Silent Hill 2 Remake’s Two New Endings Explained (In Detail)

Probably the single biggest story change in the Silent Hill 2 Remake is the addition of two new endings: Silence and Bliss. The original Silent Hill 2 Has four main endings that are achievable on a first playthrough. These represent different outcomes for his protagonist, James Sunderland, based on the player’s treatment of Maria, their attitude towards Mary and their apparent desire to live. It also includes two joke endings: the now-infamous Dog ending from the game’s original release, and the UFO ending introduced in later releases.

[Warning: This aritcle contains spoilers for both of Silent Hill 2’s new endings.]

The Silent Hill 2 The new remake endings, however, are a different beast. Although They have some similarities to recurring endings from the base gameThey are different in their own right, bringing new perspectives to the world of Quiet Hill.

Silent Hill 2’s silent ending explained

The end in the water, reimagined

Silent Hill 2s new silence ending is, in fact, An expansion of the original game’s in-water ending. This is the most traditional game”Bad ending,” in which Jacob is so consumed by his grief and guilt over Mary’s death that he drives his car into Taluka Lake, drowning. The ending begins much the same way: Jacob sits in his car As rain beats on the window, staring out with a blank expression, he repeats statements of regret and sadness to himself (or more accurately, to Mary’s body, which is implied to be sitting in the back seat).

this time though, Mary’s hand reaches from behindStruck Jacob’s cheek. She whispers soothing platitudes in his ear, but Jacob grows. Finally he asks:Will you wait for me?“To which Mary replies,”I always waited for youJacob looks one last time at Mary’s letter, lying in its envelope on the passenger seat, before he looks ahead in determination. The scene then fades to black, and the unmistakable sounds of an engine starting up, the voices screeching, and finally a sharp one. You can hear it in the water.

The ending can be interpreted differently, but one thing is certain: It ends with Jacob’s death at his handsbased on his inability to accept Maria’s death and his own role in it. This version of ​​the bad ending has an extra twist, though. Jacob receives Mary’s forgiveness directly, instead of simply by reading her letter at the end of the play. Although they are not quite as eloquently or evocatively phrased, Mary’s soothing words in this scene should serve the same purpose as her letter, allowing James to accept his role in her death and leave this chapter of his life behind.

But because Jacob feels his guilt, so much so, Mary’s speech reaches him. Stuck in a prison of his own, Jacob decided. actually, It seems quite unlikely that Mary’s ghost is actually speaking to James in this scene – it may all be in James’ head.

Beyond the generic common theme of forgiveness, Mary really doesn’t sound like herself here. Mary’s last words to James in this scene – “I always waited for you” – more accurately echoes the false letter that James’ guilty psyche dreams up at the beginning of the play, the one that lures him back to Quiet Hill in the first place. It is more likely, therefore, that James is simply imagining a conversation with Mary in his final momentsAnd believes that he will be able to return to her side in the afterlife.

Of course, another interpretation entirely paints things in a different color – It could just as easily be Maria in the back seat. Although she’s generally implied to be gone for good after the final boss fight, it wouldn’t be the first time Maria has come back from the dead. When Jacob asks “will you wait for me“The action cuts to a single framed shot, showing only the lower half of Mary’s face in the rearview mirror as her lips curl into a smile.

This interpretation would not be out of line with Silent Hill 2s approach to symbolism, or – It often uses mirrors as visual metaphors for duality or duplicity. Mary’s eyes do not appear in this shot either, which always suggests dishonesty and hidden intentions.

Silent Hill 2’s blissful ending explained

A new beginning for James?

The Bliss ending is decidedly more cryptic, and ends before the final boss, with James watching the tape he believes Mary left for him in Silent Hill. However, instead of revealing that James smothered Mary, The tape instead shows James’ original footage of his and Mary’s peaceful vacation in Silent Hill. The main focus of the shot is Mary standing in front of a bright window, looking out and musing on her inexplicable love for the city. She explains that it was a sacred place, which she says she can understand after spending some time there.

Echoing her letter, Mary makes James promise her that they will return to Silent Hill, to which he agrees. The two embrace before Mary reminds James that they need to get back to packing. The shot pans to James as he picks up his camcorder. He stops, getting a blank expression for a while. Mary asks him if anything happened, to which Jacob replies, “Oh, no. It is nothing.” The scene returns to the Lakeview Hotel room, where Jacob began watching the tape, where his pen is empty.

The implication here seems to be that Jacob entered the happy world of his own happy memoriesReuniting with Mary just before her illness began. His distant gaze seems to imply that he maintains some memory of his future-past grief, but he brushes it off at the first chance he gets. This is, in a way, quite similar to the Maria ending, in that it implies the events of Silent Hill 2 Constantly repeating itself in a breakable cycle.

In light of this ending, Silent Hill 2 Takes on a Buddhist tone. There is a Buddhist concept called samsara, which holds that all humans are subject to suffering in an endless cycle of life, death and reincarnation. Only by freeing oneself from desire can one achieve nirvana, breaking from the miserable cycle, the ultimate goal of Buddhism’s Eightfold Path. In a way, that’s exactly what James is doing, just on a much smaller level.

James is stuck in a cycle of suffering: if it follows the same continuity, starting with the events shown on the tape, Mary will fall ill shortly after she and James return from their trip to Silent Hill. The cycle will then repeat itself ad infinitum – Mary will get sick, James will kill her, and he will return to Silent Hill racked by guilt to do it all over again. He can only break the cycle by freeing himself from the unrealistic desire to return to Mary’s side, which he can only do in the end.

What ending is canon?

The canon of Silent Hill is foggy by design

finally, It’s hard to say why Silent Hill 2s endings is canonEven after the remake. Jacob barely appears in the rest of the series, except in joke endings where he teams up with aliens to abduct later protagonists. His father, Frank Sunderland, appeared in Silent Hill 4: The RoomBut all he reveals about James is that he “Disappeared.” This could refer to any of the endings of the original game: James’ death at the bottom of Toluca Lake, his ongoing cycle of suffering, or his beginning a new life after leaving Silent Hill.

Perhaps the most satisfying possible way to see Silent Hill 2Although, is to consider Two different endings canon at the same time: James goes through a repetitive loop of the Maria or Bliss endings, until he finally learns to accept his role in Mary’s death and achieves salvation through the leave ending. This charts character development over multiple playthroughs, bringing James from a state of all-consuming grief to one of acceptance. It also ends on a hopeful note when he finally escapes Silent Hill.

Still, the meanings and canonicity of Silent Hill 2The end was always up for debate; That’s why there was never a direct sequel, and why later games in the series kept things intentionally vague. Ultimately, it’s up to players to interpret the endings and decide what makes the most sense in them Silent Hill 2 Remake, just like it was in the original.

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