Oswald McGillicutty

Oswald McGillicutty
Biographical Information
Appearances	Saw Saw: The Video Game
Status	Deceased
Died In	Saw: The Video Game
Cause of Death	Body crushed by a booby trap[src]
Profession	News Reporter Investigative Journalist
Role	Supporting Character
Reason Tested	Sensationalizing Jigsaw and purposefully destroying David Tapp's reputation[src]
Relationships	David Tapp (enemy and savior)†[src] Pamela Jenkins (rival)[src]
Portrayed by	David Scully

“	He tried to shut me down! Me! I don't back down for nobody; never have, never will.	”
	— Oswald explains the reason for his campaign against Tapp

Oswald McGillicutty is a fictional character from the Saw franchise as well as a supporting character in Saw: The Video Game. He was voiced by David Scully.

Biography

The Jigsaw Case

Oswald McGillicutty was a news reporter and investigative journalist working for the Globe Staff, who was especially known for his sensationalized and highly unobjective reports. At one point in his career, he began reporting on the case of an infamous serial killer commonly known as "Jigsaw." As more and more victims turned up while the police barely found any evidence, Oswald soon clashed with the leading detective, David Tapp, when he published an article in which he mocked the supposed incompetence of the Metropolitan Police Department.

He soon started to zero in on Tapp personally after the latter had found and invaded Jigsaw's hideout. During their raid, Tapp was severely injured by Jigsaw, who subsequently escaped, while Tapp's partner, Detective Steven Sing, was killed by one of Jigsaw's deadly traps. When Tapp admitted that he had convinced Sing to raid the hideout without a warrant or any reinforcements, Oswald began to publish more articles with the sole purpose of publicly stiring up hatred against the detective. Thereby, he also demanded Tapp to be fired from the department as he deemed him too dangerous too carry a weapon. Eventually, he even openly suspected Tapp to be Jigsaw himself as he claimed that it was unlikely that Jigsaw had been able to overpower to armed detectives.

At some point, his articles caught the attention of Pamela Jenkins, a sensational reporter who investigated the Jigsaw Case as well and also twisted the facts for the sake of a better story just like Oswald did. Therefore, she wrote him a letter, in which she asked him for a meeting and suggested to work together as she was working on her book about Jigsaw. Oswald however planned to write a book on his own without crediting her and mocked her in a letter on his own. In return for that, Pamela stole all of his notes to use them for her own book and wrote a second letter to him, in which she mocked him for his arrogance. (Saw: The Video Game)

David Tapp's Trial

Eventually, his sensationalism and his smear campaign against Detective Tapp made Oswald a target of Jigsaw on his own. Therefore, he was abducted and taken to the abandoned Whitehurst Insane Asylum. When he woke up again, he found himself in one of Jigsaw's traps. As he saw a hooded man working on the trap, he angrily yelled at him and attempted to threaten him. However, he stopped and started to panic when he realized that this man was in fact the Jigsaw Killer. Therefore, Oswald tried to persuade him to let him go as he had helped him to spread his message. Jigsaw however told him he couldn't free him and instead confronted him with his personal vendetta against Tapp. When he asked him for the reasons of it, Oswald admitted that he wanted revenge on Tapp for not giving him information about the Jigsaw Case.

Some time later, Tapp, who had been abducted as well and had to face a series of tests at the asylum, reached the room where Oswald was trapped. Moments later, a TV turned on in front of them. Jigsaw's mechanical ventriloquist puppet appeared on the screen and once more confronted Oswald with his sensationalism and his hate campaign against Tapp. Thereby, he also told him that the trap he was strapped to would bend his limbs and midsection backwards and kill him if Tapp didn't save him within four minutes. Eventually, Tapp received his instructions of how to do so.

Oswald in the trap

When the tape ended and the TV turned off again, the trap was slowly set in motion. Oswald frantically yelled at Tapp to hurry up while he tried to shut off the machine. In order to free Oswald, he had to reverse the electric motors of the trap by bypassing three circuit panels on the walls. Eventually, he managed to accomplish his task in time, resulting in Oswald being released from the trap unharmed. After his salvation, he accused Tapp of having let Jigsaw escape. However, he ultimately admitted that he was wrong when he suspected Tapp. Tapp asked him what Jigsaw looked like, which Oswald couldn't answer. In an attempt to escape, both of them went on and continued their way together. (Saw: The Video Game)

Death

Oswald's corpse

As they made their way through the next ward of the asylum and looked for Jigsaw's next clue, they came across a ladder and climbed up. Oswald suggested to separate as it would increase their chance to find the exit faster. He entered a hallway and thereby accidently stepped on a tripwire and noticed two large blades to the right and the left of the door. However, before he could react, the blades rushed towards him and killed him right in front of Tapp's eyes. (Saw: The Video Game)

Post-Mortem

The Whitehurst Asylum was found by the was found and raided by the Metropolitan Police Department shortly afterwards. As the police secured and searched the entire building, they discovered the many corpses of Jigsaw's victims, including Oswald. Despite their intense dislike for each other, Tapp was the only person who attended his funeral. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Personality

Oswald was a highly arrogant and ruthless man, not hesitating to badmouth other people for the sake of his own personal glory. Therefore, he often talked down on others as he deemed himself superior and more intelligent. Even when directly confronted with his deeds, he barely showed any remorse. As Tapp was the only person present at his funeral, it can be assumed that Oswald was generally disliked by most people, most likely due to his arrogant and narcissistic attitude. However, he showed gratitude towards Tapp for saving him, despite their past, and even admitted that he had falsely judged him. Unlike most of the other test subjects at Whitehurst, Oswald even decided to work together with Tapp in order to escape.

Trivia

• In the first Saw film, an article written by Oswald can be seen on the wall of Detective Tapp's apartment.
• Since Tapp was the only one at his funeral, it is likely that Oswald did not have any living relatives or friends.

Appearances and References

Films
Saw	Saw II	Saw III	Saw IV	Saw V	Saw VI	Saw 3D	Jigsaw	Spiral	Saw X
Mentioned	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent