The Genius of 'Lucrecia's Lament' (Psychonauts 2)

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With the Deluge of Grulovia herself being built up as a threat throughout the course of Double Fine Production's Psychonauts 2, you can imagine my surprise at the reveal that it was actually Raz's grandmother, Nona Aquatto the whole time. I think that the mind of Maligula is one of the most interesting cases in all of Psychonauts with us seeing that even with Ford Cruller's constructs in place Nona's mind still slowly worked it's way back to the events in Grulovia. The genius level design in this mental world really illustrates to us how the developers over at Double Fine are able to make it's antagonists sympathetic and incredibly human in this larger than life cartoon world. So take a deep dive with me as we look at the mind of Lucrecia Mux AKA Maligula herself in 'Lucrecia's Lament.'
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[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

What are your thoughts on Maligula as an antagonist and how her story left off at the end of Psychonauts 2?

[@rubenduenas5881]

I think how her story concluded was very satisfying and shows how a traumatic experience can affect a person in a very unique way.

[@naryosh_]

Maligula reminds me heavily of Grandfather from Codename: Kids Next Door Operation: ZERO. Another geriatric, completely harmless family member harboring an incredibly powerful and malicious personality that has been sealed away years prior, only to be reawakened and battled once again.

[@theheroneededwillette6964]

From my understanding of the situation including raz’s dialogue during the final fight, the persona was originally a deep primal part of the flight or flight response, the savage drive that turns us into an animal when we’re cornered. The drive to make sure what’s threatening us is either far away or dead, that which potentially even gives us the adrenaline rush in those moments. The experiments “opened doors” in her mind, and her grand trauma ultimately caused that normally minor and incredibly locked up part of the unconscious to be thrust into her conscious mind and that “animal” evolved into a entire personality that took over her psyche almost entirely. To put it simply, she’s the animal we become when cornered, if that animal evolved into a human.

[@kingofnerds1841]

I'm not the only one seeing elements of the Flatwoods Monster in her design, right?

[@kidprime6863]

Her predicament and altering of mental identity is very similar to the Kasumi/Sumire situation in P5: Royal.

[@rubenduenas5881]

A morbid note is how the dam holding back Maligula is made of Emotional Baggage 💀

[@joshuarieder2865]

The locket leaks water when it opens. When it does so, it looks like the eyes of someone that is crying. This could signify some symbolism of guilt somewhere in her that she has some remorse, feeling tormented by killing family.

[@Shade_Thedra]

A small detail I like is that Bob is the first one to hug Lucy when they reunite. Out of all the Psychic Six, he should have the most reason to hate her for almost killing his husband, but he embraces her like the long lost friend that she is.

[@juanisol8275]

I cried in that scene, to think of everything they went through and to think that they all went through the horror of the war and shamelessly isolated themselves into oblivion! and even so that link of their brotherly friendship remained united despite the damage

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

YES. This one of my favorite scenes in the entire game!

[@georgiprenatt8270]

Same here! I love that scene so much. Such a beautiful gesture!

[@Failuigi41]

My favorite detail here is how the tags for her baggage are found in the quilt world. That space, her passion, her family, the new joy she wove for herself... that is where the means to help her handle her past are found. That's where her hope lives.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

Yes definitely! I love how symbolic it is!

[@sosiskaKi]

One is in Flea Circus.

[@dragobane4728]

​@@sosiskaKiwhich most likely is her attributing that place to Ford, her boyfriend before she went off to war

[@TheMidnighttea]

One of my favorite explanations for Maligula's name is that it's a combination of "Caligula" and "Amygdala", the part of the brain responsible for regulating the fight or flight response.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

You know... I somehow never put the Amygdala part of it together, but that makes SO much sense.

[@kisaLuver]

And the term "malignant", meaning something harmful or even deadly!

[@frostythesnowmanlol]

Or they could have just added mal at the beginning because why not

[@lovinani7]

I'm glad that DoubleFine didn't paint Lucrecia's mental world in a dark cynical way, but instead that opted to show us a mind that was beautifully crafted. Gives a subtle meaning to how someone can create a brighter future for themselves despite whatever atrocities they've endured.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I fully agree!

