The Remake James

[Utherworld]

My take on James from the Remake, since he seems like an older version of James, could very well be the James that ends up with one of the 2 below endings from the original Silent Hill 2. (Sans Dog and UFO endings)

The Maria ending
Rebirth

In the 2 above endings, James falls deeper into his delusions. His metaphysical journey does not lead to enlightenment. Which I believe is the ultimate goal for James in Silent Hill 2. In the Maria ending James chooses not to learn anything and instead has chosen a Mary doppelganger, never coming to terms with what he did and why he did it.
In Rebirth, James chooses to perform a ritual that will bring Mary back from the dead. Since we know Walter used the same ritual we can determine that this may have worked for James. But to what consequence? With the overall motifs and themes used throughout the game. It may be safe to say that Mary will end up becoming sick and ultimately dying again. And again, James never comes to terms with what he did and why he did it.

One thing sticks out for me in both instances here. Some may disagree, but for me, this is quite clear. In both instances, James does what he does because of selfishness. He’s doing these things for himself. He chooses selfishness instead of selflessness.

It can be argued that Leave and In Water are both selfless acts James chooses because he has gone through his metaphysical journey, and it has led to enlightenment of some kind. Contrary to some beliefs, suicide is not a selfish act. Far from it. These acts represent different levels of selflessness that James has come to understand during his journey.

This leads us to the new endings

Stillness
Bliss

In Stillness James seems to still have to work towards enlightenment, as he says he is unable to forgive himself, and asks Mary to wait for him. James is unable to read Marys letter, unable to forgive himself, and does not feel worthy for forgiveness and any kind of closure. To me, this ending has a degree of selflessness, but has not come full circle.

In Bliss James chooses to drink a bottle of White Claudia, essentially inducing a vision/hallucination that everything is fine. That Marys sickness never happened. Truly, his ignorance is Bliss in this version. He seems to give a small nod to the camera in the same way he does in the save screens. And quite suddenly, he’s gone. Again, James never comes to terms with what he did and why he did it. It seems like he’s been sent straight back to the bathroom, to stare at himself again. To start another metaphysical journey that hopefully leads to his enlightenment.