Silent Hill 2 Analysis | Who is Laura?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ค. 2019
- #silenthill #silenthillanalysis
Examining Laura in Silent Hill 2.
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I understand that Team Silent has said Laura is real. But authorial intent does not erase or invalidate alternative interpretations of fiction. I enjoy looking at the story this way - but you don't have to. It's entirely up to you. This is simply my presentation of what I believe, and why.
👏👏👏👏 Agreed!
I like the theory, and your probably the best at explaining the logic. That being said the issue with personal interpretation is that we as humans beings like to draw connections and patterns at the slightest hints. For instance Laura being a child can't have a long backstory because she literally has had little life to live. As well she is an orphan. While she could carry her last name from her parents she can also for go one as well. I feel it's the authors job to explain the details that are lacking while also allowing for personal interpretation when it's appropriate. Team Silent likes to keep details hidden but they never want to confuse or miss lead. Them stating that Laura is real is meant to clear up confusion and also stop people from misleading others
I know this is old but I have a stupid theory that just came to mind. Could it be that Laura is possibly a sort of reincarnation of the real Laura made by Mary and not by James to judge James throughout the game. Let me explain. The reason Mary named her Laura was because of her friend from the hospital with the same name. What if Laura was real an actual little girl with an illness and died before Mary did. Maybe Mary had Laura in her final thoughts before death and made a sort of reincarnation of Laura. Maybe the only reason she is real is because either Silent Hill or Mary wanted to test James but that doesn't mean she's completely real in that regard and for her to be completely real depends on James. Remember she never shows up again in any other ending probably because she fades out of existence because James didn't gain forgiveness from Mary. Why would Silent Hill let her roam around if she serves no purpose anymore and Mary certainly wouldn't want her to stay with James if she doesn't forgive him. If so it would make sense she'd appear in the Leave ending only because he gained forgiveness from Mary making her officially real and i see that as a sort of second chance for James to raise and take care of Laura. Maybe Mary wished to give to birth to a girl and name her after her deceased friend but due to her illness she couldn't. It sounds stupid but i'd like every ones opinion on this XD
@@josejulianmonserraterivera6235 I could not explain it better. Your theory makes a lot of sense
@thegamingmuse I love the silent hill games, they're probably my favorite games ever. That being said the fanbase can be a bit questionable at times. They act like certain things can only represent one thing and nothing else, leaving nothing up to interpretation, and that words from the devs are absolute gospel. One thing that specifically irks me is how some of them mention "Canon endings" if there was supposed to be a canon ending, then the games wouldn't have multiple endings in the first place, every ending is canon.
I think Laura is a manifestation of the daughter they never had
Makes sense, but then how does Eddie see her?
"they look like monsters to you?". Remember that the creature of silent hill manifest in different ways. Hell, Eddie could be a manifestation of James violent needs (seing his violent urge to kill his wife as something childish to do.) And Ángela could be a manifestation of James self destructive thoughts and needs after what he did
Joe Kerr again true, but don’t we assume both Eddie and Angela are in Silent Hill for similar reasons to James especially considering the novelisation? They also both have graves with names in the graveyard, same as James. Even if Eddie is a manifestation of James’ mind, Maria, the “confirmed” manifestation of his mind never interacts with Laura, contrary to Eddie. Saying that Eddie is a manifestation of James’ mind only complicates things more than they already are I think. Not to mention that James specifically saying he “took a human life” after killing Eddie is a focal point of the story, so I’m more inclined to assume Eddie was a real person, despite the fact that the town does indeed appear different to everyone - meaning Laura did not see monsters and could walk through the town freely because of her implied innocence while every other character in the game saw monsters.
@@JoeKerr019 @Manveru31 Laura, Eddie and Angela are not manifestations. They are all very much real.
Manveru31 As I mentioned in the comments above, Eddie and Angela have both come to silent hill very much like James to look for something. In the case of Maria it’s different since we know she lived in silent hill from “born from a wish” and is indeed only inside James’ mind and never interacts with any other character, *including* Laura
3:41 "...she does see Laura..." In fact, Maria shares some of Mary's memories. In "Born from a wish" scenario, when you visit Amy's room in Baldwin Mansion and check the shelf, Maria says: "Stuffed animals line the top of the shelf. Nothing very interesting." And then adds: "Oh, is this a teddy bear? It's not very well-made, but it's sort of cute anyway. I bet Laura would love it. She loves bears." And finally: "..."Laura" ?? Who am I talking about...?" Maria as we know, is just a manifestation created by James' desire...
4:52 How did she leave? Laura probably managed to sneak out from the hospital (being an orphan and rebellious girl, that shouldn't have been a great challenge). Why did no adults stop her? (Why she doesn't have a surname?) Well, again, she's an 8 year old ORPHAN... So, no adults were necessarily responsible for her. Then, she escaped from there in search for Mary, who was presumably in Silent Hill (I'll comment on this later).
