Otherside Transitions Theory
Posted: 18 Mar 2010
I didn't see anything resembling my theory in the quicklinks, so here goes.
The idea I'm about to present came to me while I was watching the movie last weekend. I was thinking about why Dark Alessa would plunge Rose into the Otherside when she was needed in order to finalize Alessa's revenge. I carefully considered each Otherside scene and came up the following idea: All Otherside transitions occur in order to assist Rose, not hinder her.
The very first such transition that occured in the alley served as a relatively harmless introduction to the terrors Rose would face while within SH. I say relatively because, while the gray children could undoubtedly have killed Rose, they were pretty slow moving and could be evaded. And, when the children are about to overwhelm Rose despite their slowness, Alessa calls off the Otherside.
In considering the next transition in the school, this theory also holds ground. The transition only occurs when the cultists are attempting to break down the door to the bathroom. As this happens, Rose seems to be begging for help. Dark Alessa, knowing that Rose was a good mother to Sharon, as well as being aware of the very real possibility of the cultists burning Rose, once again triggers an Otherside transition. This once again happens in area with a slow moving, easily evaded enemy, in this case, the janitor. However, when Rose leaves the room, she is in even greater danger from Pyramid Head and his cockroach entourage. Many SH fans have commented on their confusion as to why Dark Alessa would have PH attack her. I believe their are two explanations for PH's attack, neither of which involve any malevolence on Dark Alessa's part. I think that PH is there to punish the cultists, and there are two explanations for why he extended his attack to Rose and then Cybil:
1)The cockroaches killed the cultists before PH could get there, and in his anger he attacked Rose and Cybil.
2)PH has limited intelligence, and therefore had dificulty distinguishing Rose and Cybil from the female cultists, who didn't wear mining outfits like the men did.
Either way, PH gets out of control, and Dark Alessa the calls off the Otherside when Rose is in danger of dying.
Now, the next transition (on the church steps) is a bit more difficult to explain. I think that, once again, Dark Alessa was trying to keep Alessa away from the cultists and Christabella. Dark Alessa began to trigger the transition while Rose, Cybil, and Anna were in the old warehouse adjoining the hotel. After Rose finds Dark Alessa's clue there, Cybil and Anna enter the room. Dark Alessa realizes that they have stumbled upon a cultist and now know that there are more people in the town. The Otherside is manifested in order to keep Rose away from the church at all costs. The final bit with PH is simply a response to Anna's abuse of Dahlia. His throwing of her skin in the direction of Rose was not meant as an insult to her, but was rather an attempt to desecrate the church.
There are only one or two such manifestations left to cover, one of which is slightly contentious. The first is mere speculation, but I believe it is possible that a personal transition occured for Rose in the elevator. This simply assisted her in communicating with Dark Alessa. The wall of nurses was there simply to make sure that Rose could deal with an easily deceived enemy, symbolic of the way in which the cultists deceived themselves by hiding from the truth as the nurses hid from the light. The final transition occured in the church. Rose was not hurt at all because the only monsters there were Dark Alessa and Alessa, who recognized Rose and the assistance she had given.
Thoughts?
The idea I'm about to present came to me while I was watching the movie last weekend. I was thinking about why Dark Alessa would plunge Rose into the Otherside when she was needed in order to finalize Alessa's revenge. I carefully considered each Otherside scene and came up the following idea: All Otherside transitions occur in order to assist Rose, not hinder her.
The very first such transition that occured in the alley served as a relatively harmless introduction to the terrors Rose would face while within SH. I say relatively because, while the gray children could undoubtedly have killed Rose, they were pretty slow moving and could be evaded. And, when the children are about to overwhelm Rose despite their slowness, Alessa calls off the Otherside.
In considering the next transition in the school, this theory also holds ground. The transition only occurs when the cultists are attempting to break down the door to the bathroom. As this happens, Rose seems to be begging for help. Dark Alessa, knowing that Rose was a good mother to Sharon, as well as being aware of the very real possibility of the cultists burning Rose, once again triggers an Otherside transition. This once again happens in area with a slow moving, easily evaded enemy, in this case, the janitor. However, when Rose leaves the room, she is in even greater danger from Pyramid Head and his cockroach entourage. Many SH fans have commented on their confusion as to why Dark Alessa would have PH attack her. I believe their are two explanations for PH's attack, neither of which involve any malevolence on Dark Alessa's part. I think that PH is there to punish the cultists, and there are two explanations for why he extended his attack to Rose and then Cybil:
1)The cockroaches killed the cultists before PH could get there, and in his anger he attacked Rose and Cybil.
2)PH has limited intelligence, and therefore had dificulty distinguishing Rose and Cybil from the female cultists, who didn't wear mining outfits like the men did.
Either way, PH gets out of control, and Dark Alessa the calls off the Otherside when Rose is in danger of dying.
Now, the next transition (on the church steps) is a bit more difficult to explain. I think that, once again, Dark Alessa was trying to keep Alessa away from the cultists and Christabella. Dark Alessa began to trigger the transition while Rose, Cybil, and Anna were in the old warehouse adjoining the hotel. After Rose finds Dark Alessa's clue there, Cybil and Anna enter the room. Dark Alessa realizes that they have stumbled upon a cultist and now know that there are more people in the town. The Otherside is manifested in order to keep Rose away from the church at all costs. The final bit with PH is simply a response to Anna's abuse of Dahlia. His throwing of her skin in the direction of Rose was not meant as an insult to her, but was rather an attempt to desecrate the church.
There are only one or two such manifestations left to cover, one of which is slightly contentious. The first is mere speculation, but I believe it is possible that a personal transition occured for Rose in the elevator. This simply assisted her in communicating with Dark Alessa. The wall of nurses was there simply to make sure that Rose could deal with an easily deceived enemy, symbolic of the way in which the cultists deceived themselves by hiding from the truth as the nurses hid from the light. The final transition occured in the church. Rose was not hurt at all because the only monsters there were Dark Alessa and Alessa, who recognized Rose and the assistance she had given.
Thoughts?