[@UmisTsukishiro00]

Something I’d like to call attention to is how Lucy gives the finishing blow, by cutting the bit of quilt Maligula clings to. Like you said, Lucy found peace and joy in sewing. Using her trusty scissors to banish Maligula is a visual metaphor for suppressing dark impulses with favourite hobbies.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

Ooooo, I dig this.

[@MusingsMuses]

I think Lucy going to live with Ford and near the rest of the Psychic Six is about the best way to handle the question "how much are you willing to forgive?" because no, she's not going to jail but she's also not walking away like nothing happened. She's going to a safe secure place where people that know how to handle her can take care of her. Honestly, how Psychonauts in general handles mental disorders is highly commendable even if it's not perfect. Hollis' gambling spree is never framed as a moral failing like society would have us think. Bob shows almost a whole lifetime of circumstances pushing him towards alcohol dependence. Hell even Dr Loboto, the single most cliche "oh look a bad guy, punch him punch him!" character you could ever design, is always framed as a scared victim of higher powers. The closest to unforgivable the games give us is Gristol Malek and even then they hint that he might be starting to doubt that his master plan and may be open to seeking help later. I can't imagine there ever being a third game but it would be nice to see where all these people go mentally in the future.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I would be very interested in seeing what a third game could look like.

[@AnonymousEnigma19]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT there's still some messes that haven't been cleared up, will the Psychonauts restructure themselves? Because how easy was it for a guy like Gristol Malik infiltrate the organization? Not to mention switch his brains with the head of the organization? And also who was the third party to Gristol and Dr. Loboto? Because Dr. Loboto is not a psychic anymore because of his parents putting them through a lobotomy, and neither is Gristol, so who put the booby traps in Dr. Loboto mind? And what happened to Gristol's mother? And why do I feel like this is going to be a third sister's situation?

[@nitrocide1746]

What needs to be said is that Lucretia is suffering from PTSD from the loss of her sister. While yes, the fight or flight response is far easier to explain, the majority of her symptoms are of a woman who cannot escape one traumatic experience in her life. She's stuck in that moment experiencing all of the negative emotions we see before the dam of emotional baggage. She has doubts, censors, panic attacks, regrets, judgements... And all of them pile on in a way that feel insurmountable. And while it should be pretty obvious to connect the enemy types to this condition, she also experiences extreme symptoms that could be tied to CPTSD. Trouble controlling her emotions, trouble connecting to friends or family... In essence, Maligula's suffering through a day that in her mind, won't end. Patients of both conditions have been known to lash out verbally or physically whenever recalling the event, or an event that causes similar stress. It's also quite telling that the final portal in Nona's Quilts doesn't fade away... It unravels to lead you into that dreary room with the dam. She's aware of the event in her subconscious mind... and it's buried behind liminal chambers that are loosely connected, but there's always been a part of her that never forgot that day.

[@KaminoKatie]

At the end of the day, Maligula still chooses to destroy Grulovia out of guilt-driven rage

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

While I can totally see where you're coming from, I don't think think we really have the evidence from a diagnostic standpoint to say whether she would be experiencing PTSD or not. While it could be inferred that this could be present, it's just not something that we viscerally see evidence of in my opinion. I think that it's likely that she could have been, but I think that the game's explanation of the fight or flight response being kicked into over-drive because of the Psychic 7's experiments explains the presence of the Maligula persona a lot better than anything else simply because we don't really get to see how Nona engages with the world after this event outside of either her Maligula persona having already taken over or when she's under the influence of Ford's Construct.

[@deucesommerfeld1248]

The answer to the question of: “should people be given a second chance?” Is… yes. In most cases, especially here. Everyone in the Psychic Seven was dealing with intense feelings of guilt, grief, heartache, and psychological pain that would make anyone crumble to their knees, Lucretia especially. Bob Daly with alcohol and threw bottles at Raz, Ford shattered his own mind, Compton isolated himself, Lucretia’s fight or flight combined with the abuse and neglect she suffered from the Gzar to become a monstrous embodiment of suppression and war. But the important thing is that at the end of the day, they wanted help and to become better people, and that people like Raz, Ford, Sasha, Oleander, and the Aquatos are all willing to lend a hand to someone who needs it.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I couldn't agree more.

