The Deputy is captured by Joseph Seed at the end of Far Cry 5. Their fate is left ambiguous in the main game, but they reappear as the character “The Judge” in Far Cry New Dawn, having been brainwashed and serving as a silent ally to the player.
In Far Cry 5, the player takes on the role of a junior deputy sheriff who becomes trapped in Hope County, Montana, amidst a violent takeover by a doomsday cult called the Project at Eden’s Gate, led by the charismatic Joseph Seed. Throughout the game, the Deputy works to dismantle the cult’s operations and rescue allies, culminating in a final confrontation with Joseph Seed.
As the story concludes, the player is presented with a choice: to arrest Joseph or to walk away. If the player chooses to arrest him, a series of catastrophic nuclear explosions occur, which Joseph claims to be the prophesied apocalypse he had been warning about. Joseph takes the Deputy to a bunker as the world outside is ravaged by nuclear fire. The game ends with Joseph alive and the Deputy his captive, hinting at a dark and uncertain future.
The Deputy’s story continues in the sequel, Far Cry New Dawn, set 17 years after the events of Far Cry 5. The Deputy, now known as “The Judge,” is encountered by the player wearing a mask and unable to speak. It is revealed through notes and environmental storytelling that after the bombs fell, Joseph Seed brainwashed the Deputy into becoming his protector and enforcer. The Judge assists the player throughout the game but remains a tragic figure, a shadow of their former self, having lost their identity and agency to Joseph’s manipulation.