as the last. Torrential downpour and a terrible storm would hit the pirate’s small, makeshift boat, and this time,
He wouldn’t survive. His body washed ashore on the eastern part of the Pelican Town beach with a Mermaid’s Pendant around his neck, the place his spirit has remained ever since. There are some key steps to accessing the Old Mariner when looking to purchase the Mermaid
Pendant: you have to repair the bridge to access the eastern side of the beach, arrive before 7pm, and it has to be raining. And that last part is incredibly important. When it comes to the pirate, rain is usually associated with bad things and the absence of rain is associated with good things.
The Old Mariner only appears on the beach when it’s raining, because it was raining when his final ship wrecked. Although this is speculative, I think the fact that the mermaid on Ginger Island only appears when it’s raining may indicate that it was the mermaid or
A mermaid that distracted the members of the pirate’s first ship, leading to their crash. And because of all the tragedy associated with rainy days, the death of the pirate being one of them, this is the reason why Birdie can never be found when it rains. It can’t be a coincidence
Either that the Pirate’s Cove is only open on sunny, clear days. I mean… wouldn’t it even make more sense for it to be open when it’s raining because like… you can’t… sail during storms? However, the Old Mariner lives on not just as the ghost that sells the Mermaid’s Pendant. I also
Believe that the Island Farmhouse you repair on Ginger Island was the Old Mariner’s house that he shared with Birdie, the very site where he started his survival shelter. There’s a bit of unused text in the game code that reveals a tattered journal in the drawer of the island farmhouse,
Probably the one that once held the journal scraps you find around the island. Maybe this is why Birdie never goes near the Island Farmhouse. The shipwreck down shore is only a reminder of her husband’s death and the abandoned Island Farmhouse a remnant of their past life together.
There are also a ton of sprites that never got used in the game but are still in the code and one such sprite sheet is called AngryRoger.xnb. The sprite was a ghost of sorts, looking nothing like the Old Mariner, but on the bottom you can see a more human figure,
Wearing a hat and an outfit that looks all too familiar. And so this is the other piece of the puzzle: the Old Mariner’s name is Roger and he’s most likely angered by the decades he’s spent as a ghost, trapped between the world of the living and the world of the dead,
Stuck on a beach with the pendant of his beloved, never to return to her. The only thing he can do is to wait on that beach and sell his Mermaid’s Pendant to someone worthy who can use it. Even decades later, Birdie still walks the shores of Ginger Island
Every day in search of anything to keep as a reminder of her husband. As fate would have it, Willy would find his Locket and trade it to you for a wriggling worm. And so, that’s the story of Angry Roger, the Old Mariner, Birdie’s pirate husband, and the owner
Of the Pirate’s Locket. If this theory is correct, it’s pretty cool that the only way to get married in the game is with the help of Birdie’s husband. It’s kind of poetic, really. Like a relationship that ended in tragedy begins a new one. Although the pendant is undoubtedly a treasured possession,
I believe that Roger would want to help others to experience the joy and love that he himself felt in the happiest of times while he was still living with Birdie. Even after you’ve bought the pendant, you can still find him standing on the beach, doomed to an eternity on the shore where his
Ship crashed all those years ago. Separated from his love, but also hopefully a bit more fulfilled knowing that he selflessly helped you to grow closer with your own. Well that’s all I have today so leave a comment and let me know what you think
About this theory, I’m really interested to see. Thank you guys so much for watching, I really hope you enjoyed. If you did, feel free to leave a like or subscribe to the channel, I’d love to have you here. Alright, I’ll see you guys next time. Byeeee!
When I first completed the quest to acquire the Pirate’s Locket for Birdie in Stardew Valley, I immediately wondered who her husband was and I’m sure many others did as well. In this Stardew Valley Theory video, I describe the process through which I found the answer and provided all the evidence I could think to substantiate it. If you liked this Stardew Valley theory, feel free to leave a like or subscribe to the channel! 🏴☠️
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Time Stamps
00:00 – Birdie’s Quest
1:55 – Candidate Number One
4:01 – The Answer
5:55 – How Did They Meet?
7:06 – How’d He Get to Pelican Town?
7:42 – The Meaning Of Rain
9:13 – His Name
47 Comments
Nailed it ❤
Great theory and well-done video! My problem with the pirate isn't in your theory, but in the game itself. How could he be a seafaring pirate AND a soldier who fought alongside of Kent (who implies that he died in the war)?
What if Birdie is also dead, since the timing for her to still be alive but the mermaid pendant being a tradition seems too close? Maybe she is also a ghost, and they are doomed to be apart. Roger can only appear in the rain, and Birdie only in the sun. That's why she is a little erratic, she is reliving his death and the immediate aftermath every day.
