A True Ending of Silent Hill 2, & Why

[Postcode]

^To begin with perhaps, I imagine he'd end up settling somewhere where nobody knows him or Laura and starting a new life there.

I don't know what the 'true' ending is, I'm not sure if the creators even had one in mind. Certainly I can't imagine it being revealed if it hasn't by now, it would almost certainly spoil the game for some people. Neither the Maria nor Rebirth endings felt right to me, they both felt a little cheesy to me, especially the possible Pet Cemetary-esque scenario in Rebirth. I realise there has been plenty of King influence before in the series, but that would be going a little too far for my liking. Much as I'd like Leave to be the proper ending (and I don't discount it's possibility), In Water has always been the one that felt 'right' to me. I'm not sure if it's just because I got that one first, or that I'd interpreted Douglas' missing person case as indicating that James had died there, or possibly something else, but I've never been able to make myself accept any other ending. Besides, it's a tragic love story, having both lovers end up dead isn't unheard of, is it?

[Mephisto]

Well, we all now that James didn't showed up after SH2 came to an end. His father Frank, from SH4, never mentions anything about him.

It's funny that he mentions about Walter's rotting cord but not a single word about his son...

And that Douglas theory is interesting. I remember it coming up ages ago, too. Perhaps he was indeed searching for James, who knows?

[Postcode]

^Indeed, although of course his disappearance could be explained by many things, which I believe has been explored elsewhere in this thread. I do wonder though, would he truly have made no attempt to contact his father if he were still alive? Perhaps, or possibly not, either way there is still no actual evidence of his fate.

I didn't even think of it as a theory at the time, it was simply my immediate response. I suppose the fact that I first played SH3 very soon after 2 may have led me to see it as a reference to the previous game by the makers. I still suspect that that was the case, but whether it was meant to give any hint as to what the real ending was I'm not sure, I would imagine not. Then again it could just have been a reason for Douglas to be aware of Silent Hill and utterly unrelated to James too.

[AuraTwilight]

Wow. Really?

1) I was joking. and

2) You do realize Laura is just a video game character ? (and one that tried to Kill you, the player)

Two days on this site and I see I'm going to have to start an "Ignore" list.

Sorry, it's just that stuff like that really bothers me. Laura is a character I'm emotionally invested in, and I've had to deal with too many children I'm associated with having died or been murdered in my real life. It's a sensitive button.

Also, Laura never tried to kill James. She's not aware there was any danger.

[Oddish]

I admit, I find Laura an aggravating little booger sometimes, and I would have enjoyed giving her a dose of wooden spoon to the derriere. But Aura's right, she never saw a monster in Silent Hill, had no idea that James was in any danger whatsoever.

Concerning the "canonical" ending:

There is none. Period. Only Konami can set one, and they have not done so. James walks into Silent Hill with his life, sanity, and soul all in peril. He can give up his sanity in "Maria", terminate his life in "Water", or damn his soul in "Rebirth". Or, "Leave" can see him walk out of the town with all three intact. Only "Dog" and "UFO" could be argued as non-canonical since Konami freely admits that they are joke endings.

Ergo, it's up to you; your actions if you go into the game ignorant or your active choices if you go in aware. Choose the ending you got, the first time you played. Or, choose the ending you like. In my case, "Leave" is both. As those who have read my "Rejected Endings" topics probably know; whether it's a ridiculous concept like James singing barbershop with three Pyramid Heads or a semi-serious effort like James waking up and finding that his whole Silent Hill experience was a dream, happiness seems to prevail.

The other side is that I cannot tell anyone here why I'm right and they're wrong; I speak with no canonical authority whatsoever.


Now, concerning Laura's behavior if James were to adopt her:

The Leave ending is ambiguous. Essentially, Laura walks out of Silent Hill. James leaves some distance behind her.
1. They could be leaving separately, but at the same time.
2. They might be leaving together, and James intends to drop her off somewhere safe.
3. They could be leaving together, and James intends to adopt her.

Which of these scenarios is plausible depends on a question that was debated here some time back (and was one of the rare times when Aura and I were on the same side). Namely, did Laura have her own encounter with Mary?

If she did not, then possibilities #1 and 2 are the most plausible: Laura might leave with James because she has no alternative, but they will part ways at the earliest opportunity.

If she did, then scenarios #2 and 3 are plausible. Mary will make Laura understand that James's actions were at best a sacrificial act of love, and at worst the result of weariness, frustration, and grief. They might not end up together because they have no real relationship, but Mary will want her beloved "daughter" safely looked after.

So in the end, if Laura encountered Mary at the end of her own journey through Silent Hill, I think that she would have understood why James did what he did. If she did not encounter Mary, she would not have consented to live with him in the first place, making the matter irrelevant.

[Dr. Robotnik]

As much of a stretch as this might sound, here's what I think could've happened to prompt Laura to leave alongside James.

What if she just forgave him?

While Laura might come across as bratty for a good portion of the game, that's because she believes she's acting in Mary's defense by getting back at her "mean" husband. At heart, Laura is innocent, which is why she sees no monsters in Silent Hill.

For example, the conversation she has with Eddie in the bowling alley. "But if you did something bad, why didn't you just say you were sorry?" He blows her off, saying that nobody would forgive him (and by the end of his journey in Silent Hill, he doesn't want forgiveness anyway), but what Laura says does imply she has the potential for it.

And I think it's worth noting that even in the hotel, when Laura knows for certain that James killed Mary, she doesn't sound that angry, at least not after noticing James' lack of response to her initial outburst. If anything, she just comes across as sad ("She was always waiting for you. Why? Why?").

So if she decided to take Mary's advice in her letter to heart and not write James off as an entirely bad man, I don't find it too OOC that she might actually forgive him, at least in "Leave".

[jamz_sunderland]

Personally, I kind of like the fact that there are multiple endings and the "true" one is ambiguous. In a way, I think Konami left it up in the air in an effort to screw with our heads even more. The monsters and everything in the town are very much James's own creation, and perhaps the ending is to reflect that. The developers probably wanted everyone to take away something personal from their labor of love. After all, death, loss, depression, sexual repression; all of these we can relate to in our everyday lives. Because we all relate to these themes, our perceptions of what these topics are all about are going to vary. Therefore, perhaps the developers left left the ending ambiguous to show that no matter what happens, our perceptions are going to shape what we think reality is. Sometimes, the best endings have no clear answers. For these reasons, the fact that all of Silent Hill 2's endings are valid is just another sign of its genius.