Kendra made more sense than Isaac at the end of the game

[A Son of a Shepard]

Kendra wanted to throw the marker away somewhere no one could find it. Isaac doomed nearly all of humanity by allowing the marker to start a convergence event. If the secret ending is canon then Isaac is the main villian of the entire story too.

[Gracey Face]

The marker was already thrown away where no one would ever find it, but it got found eventually. Everything always does. Also the marker doesn't start a convergence event in 1. And the marker (and hive mind) are destroyed when the tectonic plate from the ishimura drops on it.

The secret ending isn't really canon though, assuming they copy DS 2 relatively closely. Though in the original draft for DS 3 and 4 Isaac was actually the main villain of the story as he (under the control of his evil imaginary twin "Dark Isaac" (seriously)) created more markers and then led the brethren moons to earth.

[Hogarth]

Isaac is an unwitting servant to the Marker, if there had been no survivors of Aegis 7 then the Sprawl might have been spared. Of course if Kendra took the Marker, she might have returned it to Earth Gov who would likely give it the opportunity to cause another outbreak. I think throwing them into a star would be the best course of action, but no one is thinking completely rationally if they've been near a Marker for very long.

The Marker in Dead Space 1 doesn't seek convergance, at least not for itself. It's maker(s) are no longer present or available and there isn't enough food to make anything significant. Instead it wants to return to its pedestal to allow it the signal strength to transmit the codes/schematics for Marker construction to a suitable vessel. The Marker attempts this with both Isaac and Dr. Kyne.

The secret ending leads directly to Dead Space 2. Upon receiving the marker schematics, Isaac has lost his marbles and proceeds to go build a new Marker in the next game. Dead Space 2 starts with an amnesiac Isaac who has already worked with Tiedemann to build a new Marker.

[indigo]

I'm wondering more.. why not attach unwanted markers to small ships with auto-pilot and send them into black holes? Problem 100% solved.

[thorin.hannahs]

Playing this after so long I do wonder what exactly was going with the Hive Mind and the Marker. On one had you have team Hive Mind/Kyne who's goal is to get the Marker back to the Hive Mind which seems like a dead end in terms of convergence and on the other hand you have team Mercer/Marker who's goal is to get the Marker to a large enough population to start a convergence event.

[Hogarth]

I'm not sure what the Marker's goals were with Mercer, if it had any. Mercer is a fanatic and willing tool, but the Marker may not have been deliberately trying to guide him like it did with Dr. Kyne and Isaac.

Without its makers, the Marker on the Ishimura cannot begin convergance. This is clarified in Dead Space 2 and the Remake added some mention of it. Even if brought to Earth its creators bodies would be long gone unless they had been preserved for centuries. That's why its goal isn't to travel to Earth (or to another heavily populated area), but to find a new vessel and creator who could bear the marker schematics. This new vessel (Isaac) can then go build a new marker elsewhere, which would then be able to properly trigger a necromorph outbreak and convergance.

The original game was more mysterious, but the lore of Markers has been fleshed out since. The Hive Mind and its necromorphs are acting on autopilot, without the pedestal the Marker from Aegis 7 cannot control them and they mindlessly spread the infection and try to protect the Marker. Whether the Hive Mind had any plans beyond that isn't known, but clearly it and the Marker were not on the same page.

[Shadow Wizard Fluffy Gang]

Originally posted by Hogarth:

I'm not sure what the Marker's goals were with Mercer, if it had any. Mercer is a fanatic and willing tool, but the Marker may not have been deliberately trying to guide him like it did with Dr. Kyne and Isaac.

Well they did a serious rewrite of Mercer in the remake. They rewrote other characters too, changing motivations, personalities, goals, etc.

But Mercer's rewrite was a crime and that's part of why it doesn't make sense. In the Remake he's just a third-rate mad scientist high on his own farts with some beliefs that take a backseat and are really irrelevant to the plot. He just exists to annoy you and somehow thinks you're stopping convergence.

Mercer in the Original game was a true believer in Unitology and the Marker. He was a mad scientist there too but that was secondary. He was focused on delivering his beliefs such as when he killed Jacob Temple by driving a knife through his head to make it easier to be infected by an infector rather than blowing his damn skull apart in the Remake.
Original Mercer is also unafraid of death, as a zealot he is firm in his beliefs, and LiveLeak broadcasts him being infector'd straight to your RIG.
Remake Mercer's intentions are just simply "I love mad science man, haha. Oh and you and Nicole are in the way of convergence somehow."