Birdie
I like this theory a lot in many ways it fits nicely. There's just one thing…..Kent. Kent looks at the photo and says he fought with him in the war.
In my own mind I think that last "call to adventure" probably was the serving in the war using his maritime skills. Perhaps his boat was bombed and that's how his remains washed up on shore for Birdie to find.
I used to think that the mariner was Willy's dad but this theory makes WAY more sense
WHY DO I F33L LIKE CRYING!??!?!?! the last part was actually so… powerful and like i donno. i liked the ending. thx for making this vid charlie! luved it
What if birdie is a mermaid?
She can be young or old and change her appearance during raining.
Just a quick assumption, hehe.
This is crazy and it fits so well!
I’ve also heard theories that the old mariner is Willy’s father, so the fact Willy had his locket makes sense
Uhhhh…. Lewis has NEVER sent me a letter telling me where to go… I had Alex on 8 hearts and had to look up how to engage him! Bloody Lewis… <3
Amazing Lore! I have always suspected the old mariner… it would be amazing for u to do more of these!! >:D :>
i like the theory, very cool!
Just a quick question, I know in a gameplay sense it’s reasonable why the pendant costs money. But in a lore sense, why would a ghost need money? Why would he want to sell it to you instead of just giving it to you?
Hem…hem….ps4 old mariner trophy
im legit speechless
what happens if you give the locket to the mariner?
ah, i'm seeing a lot of comments saying that concernedape wouldn't have thought of this, which makes me wish they did, because imagine if you gave the mermaid's pendant to birdie and she recognised it?? :'( i'd bawl on the spot
This is actually suck a strong theory I believe it
The old mariner makes so much sense because she lost her husband at sea and we don't know exactly who the mariner is but we do know he's a ghost, but one question still remains, what dose a ghost need 5,000G for?
ouch 🥺 my heart..
I love it, tragically beautiful 😍 I like to think it's true
Maybe birdie is a mermaid
the term “jolly roger” refers to a flag pirates would fly, so it seems very fitting that the mariner would be named roger
but what about when you get devorced?
Oh man, you have some crazy wholesome content but this is just beautiful. I didn't expect such a poetic and well thought out video
What if you give the pendant to Birdie though? 👀👀👀
The theory is great and I think it fits very well. But I’m just impressed at how many comments you’ve read and replied to
I have a theory about Marlon
He is married to that Gil guy in the adventurers gild
I have my own theory to elliott he is a merman “wdym” you ask well he lives to the beach which mean he’s next to the water and even the wizard say that merpeoples don’t want you to throw garbage in their ocean right and Elliott even said (I think so) that he don’t want any garbage in the water and the gifts that he love are types of fish and mermans and mermaids are friends with some (maybe) fishes
And here’s another theory (I heard this a lot of time) that the old mariner had a son and his name is Willy “you mean Willy the-“ yes that’s why willys house is a bit next to where the old mariner appears in the right side of the beach so yeah that’s my theorys 👍🏵
Edit: hi
Edit2:hello
👇🏻like for more theory
what got you crying like that?
Me:
4:01 I thought this before you started on about the people that could be it and he wasn't on there.
10:15 Sam is so cute!
what
why did this genuinely make me tear up sToP 😭
This is canon for all i’m concerned, I was a little unsure when you said he must be dead (obviously) and then pointed to the old mariner… I’ve been playing this game for years and had no idea he was a ghost, when you read that part in the book my jaw DROPPED, it makes sense, it makes so much sense
yes I know this video is 7 months old but I don’t care
this is really good but what is willy is their kid he went whit his dad but he survived and he used the pirate treasure he had and fixed the bout but it broke again and he didn't have a way to fix it again whit out our help he dose say that the bout was his father's and that's why he has the locket
No,, his name is gunther!
You're a real one for not saving the reveal to the end.
i assumed birdie’s husband was willy’s father, given that he had the locket and the fact that he talked so fondly about his “pappy”- maybe there’s some overlap there between the old mariner and willy, too? i’m not smart enough to make the connections myself, lol- just food for thought
I didnt know i needed this theorie.. i love it, it makes so much sence now 🤯
I just thought it was Willy ya know but know I’m obsessed with this!
Absolutely loving this! Would love to hear more theories 😀
I love this theory!! Thank you for sharing!
that explains Elliott's broken boat by his house
I may be almost two years late to this, but this is so insanely captivating and I need more.
Imagine if something happened if you tried to give the pendant to birdie
i am really just thinking of this 😭😭