4:59 Why is Laura here -in Silent Hill-...? That question is answered in the same scene you used for that part in this video: When you reach the "Lakeview Hotel" and meet Laura at the "Lake Shore" restaurant, we get to read Mary's letter to her (a short one, Laura says she took it from Rachel's locker, a nurse... NOTE THAT THE AUDIO DIALOG wasn't originally used in the game, but it's present in a compressed audio file, look for this video: ?v=CquVMeK7Q3g). After reading it, this point us out 2 key aspects to consider: James ask "Laura... How old are you?" she answers: "Um, I turned eight last week", and then, after James' self questioning about Mary's possible whereabouts and date of decease, Laura says: "Me and Mary talked a lot about Silent Hill. She even showed me all her pictures. She [Mary] really wanted to come back. That's why I'm here ." In Mary's letter to Laura, it says: "I'm far away now. In a quiet, beautiful place." So, Laura, being a naive child, misinterpreted Mary's words and thought she was referring to the town, being "Heaven" -maybe- the "quiet, beautiful place" Mary was refering in her letter, something totally justifiable for a little orphan girl who grew attached to an ill woman.
5:54 "She inexplicably has a letter from Mary..." No, in fact, she "should have" 2 letters: Mary's letter for her and another one for James (?) (again, refer to the scene at the "Lake Shore" restaurant) which she 'dropped' somewhere... both letters were kept by Rachel.
6:35 "A little girl who supposedly was in the same hospital room as his wife..." No, I don't think so. I don't recall that fact being explicitly exposed in the game. Yes, both Mary and Laura met at the hospital and Rachel was their nurse in common, but nowhere in the game it says they were roommates (as far as I recall). Laura's condition could have been something trivial, transitory, who knows... she may have met Mary 'cause Rachel talked about her at some point, and she, being a "condescendant" -and orphan- child, decided to pay her a visit... Anything is possible.
And other thing I have to point out: You implied (using other words) that considering Mary's terminal disease, Laura could (or should) have contracted the same disease, yet she seems healthy enough to be wandering around in Silent Hill... If that's so, then James could (or should) have been affected at some point by the same disease too, a lot of time ago, considering the fact that he went to visit her occasionally (Remember this part in Mary's letter for James?: "Whenever you come see me, I can tell how hard it is on you..."). So, Mary's condition isn't necessarily a contagious disease. It's a degenerative one, that's for sure. Laura maybe had another less serious health condition (let's presume she was playing somewhere and then she felt from a fairly high place and ended up with a dislocated foot or something like that, or maybe she has a nutritional problem... who knows...) and since Mary's illness wasn't contagious, she could have gone to visit her several times before the events in the game.
Nice video though, but I prefer to stick to the creator's idea of Laura. For me, she was real and wasn't affected in any way by the things we see in the game.
The last part about the illness being transmittable, no, I don't believe she implied that. What TGM meant was that if Laura had been living in the same hospital ward as Mary, she would have likely also been suffering from a deadly disease. I don't know where you're from, but at least where I'm from, people with terminal stage cancer etc. aren't stationed where IC patients are, but in a wing/section of their own for added comfort etc.
My theory on this is, that instead of them both living in a hospital, they met in some place reminiscent of a nursing home. Since Mary couldn't be cured, it's possible that she got transferred to a place where she could comfortably live out her remaining days while also receiving checkups and care from professionals. Who knows, maybe one of Laura's parents used to be Mary's roommate and that's how she got to know her and started visiting her, or maybe her parents died in a car crash and she got situationed there for physiotherapy. Anything is possible.
@@ThJakotsu well I think the game said that Laura and Mary met in the hospital and Mary was bedridden in her room before being sent home by her doctor. So after Mary is gone, Laura might have thought Mary went to Silent Hill after reading her letter (though she misunderstood it).
One thing to add
In the intro of SH2 and the Book of Lost Memories, it was confirmed that Laura met Eddie by chance on her way to Silent Hill and Eddie could have taken her with him to the town.
I agree
Laura couldnt have left the hospital on her own. I was 19 and a made orphan and they kept me until i had somewhere to go on mg release because i was vulnerable. an 8yo would have someone assigned to hee at least
she didnt walk iut on her own she must have been with someone
I can’t get enough of videos on silent hill, been straight up binge watching them on repeat for years.
I have been reading your book. Many people may say great! But for me, it is not. Reading is hard for me & My hubby helps me. No one is alone here!
No, the kid is dead..but real. WHAT REALLY IS SILENT HILLS? A bad dream??? You tell me!
You’re not the only one.
Currently me lol
Interesting. I never thought of the possibilities of Laura. Honestly, I do think she is a brat earlier in the game. I think I have a theory that there are 3 characters that represent 3 of the 6 endings. Laura is the Leave Ending. She represents James' chance to atone and get back his life. Pyramid Head represents the In Water Ending. He represents James' guilt and his guilt becomes too much for him to bear living without Mary. Maria is, of course, the Maria Ending. James learns nothing from the experience and is doomed to repeat the cycle with Maria.
This is so accurate. Im sure you're right dude. Even one member of the team silent said that he created pyramid head just for the in water ending
So...the Dog ending is Eddie's ending?