[@kidprime6863]

Not only that, Oleander wanted to conquer the world in revenge against tall people. He had insecurities for being small. His father was a towering butcher who believed little rabbits were nothing but food and the military kicked him out because of his small size.

[@Artista_Frustrado]

also i love the very morbid detail that Raz was basically drowning himself every time "the Curse" grabs him

[@brenkrasmer]

Self fulfilling prophecy aided by psychic powers. We see some small evidence that family trees share some kind of mental prowess specialization. The Booles being the prime example of this. Heck, Augustus struggles with pyrokinesis, a subtle nod to fire being viewed as the antithesis of water. So when a powerful hydrokineticist believes the water's coming forth to pull them under... It will.

[@andre_601]

I find it an interesting choice that Maligula's mental world is basically frozen in time. Showing the flood that caused her to essentially manifest. It's my belief that this is Maligula keeping control over Lucy by constantly keeping this thought in her mind. Constantly making her remember what she did, so that she can stay in control. Kinda how we often keep negative events in or mind, think about it and even blame ourself about it: "If I didn't do that, it would've been better"

[@CreoTan]

It’s a good representation of how trauma and PTSD can often force those memories and thoughts to the forefront-as vivid and painful as they were when first experienced

[@Technotoadnotafrog]

Yunno, in a sense, this one's a lot like the other psychic six's minds. You clean up the absolute worst parts, then they have all the time in the world to sort out the rest.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I mean when it comes down to it we just help to give them the space so that they begin truly resolving it themselves!

[@Inlelendri]

One thing I noticed, being a crafter myself, is that the quilting applies to something else about her as well as your good points. At least my interpretation is that of all the crafts, they chose quilting and after all, quilting is about taking bits and pieces, often of something else that was otherwise broken or useless, and stitching them together to form a new whole. Often the beautiful bits, yes, but not always so, but they become part of something new and good. As Lucy and as Nona, she not only stitches pieces together, she repairs things. Whether that's in an unconscious act of atonement or not, I won't dare to speculate, but I thought it an interesting addition.

[@BrandonSwinney-j2v]

I'm surprised you didn't mention how, when Maligula tries to drag Lucy down with her at the end of the fight, Lucy uses a pair of quilting scissors to free herself. She deals with a fight or flight response (brought on by trauma) through a symbol of the quiltmaking that has brought her so much joy.

[@Chimeragui]

What’s interesting it despite knowing that a construct was built into her mind, not unlike Lungfishopolis, the Milkman or the office in Linda, Boyd and Loboto's respective minds, Lucy knowingly _maintained_ the construct rather than attempt to dismantle or root it out as the aforementioned Linda and Boyd tried to through the rebellion and G-Men respectively or Loboto did directly. To quote Cruller himself: "Some part of you _knew_ you were livin’ a lie…" That, within the context of this mental world, is a *horrifying* revelation because it goes *against* the typical reaction to implanted constructs we saw with the aforementioned Linda, Boyd and Loboto. And Lucy herself tells us exactly why: "Not the most functional family, but at least they’re all _alive."_ Like Edgar's Black Velvetopia, the construct was more comfortable than the harsh reality of knowing she had unwittingly killed her own sister. She allowed the construct to exist because she has living family to look after leading to the quilted world that Ford admits to having no involvement in the creation of.

[@Karlos1234ify]

Ford Flea being the Ringmaster makes perfect sense. He’s the one pulling strings behind the scenes. Everyone else are the actors following their roles.

