>It's the rebirth ending! LOL
What's so funny?

See, I find that funny: You do realize how obfuscated the truth in these games normally are, right?...

Well, here's why many feel otherwise--that the In Water ending is an impossibility.

There are other places he could drive into the lake. James, in the Maria/Leave endings, seems to make it back to his car easily. Once the truth has been revealed and his mind is made up on how to deal with it, I imagine the roadblocks and chasms would disappear. James could then drive into town and drive into the lake directly from there. We know the chasms come and go, because later in SH3 Heather heads to Lakeside via Nathan avenue, which is cut off in SH2. The town shapes itself and changes its structure to suit the situation.

All of the endings exist because they're a possibility. They wouldn't exist if they were impossible. Which ones are ruled out are to be revealed potentially in future games like SH3 did with SH1.

Besides, isn't it a little silly to debate possibility in a game that takes place in an alternate reality, with monsters? I mean, James got through the Historical Society into the Prison and to the dock through a location that doesn't even exist (the Labyrinth).

I've written extensively on this subject before the crash. Thematically, In Water makes the most sense to me. That, coupled with the fact that James never returns from Silent Hill, seems to imply his death.

>There are other places he could drive into the lake.
Not from there, there isn't. He gets in the car, turns it on, floors it. He doesn't get in the car, turn it on, drive around for awhile, parks, kills the ignition, steps out of the car, gets back in the car, turns it on, and then finally floors it.

>the fact that James never returns from Silent Hill, seems to imply his death.
Or that he never left.

The amount of time that it takes him to drive into the lake is probably just to get the point of the ending across faster. Who would want to sit there for five minutes listening to the car before he hits the lake?

The end of Silent Hill 2 is, ultimately, up for us to decide. Even if James left with Laura or Maria, he may have disappeared forever as well. We can analyze it to death if we want, but the truth will never be definite unless Konami comes right out and says so.

>Then again we better keep quiet since we don't want to ruined certain someone 15 mins of fame do we?
These fifteen minutes have been going on for years, it seems. It's a shame Ryan's right: I love when people are bitter because they lack the capacity to win an intellectual dick-measuring contest. It's cute. And pathetic. Patheticute.

I read St. Thomas' thory on "Rebirth". And I read all the comments on "In the Water" [and BOY do I have a fucking headache now!].

Before, I always thought that "In the Water" was the true ending because:

a) Frank said that James 'disappeared' with his wife in Silent Hill.
b) If James left Silent Hill with Laura, he would more than likely have contacted Frank in some way. Plus, adopting an orphan= loads of paperwork.
c) Maria isn't real. And Silent Hill + James' guilt mind was the reason for her 'existence'.
d) I didn't know there WAS a rebirth ending until a few weeks ago.


But after reading St. Thomas' theory, it seems to be the mose plausible and logical. James regretted killing Mary so much, he made himself forget it, and went through the hell of Silent Hill to get her back. And given all the unusual and 'impossible' things in Silent Hill, who is to say that resurrection is impossible?

The Rebirth ceremony may not be a ritual of The Order. It is never said to be.

I for one, even though I don't necessarily view Rebirth as the true ending, think it is quite plausible, given the settings. It's not about The Order, it's about the town, and the very strange things that are possible. Which, I might add, predates the Order. The natives held ceremonies of the sort in the area before all the honkies came by.

Plus, you know, there was that little Maria sidequest, in which the factors that make up the Rebirth ending take center stage, so that does have to count for something.