James's clemency (Spoilers).

[simeonalo]

isnt this over analyzing...

anyways, i agree with pyramid head representing both james and angela

though id never let anybody hurt MY daughter, unlike angelas mom.

[-Alligator-]

"I wanted to address that overheard conversation in the hallway of Lakeview Hotel. Mary is in an obviously perturbed frame of mind thanks to her illness, the stress and depression, and after yelling at him for bringing flowers there is silence. We are to assume that James has left the room considering Mary pretty much ordered him out and by Mary’s next choice of words. Mary, realising he is [physically] leaving her, calls out to him and starts crying. Since all of you guys are familiar with the mind-fucks Silent Hill plays, I propose this: Where is it ever proven as concrete fact that James was within earshot of this? Isn't it likewise plausible that he kept on walking out and didn't hear a word Mary was saying? For all we know James's guilt-ridden mind tagged on that part of the conversation to make him feel even worse for what he did to her. One thing James has in abundance is guilt and wanting to punish himself."


I don't know if this has already been pointed out but I thought that what we heard were James' memories, so he obviously wouldn't be able to remember that, if he didn't hear it.

[JuriDawn]

That's assuming that what he's hearing is only a memory. The town's power has manifested evidence of events that James was not aware of, and even evidence of his own actions from a detached third-person perspective, so we can't be sure this isn't one of those instances.

[-Alligator-]

That's assuming that what he's hearing is only a memory. The town's power has manifested evidence of events that James was not aware of, and even evidence of his own actions from a detached third-person perspective, so we can't be sure this isn't one of those instances.

Yeah you could be right, but I still think that it's more likely that it was a real memory, because we heard this after seeing the videotape, when he finally started to remember his repressed memories.

[West]

Disclaimer: This is me playing Devil's Advocate. The views I present in this post are simply for the purpose of creating meaningful debate.

It's my belief that because James feels so guilty for what he did that he is extracting his own form of revenge on himself over and over again, starting off by merely going to the town that Mary loved so much. The town has so many memories for the couple it must be like a stab in the gut to even think about it, but to actually go there? That takes some sort of dedication to the woman and her memory. He carries around a photograph of Mary and even a "letter" beckoning him to return to Silent Hill, a letter that we now know didn’t even exist [Clarification: Mary did indeed write the letter, James did indeed read it, but the letter you start off with in the game is not real.] He's so desperate to see her again that he hounds a little girl who said her name in hopes that she knows something, and he calls out to Mary much like people call out to God.

While I understand your opinions and reasoning behind your opinions, I feel you're basing these opinions on superficial assumptions. When you said "The town has so many memories for the couple it must be like a stab in the gut to even think about it, but to actually go there? That takes some sort of dedication to the woman and her memory," I must ask how this shows dedication towards Mary? While it may seem like it shows dedication to her - the helpess, guilt stricken James heading off through the unknown perils of his own mind to find his long lost love - and I support you're opinion to some extent, this alone simply does not confirm his dedication toward his wife. Who is to say that James didn't go to Silent Hill to simply relieve himself of his guilt? Who is to say he didn't just want to find Mary so that everything be back to normal and that his guilt would simply disappear? I believed James returned to Silent Hill not out of love for Mary (at least not entirely), but out of the want to rid himself of his own torment.

I know James said he did it because he as angry at her, but how is that a sign of being selfish? That's rage, ire. He wanted to relieve her from the pain, but he wasn't sure if he could go through with it despite her telling him it was what she wanted. It was his anger that gave him the nudge to do it...James also admits to not being able to see Mary suffer when they converse in the endings. Also, he wanted Mary to forgive him. How's a selfish person going to think of a thing like that? If James truly was selfish, he would not feel as upset as he did and not be so distraught and beg for Mary to forgive him.

Again, I understand the foundations for your argument, but they're simply not enough. You ask how being angry reflects being selfish? A lot of the time, Anger walks hand-in-hand with Selfishness. I ask you, have you ever been angry at a parent because they didn't allow you to get the certain item you so badly desired? When you screamed and yelled into their face and marched up into your room to wollow in self pity, can you honestly tell me you never felt a slight bit of remorse for your actions? After pondering those actions, don't you feel some sort of desire to gain forgiveness and be rid of the guilt which you, yourself, inflicted? This guilt, while it may be partly feuled by the acceptance of personal wrong-doing and seek genuine repentence from your parents, may also be feuled by the deep desire to have the weight of guilt lifted from your shoulders.

To put it simply, whose to say that James really didn't give a shit - at that point - about Mary and her disease. All he knew was that Mary had a very slim chance at survival and that she would continue to burden his life until her inevitable death. True, James says he wasn't able to see her suffer...but then he changes his mind and tells her the truth - how he hated her for what she did to his life, for making him take care of her hand and foot followed by Mary's *seemingly* ungrateful attitude towards him. He did hate Mary...to the point that he couldn't take it anymore...and he murdered her. After a while, the guilt ate away at him to a point that he went insane...he started inflicting pain upon himself like some medieval flagellant in hopes of being saved from his sins...but that doesn't mean he was upset his wife died, does it?

[RedPyramid3223]

James was frusturated at the fact that his beloved wife was being taken away by something he couldn't control. He loves her and will always love her. He didn't really hate her and will never hate her. He hated what was happening. In the end he attemped to end her suffering and I don't think he had any idea it would come with so much guilt. Putting an end to the disease meant putting in an end to his wife. And the begginning of his guilt. He went to Silent Hill once already and if he goes again....

.....He gets a chainsaw

[Koshercrackers]

You know, I'm not sure if this discussion is entirely realistic. People don't always do things for one reason and one reason only, and I think that James is, indeed, only human (unless the Alien ending is true). What if he didn't just do it because he loved Mary? What if he killed her not just to get his life back? His guilt is not in black or white, but shades of gray.

[-Alligator-]

You know, I'm not sure if this discussion is entirely realistic. People don't always do things for one reason and one reason only, and I think that James is, indeed, only human (unless the Alien ending is true). What if he didn't just do it because he loved Mary? What if he killed her not just to get his life back? His guilt is not in black or white, but shades of gray.

I agree with you. Nothing in Silent Hill is black or white.