[@matthewluebbering7180]

Small theory I had the hydrophobia acted similar to when you can’t see and your other senses increase as the Aquatos being from a family of powerful Hydrokinetics means all that psychic power got diverted to the general psychic abilities which is why raz is so talented

[@netherlord5342]

I always saw it as to why the 'curse' has a physical form in the form of the hand, it's the latent hydrokinetic ability reacting to the idea that water is bad

[@matthewluebbering7180]

@@netherlord5342 yeh, shows just how powerful their natural hydrokinesis should be, that even after most of it is cut off and diverted to other abilities, their is still a shred of hydrokinesis remaining

[@tyriqgreen9487]

That's true lucretia raz aunt is the only family with psychic power while her sister do not raz father inherited from her aunt which means it skipped a generation to obtain these abilities combining for raz a prodigy to inherit and evolution ze over the following years to perfect as a psychonaut agent with great speed.

[@frohawkmaster]

I think Maligula isnt simply just some savage caveman hunting creature. Its the very abbility to dissociate, to sortof, avoid mentally coming to terms with what they have done. Its the part of you that can let you cut your leg to save your life. Since Lucrecia couldnt handle the things she accidentally did, the very aspect of her mind that CAN kill her sister took over, and since Lucrecia could never come to terms with what she did, Maligula never left. Maligula is the part of Lucy's mind that can defend her country even if it killed people. And then the Deluge took everything Lucy was away but those murders.

[@KaminoKatie]

In spite of everything, it's still you ~ Undertale

[@kidprime6863]

To me, Maligula is more like an "inner beast". The Mr. Hyde to Lucy's Dr. Jekyll. Everybody has one. Sometimes, it's a necessary evil as it brings out the balance in the nature of man. However, if that balance is disturbed, the innocent are forced to suffer. And that's what happened, the Gzar pushed Lucy too far in order to get rid of the protesters. It rained too hard, broke the dam and drowned them. Including her sister and brother-in-law. Seeing them dead broke the balance. The scales tipped too far and Maligula broke her chains. Psychic Seven should've never used the Astralathe to augment their psychic abilities beyond their current limits. This is what happens when you rush.

[@Jeice17]

Something I found interesting is that the Flea Augustus says “pretty good” while Raz is throwing knives at him, exactly like the mental image of him in Raz’s psyche from the Meat Circus

[@DisKorruptd]

Something that nobody really touches on is that just before the portal to the dam, you find an infinite spawner of doubts, Lucy isn't quite sure that she should have brought Raz and Cruller here, she's not sure if she's ready to confront her past, what's behind that emotional baggage...

[@tie-dyeshyguy3237]

Something curious about Caligula. It wasn’t that he just became ill and got better. It was that he was the kind of ill that people were assuming he was poisoned and we’re moving on to kissing up to the next guy. And then Caligula got better and was a bit paranoid.

[@katietaylor8314]

This level reminds me of a scene I wrote in which a character who has gained psychic abilities decides to look into the mind of a man she so far sees only as a selfish, cruel bastard. She expects to find his mind full of wickedness, but is surprised to find nothing but fear, regret, and self-loathing. He has done terrible things, but it wasn't because he was just inherently "bad". Then she looks into the mind of someone she thought was gentle and inoffensive, and finds he's full of a whole lot of repressed rage he's not even aware of. Few people are ever what they seem.

[@PRGME7]

As somebody who is considered gentle and inoffensive by people who know me, you got it right. I have a ton of repressed and suppressed rage.

[@fmor2779]

Not sure if this is useful, but a known fact about Caligula was that he was the first emperor that proclaimed himself as a God, this plus his supposed dementia or the effects of his past illness made historians believe that power made him crazy. In a way becoming immportant to her country broke Lucrecia. It was said that he also suffered from epilepsy and thus he could not learn to swim even though many emperors are tought to because of how light in the water could trigger episodes of epilepsy, wich could explain Lucrecias avoidance to the water as it could "trigger" something.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

That's honestly really interesting. Thank you for letting me know, and I think that definitely adds to the connection!

[@DrErikNefarious]

18:31 "Like the orgies" "The what?" "Nevermind"

[@hatbros4463]

23:09 technically we only see maligula in the metal world so we don’t even know if she had purple/blue skin in the real world

[@hauntershunter5336]

Maligula’s name could also be seen as a combination of “amygdala” and “malevolent” or “malicious”. Given that the amygdala is the part of the brain responsible for the fight-or-flight response, which is essentially what Maligula is to an extreme level, the name makes sense. It could also be a reference to both what I just said, and the emperor who you mentioned, it just goes to show how clever Double Fine really is. Also I heard about the word combination thing from the video “The Brilliant Final Levels of Psychonauts 2”, just need to give credit where it’s due. I just thought it was interesting and should be mentioned here. Great video by the way!