@@smart.but.stupid And then U.F.O for Angela ?🤔
i thought it was pretty clear Angela was supposed to represent the in water ending. Angela at the end succumbs to her pain and suffering and eventually kills herself. The requirementa fot In Water is examining Angela's knife. the fact that James over and over again states that he's "not like you(Angela)", "i'd never kill myself" but suicide is the reason he was there in the first place. and, for in water at least, his interaction with Angela probably fixed his mind on suicide.
Elle Holloway from Silent Hill Homecoming was originally supposed to be an older version of Laura but they scraped the idea smh she was even gonna wear James jacket in the boat ride to Silent Hill
@L Franco never thought of it like that, i always thought it was strange how a little girl was able to come to silent hill alone in the first place^ makes me wonder now if all the characters james encounters were no more real than the monsters.
@L Franco in that case laura wasnt a ghost or a figment of james imagination because she interacted with eddie also.
@L Franco by valtiel, i always figured he brought it with him or it was a manifestation just like the body near the fridge in the apartment where he is first encountered .
Vasiliy Uzumati Aw man that would’ve been awesome though
I'm obsessed with silent hill 😭
It's the most deep and meaningful series of games. Full with symbolism like no other.
Me too, by the way how many silent hill games have you played?
@@Heelo_0 I've played 2 and 3 I been looking for some good silent hill let's plays lately
@@undertone9621 okay here are some for your mobile device
Ps1 or psp silent hill games
For psp
Download ppsspp emulator then go search silent hill psp games download and extract the file when done.
For ps1, download epsxe emulator, search ps1 silent hill rom and do the same steps.
Use Zarchiver to extract the files.
Me too. I’ve been obsessed for over 15 years now and my obsession hasn’t faded in any way. I never thought I could hold a video game so close in my heart.
The video was perfect until 4:23. Everything after this point is unfortunately a pure speculation, or rather a fan theory. Every asked question has an answer.
1. 4:23 - Why is Laura alone? - She wanted to find Mary on her own.
2. 4:36 - Laura wasn't sick with the same disease as Mary. She met Mary in a hospital, but that doesn't mean they shared the room. Her condition was probably minor since she's pretty much healthy in SH2.
3. 4:51 - It is unknown whether Laura was still a patient or just a visitor. Nevertheless, she escaped and managed to find a way to Silent Hill.
4. 5:01 - Why is Laura here? - To find Mary. Laura believes she's still alive, just in another hospital.
5. 5:03 - Where does she go after Silent Hill? - Probably back to orphanage. It's up to player's interpretation what happens to Laura after Silent Hill, but she's surely still alive. It also depends on the ending.
6. 5:14 - How she arrives anywhere in town? - She goes by foot. As stated in this video, she doesn't see anything abnormal around the town, so nothing stops her from crossing the road.
7. 5:36 - Is Laura real? - Yes.
8. 5:52 - James is not the only person she meets, she also talks with Eddie who is confirmed to be real.
9. 5:58 - How did she get a letter from Mary? Is it real? - Yes, the letter is real, she stole it from the nurse (the one from a week ago)
10. 6:14 - Is Mary's letter the same as Laura's one? - No, they are not the same. Mary gives James her private letter which is a full version of the one manifested in James' pocket in the beginning of the game. It is unknown what Mary wrote to Laura in a second letter she dropped somewhere.
11. 6:29 - How did Laura know James? - Mary told her about him, and James probably met her in a hospital. Unfortunately, he didn't pay enough attention to Mary's friends, or he simply forgot her (like the murder of his own wife).
12. 7:01 - Because Laura already knows James' name.
13. 7:12 - Laura definitely met James before, and if not then at least saw him in pictures.
14. 7:17 - Laura doesn't see any monsters, and she travels through Silent Hill just as James - by foot.
15. 7:38 - Is Laura manifestation like Maria? - No, because if so, then James would be the only person to see her, which is untrue.
16. 7:57 - Laura doesn't have a last name because she's an orphan, likely abandoned at birth by unknown parents.
17. 8:19 - Laura does have a backstory. Maybe not as big as other characters, but we do know about her life before the events of SH2.
Now I can breath more peacefully.. even after agreeing with some muse arguments, i rather to think that Laura is pretty real and ALL of your explanations make Sense. I even had think that Laura knew James by the photos Mary showed her.
Totally agree with everything...
i belive Laura move around by hitch hiking or taking the bus.
i don't think the town of silent hill and its surrendering is desolate or even abandoned at all. in silent hill 4 the room you can clearly see outside is a busy place tons of people th-cam.com/video/1fCLVmCRjio/w-d-xo.html
Alissa`s power only affect certain people it transport them into the fogworld, to the normal citizen of silent hill it would be just a disappearance case is not that alarming, this might be why silent hill have the alien conspiracy jokes alot of people disappear under inexplicable circumstance ? must be abducted by aliens!
so i think the town of silent hill to Laura is just a normal town on a sunny day with people in it. she might arrive in town via bus and she meet Eddy on the bus.
an 8 years old little girl with no parents can get away with a lot of stuff if you think about it. to get around she can just beg for a ride or to get on a bus .she seems to know how to get what she wants.
i think what happen here is Laura see James like if James is a ghost. and James can only see Laura with limited capacity this is why Laura can disappear or apear out of nowhere and alot of situation doesn't make sense like Laura drawing in pitch black room or she think james is a total wrido talking about danger and monster.
for normal poeple of silent hill they probably shrug it off if they see a 8 years old talk to a invisble man looking for his dead wife.
