James a Drunk? (Unmarked Spoiler)

James got a letter. From a dead person. Oh dear.

Moderator: Moderators

Smokey
Gravedigger
Posts: 552
Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Location: Orlando, Florida

Post by Smokey »

He says something like this "it's not that I don't drink. In fact, I drink a fair bit. But..." blah blah "to ease the pain"

You're supposed to assume that the pain means the death of Mary - but when you find out she's just recently died...you can assume that "the pain" = the pain of mary's sickness. All that time he spent at home alone tortured over the sickness of Mary must have lead to heavy drinking. Maybe he wasn't drunk when he killed her, but drinking a lot and sulking in a state of massive depression could feasibly lead the mind to do things like killing one person to set the both of you free.
If you can read this, I'll kill you.
Oddish
Rosewater Park Attendant
Posts: 1299
Joined: 12 Jan 2008

Post by Oddish »

* SPOILER *

There's just no way of knowing if he was drunk when he killed Mary or not. The act of asphyxiating a woman who was near death would not have required him to be sober. Oftentimes, a person contemplating an act like that will get all liquored up to prepare him/herself. And a person who has drunk heavily for a long time (like James) will sometimes have blackouts, though elaborate delusions (like the idea that Mary died three years ago) are not typical.

It is reasonable to assume that James was more or less sober during his odyssey through Silent Hill.
User avatar
LanceS133
Historical Society Historian
Posts: 1777
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Gender: Male
Location: Rhode Island

Post by LanceS133 »

Here's an idea that would've (I think anyway) been pretty cool: If James' car was actually rammed into a pole in the parking lot at the beginning. Then we could assume he was driving drunk to SH to find Mary but when he got there accidentally slammed into the pole or stone wall by the bathroom and been killed in the accident. So the whole time searching through SH he's actually been dead, and another bad ending, (like SH1) you see James dead in his car with the door wide open and him on the steering wheel with a bottle of Jack broken on the ground.
"That town. That God forsaken town. It just, keeps, calling me back..."
Oddish
Rosewater Park Attendant
Posts: 1299
Joined: 12 Jan 2008

Post by Oddish »

Given the content of the other four "serious" endings, I think that that one would probably fit right in. Unlike my favorite alternate ending, which features James waking up in Room 312 of the hotel with Mary and Laura and finding out that the whole insane affair was a bad dream, probably from eating too much junk food at Lakeview Amusement Park.

Given how distorted James's memory of Mary's death is, I think that it's very possible that he was drunk when he killed her, maybe he was so ripped that he couldn't even see straight, then after it was over, he passed out. He wakes up twelve hours later with Mary's corpse and a skull-splitting hangover, realizes what he did, and heads off to Silent Hill to dunk his car in the lake. But on the way there, he loses his marbles.
User avatar
AuraTwilight
Historical Society Historian
Posts: 11390
Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Location: I'm here, and waiting for you
Contact:

Post by AuraTwilight »

Twelve hours seems a bit long, to me. Besides, I never got the impression he was drunk from the video anyway.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
Oddish
Rosewater Park Attendant
Posts: 1299
Joined: 12 Jan 2008

Post by Oddish »

Me either, but it's theoretically possible.
MariaRising
Gravedigger
Posts: 541
Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Gender: Female
Location: South Carolina, USA
Contact:

Post by MariaRising »

Spoiler**
I think that maybe he was thinking about killing her before he did it, got drunk before making the final decision. Killed her after making a snap decision without thinking clearly... Then woke up the next day with a hangover with the regret and guilt of it all, not realizing what he did until he gets the letter... He does seem to feel guilty about it, and if he's even slightly normal, he's gonna feel thatshock, guilt and regret anyway. And I also believed the whole situation was repressed, probably haunted him so much he had to hide it from himself.
Oddish
Rosewater Park Attendant
Posts: 1299
Joined: 12 Jan 2008

Post by Oddish »

That's more or less what I was suggesting. James got drunk before he killed Mary, but sobered up by the next day and went off to kill himself.
User avatar
lain of the wired
Historical Society Historian
Posts: 4663
Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: Is this not Eorzea? Where the hell was that exit...?
Contact:

Post by lain of the wired »

Does anyone remember where exactly those screen shots are taken from?
You'll be missed. You were missed. I am missing you.
User avatar
B5160-R
Historical Society Historian
Posts: 4728
Joined: 20 Aug 2003
Location: H-Town
Contact:

Post by B5160-R »

^ I'm fairly sure that monologue of James' takes place in Heavens Night.
[ Un-Space Exploration - UE photo blog ]
Oddish
Rosewater Park Attendant
Posts: 1299
Joined: 12 Jan 2008

Post by Oddish »

Yes, he's looking at a bunch of booze bottles.