[@UltravioletNomad]

I think the sad fact of Psychonauts 2 is that none of these people who all needed help for so long will get that time back. In a way, Fords decision to insert Lucy with the Aquato family gave her the best life compared to the suffering the others were forced to wallow in. But on the other hand, all of them, even Lucy, have been imprisoned in their own minds, they've all 'served time' for their follies so to speak. Whether you see her being watched over by the 6 a mercy or a prison, its more than likely that they won't have much time left. I'm not saying that to imply they're as good as dead, but such is the way with life, your mentors turnout to be human, flawed, and mortal in the end. That being said, Otto doesn't have a level, as hes both not a roadblock to the journey and has no immediately apparent problems in need of support, but I would love a video breaking down his interactions with others both in dialogue and in memories to help better understand his outlook, motives, and temperament. He seems like a busy body theres no indication that its to a degree of self destruction, but its hard to tell. He obviously still misses his friends dearly (I feel some players may feel hes actually rather callous about the situation or that hes moved on) but he doesn't seem all that roused up when the rumors of Maligula's return are brought to the psychonaut's attention.

[@1Maklak]

It was a bit surprising to me that pretty much everyone insisted on doing things the hard way, and no one even though of killing Lucy without her turning Maligula, just to be safe. Well, Coach Oleander might say that, given the chance.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I feel like the Psychonauts as a whole are a pretty non-violent organization which is one of their strongest qualities in my opinion!

[@1Maklak]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT Well yes, one of them said, that their job was to "help people fight their inner demons", not to forcibly change people, so they wouldn't want to murder anyone, but given the nature of the threat and how a clandestine government organisation normally operates, I expected the option to be discussed.

[@KaminoKatie]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT Even though in the first game, they are depicted as a morally grey/dubious spy organization

[@Eddiember]

The baggage tags were almost always behind the portals, other then the Tag that was right next to the dam that was meant to show the dam was literally made up from the Emotional Baggage. It was an amazing design choice on the part of the level designers.

[@rosthouse]

I think comparing Maligula and the roman emperor Caligula is going a bit in the wrong direction. Caligula was the son of the much beloved Germanicus and thus part of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. I think comparing him and Nick Johnsmith (sorry, Gristol Malik) holds a lot more water (pun not intended). If anything, both Gristol and Caligula were narcisists (at least going by historical records, which to be fair could be coming from his enemies).

[@exceedcharge1]

I love that when lucrisha turns up bob is the first to embrace her, hes done pushing people away

[@evanraynolds8699]

i have some great context for the caligula connection. The guy declared war on neptune, god of the sea

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I honestly had no idea about that, and it certainly does add some great context! Thank you for letting me know!

[@evanraynolds8699]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT you are welcome.

[@BigKlingy]