I'm not really going to delve into the second and third paragraphs as Dead Space 2 starts deviating from the lore...and by the time Dead Space 3 roles around it's anyone's guess.

[Ludus Aurea]

Well no.

The problem is she was ignorant and what she was saying made no sense at all. "We'll make sure this never happens anywhere again." Giving EarthGov the marker would have 100% guaranteed that another disaster happened again, worse.

I'm not going to read the rest of this post because it's just nostalgic nonsense garbage. You clearly didn't actually play the game or follow the story at all if you did because Mercer was not "just some third rate mad scientist."

Isaac didn't start a convergence event, either. In the remake as in the original, Kendra moves the marker from the pedestal while it's in progress. Even so, there's no way it could have started a convergence event - literally everyone on Aegis VII was dead already and there weren't enough people to get it done.

[Shadow Wizard Fluffy Gang]

Originally posted by Grenadeh:

I'm not going to read the rest of this post because it's just nostalgic nonsense garbage. You clearly didn't actually play the game or follow the story at all if you did because Mercer was not "just some third rate mad scientist."

I think that your responding to the entirety of the thread? But this part is my words so just want to point out you misunderstood.
I said that Remake Mercer is the third rate mad scientist, Original Mercer is a religious zealot.

Also I agree with the first and third paragraphs of your post. The first one was the most egregious in my eyes though with Kendra, Motive's writers wanted to play her as an antagonist you would have sympathy for; despite her murdering two innocent (if crazy) people right in front of you and leaving you to die once, then attempting a second time.

She starts the whole "sympathy" arc the first time she leaves you to die by offering words of encouragement and the whole spiel about how no one should have the marker and she's going to take it away from everyone.
Which has no relation to her Original character in 2008. Like Mercer she had her own beliefs, they might not be invested in religion, but they are invested in the State, Earthgov.

[Proud Facebook Mom]

Originally posted by A Son of a Shepard:

Kendra wanted to throw the marker away somewhere no one could find it. Isaac doomed nearly all of humanity by allowing the marker to start a convergence event. If the secret ending is canon then Isaac is the main villian of the entire story too.

Uh... no. Kendra wanted to retrieve the marker dooming humanity.

You weren't paying attention.

[The Chocobo Racer]

From what I've gathered, the remake rewrites a lot of ideas from the original to fit in with ideas of the later games, due to the OT's extensive plot holes and rewrites. My best guess? Because Kyne and Issac have the ability to communicate with the Marker telepathically (Dead Space 2 Final boss), Kyne was manipulated by the Hivemind and his beliefs to return the marker to its original position. He likely thought that it was the only solution to prevent the necromorphs from spreading. It seems that he was unaware of the mechanics of Convergence. Before the Ishimura USG arrived, the Marker was already beginning Convergence using both the CEC colonists and the original Colony that set up the Marker on Aegis 7.

The "Hivemind" is just recompiled mass that serves as part of the precursor to a convergence. It was essentially as far as it could get using a small population. Mercer realized that Convergence couldn't complete on Aegis 7, so he was attempting to take it to Earth, where it could complete successfully. He apparently could not perceive the marker signals like Issac and Kyne, so he is actually fully aware of what he is doing, unlike the two of them. He is similar to Danik in this way (Google). The reason why Issac and Kyne both choose to return the Marker to its pedestal, is because the Marker believes that it needs to recombine with the Hivemind back on Aegis 7 to trigger convergence.


Kendra, like Issac, was resistant to the Marker's signals, but not immune as evidenced by her seeing her dead brother. It is possible that the Marker was manipulating her to ensure that it would be transported to a more populous area.

There have been some theories that the Marker and the Hivemind had two different agendas in regards to convergence, hence why their telepathic manipulation of individuals in-game led to different methods of achieving the same goal. The marker implanted itself in Issac's mind, so even though he escaped and successfully destroyed the marker using the planet cracker's cargo, he still had the "blueprints" to create another one. It would appear that the Marker had implanted a primitive knowledge in most/all humans, due to the DS2 scientists instinctively knowing how to craft the red markers. Since they would have had no contact with the other red/black markers, the only way that knowledge could have reached them is genetically.