Laura is real and she might be the true real thing in the fogworld for james to see everthing else even some part of himself is conjured by his own sin therefore not real. so the leaving ending basicly means jame decide face the realworld and leave the fogworld.
Yeah. Laura and Mary had a daughter-mother relationship which was so close that Mary told Laura if it wasn’t for her sickness, Mary would have adopted Laura. So seeing Mary suffered as the disease got worse and James started to visit her less and less, Laura must have developed an antagonistic view of James and when she saw him in Silent Hill, she kicked the key away from him because she wanted to mess with him for being a jerk to Mary
I 100% agree with this one.
All very valid, simple answers.
What if the purgatory theory is indeed true, and she's telling the truth (she met and befriended Mary in the hospital) but died due to whatever illness she had (maybe even before James visited Mary, hence why he never met her) so she is trapped in purgatory sad, alone, being haunted by her best friend's devastating story.
Since she died an innocent child that would explain why she's not being tortured like the rest of them.
I thought Laura not having a last name was more tied to the fact she’s an orphan. Like she has no family, no one but Mary. And as for the hospital thing, it may be possible that because of her behavior, she was brought to nuns in hopes of changing it. It’s implied by the letter that the nurses that are taking care of Mary are sisters. Maybe Laura would come with them and she met Mary that way. Or the place itself was where the nuns lived in. That also might explain why James has never met Laura. It wouldn’t be right if the sisters let her, a little girl with no connection to them, join in what little time James and Mary had left together. Well, Mary could have told him, but I don’t think James remembers. Possibly he’s burying it along with her death?
Maybe he deleted Laura since if he was remembering about Laura James would eventually realize what happened to his wife.
dont forget that ''3 years ago'' time period. Alot can happen in 3 years
It is revealed to be one year, not three.
@@JoesGuy The real Laura died one year after Mary. This Laura does not know that two years have passed since then.
Outstanding explanation. My respects to you. Also nice intro!
I think that Laura is a manifestation of James' innocence which naturally "hates" James for his wrongdoings (hence why she seems so reluctant to be on his side/to approach him in the first place). She is a mirror of James' pure and juvenile side which wants and has nothing to do with what James otherwise did with Mary: killing. It's interesting how she tells Eddie, "why don't you just say sorry?", another reflection of the part of James (and really Eddie too) that wants peace and resolution - that seeks a way out of this and cannot understand the cruelty that was done. At least that's what I think, there could be many different explanations! :)
Laura was the real antagonist of silent hill 2
Lol
How so? She literally did nothing wrong, other than locking James in the hospital.
@@JoesGuy it's a joke 🤦♂️
In Neon Genesis Evangelion, almost all the characters speak with the child of each one. These child versions are more emotionally inteligent that the characters. Something in japanese culture the is. Probably some of psycoanalisis.
I love youre analysis of Silent Hill. You really are awesome
Love your analysis and content, as always 😊 keep it up!
I really appreciate your videos. I was really excited to see such a recent upload, since silent hill 2 is one of my all time favorite games, but new content about a game that's nearly 20 years old is often sparse. Thank you
Excellent analysis as always, i love how you edit your videos and use the scenes from the game! I'm a big fan of Maria's character so its really interesting to see that perhaps Laura is a manifestation as well? I tried searching for an analysis of Maria but only found one for Mary. I'd love to see an analysis for Maria; the "born from a wish" sequence from the directors cut is soo interesting!
the idea of her being innocence for different people blew my mind
Just wanna say you're one of my faves on YT, i LUV your channel! ♡♡
Please never stop making content. Always happy to see you posting!
Great job! Keep up the good work. Always love your videos.
This actually made me want to see a video on Maria next
I've been enjoying these thank you
Wow, I haven't had this emotion of Silent Hill for a long time. It's overcast outside and perfect.
There’s almost no analysis video on Laura on TH-cam, thanks!
Never stop these Silent Hill videos, we love them
I strongly disagree with the idea that Laura is a manifestation or not real. If she was a manifestation for James, Eddie shouldn't have been able to see her, doubly so if Eddie was indeed Laura's ride to Silent Hill as she should not have been able to manifest outside the town like that.
If you go by those unused scenes in the title roll, we see Laura encountering Eddie in front of a van, the implied scene of how they met and Laura got to Silent Hill. But there's also another scene in that roll that shows Laura entering a hospital/bed room and smiling. Implied to be her visiting Mary.