That was a great video. You summed it up so well that I don't have a ton more to add, but a few things outside of her mind are interesting. First, I love how the name of Maligula's supporters, the Delugionists, is a triple-pun, referring to "deluge", "legionnaire" and "delusional". In what later turns out to be Gristol's room at the casio, you can see a room full of conspiracy theories and pamphlets saying things like "Maligula Misunderstood?" The both hilarious and sad part is that Gristol was right that Malilgula was misunderstood, he's just extremely wrong about what she represents. To him, a spoilt kid who had everything in his homeland, she's the symbol of his father's rule, and if she comes back he'll be rich and powerful again. The damage and death she caused didn't mean anything to him because he never care about anyone besides himself. He also never saw "Maligula" as a person, only a weapon (the fact he doesn't call her anything else is telling, heck, he may have never known her real name). While this is an extreme example, it does show something important: the dangers of idolizing someone you don't really know for traits they themselves might regret or dislike about themselves. I think what separates the two and what makes Gristol the actual villain of the story is his lack of regret. While Lucy did all those things in the past, she shows capacity for remorse and regret, which is always a good sign. Maybe Gristol will too one day, but he's still got a long way to go. I also love Lucy/Maligula's story for how it humanizes Ford, who was otherwise a pretty generic mentor character in the first game. That's something you'll go into another day though. It's also cool how they took small parts of the first game's backstory (the Aquatos curse to die in water, the battle that shattered Ford's mind, the "Lucrecia Mux" totem pole at the camp) and turned them into such a multi-faceted character... even if they had to give her a complicated past of marriages and family drama to justify "Lucrecia Mux", "Galochio " and "Nona Aquato" being the same person. Heck, checking the Psychonauts wiki over this, while the rival circus family part is obviously a retcon (albeit an an-canon one via Ford's memory tampering), the blurb on the Hand of Galochio back in Psychonauts 1 actually hinted at its true nature: "This evil claw of water is a phenomenon only Raz and his family can see. Long ago, they were all cursed by a rival circus family - the Galochios - cursed to die in water, every one of them. So whenever a deep body of water is nearby, Raz gets understandably freaked out. He is literally gripped with fear, sometimes even paralyzed and pulled under. Do not take Raz swimming." For once, someone used "literally" correctly, since the claw itself is just Raz's fear.

[@screamingcactus1753]

The fact that Gristol Malek just took it for granted that this woman he'd only met as a child and hadn't seen in twenty years would be loyal to him really goes to show just how deep in his own delusions he was. the country he was supposed to inherit has been a political non-entity for nearly two decades. He's a king of ruins, but he's still a king, and in his mind that's all that matters.

[@BigKlingy]

@@screamingcactus1753 His mindset is also extremely childish, as shown by the song in his mental world, with its last verse containing "Together they (he and Maligula) rule, everything is super cool!" It's almost darkly tragic how deluded his is.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

Thank you so much! I honestly really appreciate your thoughts on all of these topics! :) I agree that the use of Lucrecia to not only give WAY more context to the Aquatto's history but also to build up Ford as a character is incredibly well-done because it always feels organic. Even though Lucrecia/Maligula is used as a massive plot device, I love that it never comes at the cost of her as a character and her own internal world and development. Everything is woven together so well and it creates relationships and characters that truly feel real, which one of my favorite aspects of this game in particular.

[@BigKlingy]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT I always look forward to these. I love both Psychonauts and Persona for the psychological and character symbolism in their level design, though that probably comes from me being a literature nerd in high school.

[@simonfernandez1963]

Now we are missing the leader of the psychic six, the one with the most broken mind of all, Ford

[@dracoking2459]

The first person to hug her has the most family problems

[@EchoSanchez]

I like to think the beanbag raz sits on beside the rest of they pychic 7 while entering lucys mind is probably her beanbag symbolizing that hes her successor

[@brenkrasmer]

I fully support this headcanon.

[@QuestionDeca]

I will always have questions about the Condition of that Dam in Grulovia, was the Malik regime skimping I maintenance? Was it sabotaged in an effort to kill “Maligula’s” popularity? Was there just that much water? Dams don’t fail without reason, and we’ll maintained ones usually need to be literally overflowing to fail.

[@Wiimeiser]

Just neglect, really. The Maliks were really corrupt, do you think they'd waste money on something so trivial to them as routine maintenance to an ugly concrete wall?

[@F1areon]

It was worn down bc of Maligula's previous rainstorms, iirc.

[@QuestionDeca]

@@F1areon Dams don't "Wear Down", for a Dam to fail as demonstrated the following must be true, the current volume of water must weigh more then it can withstand. The problem is, and question I can't have the answer to, is the cause of this as Maligula's rain is only one factor/possible cause.

[@F1areon]

@@QuestionDeca I think it was implied by the stuff in the Memory Vaults that Maligula had rained out the protesters many times before, and bc of that, the dam was filled with so much water that the events of that last protest had it flood from being totally overloaded. (I probably WOULD assume there was shoddy construction work going on there too though. Wouldn't be surprising given what's shown w/ Gristol and co...)

