Susannah Dean

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

After the battle against the Wolves, Mia fully takes control of their shared body. Mia had already become mortal to conceive Mordred, and she made a deal with the Sombra Corporation—not directly with the Crimson King—which promised her sole charge of raising the child for the first seven years. The child is biologically the direct child of Susannah Dean and Roland, conceived through an elemental incubus/succubus. Mia must bring Susannah to the Dixie Pig restaurant to give birth under the care of the Crimson King's men. The rest of the ka-tet splits up: Jake, Oy, and Father Callahan follow Susannah-Mia to New York City in 1999 to stop the birth and rescue Susannah, while Roland and Eddie Dean are sent to Maine in 1977 to secure ownership of a vacant lot from Calvin Tower. The gunslingers suspect the rose in the lot is linked to the Dark Tower.

In Their Own Story

Susannah-Mia escapes through the magic door in Doorway Cave with Black Thirteen's help. Mia tells Susannah about her Faustian deal with Richard Sayre. Jake, Oy, and Father Callahan follow them to New York City in 1999. They recover Black Thirteen and place it in a storage locker beneath the World Trade Center, unknowingly sealing it to be destroyed when the towers collapse on September 11, 2001. Meanwhile, Roland and Eddie are sent to Maine in 1977. They survive an ambush by Enrico Balazar's men, tipped off by Mia, with help from local John Cullum. After deeding the vacant lot to the Tet Corporation, they visit Stephen King's home. Roland hypnotizes King, discovering he is a medium for the Dark Tower story, and implants a suggestion to resume writing the series.

Reader's Guide

Susannah Dean is partially trapped in her own mind by Mia, a former demon who now controls their shared body. Mia made a Faustian deal with Richard Sayre to surrender her demonic immortality for the chance to bear a child. The child is biologically the descendant of Susannah Dean and Roland, conceived through an elemental incubus/succubus. The Crimson King has promised Mia she will have sole charge of raising the child, Mordred, for the first part of his life. Mia must bring Susannah to the Dixie Pig restaurant to give birth under the care of the Crimson King's men. The rest of the ka-tet splits up: Jake, Oy, and Father Callahan follow Susannah-Mia to New York City in 1999 to save her, while Roland and Eddie Dean are sent to Maine in 1977 to secure ownership of a vacant lot from Calvin Tower. The gunslingers suspect the rose in the lot is linked to the Dark Tower.

Did You Know?

• Susannah Dean is fully taken over by Mia after the battle against the Wolves of Calla Bryn Sturgis, not during it.
• Mia had already become mortal to conceive Mordred; she did not surrender demonic immortality in exchange for bearing him.
• The promise that Mia will have sole charge of raising Mordred for the first seven years comes from the Sombra Corporation, not directly from the Crimson King.
• Susannah leaves the scrimshaw turtle inside the Dixie Pig, not as a path marker for Jake and Callahan.
• Susannah-Mia gives birth in Fedic, a town in Thunderclap, while Jake and Callahan enter the Dixie Pig with weapons raised.

Susannah's Dual Existence and Faustian Bargain

Susannah Dean is partially trapped in her own mind by Mia, the former demon and now heavily pregnant mortal woman who took control of her body shortly after the battle against the Wolves of Calla Bryn Sturgis. Susannah-Mia, with their shared body mostly under the control of Mia, escapes via the magic door in Doorway Cave with the help of Black Thirteen. Mia tells Susannah she has made a Faustian deal with Richard Sayre to surrender her demonic immortality in exchange for being able to produce a child. Technically speaking, however, this child is the biological descendant of Susannah Dean and the gunslinger, Roland. The Gunslinger's seed was passed to Susannah through an 'elemental' - in this case an incubus/succubus, who had sex with both. The technical parentage of her child matters little to Mia, though, because The Crimson King has further promised her that she will have sole charge of raising the child, Mordred, for the first part of his life - the time before the critical destiny the Crimson King foresees for the child comes to pass. All Mia must do now is to bring Susannah to the Dixie Pig restaurant to give birth to the child under the care of the Crimson King's men.

The Ka-Tet's Temporal Splitting

The rest of the ka-tet employs the help of the Manni to open the magic door inside Doorway Cave. They are split up by the magic door, or perhaps ka, and sent to two different time/place destinations. Jake, Oy, and Father Callahan follow Susannah-Mia to New York City in 1999 in order to save Susannah from the danger Mia has put her in by delivering her into the custody of the Crimson King's henchmen. Jake and Callahan also recover Black Thirteen and place it in a storage locker beneath the World Trade Center. Without them knowing, Black Thirteen will be destroyed or forever buried when the towers collapse in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Roland and Eddie Dean are sent by the magic doorway to Maine in 1977, with the goal of securing the ownership of a vacant lot in New York from its current owner, Calvin Tower. The gunslingers have seen and felt the power of a rose that is located in the vacant lot and suspect it to be some sort of secondary hub to the universe, or even a representation of the Dark Tower itself. The ka-tet believe that the Tower is linked to the rose and will be harmed (or fall) if the rose is harmed. Calvin Tower is in hiding in Maine from Enrico Balazar's men, who have almost succeeded in strong-arming him into selling them the lot. Tower has so far resisted, with the help of Eddie Dean. Upon their arrival in Maine, the gunslingers find themselves thrown into an ambush by these same men, headed by Jack Andolini. Balazar's men were tipped off on Roland and Eddie's potential whereabouts by Mia, who hoped that they would dispose of the people she perceived as threats to her child. Roland and Eddie escape this onslaught with the help of a local, John Cullum, who they deem to be a savior put in their path through the machinations of ka.

The Metafictional Encounter with Stephen King

After accomplishing their primary goal, the deeding of the vacant lot to the Tet Corporation, Roland and Eddie learn of the nearby location of Stephen King's home. They are familiar with the author's name after coming into possession of a copy of his novel 'Salem's Lot in the Calla, and decide to pay him a visit. King's presence, and his relationship to the Dark Tower, cause the reality surrounding his Maine town to become 'thin.' Strange creatures called 'walk-ins' begin emerging and plaguing the community. The author is unaware of this and has never seen one, though most of the walk-ins have been appearing on his own street. The Gunslinger hypnotizes King and finds out that King is not a god, but rather a medium for the story of the Dark Tower to transmit itself through. Roland also implants in King the suggestion to restart his efforts in writing the Dark Tower series, which he has abandoned of late, claiming that there are major forces involved that are trying to prevent him from finishing it. The ka-tet are convinced that the success of their quest itself depends somehow on King's writing about it through the story.

The Climactic Rescue Attempt and Narrative Conclusion

In New York, Jake and Father Callahan prepare to launch an assault on the Dixie Pig, where Susannah-Mia is being held by the soldiers of The Crimson King. Their discovery of the scrimshaw turtle that Susannah has left behind for them gives them a faint hope that they might succeed. Jake and Callahan enter with weapons raised, while Susannah-Mia is giving birth in Fedic, a town in Thunderclap. Segments of Stephen King's diary, which encompass the period from 1977 to 1999, are shown. The diary details King's writing of the first four books of the Dark Tower story. This process stops when Stephen King dies on June 19, 1999.