As for things like the lack of a last name or backstory, Laura doesn't really need them in the context of the story. The lack of a last name emphasizes that she's orphan, that she has no family much less a family name. As for her lack of a backstory, there's not a lot that we don't know about her that would actually be relevant to SH2's plot. It's not Laura's story, it's James's story. What we learn about Eddie and Angela only ever relates to why they were called to Silent Hill which in turn reflects back on James as they're going on a similar journey to his.
But Laura isn't on that journey.
Now, I do actually think Laura was called to Silent Hill as the others were but not for the same reason as they were. Laura was called to serve a role in James's journey, not unlike how James's served a role in Eddie's journey. As you said, she is innocence and embodies James's best path to absolution for his sins. Which is also why she doesn't appear in the other endings because James has rejected that absolution, either consumed by guilt or rejecting it.
Whether or not the two letters Laura has are real or not actually doesn't matter because they serve the same role regardless. If they're real, the power of the town removed it from Laura as James wasn't ready for the letter yet. Giving it to him at that moment would have disrupted the journey James was on. If not real, the first letter is a vector to get Laura to Silent Hill to fulfill her role in the story while the second fulfills it's purpose for James when he finally gets it.
As for Mary not telling James about Laura, I've long believed it was because Mary did want to adopt her but with her dying that wasn't possible and I think she didn't want to force adopting her on James. They were going through a lot and their relationship was suffering. Mary may have feared that James would see Laura as a burden forced upon him by her and made both of them miserable. So she may have kept Laura from James for that reason despite it really running counter to her desire to adapt Laura. After all, people can be irrational and foolish when things are fine and normal nevermind when faced with prolonged suffering and their own mortality.
Finally, Laura getting around Silent Hill far faster than James. This one is such an easy one that I'm honestly surprised you brought it up. Even ignoring things like video game logic, we know that Laura isn't seeing and experiencing things that James and the others are. While we don't know what Laura is seeing exactly, it's likely she's just seeing the normal town, people and all.
The biggest jump in travel Laura does is to the hotel, during which time James is in the Water Prison, a long, long level. We don't know how long James spent there but given it's length, he would have spent a fair bit of time in there. Plenty of time for Laura to get to the other side of the lake to the old part of town.
How you may ask?
Well one thing that gets forgotten about is that Silent Hill is a tourist town spread out around a lake. It should have public transport options for people to go from one part of town to another, whether that be buses or ferries. It would have been easy for Laura to board one and take it to the old part of town in the time that James spent in the Water Prison and rowing across the lake.
Laura doesn't see the "normal town" with people walking around. They would definitely stop her from entering all the hospital and hotel rooms and wonder who is she talking to through the game.
Therefore, she didn't take any bus or a ferry. The Lakeview hotel isn't that far away, she simply walked there. Keep in mind that James planned to go there by foot as well.
Great analyzing, thank you for sharing ^ ^
Laura is most likely Mary's born from a wish; the child she always wanted to have with Jame's one day.
nope she is real
And Eddie's the loser adult child they always wanted?
All 3 of them are the same person. You're welcome. We have the child, the madonna, and the wife. The same spirit. Laura knows everything about Mary, because Laura IS Mary. And Maria is the madonna version of Mary. They're all Mary. Mary sent him there to literally fight his own demons for redemption. It's not complicated.
One thing that I always kept on wondering about, is how James calls Laura a little girl (or something like that) and Laura reacts confused, asking if he's blind. It always made me think that Laura saw herself differently than how James saw her.
Nice video. I didnt pay much attention to her but this makes me apreciate her role more.
Oh wow thank you so much for doing this for me it's a honor the video is amazing
Maybe the leave ending was a Silent Hill 1 callback? In the best ending of SH1, Harry is given a child and a chance to start over.
Maybe Laura appears as a judge, and when James is deemed to have atoned, the town rewards him with Laura. Who is a (now real) manifestation of the best of Mary. Her kindness, caring, and motherly nature all imparted onto this child. And it gives James a chance to leave Silent Hill with the best parts of Mary. And a chance to start over, another try at caring for somebody. And this somebody also shares a love for Mary, giving him the ability to sort of "keep her around."
I hear people discuss the endings so often. But never hear about the inevitable criminal investigation into Mary's death and disappearance that most certainly happen if James escapes.
"Thank god I finally escaped that town."
BWEEEEOOOP
"Put your hands above your head, you sick fuck."
"But officers, I atoned! I fought monsters! Just ask the little girl!!" "...What little girl...?"
Laura is the main character that’s why the theme of the game is her theme they need to make a new silent hill with her as the protagonist
Love the content 🥰
I'm glad I discovered these videos
(Also, thanks for including the intro music name)
Edit: after thinking a bit on this..ive come to another hypothesis:
Laura and Maria are likr James's angels, or his"guides" to remind him of Mary, whether good or bad. They both influence James in completely opposite directions and dont really interact with each other but both interact with James.
If James chooses to go the way of his guilty conscious, aka, Laura, then he will have a good ending. But go with Maria, and you get the opposite
YES I reached the same conclusion and people have FOUGHT me for it!!
