James's real reason...

[Conjurer]

I will probably suffer ass rippage for this but.....

You know how you get the In Water ending? James claims: "Now I know the real reason why I came here, what was I afraid of?". Know....most people would say "Well, since it's an alternate ending, how do you know it just wasn't a convenient line just for the ending?"

Well...notice how in all ending in almost every SH game, they show some truth to it? Like without saving Cybil with the Koolaid, you wouldn't have known Cheryl was adopted and the Mark of Samael was actually the Seal of Metraton. Also, without killing Incubator, the player also wouldn't have known Incubator was a vision of God.

So why not in SH2? I'm not saying James goes through with it but that was his original reason. Facts we find out from each ending are...

Maria: James does have subconscious feelings for Maria and we also find out that Maria has the same disease as Mary.

Rebirth: James has knowledge of SH's Ancient Gods.

In Water: James's real reason he came to SH was to end his life.

Leave: James has a subconscious hatred for Mary and wanted to move on with his life.

Dog: Everything was the work of the Dog all along...

UFO: .....?

SO yea...I think it's apparent James's real reason he came to Silent Hill was to end his life but in all the other endings he either forgets about it or finds a new reason to live.

[Lobsel_Vith]

Eh I see it more as

In Water - James couldn't handle his guilt so he cannonballs into the lake.

Maria - James wants humpy humpy

Leave - James has acknowledged what he did, and is able to move on.

Rebirth - James wishes to ressurect Mary

UFO - James likes being probed

Dog - It was the Dog's fault!


Also in SH1 when I killed Incubator, it actually made me think that Incubator was not the God.

[=AoD= Captain]

In Water isn't the alternate ending but the one most folks consider to be the proper ending, especially around here. There always is extra info in all the endings that is of interest, which is a nice aspect of SH. We know from Silent Hill 4 that the Leave ending isn't the right one at least.

I think the Maria ending is hilarious, almost a joke ending in its own right. It also show James didn't really learn his "lesson" from his SH experience. "We better do something about that cough..."

I bet in future game installments more significance is given to that little island in Toluca Lake. We know it is sacred and is of importance to some of the cult's rituals. On a similar note I wish there were something extra to see or a place to get to during the boat ride in Silent Hill 2, there isn't though, more than a few of us have been over every inch of that lake, you can't even reach any shore besides the hotel's dock. 

[alone in the town]

We know from Silent Hill 4 that the Leave ending isn't the right one at least.

Some people assume that, but it's incorrect. Silent Hill 4 doesn't invalidate any of the endings in Silent Hill 2.

[=AoD= Captain]

We know from Silent Hill 4 that the Leave ending isn't the right one at least.

Some people assume that, but it's incorrect. Silent Hill 4 doesn't invalidate any of the endings in Silent Hill 2.

Frank Sunderland never sees his kid again, we hear nothing of the mother so it would seem Frank is it for James' family. If he didn't contact his dad, chances are he never made it back to the land of the living.

Since the SH series are games and there are gaps of information, no one can be absolutely right about anything, there is always room for doubt. A little intelligence and reasoning though can lead to sound observations and theories. All of which are open to mature discussion.

[shootzombies]

We know from Silent Hill 4 that the Leave ending isn't the right one at least.

Some people assume that, but it's incorrect. Silent Hill 4 doesn't invalidate any of the endings in Silent Hill 2.

Frank Sunderland never sees his kid again, we hear nothing of the mother so it would seem Frank is it for James' family. If he didn't contact his dad, chances are he never made it back to the land of the living.

Since the SH series are games and there are gaps of information, no one can be absolutely right about anything, there is always room for doubt. A little intelligence and reasoning though can lead to sound observations and theories. All of which are open to mature discussion.

Well considering what you said about James not contacting his father, it would seem that only the "In Water" ending and perhaps the "Rebirth" ending are the only true endings to SH2.

[Conjurer]

Well considering what you said about James not contacting his father, it would seem that only the "In Water" ending and perhaps the "Rebirth" ending are the only true endings to SH2.

It's still possible for the other endings to be true.

Maria: James is trapped in the Other side and doesn't return to reality?

Leave: Goes into hiding with Laura so the police won't find him.

In Water: Obvious

Rebirth: Stays in Silent Hill w/ Mary?

[=AoD= Captain]

I don't completely rule any of them out, but the sad fact is James is most likely a pile of bones on the floor board of a submerged 1979 Ford LTD. For instance look at the foreshadowing, it is James in V.2 that gets all the information on Toluca Lake and its victims; the sunken Baroness and its passengers, the plague victims, bodies dumped into the swamp, the submerged prison, it seems a common thread.

I certainly take Rebirth as a strong second choice. James is quite the ghoul isn't he? Two of the four endings he is playing with a dead body and one of the four he is fooling around with his dead wife's demon clone.

Leave suggests to me more of a "heaven" than a going back to reality ending but even if James is returning to the land of the living he wouldn't much have to worry about cops. SH does not give up her dead or her secrets and convicting a person of killing their already dead wife whose body no one has found isn't going to happen.

Now, here's a thought I had, what if the In Water ending depicts the event immediately after the murder and before James' SH adventures? Kill his wife, feel guilty, takes her body to "their special place" and kills himself with her. He then wakes up in SH with no memory and begins a major interactive guilt trip.

[Lobsel_Vith]

There's also the little thing about Pyramid Head (an avatar of Xuchilbara it seems) acting as the role of a savior for James. Which puts the rebirth ending for me at a close first.