[@karsten69]

Maligula, a Caligula created by the Maliks.

[@KaminoKatie]

In spite of everything, it's still Lucy

[@karsten69]

@@KaminoKatie The persona of Maligula, the mask she wore, was crafted by the influence of the Maliks.

[@KaminoKatie]

@@karsten69 She still ultimately chooses to destroy Grulovia out of guilt-driven rage over unintentionally drowning her own sister

[@karsten69]

@@KaminoKatie it's the mask of Maligula that has taken control of the steering wheel. Lucy is on the backseat

[@mustardbiscuits9750]

I can’t tell you how much I adore your videos on Psychonauts, and I’m incredibly excited to see what you make next!

[@nyAndiVT]

For me, the best part is yet to come (and may never truly come, depending). Maligula is a scary and powerful presence who did a lot of harm, but ultimately I believe she was protecting Lucretia from the psychological damage that came with what she did, which is why she kept shoving Lucy back inside, so she wouldn’t have to see. And that part right before the end of the fight felt a little performative to me. Like she maybe was still trying to act in a way so that Lucy would blame her rather than herself. I dunno if that’s actually how it was intended to read but it makes sense to me.

[@KaminoKatie]

Lucy still ultimately chooses to destroy Grulovia out of guilt-driven rage as Undertale puts it: In spite of everything, it's still you

[@StepperBox]

Loved all of these! Any chance you will do all the Cruller levels? The ending reflection at the end of the main 3 are just so...! **muha** good! (That and Ford is my favorite character in both games)

[@SageofStars]

One thing I really do wish there'd been time for is more information about the war she went to fight in. We know it was an invasion of Grovolovia by one of its neighbors, that's from the small bits in the three Ford Minds, but beyond that? No details, nothing beyond it was an invasion, and Mux was able to halt it. Did the Tsar plan on launching a counter offensive at one point? It doesn't seem so, given there's no talk of that. How long did she stay in her nation after the enemy was fought off? Months? Years? Why? Was there danger of more invasions to come? Or was it solely for the social unrest created by the disparity between the upper and lower classes?

[@annieclark9041]

I know this video is about Lucrecia but I really want to give Raz a hug, this poor child

[@Artista_Frustrado]

“should people be given a second chance?” well the thing is, Lucrecia never really got a *FIRST* Chance to begin with. She wasn't in the right state of mind when the Dreluge happened and before she could even process what happened Ford mind-wiped her with the Astrolathe so any form of grief she could have happened in her subconscious; meanwhile the other 6 did get their second chance somewhat, even Hellmuth got 20 years alone with his thoughts also, i just love the fact that this time she got the help from EVERYONE (minus Loboto & Gristol)

[@KaminoKatie]

Keep in mind that even though the Grolovian royal family does play a role in her upbringing, Lucy still ultimately chooses to destory Grolovia out of guilt-driven rage

[@dgc12196]

Fascinating

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

Thank you!

[@theresablack9261]

This is coming a bit after the vid but I just realized that the quilting world is going through the seasons. Summer, fall, then winter. The last part is cold, likely the same way that Grulovia was cold on that day.

[@jennifermoy272]

You should do one for Raz's dad, Augustus.

[@raxelleon8189]

This reminds me of a Manga I found called Gunbured X Sisters. It has a villain who's very similar to Lucrezia/Maligula. (For the record it has fan service in it.)

[@codatheseus5060]

Thank you, I knew there was a lot of symbolism I was missing as I flew threw areas I thought were more boring than others.

[@zerothesquid7017]

love the video just one thing, there is one person that psychonauts 2 says is not redeemable, and that is Gristol Malik

[@ajbXYZcool]

I mean I don't think Gristol is necessarily redeemable.

[@Snowmon89]

In Psychonaughts2, No one is irredeemable... Um, forgetting someone, are we? A certain... egotistical and somewhat delusional mailman perhaps?

