Poppy Playtime’s The Doctor is one of the more intriguing characters to appear in the horror series, and that’s quite the statement, considering how enigmatic some of the toys are. But perhaps that is part of what makes The Doctor so fascinating; he isn’t a toy. Instead, you finally get to meet one of the people partly responsible for them. There’s much to unpack, so let’s look at who he is, his role, and his rather heinous personality.
If you’re yet to encounter Poppy Playtime’s The Doctor, you’re likely still facing off against Poppy Playtime’s CatNap or Poppy Playtime’s Mommy Long Legs in the previous chapters. Wherever you are in the Poppy Playtime Factory, we wish you luck – this isn’t a place for the faint-hearted.
Here’s what you need to know about Poppy Playtime’s The Doctor:
Who is Poppy Playtime’s The Doctor?
While his name is mysterious and leads you to believe he’s a brand new character to Safe Haven, eagle-eyed fans will already know who he is, or at least it shouldn’t come as a shock to discover he’s Harley Sawyer, one of the evil scientists who conducted the experiments on those poor children in Playcare. However, he does kind of get what’s coming to him, and we’re not talking about what happens in Safe Haven. But let’s go back to the beginning, so you can really get to know Dr. Harley Sawyer.
Harley Sawyer
When he was a young lad, Sawyer decided to join the Young Geniuses Program, and his smarts and personality attracted the attention of Poppy Playtime’s Elliot Ludwig. However, Ludwig did have some reservations about the young scientist, namely his lack of humility. The fact that Sawyer was all for experimentation for, essentially, the fun of it shook Ludwig to his core, as he’s a man of principles who believes in doing such things for the greater good only. Ultimately, Sawyer’s first stint with Playtime Co. would come to an abrupt end after Ludwig realized he had no choice but to expel Sawyer from the program. No matter how intellectually superior Sawyer was, Ludwig couldn’t get past his abrasiveness and lack of care.
However, Sawyer would one day return to the factory. In 1990, he rejoins as a neurosurgeon following an invitation from Leith Pierre, going on to become the Head of Special Projects, which, as you might guess, directly involves him with some of the heinous activities that take place in the forsaken factory. Sawyer created the Bigger Buddies initiative, to which many of the toys you encounter belong, including Poppy Playtime’s Kissy Missy.
Sawyer would go on to take a unique interest in one particular orphan from Playcare: Quinn Navidson, the child who becomes Poppy Playtime’s Yarnaby. Sawyer found Navidson’s loyalty rather nauseating, but that didn’t stop him from taking advantage of Yarnaby, turning the toy into a bodyguard. He deserved no such care from the toy, as he actually got a kick out of the noises Yarnaby would make when locked away in isolation.
The Doctor even has ties to CatNap and Poppy Playtime’s Boxy Boo, considering both experiments to be a huge success, though perhaps his most prized experiment is 1006, also known as Poppy Playtime’s Prototype. It’s no wonder that the mysterious toy is so evil; he learned from the best in Sawyer.
The Doctor
Luckily, for all of his heinous crimes and lack of compassion, Sawyer made one too many mistakes, leading to an incident that his colleagues, Leith Pierre, Eddie M.N. Ritterman, and Stella Greybar, couldn’t ignore. However, they can’t simply remove him; he has a remarkable brain. So instead of killing a man who knows too much, they put Sawyer through an experiment, just like the scientist did to many subjects before him. To be honest, The Doctor ought to be thankful he has such a brilliant brain. The backup plan his colleagues had was to feed him to Boxy Boo.
Though outraged, Sawyer had little choice but to comply with what Pierre asked of him following the experiment, which was to answer any questions the other scientists had, giving them all the information he had.
Being an experiment does mean that The Doctor survives the massacre in 1995, though tensions are running high between himself and The Prototype. Still, the latter soon accepts that to achieve his goals, he needs Sawyer around.
What is Poppy Playtime The Doctor’s role in the story?
From his backstory, you know that he was an important figurehead who was responsible for many of the horrific experiments Playtime Co. subjected the children to before becoming one himself. In the game, he serves as the main antagonist of Safe Haven, watching you as you make your way around the prison. In line with his sadistic personality, he taunts you on occasion, even sending the Poppy Playtime Nightmare Critters and mini Huggy Wuggys after you for his own amusement, only calling the toys off after giving you a real fright.
Not long after, he unleashed Yarnaby, instructing the toy to kill you. When that doesn’t work, he sends a Bigger Bodies Baba Chops your way and then gives you a choice. For the first time in the series, you get to decide how you do something. The Doctor wants you to kill an innocent Simon Smoke toy before the room you’re in fills with gas. You can choose to do this or find an alternate route. While this seems mundane for now, this choice may make an impact in future chapters, as you either make the same choice Poppy would or find a better way.
Eventually, you have your final showdown with The Doctor and learn some interesting things about Elliot Ludwig. Did The Doctor have anything to do with the demise of the Playtime Co. founder? We think so. Once you finish taking on The Doctor, you still have another boss fight to go before you finish the chapter.
Poppy Playtime The Doctor’s Personality
Without question, Harley “The Doctor” Sawyer is one of the most cruel individuals in this world, ruthlessly performing experiments and caring very little about his subjects or even his colleagues. The man is incredibly selfish and narcissistic, only thinking about his own needs and goals. It’s no wonder he climbed the ladder at Playtime Co., he’s clearly everything the company could ever want from an evil scientist.
Poppy Playtime The Doctor appearances
While Poppy Playtime’s The Doctor first appears in Poppy Playtime Chapter 4, Harley Sawyer has previous mentions in the ARG experiences and Poppy Playtime Chapter 3, so his first appearance is technically before Safe Haven. Specifically, Harley Sawyer first pops up via a VHS tape in Project: Playtime, the multiplayer spin-off game.
Whether we can expect to see him in Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 is up for debate, as the appearance of Poppy Playtime’s Huggy Wuggy at the end of Safe Haven shows you can never be too sure about the fate of the Poppy Playtime characters, except for Mommy Long Legs. She’s definitely dead.
That’s everything you need to know about Poppy Playtime’s The Doctor. To learn about other characters from this universe, check out our Poppy Playtime DogDay and Poppy Playtime Boogie Bot guides.