SILENT HILL 2 ENDING ANALYSIS

Of the four conclusions, there is no one correct interpretation.  Each
ending indicates a different possibility.

====

In water

He came to this town to take his own life in a place of memories

summary:  Standing on the rooftop of the hotel is Maria, dressed in Mary's 
clothing.  She becomes angry at James, who persists in searching for Mary.  
Maria undergoes a transfiguration and attacks him.  When James kills the 
monster, the scene switches to a sickroom.  After Mary's last breath 
has left her, James lifts her body off the bed and carries her away 
somewhere.  In darkness, the violent sound of a car's brakes is heard.

conditions:  Thinking of Mary first and foremost is the principal requirement.  
Specifically, read the diary on the roof of the hospital, read the graffiti on 
the wall of the bar at night, and examine the headphones in the reading room 
at the hotel (latter half).  Also, this ending is easy to get if the player keeps 
his or her health under 50% throughout the game.

IMAGE:  the scene in the sickroom
James lifts Mary's lifeless body in his arms and leaves the sickroom.  His 
destination is...

IMAGE:  Mary's letter 
After the violent sound of brakes, a view from beneath the surface of the 
water fades in.  Finally, the screen fades to total darkness.

====

Leave

He leaves this town as a man who has accepted reality 

summary:  On the rooftop, James finds Maria in Mary's clothing.  When James 
appeals to Maria to "end this nightmare," she becomes angry and attacks him.
After killing the monster, the scene switches to a sickroom.  As James
agonizes over the fact that he murdered his wife, Mary tells him with her last 
breath to go on living.  James puts this nightmare behind him and 
together with Laura, leaves Silent Hill.

conditions:  This is the ending that is most likely to occur, so it does not 
have major requirements.  If requirements must be listed, listen to the 
conversation in the hallway in its entirety after defeating the Pyramid 
Heads at the hotel and also heal many times, exceeding maximum health.

IMAGE:  at Mary's bedside
As James expresses his anguish, his wife lies on the bed and imparts her
final words to him.

IMAGE:  in the cemetery
James makes his way through the cemetery where he met Angela and leaves the 
town with Laura.

====

Maria

A man who has murdered his wife a second time continues to live immersed 
in a delusion

summary:  On the roof of the hotel is Mary, lying on a bed.  She does not 
forgive James for having created Maria-- the woman who is his delusion-- 
and attacks him.  When James kills the monster, the scene switches to the 
park.  As James stands looking out onto the lake, Maria walks up to him.  
She asks, "You killed Mary again?" to which James replies, "I want you 
with me..."  Mary's words are written in the letter that Maria silently 
hands to him.  The two of them cross the observation deck and depart 
from the town of Silent Hill.

conditions:  Whether the player receives this ending is determined by how 
well he or she looks after Maria.  Specifically, go to check on her again 
after parting ways in the hospital and try to reenter the room after finding 
her body in the labyrinth, among other things.  Also, it is important to 
stay close to Maria and make sure that she takes very little damage.

IMAGE:  Mary on the rooftop
In the case of this ending only, not Maria but Mary waits on the rooftop 
of the hotel.  She vehemently blames James for killing her.  

IMAGE:  James and Maria
James makes the decision to continue to depend on Maria, the product of 
his delusion.

IMAGE:  the observation deck
Leaving the town from the observation deck that is the starting point of
the story.  Could this suggest that nothing has been resolved at all?

====

Rebirth

To resurrect his wife, he carries out a forbidden ritual

summary:  Standing on the rooftop of the hotel is Maria, dressed in Mary's 
clothing.  She becomes angry at James for pursuing Mary, who he himself has 
murdered, to the very end.  Maria undergoes a transfiguration and attacks him.  
When James kills the monster, the scene switches to the lake.  James is 
heading for a small island in the lake in a rowboat.  James says to Mary's 
corpse which lies in the boat, "Forgive me for waking you."  Could he be 
attempting to bring Mary back from death using a ritual that has been handed 
down from long ago in Silent Hill?

conditions:  Obtaining four special items that appear on a second playthrough 
is the requirement.  The necessary items are white chrism from room 105 on the 
west side of the apartments, the book of Lost Memories from the gas station, 
the obsidian goblet from the Historical Society, and the book of Crimson 
Ceremony from a bookshelf in the reading room on the second floor of the hotel 
(latter half).

IMAGE:  James listens to the recording in the reading room
The four special items all have to do with Silent Hill's long-standing 
religious tradition.  This reveals a point of contact with the preceding
work.    

IMAGE:  James and Maria on the rooftop
James rejects even the fantasy that he himself has created to escape.  
That unadulterated emotion is...

IMAGE:  James rows out onto the lake
Finally, James is driven to carry out the forbidden ritual that can bring 
the dead back to life.




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