[@evanlucas8914]

I think maligula is essentially an alternate personality of Lucretia. Like most alters they come around due to trauma as a way to protect the consciousness from emotions and realities that are too painful. In her mind only an evil person would kill all these in ocent people, but she wasn't evil, was she? So her brain invented an fully evil and callous version of herself to make her actions easier to bear. After all, if she's evil then it wasn't her fault the people she cared about the most died because of her; it was just her nature as a villainess to kill people that got in her way. In this level you help Lucretia confront the reality. She didn't mean to kill anyone. She wasn't evil. She couldn't reasonably see her actions would have such dreadful consequences. She was a good person and still is.

[@ESw0rdsman]

Two games with a similar message: Ori (both Blind Forest & Will of the Wisps). There are no villains, only victims lashing out

[@KaminoKatie]

Lucrecia/Maligula is essentially Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

[@MySnugglePuppy]

Nearly year old video, but I would love to see an analysis of Ford Cruller and Caligosto Loboto. Loboto in particular would be great to see.

[@Karlos1234ify]

This game was awesome

[@Crazyflower13]

If you do another Psychonauts deep dive, could you do Hollis Forsythe?

[@AlexisHernandez-sx3zd]

We need a sequel, a movie of Psychics origins and and a prequel series and then the 3th game, OMG I need to know the city of Maligula showing the atrocities caused by a decisions made many many years ago, the real Raaz

[@Boss-mw1jv]

3:28 mmmm I’m aiming for game TESTING personally. Might as well put my skills to good use

[@williamswonderland3636]

Kaligula was a hedanest but I think the name is more so a reference to the amygdala Edit I figured it out a hendanist is some one who cases all desires right and flees from responsibilities and Anything they dislike , and maligula is kinda like the primitive part of the mind based around it's survels and it own wants and desires so maybe that's something?

[@jacktheomnithere2127]

28:33 *spits his tea* i just realized what Lucrecia was saying in the footage! and Ford's reaction says all! i guess they did more than go on a date in the bowling alley... i watched the full "game movie", which is 5 hours long. and i and that line slipped my mind... until now, when i, through careless thought, remembered one of Filthy Frank's videos on speaking japanese, and looked up "fool around".

[@rodneymatthews1891]

i know i am REALLY late, (11 month omg) but i think you should talk about waterloo world from psychonauts 1

[@demonic-angelusagi305]

R we not getting Ford's?

[@jennifermoy272]

When are you gonna do more "Psychonauts" videos?

[@tyriqgreen9487]

Feel bad for lucretia mux a gifted psychic with hydrokinesis had friends the psychic six and lover ford cruller only to have it dash it way short period being manipulated by the maliks forcing to kill her own people including her own sister and brother in law so tragic.

[@swiatowidciesslak6249]

Honestly, the situation with Lucys reform creates great problem and etics dilema: Psychonauts are keaping Gristol Malik imprisoned in HQ ILLEGALY just to keap Maligulas "return" in secret. If Malik suppost to answer to his cimes, than he should be judged by real judge - oficially and fair. But he's not! Couse he would tell the World about Nona. Psychonauts puts themselfs above low - that's preety much definition of evil. Ouch! If there ever would be "Psychonauts 3" I real hope this would be huge part of the plot. Meaby even Nona herself dicide to expose herself - to give Raz a lesson about responsibilyty. But not before married to Ford. Not only she would have last moment of freedom and happyness with her family and friends, but also it would meen, that Ford became Raz's grandpa. Sort of.

[@BX--nq6gf]

More like maligilugly

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

You right.

[@williamswonderland3636]

First?

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

First!

[@williamswonderland3636]

So you think the reason why Lucy's memorys are displayed as embroidery 🪡 is a play on memories being "fuzzy"

[@marieoconnor1283]

Hey man, And I just wanted to say that I now have gotten myself the "Cuphead: Physical Release" game for my "Nintendo Switch" and have gotten myself the "Lego Super Mario: Princess Peach Starter Set" and a $15 "Nintendo: E-shop" Gift Card to buy me some "Show-Bucks" in "Fall Guy's"

[@marieoconnor1283]

And as for a few days age, I have alsoly seen myself the "Psychonauts 2" Game now for Physical Release