I love your videos on Silent Hill. I can tell you do a lot research into the game and it’s characters. Silent Hill 2 holds a lot of memories for me. It was probably the first game that made me feel like the characters were real. Can’t wait for the next video! Keep up the good work!
I feel Just like that top!
Too*
Didnt realize I wasn't subscribe to you, Benn watching you for a long time. Hope all is well =)
I love your videos!
It's so good see that people, even though the years, talk about silent hill 😀😀. I love this franchise.
But didn't we see in the intro of how Laura got to Silent Hill? Didn't she ride with Eddie to get there?
I always thought the idea of Laura as the avatar of the malevolent force the runs SH is more interesting than her just being a random little girl. She always chiding and antagonizing and conveniently turning up out of nowhere that it always seemed to me that she was in league with the thing that's punishing the other 3 and was I genuinely surprised when TS said she was real. Also there's the leave ending, where she's deliberately walking ahead of James like she's escorting him out rather than leaving with him.
I like that theory, like the goofy version of The Beyonder on Marvel, called Bender.
Great video I enjoyed it
This explains so much. I always had a feeling like this about Laura but was never sure
A few things, One, the town is not interest in Laura, cause she is just a small little girl. This is backed up when James said "I can't believe you don't have a scratch on you." Another thing from another you-tuber made an interesting theory about Laura being the Crimson one who watches the town.
Ver very intresting opinions not only for Laura but for all characters of the game...great
i was just in my car watching silent hill videos in an empty parking lot
MATIX that sounds amazing
love this good job finding this out. btw what is the song in the background? it sounds like Akira Yamaoka but i cant find it anywhere.
Nice video😀
I love the updated Laura vid, I feel like some of my ideas have been fleshed out here about her! Glad to see someone agrees!
_"Huh? Are you blind or something?"_
The song of the game is called The song of Laura. She is a very important character, but could be a vision of the town, I mean, How she manage to get into the hotel?, Why she is in SH?, even when seems to be a very difficult town to reach out. Team Silent said she is real, but also Maria said to James that she is real.
love these videos, though I don't recall the game saying they were in the same room. I just assumed same hospital, different areas. And Laura, being a child, could've met Mary while exploring
Laura came to Town with Eddie. There is even a Cutscene with both beside the van.
Also Laura is seen by Eddie as mentioned. Maria isn't seen by anybody except James.
Laura symbolises Mary's Inocence BUT she is a real Person.
How she came to the Hotel? Well, how did Harry enter the east side of Silent Hill? A brigde apeared in the other world. So why shouldn't there be a brigde to the Hotel for Laura?
She is a ghost
@@TheMetaideashe's not a ghost
@@Blumoon_vii Eddie is also a ghost, all of them are demons represented as humans
You're blowing my mind right now.
I think the situation with Laura is like with Lisa. She died but doesn't know that she is dead
While playing I never really thought as to why Laura didn't have a last name but I always felt that she was real when I finished it I thought that Laura was already dead much like James and was there in the town not to be punished but to aid James in his journey. And I thought the events went like Mary gives a letter to Laura the day she "disappeared" from the hospital and then a week later Laura herself dies and appears in silent hill. Also maybe it's because she's innocent or a tool for the town not so much a prisoner that she's privy to some exceptions like the absence of monsters or even ease of access to originally more impossible to access areas.
Another thing I'd like to mention that when Laura gives the letter to James it's contents differ from the letter he receives later. Laura also said she learned piano from her time with Mary and Mary also expressed a desire to adopt Laura had everything gone well in the hospital.
My memory is sort-of hazy since I havent played the game in a while but I'm really sure Laura does exist she's just different than the other cast since they're guilty of some crime not there for the sole purpose of urging another forward.
Its so strange to think now that she maybe not real....I rather think that she lived, but I sad to think that makes Sense about the fact she maybe already dead on the game and in the leave ending its Just a "rest in peace" moment.
And also doesn't Maria give James a letter from Mary too?
Maybe Laura doesn't have a last name because she's an orphan. If her parents abandoned her on a doorstep of an orphanage without any interaction, then they wouldn't have her last or first name.
I believe just like Maria’s a manifestation of James desires Laura is a manifestation, possibly of James longing for freedom and naivety.
Laura’s young, doesn’t have to worry about much at that age. She plays, draws, comes and goes whenever and wherever she wants. The “Laura ending” also represents James acceptance and ability to finally let go, freedom.
Maria also happens to look like Mary so it could be that Laura looks like Mary but at age eight.
These videos are awesome.
Laura is born from a wish, just like Maria..
And we have this "real or not real" dilemma in the Born from a wish chapter.
3:13 *That changes when we meet him next, which is why he never sees Laura again.*
Yeah because James kills him duh
Omg. Mind blown. Never thought of her that way.
I've always thought Laura isn't real. She is just the desire of Mary to be a mother. Also a recreation from someone in the town, which I think is Mary's soul trapped in it.
They wouldn't share a room, adults and children are completely separate.
