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The giants? Forget about it. Let the credit roll. Who wants to see giant slaying anyway.
That's what I understand for the ending. Would love to read some other explanation, especially from those who praises this game as masterpiece.
- The tribesmen in Iceland were convinced by Thórgestr's father that the volcanic eruption and the chaos that followed opened a portal into our world and giants came in and the only way to appease them was to make sacrifices in their name.
- The draugar, the feral cannibals also believe they can make sacrifices to appease the gods, but they're not allied with anyone.
- It is implied that the "Northmen" from the first game are either Thórgestr's father clan or draugar, or both, who came to steal slaves for sacrifice.
- Senua let herself be taken so she can find the camp of the Northmen, so she got captured by Thórgestr.
- She learns the truth about each "giant" and through her psychotic trances manage to "kill them" but in reality she just convinces the others that she did, because they see her as a Seer that can communicate with the dead.
- In the end Senua realized that the giants are a lie created to manipulate people, so she spares Thórgestr's dad, showing him mercy.
- She also convinces the rest that they are now free of the giants, so there's no more need for sacrifices.
Hellblade 1 spoilers below:
- Senua was a monster to her father too, he believed she was sick like her mother, who he burned alive as a sacrifice to the gods.
- Dillion showed her mercy and loved her, which was great for Senua until a plague killed Dillion's village and she convinced herself it was her fault so she ran away in exile where she met Druth. There she learned about the gods and giants, because Druth was a slave that escaped the Northmen (Thórgestr's father).
- When she came back, she found the village raided by Northmen and Dillion sacrificed to the gods, so she remembered Druth's stories that she can save his soul if brings his head to Helheim to the goddess Hela.
- She finally learns that she can't save him and she accepts his death and everyone elses.
Anyway, I think the overall message here is that not only Senua accepted Dillion's death, but she also realized that her darkness was controlling her all along, she was ready to kill Thórgestr's father in the end until she saw what she would become, her evil dark twin that would also make sacrifices (the 2019 Trailer shows how she does it) and thus showed him mercy instead.
I don't know where they want to take the story next but I think Senua should take a break for now. She's been through way too much and I don't know how much more she can take.
We still don't know where her father is, if he's even alive, but we can presume there are other tribes out there that are making human sacrifices as well, so maybe that's where the next game will take us.
She realizes with all hands behind her that people are trusting her and ready to listen to her. But she doesn't speak ; several times she avoids answering questions about her or tell the contrary of what voices say : she doesn't trust herself, she's afraid of herself.
She's afraid to reproduce what her Father did, as Thorgestr did. This is why her Dark Self appears, realizing that Power of being leader can be intoxicating.
But if you pay attention through the puzzles, you realize that the "Hiddenfol tests" are lessons about Ruling and Justice :
In the Orb/water drops tests, there's always a world with corpses and the other without. Like she can choose death by waging war or thinking with diplomacy.
When she gave up the sword is even more obvious, she realizes the power of the sword has to be shared or used to protect others and not just herself.
The fact she later on begs for the sword is a lesson about the imperious need of violence and autority against crazed and unreasonable enemies.
The same goes with the Torch where she litteraly has to pass it at some point to keep going.
All of those, are actual lessons about being a righteous ruler.
There's also symbolism around the sword ; especially at the beginning, where she's under Thorgestr blade yetshe grabs it. She litteraly resists the Viking Order.
And when she's close to kill, she uses rocks and not her blade : she abandons her responsibility of being a warrior, she just drowns into animal rage.
Swords in historical art are usually a way to represent Justice (personified Justice usually holds a sword) and rsponsibility (that's why Sword are so important for middle age Knights, its a symbol of their power and duties).
So eventually, Senua should become a righteous leader cause she understands the unhinging power of being a Ruler as she remembers her Father, but accepts to defend her tribe, as she remembers her Mother.
And it starts with sparing the Godi's life : she breaks the circle of violence he built and which had created "the Giants".
1) The giants were a myth created by Thórgestr's father primarily to gain and keep power over his people through the use of superstition and myth. The giants were simply seismic phenomena. Iceland (where I believe the story is supposed to be set, is a highly active site for volcanoes and volcano related earthquakes). As people were extraordinarily superstitious and science was all but nonexistent, this is the most likely explanation.
2) The so-called Draugr were just norsemen raiders in makeup - either cannibals or berserkers. This is easily discerned in several of the few fights where you actually get a good look at their faces. They are neither skeletons or zombies.
The only thing I haven't worked out is the explanation of the hiddenfolk.
As far as the ending goes, Thórgestr (the only heir to likely be easily accepted) is dead. In order to break the cycle of violence and slavery she has to destroy his father's reputation (so that he's cast out or otherwise executed by his former clan). This way, nobody else rises up out of anger for the overthrow and attempts to restart the cycle.
The lake draining is a thing that can happen (not as fast as in the game ofc) with volcanic activity. Lost Lake in Oregon has this phenomenon recorded on videos.
I don't know if it's something happening in Iceland. I've found some people speaking about Kleifarvatn but I haven't seen any video showing its drainage.
About the voices and who they could be... They're might be echoes from the cave, and maybe lessons from Fargrimr as he's the one speaking about them and tells he knows where they can be found. I might be wrong but for now, I think he just led Senua to a cave and told her about his way of Ruling his tribe.
He also mentions there's a rock to find, which is what the first Hiddenfolk trials are about.
But then they werent real? Like srslyy?
Also, with Saegeirr (the coastal giant) you clearly see as he rests, he just looks like stone.
That's how I imagine this : vikings tell there's a giant around but they're too afraid to fight it.
Senua comes in, perform her ritual and fight the Giant in her reality.
At the end of the ritual, she shows the stones to the vikings and tell them how to look at the stones to "guess" the giant in it.
Vikings would likely believe that Senua turned them to stone...
I mean come one, we see people clearly dealing with the giants. If we can't trust that, why can we trust the end when it turns out there aren't any giants? Maybe that's fake too. Feels a bit like cheating to be shown all of this and say "it was all fake, gotcha".
THorgestr says there's a third one.
There are other clues about Giants not being real : when Senua and Astrior go to the cliff, Astrior say "he's here", we can hear him but not see him. Later on, the Giant appears briefly in the village but Astrior is calmly upkeeping her weapon with opened door. Senua tell Astrior "It is YOUR giant".
Illtauga size changes when she carries her baby and is far less tall when as she turns into stone. During Illtauga fight, Senua says "I'll free you from YOUR Hel".
Senua is actually alone when Giants turn to stone.
For the 2nd giant, at some point Senua sees burning people running with distorted scream, it something that happens only when she's terrorized. (It happens when she goes in the water without a torch during hiddenfolk trials).
Thorgestr says actually there are tons of giants : "The land is full of them" after defeating the 2nd Giant. So where are they ?
Its not about unreliable narrator.
Giants do exist for Senua and the game puts us into Senua perspective.
Just like in Sacrifice... Bridges didn't float magically in the air in the objective reality, but they did for Senua.
She doesn't enter a magical underworld when she completes the Hidden Folk trials, its her reality being split and reflected.
This is the whole point of the game : you see Senua's reality. If you want to guess what happens in the objective reality, you have to understand how Senua comes up with all the "supernatural" stuff she sees.