What I don't get is when James is in the basement without a weapon (thanks to that miserable elevator), why can't he pick up one of the empty bottles he found and bash the monsters' heads with that?
User avatar
JuriDawn
SHH Cult Subscriber
SHH Cult Subscriber
Posts: 4060
Joined: 08 Jan 2006
Gender: Female
Location: Carrollton, TX

Post by JuriDawn »

Because it's not Silent Hill: Origins. :P
User avatar
AuraTwilight
Historical Society Historian
Posts: 11390
Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Location: I'm here, and waiting for you
Contact:

Post by AuraTwilight »

Oh no she di'nt!
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
Oddish
Rosewater Park Attendant
Posts: 1299
Joined: 12 Jan 2008

Post by Oddish »

Oh no she di'nt what? :?: :? :?:

I didn't say it had to be "Origins", just that it would make sense for James to pick up another improvised weapon, if he found himself unarmed and surrounded by monsters. That's what he did at the start of the game, after all.
BodyHorror

Post by BodyHorror »

Oddish. Test yourself right now. You are surrounded by monsters! Look around you, what will you pick up to defend yourself with? (I hope it's not booze bottles. ;))
User avatar
JuriDawn
SHH Cult Subscriber
SHH Cult Subscriber
Posts: 4060
Joined: 08 Jan 2006
Gender: Female
Location: Carrollton, TX

Post by JuriDawn »

>Oh no she di'nt what?
Make a joke you understood. Sorry, my humor fails me sometimes.

You just aren't allowed to pick up another weapon because that would defeat the whole purpose of taking away your weapons to begin with. It's done to make you powerless and therefore kinda terrified. It's just a gameplay device and it's nothing to be concerned about.
Oddish
Rosewater Park Attendant
Posts: 1299
Joined: 12 Jan 2008

Post by Oddish »

QUOTE: Oddish. Test yourself right now. You are surrounded by monsters! Look around you, what will you pick up to defend yourself with? (I hope it's not booze bottles.

I pick up the most lethal-looking object within my reach. If it's a bottle of booze, then that's what I use (I'm a poet and I don't know it :mrgreen: ). Or a pipe, or a stick, or a hammer, or a chair.

Of course, if I'd been James, I'd have left my shoes and my coat on the shelf, and taken my handgun along instead.

You just aren't allowed to pick up another weapon because that would defeat the whole purpose of taking away your weapons to begin with. It's done to make you powerless and therefore kinda terrified. It's just a gameplay device and it's nothing to be concerned about.

You surely know me well enough by now to be aware that I greatly enjoy taking digs at gameplay devices, game mechanics, and other related things.
User avatar
Damn It All
Just Passing Through
Posts: 99
Joined: 29 Sep 2009

Post by Damn It All »

I just noticed this and thought it was certainly interesting. It made me think though
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
If James claims he hit the bottle after Mary died three years ago when it really was like a couple of days then was he ever a drunk at all?
Forgive me if that was answered already.
The Heart is heaven but the Mind is Hell. - Tom Waits
User avatar
AuraTwilight
Historical Society Historian
Posts: 11390
Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Location: I'm here, and waiting for you
Contact:

Post by AuraTwilight »

He could've hit the bottle
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
while Mary was sick. It is implied he visited strip clubs during this period, as well.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
User avatar
Damn It All
Just Passing Through
Posts: 99
Joined: 29 Sep 2009

Post by Damn It All »

AuraTwilight wrote:He could've hit the bottle
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
while Mary was sick. It is implied he visited strip clubs during this period, as well.
Really? Oh jeez I must've missed that! Where does it imply that?
The Heart is heaven but the Mind is Hell. - Tom Waits
Post Reply