I've been hitting Phoenix Downs with some Moogles up at Fort Condor, so my head might be messed up. That ♥♥♥♥ can raise the dead. Let me know if I'm wrong

[Hogarth]

The scientists on The Sprawl were only able to make the marker due to the Marker schematics contained in both Isaac and Stross' heads. Both of whom received these codes from the Aegis 7 Marker, in Stross case only from a surviving fragment. The Marker doesn't have Isaac bring it to its pedestal to begin convergance; it cannot complete convergance without absorbing its maker. Calming the Hive Mind (or stopping the outbreak) as though the Marker is actually on their side is a convenient lie to help convince Isaac and Kyne of the need to bring the Marker to its pedestal. Even if the Hive Mind is calmed and Isaac allowed to leave peacefully (before Kendra removes the Marker), it would only be so that Isaac could create a Marker elsewhere that he would ultimately be devoured by.

At the end of Dead Space 2, Isaac is guided again by Nicole (who is really the new Marker he helped create) to the Marker where convergence can be completed. This is because he is its creator, and "yours is the last body we need to be reborn." There are thousands of necromorphs around the Marker at this point, with the whole of Titan Station (The Sprawl) providing over a million more whether they were necromorphs or not. Enough food was present to create what would likely be a smaller moon, but convergence still couldn't be completed without absorbing the maker.

[Frosty]

Originally posted by A Son of a Shepard:

Kendra wanted to throw the marker away somewhere no one could find it. Isaac doomed nearly all of humanity by allowing the marker to start a convergence event. If the secret ending is canon then Isaac is the main villian of the entire story too.

Kendra was an EarthGov Intelligence Agent (they never really specify the name of their Intel Branch as far as I am aware, so we'll just call her EIA) with an "activated" status. Those of you who consumed Dead Space lore outside of the 3 games and were able to play the viral website event "No Known Survivors" will probably know what I mean, but basically EarthGov has had numerous "Sleeper Agents" embedded all over the known Dead Space universe who simply go about their lives until "activated" by EIA to perform Marker-Related operations. Kendra was one such agent who was attached to the Kellion by EIA to recover information regarding the Ishimura's presence at Aegis VII, the status of Marker 3A, and whether or not the quarantine put into effect by the Sovereign Colonies "Scenario Five" order and later maintained by EarthGov was affected. Even during the events of DS1 and DSR, it's clear that while Kendra has a high-level clearance and is mostly informed of Marker 3A and it's possible effects/dangers, she is still in the dark on many things (whether this is because EarthGov didn't tell her, or because they just didn't have any real information beyond the fact that Marker 3A and it's siblings existed and were quarantined by the "Scenario Five" order is never completely explained; though given the lore as it stands, it's likely the latter). Her motivations were simply to assess the situation, intervene if necessary, and recover Marker 3A for EarthGov if containment was not an option; the USM Valor was dispatched to provide assistance in "cleaning up" after Kendra completes her mission (a side note, they were operating under a lower security clearance and had less information than Kendra regarding the operation outside of there "clean-up" operation, which is a plausible reason for the Valor being infected so easily in both DS1 & DSR).

Her motivations and actions aren't that much different from DS1 & DSR, if anything she was written in DSR to expand her "cover" a little more and help her feel more like a covert agent in how she tried to undercut Hammond and manipulate the characters (whether effective or not is sort of up to interpretation as many of us already knew the twist so it biases us on her interactions already). In both games she kind of realizes that recovering the Marker was a mistake in her final moments, but that is probably more just a "I'm gonna die" moment thing.

~

In regards to the "Secret Ending/Expanded Ending" of DSR, I don't see why it isn't canon if we're being honest? We already know that Issac Clarke was recovered in a rather poor state of health & mind via Dead Space 2 & the events of DS:Aftermath. It's not a far stretch to see the original jump scare acting more as a moment when Issac's mind "broke" and the Marker's influence fully overtook him; one of DS2's big plot points/character development was Issac basically regaining his "Sanity" against the Marker's influence and the PTSD/Trauma he endured during DS1/DSR. We also know that EarthGov needed Issac in this state for Project Telomere and the eventual construction of Marker 12. The new ending doesn't really contradict anything in DS lore and sort of gives a better idea of what happens between DS1/DSR and DS2 without having to rely on DS:Aftermath and some ancillary media.

~

I do agree that they changed Dr. Mercer's character quite a bit, but honestly I think that's for the better in the long run? I found the fact that so many of the Unitologists in DS1 were THAT fanatical and dedicated even in the face of the horrors aboard the Ishimura to be slightly unrealistic (even taking in the possibility that their "faith" makes them more malleable to the Marker's influence). I felt the fact they made the "important" Unitologists in DSR more varied and more "human" to be a subtle, but welcome change. Captain Mathius as a die-hard "believer" regardless of what is going on still fits DS Lore, Dr. Kyne's devotion, but creeping doubts still followed the lore; but felt a little more real/expanded in DSR. Dr. Mercer still maintained his Die-Hard Unitologist faith in the original game, but it was given a bit more nuance in DSR, at least that's my opnion.

