Silent Hill 2 Ending

[alone in the town]

Personally, I saw it as being the end of James' delusions.

James' delusions come to an end in Room 312.

Remember, the only thing his delusions encompass is the circumstances regarding Mary's death. After viewing the videotape, James is completely aware, once more, of what really happened. The delusion is gone.

It's why I no longer believe that 'beating the delusion' is the point of James' adventure, but rather, his delusions are the adventure.

[VenusDoom]

I like the Water ending best, because in my mind, it makes the most sense, James drives the car with Mary's body in it into the lake, that way they can be together. In Silent Hill 3 Douglas mentions a man who went missing in Silent hill, if that's James, then that means the Leave, and Maria endings aren't possible, and in Silent Hill 4 Frank Sunderland (James's Dad,) says his son and daughter in law went missing, it's possible that James and Mary planned on spending their last day together at the same place they honeymooned, because James promised he'd take her back there someday, I consider the Rebirth ending very unlikely, and the UFO and Dog endings are joke endings, this only leads to one conclusion, the Water ending is the only one that makes sense

[SHF]

Personally, I saw it as being the end of James' delusions.

James' delusions come to an end in Room 312.

Remember, the only thing his delusions encompass is the circumstances regarding Mary's death. After viewing the videotape, James is completely aware, once more, of what really happened. The delusion is gone.

It's why I no longer believe that 'beating the delusion' is the point of James' adventure, but rather, his delusions are the adventure.

I agree with you on this though i will add that " beating the delusion" is just what occurs in the process.

[alone in the town]

I like the Water ending best, because in my mind, it makes the most sense, James drives the car with Mary's body in it into the lake, that way they can be together. In Silent Hill 3 Douglas mentions a man who went missing in Silent hill, if that's James, then that means the Leave, and Maria endings aren't possible, and in Silent Hill 4 Frank Sunderland (James's Dad,) says his son and daughter in law went missing, it's possible that James and Mary planned on spending their last day together at the same place they honeymooned, because James promised he'd take her back there someday, I consider the Rebirth ending very unlikely, and the UFO and Dog endings are joke endings, this only leads to one conclusion, the Water ending is the only one that makes sense

Allow me to explain the others so that they make sense in your mind, as well. Your justification of In Water is classic, and somebody's going to destroy it sooner or later. I'll be nice about it.

The primary flaw is assuming that 'missing' = 'dead'. In fact, any of the endings can result in James going missing. Given what he did to Mary, he has very little incentive to return home and attempt to resume his former life. If he leaves town, it is smartest for him to avoid the scrutiny that would result from his having killed Mary.

Another alternative to consider is that James remains alive, but never leaves the Otherworld. I believe this is probably the result of both the Rebirth and Maria endings. He remains alive, but trapped in a world of unreality. Perhaps, not 'trapped' so much as he may want to remain there. If he really cannot live without either his wife, or a reasonable copy thereof, he might judge it better to stay where he is and do the best he can. He may even find some way to consciously alter this strange reality to suit his needs--or, if having Mary/Maria puts his mind at ease and makes him happy, the Otherworld may very well reflect that back to him. It is, alternatively, possible that he may attempt to leave under these circumstances and find that he cannot. Either way, he would be even more invisible to the real world than if he buried his car at the bottom of the lake.

'Missing' definitely does not indicate any individual outcome. After all, nobody who knew James would have been with James while he was in Silent Hill. If he never came home, they would only be able to guess what happened to him. In Water is a possibility, but only one, and no more likely or correct than the others.

I hope this clears things up.

[SHF]

James drives the car with Mary's body in it into the lake
^ No proof James has her in the trunk.

It doesn't matter what ending you get, James is still considered missing.

[SilentWren]

It's a pretty solid theory, but I never understood why people thought Mary was in the trunk. If he forgot about killing her, he could've forgotten about cement shoes, too.

[alone in the town]

He came to town intending to pull off the In Water ending before the game began. Therefore, he did not forget about killing Mary until at least the point where he was on the road. I suspect that it happens in a quick moment (it is, after all, a very simple story he concocts to replace the truth in his mind), and the very first scene of the game shows him recovering from that moment. Which would mean that he remembers fully what he did as recently as having parked his car where he leaves it.

As a result, it makes perfect sense for her to be in the trunk.

[clips]

As some have mentioned, any of the endings could be the outcome of the game, but the one that makes the most sense is in water....even tho it's the most depressing, knowing what james was going thru, his interactions with Maria and the other characters...jame's story begin's and ends in prt2...

[krakalackin]

I'd like to get closure in SH8 for what happened to James. Like how James found out about Walter. You know like find an old news paper or something mentioning James' suicide and James being arrested for murdering Mary. Probably won't happen but it would be cool if they did.

[mikefile]

As some have mentioned, any of the endings could be the outcome of the game, but the one that makes the most sense is in water....even tho it's the most depressing, knowing what james was going thru, his interactions with Maria and the other characters..