Some believe ghosts of children visit those who are about to die, maybe she was already dead and was there to help Mary pass on (at the hospital) before Mary left and was killed
Interesting but I think the main problem with this theory is that Laura is seen with Eddie. How come Eddie is able to see and interact with Laura and not Maria? Hmmm?
This is how I see it:
Every character of the game is dead and before knowing if they're going to heaven or hell, they must go through the purgatory, which is Silent Hill. Laura is also dead, probably from the same disease than Mary, BUT she was a kid. Her life was short and that might explain why she doesn’t have a last name. She goes and will always go through the town because, despite being just a kid, she doesn't have enough merits to neither go to heaven or hell and therefore is trapped in Silent Hill eternally.
Wow.. that's hella sad
Laura has to be real because of her interactions with Eddie at the bowling alley. She could just be an angel trying to get Eddie and James out of purgatory but Eddie kind of drove her away. While James can get out if he gets her ending.
I love your videos so much you're so intelligent!
Sup babe hows ever thing
Who r u
A friend... Ill wait by the park
Team silent has already said laura was real multiple times..
That doesn't make alternative interpretations invalid. "Death of the author" - the interpretation of the audience is as valid, if not more so, than the intended meaning of the creator/s.
@@thegamingmuse lol so dumb
@@thegamingmuse this is old, but i'll ask anyway, why is outer-interpretation *more valid then the intend of the creator? kinda don't understand this topic
@@thegamingmuse yeah because thats your excuse, if the creator said so then it is. You are just making bullshit to buy food for the next morning.
@@vivvy_0 this is fan made theory canonically Laura did exist and they gonna feature her in SH homecoming but scrapped the idea.
Laura is a medium in and out of the silent fog world she sees spirits like James and Eddie who are already dead dealing with their guilt in silent hill fog world 👍
I like to think that Laura was made to be a child version of Mary so that we can see the 3 stages of her life and how innocence of Laura becomes the adult Maria and finally ends in the sick Mary.
But somewhere along the line they decided that it was too convoluted and hard to make it all fit so they made Laura a plot device to represent innocence in general.
*muse should cosplay as Laura*
Laura is the good side of james
Thats why in game laura help james to unlock some puzzle and places
i feel laura gets overlooked 'cause if you examine and put together details surrounds her it kinda narrows down a few possibilities.
eddie obviously can see and talk with laura so she does exist in terms of being real. maria is aware of her though we can't be sure if the opposite is true (can only imagine laura's reaction would be the same as james in seeing mary in maria).
i do wonder two things though:
1. does laura seeing a 'normal' SH like with people going about their business or just clear empty streets?
2. what happens to her after the endings? she apparently leaves with james in the Leave ending (funny how that'll work out, losing a wife but gaining a kid). but say like in the maria ending does james just leave her there? does laura go back to where she came from? does she leave SH at all?
i dont believe the 'ghost' theory either. explain what eddie and angela sees when they see those who they killed. clearly its their conscience feeding off their guilt. james most likely certainly has never met or heard of laura
A small, maybe not so important detail that wasn't mentioned here was when Laura mentions to James when he finds her with the teddy bear was that she last saw Mary a year ago. Mary was dead for 3 years at that point. For some reason my theory was always that Laura was dead already before meeting James. That conversation they had convinced me that she thinks it's only been a year since laat seeing Mary in the hospital because she died there within a year and has been dead for at least 2 years.. maybe I'm wrong but what else would she mean by what she said? Another intriguing thing Laura says to James after he asked her "what's a little girl doing out here alone anyway?" And her response being "huh, are you blind or something?".. is she implying that she's not alone? Or not a little girl?
Just because Laura doesn't see the monsters, doesn't mean she isn't following a journey the way the other characters are, and that journey could easily intersect with that of the other characters.
James's journey, ignoring the New Game+ ones like Rebirth and Dog, is a matter of player choice. Contrastingly, all other journeys are inevitable. Eddie's journey leads to madness; James's decision in "Maria" parallels it. Angela's journey leads to self destruction, as paralleled by "In Water". Laura's journey leads to resolution, and going on with her life, paralleled by "Leave".
A common theory is that she meets Mary, and they say goodbye. Mary presumably explains why James did what he did, and so Laura is able to reconcile with him when they meet, after James defeats the Maria-boss. And with their journey through Silent Hill completed, they leave together.
As to why she's healthy? Simple enough: she and Mary were both ill and hospitalized. Laura got better. Mary did not.
Love it 😊
I was getting tired of your livestream playing, thank God you uploaded this!
I thought maybe the rebirth ritual was used on Amy Baldwin, and Laura was the result, but idk 🤷♀️.I know in born from a wish, Maria gives Edwin the white vile, and it was the last thing he needed. I figured maybe he did the ritual to bring back his daughter. That wouldn't explain why Mary/Maria knew Laura though 😅
Holy shit! I learned some Roman history here! I wasn’t expecting that!
Fun fact in the Intro cut scene you can see Laura talking to Eddie near a van
wow nice content
Is Laura a younger maria?
