We are, at our worst, our own monsters. However, we are, at our best, able to forgive ourselves even if that seems impossible.

Yes, it seems that SH2 tells the story of 3 people going through a spiritual "hell", they are repeating traumas and issues until they wake up.

Exactly. The ending is complicated and multi-layered, where you can read into James's emotions differently. He loved Mary, but a part of him did also hate her, because she was a burden to him and dragged him down constantly, verbally abusing him and mistreating him. It's understandable WHY she treated him that way, but it's just as understandable why James began to resent her so much, to the point he eventually killed her. Was it to end her suffering and spare her any more pain? Or was it out of pure, unrelenting hatred for her? It's up to the player to read it in their own way.

He loved her but he did begin to hate her. Both things can be true. It was a messed up situation ☹️

True love, as written in religions, is unconditional, not the love of a couple. That is why many people are frustrated by conditional love.

Agreed! It'd be cool to see your reactions to the other endings!

She clearly says in this ending, “I told you, I wanted the pain to end”, followed by James saying “Yeah, you did”. But James also admits he did it for himself, when he took Mary’s life.

I mean, this whole game shows that James deeply regrets what he did, in the the end, we are shown that even if part of James hated Mary, once he killed her, he deluded himself into thinking she had died 3 years ago because he actually also loved her. When James told Mary he hated her at the end of the game, Mary asks "then why do you look so sad", that line serves the purpose of showing us what James truly felt at the end of the day. Im not arguing whether James was a good or bad person but there is no doubt that he loved Mary and that he still does. Feelings are not as simple as love or hate, you can feel both at the same time.

He had both feelings at once. he loved her and honoured her request for a Mercy kill, but part of him also resentet her due to her becoming abusive towards him after she became sick. Both feelings where true at once. In the end James owned up to his negative feelings, to the point of claiming that they where his main motivation. To which Mary then quite sensibly points out, that he CLEARLY still deeply loved her since he is so fundamentaly emotionaly shattered by what he did. James main motivation depends on the ending you get, which depends on your playstyle. There are other endings in which James clearly didnt care for Mary in more then a superficial way, the "Maria" ending especially, but in this ending what he did was mostly a mercy kill, just with some build up resentment in the background

No one's defending his actions - it's more that we try to understand. It's impossible for us to say we would do anything different. I can't imagine seeing the woman I love slowly lose herself day by day nor could I imagine what that would do to her. I don't think it's wrong for you to feel the way do however, since James for sure feels worse about it.

She also said she wanted to die, and she was going to die, no matter what. It's hard to view James as a cold-blooded killer since what he did could be viewed as merciful. I don't hate him, especially since he spends the entire game punishing himself for his actions.

This is the Leave ending, which is actually the "Happy" ending of the game and the easiest one to get. The In Water ending is considered the true ending by the developers.

​@@Rocket1377 All of them is true just depends on the perspective just not the Gags.

@@Rocket1377 Can we stop spreadning misinfo. It's never stated they consider in water ednding the true ending. Water ending is supposed to be the sad ending lmfao.

⁠@@cleit1802 While I agree with you that it is true that there is no canon ending for the game, ppl draw this conclusion because A) the Art Director has said it’s one of his preferred endings (along with Leave) and B) the game’s novelization chose In Water as it’s ending. I think the only 2 you could really consider as canon are the two Ito mentioned, Leave and In Water. And some people don’t think James should “get away clean” after what is basically murdering his wife. Based on just the game itself, I’d argue Leave is the canon ending, because James accepts his guilt/the truth at the end and Mary wants James to live in her letter (though, she did write this before he strangled her). I prefer the In Water ending myself personally.

@@marwynthemasterful6369 I absolutely do not like water ending. James also does not get to leave for free. He went through hell. Mary wasn't a complete saint in the sense that she did say she wanted the pain to end and also lashed out at James. What james did has no defence, but none of the 3 characters have such a "just bad" situation, Eddie was bullied, Angela raped. Also novel said Mary was in the car's trunk, safe to say it's not a completely reliable source. I think leave and water are the canon endings you're right. But I don't like water because it accomplishes nothing for the character of James. No lesson learned. He just kills himself out of guilt and missing her. Which won't solve anything because like the text in the wall said, it's likely he won't go to the same place as her. I just think in water is a cope out ending. "Oh he deserves it! so he dies!" what a cope out to such a complex situation and character. I think back in the day it'd be unique. But lately i've read so much stuff where it happens that it just makes me dislike it. Him coping out of having to confront laura, Mary saying that he has to live on and what he has done is so distateful. Angela kills herself. We kill Eddie. And James just kills himself in the lake?