I understand what you're trying to say.. but that doesn't neccessariliy have to be right. You said that most sense has the In Water ending; maybe you think so 'cause it feels like the most realistic: he accepts what he has done, so he kills himself. It's very close to the real world. But, many people think that he doesn't accept reality in that point, but he does. He does accept what he had done, he just can't live with it. If you ment with "most sense"- realistic; then I agree with you. In the other endings he continues to live in his illusion.. Maria and Rebirth. About the Leave, if you ask me there are 2 points of view: it depends about Laura- if you see her as a real person or not.. he does accept what he had done (reality) but still goes living another illusion (like the Maria and Rebirth); but if you see Laura as a real person than the two of them, from the reality point of view, are the same endings (Leave and Water In).

I'd like to get closure in SH8 for what happened to James. Like how James found out about Walter. You know like find an old news paper or something mentioning James' suicide and James being arrested for murdering Mary. Probably won't happen but it would be cool if they did.

Yea, there were some nodds about James in some SHs, like (this one isn't confirmed) in SH3 Douglas mentions he went to Silent Hill for a missing person case (many of them think it's James). In SH4 Henry comments that the superintendent' nephew (not so sure about their kinship) went missing in Silent Hill, and never got back..

James drives the car with Mary's body in it into the lake
^ No proof James has her in the trunk.

I think that many people think Mary's body is in the trunk 'cause of what he sais in the Water ending: "Now, we can can finally be together..", it gives a feeling like he's talking to her and she's right next to him (although he talks to her a lot of times during the game even if she isn't next to him). It could make sense.. he said that they used just to stare in the water for hours, saying nothing.. maybe it's the way he want it to end.. right next her.

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

If the town could conjure up unimaginable horrors for james to face, then why is it difficult to assume that it wasnt the actual mary he was was talking to at the end of the game?

I kinda figured it was the town granting james his final wish by talking to mary one last time...what happens from there is for the player to decide...i personally like the 'In Water' ending as it had the greatest impact on me. Whether or not it is canon is irrelevant to me..on a poetic level...It's the ending that appeals the most to me and brings a sense of closure to the story. 'Leave' was a good ending too but it ended up being too cliched and left me feeling indifferent to the plight of james in the aftermath of the game's credits/

[AuraTwilight]

While your idea is sound, the Book of Lost Memories calls the version of Mary James fights in the Maria Ending a "manifestation" to set it apart from the Mary of the other endings, which implies they're not manifestations. Ergo, the ghost idea.

[alone in the town]

left me feeling indifferent to the plight of james in the aftermath of the game's credits/

I think this speaks of a lack of imagination than any failure of the game.

Leave would be much more appealing to people if they didn't dismiss it as a happy ending. It's clearly not anything like that.

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

TheAdversary: "I think this speaks of a lack of imagination than any failure of the game".

But it isnt a stretch of the imagination to believe that laura would accept james as her adoptive father, knowing all too well that james is the same man who killed Mary in cold blood, the closest thing she had to a mother. I do admit that the 'Rebirth' ending kinda sets the premise for Silent hill 3 since Valtiel is awakened, which might possibly explain his point of orign in the 3rd game. But as an ending, it doesnt bring the story to a full circle.

[alone in the town]

Poor Tom, blamed again for something I do.

But it isnt a stretch of the imagination to believe that laura would accept james as her adoptive father, knowing all too well that james is the same man who killed Mary in cold blood, the closest thing she had to a mother.

It's not a stretch to assume that Laura had a final moment with Mary in a manner similar to how James has a final moment with Mary, in which it is also not a stretch to assume that words pass between Mary and Laura regarding James.

However, there's no saying for certain that James does, in fact, adopt Laura in the end. It leaves a multitude of possibilities open for both James and Laura. My comment about lacking imagination regards this, and people who say "it's not the real ending because [insert single, specific scenario here] doesn't sound right to me".

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

Sorry about that, i thought it was TheAdversary i was talking to...
I highly doubt that laura would have had that kind of supernatural moment as it is never implied throughout the game that she sees anything other than a town which is empty. To me, she serves to be a guide to james through his nightmare, much in the same way Virgil guides Dante' through the seven circles of hell in the Divine Comedy.

[SHF]

James drives the car with Mary's body in it into the lake
^ No proof James has her in the trunk.

I think that many people think Mary's body is in the trunk 'cause of what he sais in the Water ending: "Now, we can can finally be together..", it gives a feeling like he's talking to her and she's right next to him (although he talks to her a lot of times during the game even if she isn't next to him). It could make sense.. he said that they used just to stare in the water for hours, saying nothing.. maybe it's the way he want it to end.. right next her.[/quote]
He meant they could be together in death, not at the bottom of toluca lake.

[AuraTwilight]

I highly doubt that laura would have had that kind of supernatural moment as it is never implied throughout the game that she sees anything other than a town which is empty.

The town isn't empty in the real world, and like James, she sees and visits a hotel that burned down several years ago.

Laura is also seeing her own world like James, Angela, and Eddie. But the darkness in her heart isn't hatred, fear, guilt, or shame. It's loneliness.

[The Adversary]

>I think that many people think Mary's body is in the trunk 'cause of what he sais in the Water ending<
"The real reason James came to Silent Hill was to take his own life in a place of memories. If this is the case, could Mary's body be in the car!?"

[VenusDoom]

I do admit that the 'Rebirth' ending kinda sets the premise for Silent hill 3 since Valtiel is awakened, which might possibly explain his point of orign in the 3rd game. But as an ending, it doesnt bring the story to a full circle.

I never heard of that... Can you explain this to me?