I know I’m late, but in Mary’s letter, she expresses a clear intent to adopt Laura had Mary survived and makes it clear she spoke about James to Laura. Because Mary was never able to ever truly adopt Laura before her demise, I have reason to believe she is MARY’S wish being born via Laura just like Maria is James’ wish being born. This can be supported by the fact that Maria oddly begins feeling an inexplicable, maternal need to protect her - like a mother.
I never considered that Laura might not be quite what she appears. She could be a manifestation of Mary's grief for the life they lost together to her illness. She's angry, but not like the cold fury of punishment. Rather rhe rage of disappointment.
Unless Maria and Laura are created by Silent Hill itself to see which one will he choose.
*Thank* you. These questions about Laura have been driving me crazy for years. Most popular theories handwave Laura away as "just a kid" and ignore the weird, I don't want to say plot holes, but plot side-paths.
My favorite exchange is, when James confronts Laura outside the apartment, says "What's a little girl lke you doing here anyway? and laura says, "Huh? What are you, blind?"
I've never really given much thought to Laura's reason of being there, but after watching this video I was humbled.
Now, to me, it seems that Laura is the chance for James' atonement. She might be the voice of Conscience, as Maria's the voice of Illusion. The reason why she appears to James and Eddie, but not to Angela might be because Angela doesn't need her, she knows what she's lived through and done; her path is not that of self discovery, but of facing the discoveries she made. It seems she is presented with questions all the way through her stay in Silent Hill and, in the end, concludes that there's no way to ease off the feelings that burn inside her (Lakeside's stairways - wich plays the Theme of Laura Reprise, hmmm...) and chooses suicide over any other possible option.
Angela knows what she's done, but cannot find a way to healthly cope with it, and thus chooses death over life in hell. James and Eddie need the Conscience Laura represents to, then, face the truths.
Mind blowing!!
Something that stuck as you were describing Laura is that why would she have a reason to be in Mary’s Ward unless it was for a reason? She can’t be dead as she escapes with James in the end and would’ve disappeared along with Maria after defeating Mary. Could it be that she possibly had a parent or sibling that was dying in the same terminal way as Mary, and she stumbled across her as she was visiting them? And as she is a child she wasn’t fully able to grasp the severity of the situation as it may not have been properly explained to her. Which could also be why she doesn’t ever see any enemies as she’s in Silent Hill, but is drawn there in an attempt to help her understand all that happened to Mary. Also helping James in accepting what he’s done.
The manual for the game states that Laura was a patient in the same hospital as Mary, but that of course doesn't mean she had a terminal illness. It was a general hospital after all.
Laura may be Angela when she was a child.
Laura's smile in the cinematic of meeting with James appears a bit unhinged to me.
She appears to get around quite well, and escapes James very easily multiple times and even tries to get him killed in the hospital. She has no tact with Eddie and bullies him joyfully before leaving. Finally, she can't accept the truth when James says he killed Mary and lashes out before leaving.
Angela's first meeting makes her appear confused and childlike. Meeting her in the apartments lying down, looking depressed and holding a knife near her head makes her seem unhinged but with something holding it back. We hear her plead with her "father" and then lash out at him after he's dead, before turning to James with seemingly violent intent.
Finally we see her again in the burning stairway, delusional, believing James is her mother before realizing and turning away to leave.
This is what I believe may be the full story.
Laura was an abused child, who could only console with her mother. She found many ways to escape her father's abuse, only him to turn it on her mother. One day, she witnesses her father kill her mother. This drives her over the edge, she grabs a knife and kills him. She is sent to a psychiatric hospital and is on constant and possibly heavy amounts of medication. This slows her mental growth and leaves her with a distrust of adults. Escaping one day, she met Mary as an adult, but with the demeanor of a young girl. Confiding in her and seeing her as a mother figure, Laura would escape often to see Mary, only to be sent back time and time again. One day, she can't find Mary and will not be told why. This leaves her confused and likely angry, which she directs at James, who she has never seen, making her believe he doesn't love Mary. Some time down the road, she escapes one last time, cuts and dyes her hair and goes by the name Angela. She then goes to Silent Hill, a place she knows Mary wanted to go to someday. Her childlike mind would leaver her confused wherever she goes, but clinging to what she can, she associates Mary as her "Mama." There she meets James but can't remember her anger for him. She still may be under some effect of her medication, which slowly wears off as she travels through Silent Hill in search of answers, revealing her true self and intent.
Laura is the odd one out sense the town only focuses on those in need of punishment
Also the elevator amusement park narrator that mentions that a sister and a brother were brutally killed on the road i tho it was Eddie and Laura.
I always just thought Laura was a ghost.
She says that Mary didn't leave until after her eighth birthday.
When James asks how old she is, she says she is eight. Yet Mary died soon after Laura turned eight.
That's why I thought she was a ghost. She basically died soon after Mary.
Being a ghost also explains how Laura can pop up anywhere around town.
If Team Silent didn't want her to be thought of as a ghost, they did a bad job.
3:57 - Wrong. He is exactely what I believed he is from start to finish because he survived like a hero and dealt with situation like a hero and nothing can erase that no matter what he did.
... did he murder his wife like a hero???