In the original he's just a fairly one-dimensional mad scientist singularly driven by the Unitology creed, it's hard to say if he's even influenced by the Marker vs. just blindly brainwashed by Unitology; not a bad secondary antagonist or zealot type villian... just rather simple?

In DSR, there's some layers that give his character a bit more roundess over all and I think really hammer home themes and ideas that later DS media really expands on. He's a devout, high-ranking member of the Church; he never really loses that faith or gives up on it throughout the entire events of DSR, but he does falter for a moment. It's this moment that restructures his character compared to DS1 and a few people have pointed out that he seems to be almost "immune" to the effects of the Marker's Influence... almost like another character some of us know about. The theory (that seems to be pretty accurate so far) is that Dr. Mercer is similarly resistant/immune to the Marker like Lexine Weller, which means that he's not under the Marker's Influence directly during the events of DSR. What makes that interesting is that it seems his "fear of Death" started to develop once he realized that he wasn't part of the Marker's Plans/Influences as he spent more and more time with Brant Harris. Throughout the various logs and his interactions with other characters it does seem like he's developing a mild anxiety/panic as he realizes that he is not experiencing the effects of the Marker's Signal like the others, but being a devout Unitologist he sees this as his "damnation" in a way. Mercer is haunted by this realization that he is watching the culmination of his faith, the literal beginnings of "the Rapture;" but that he is not one of the "chosen" who will ascend to Heaven; he's still deeply tied to his Faith and this unexpected and horrific reality begins to drive him insane.

His motivations and actions in DSR are trying to understand the Marker, its Signal, and it's purpose/motivations (similar to the original) not specifically to exercise the Marker's Will or the Church's Teachings, but to correct this "mistake" that he will not Ascend. He's desperately trying to replicate what Brant Harris experiences, to tease the minds & bodies of those affected by the Marker to find out how they became chosen, so that he too can achieve the "promised land" he feels entitled to being so faithful to Unitology. He's always been a Zealot and die-hard believer in Unitology, but in DSR we get to see a moment where his reality falters, that moment essentially "breaks him" and rather than turning him into one of the many hopeless suicides on the Ishimura, he doubles down on his faith, believing his intellect and science will provide him mastery/control over the Marker... ironically like many before and after him will attempt and fail. In the context of the character, I found his death tragic in that dark humor sort of way... in all his hubris and delusion, he simply could not accept that he was insignificant and his existence was meaningless in the proverbial eyes of the Marker and it's Brethren Moons.

[Skeev]

The Series is constantly working with the unreliable narrator trope. So if anything said on screen necessary to be true.

[The Chocobo Racer]

Damn, Frosty really took a semester in Dead Space lore. Probably a good reply to mark as an answer, OP

[Frosty]

Originally posted by Skeev:

The Series is constantly working with the unreliable narrator trope. So if anything said on screen necessary to be true.

I would say they do employ a bit of the unreliable narrator trope when we see things from Issac's perspective; it's not as emphasized in later games as heavily as it is in regards to the specific "Twist" towards the end. But at the same time, they have always left bread crumbs and clues in the games to sow doubt and sometimes outright question what you see (take in DSR for example, you can easily suss out the changes to the "Twist" if you pull a certain security log).

Outside of Issac's perspective a lot of the DS media tends to show how warped a person's perspective can become rather freely from things like showing security logs, scenes from different perspectives, and/or acknowledging what was a delusion/hallucination vs. relative reality.

The DS games are not quite as bad as say "Fight Club" or the fact that Johnny Silverhand's memories in Cyberpunk 2077 are his interpretation to factual events where you're questioning whole sections of interaction, dialogue, and events.

Originally posted by Chocobo Racer:

Damn, Frosty really took a semester in Dead Space lore. Probably a good reply to mark as an answer, OP

Hehe, thanks I guess? I have loved Dead Space's entire universe from close to around the time it was released, also a bit of a completionist and lore hound. So I tend to like absorbing all the information I can about it, it's an interesting series with an interesting variation on some common SciFi/Horror concepts that honestly could be made into more stories/games/movies/etc. if EA gave it the same love that Motive has to the Remake. I think that's been sort of the biggest disappointment for me regarding the Remake and DS3 in particular; there were some comics and a book, but ultimately neither really embraced the "expanded" universe as much as DS1 & DS2 did.