Why does Senua, chop Dillion's head off?

[Megabotx7]

She could of perhaps chopped a less disturbing part of his body instead to carry around, like a finger or toe. Does this perhaps have something to do with Celtic tradition or the like?

[Amygdala]

The head is where the soul is I think

And maybe the devs played some Lollipop Chainsaw

[Megabotx7]

Publicado originalmente por Amygdala:

The head is where the soul is I think

And maybe the devs played some Lollipop Chainsaw

Interesting, I did hear that Lollipop Chainsaw made the groundwork for many of the Scandinavian and Celtic mythologies that were prevalent around that area during that time! But anyway in all seriousness, that could be true for I have heard that in Maori mythology, their main source of power, Mana, is stored inside the left eye. Which is of course situated inside the skull which makes up a good part of the head. But again, that's the Maori. And they live all the way to the far south-east, in New Zealand.

[Amygdala]

Publicado originalmente por Megabotx7:

Interesting, I did hear that Lollipop Chainsaw made the groundwork for many of the Scandinavian and Celtic mythologies that were prevalent around that area during that time!

Yeah, the vikings didn't write down any of their history because they were stuck trying to platinum the game

[Megabotx7]

Publicado originalmente por Amygdala:

Publicado originalmente por Megabotx7:

Interesting, I did hear that Lollipop Chainsaw made the groundwork for many of the Scandinavian and Celtic mythologies that were prevalent around that area during that time!

Yeah, the vikings didn't write down any of their history because they were stuck trying to platinum the game

XD, must of been fun being a Skald/Scholar during those times!

[Killer Kitten]

To the celts, the head had a lot of meaning. It appears an awful lot in their artwork and even after the conversion to Christianity, it remained a large part of their artwork. While scholars disagree on what exactly the head meant, they do agree it was significant. There were a lot of historic accounts of Celts removing the heads of their enemies. The game attempts to fill in the gaps by declaring the head the "seat of the soul." So while any kind of body mutilation might seem gruesome and taboo to us, it was common place in Senua's culture and she would have been seeing them since she was a child.

But even for a Celt, Senua's behavior of taking Dillion's head was unusual. While they took the heads of their enemies, they never took the heads of their lovers. So, why did Senua do it? That's hard to say. We do know people often do strange things when someone close to them dies. They might leave their room untouched. They might keep a newspaper that person read or a cigarette that person smoked. There have been documented cases of Widows eating the ashes of their husbands.

The explanation Senua gives for her behavior is vague and often contradicting. She believes she needs it to rescue her lover, but the game is never clear on how that was supposed to work. Is he going to come back to life? Is his soul somewhere and it's going to jump back to his head? Is it in the head? What exactly are you expecting, Senua?! And it's not meant to make sense. Senua doesn't believe it because it makes sense. She believes it because she wants to.

While the game never pinpoints on what kind of mental illness Senua has, it does make clear that whatever it is, one of its symptoms is psychosis and she's suffering from a psychotic break. She might be a paranoid schizophrenic, where she constantly suffers from psychotic episodes, or only suffer periodically from symptoms.

[Megabotx7]

Publicado originalmente por Killer Kitten:

To the celts, the head had a lot of meaning. It appears an awful lot in their artwork and even after the conversion to Christianity, it remained a large part of their artwork. While scholars disagree on what exactly the head meant, they do agree it was significant. There were a lot of historic accounts of Celts removing the heads of their enemies. The game attempts to fill in the gaps by declaring the head the "seat of the soul." So while any kind of body mutilation might seem gruesome and taboo to us, it was common place in Senua's culture and she would have been seeing them since she was a child.

But even for a Celt, Senua's behavior of taking Dillion's head was unusual. While they took the heads of their enemies, they never took the heads of their lovers. So, why did Senua do it? That's hard to say. We do know people often do strange things when someone close to them dies. They might leave their room untouched. They might keep a newspaper that person read or a cigarette that person smoked. There have been documented cases of Widows eating the ashes of their husbands.

The explanation Senua gives for her behavior is vague and often contradicting. She believes she needs it to rescue her lover, but the game is never clear on how that was supposed to work. Is he going to come back to life? Is his soul somewhere and it's going to jump back to his head? Is it in the head? What exactly are you expecting, Senua?! And it's not meant to make sense.

While the game never pinpoints on what kind of mental illness Senua has, it does make clear that whatever it is, one of its symptoms is psychosis and she's suffering from a psychotic break. She might be a paranoid schizophrenic, where she constantly suffers from psychotic episodes, or only suffer periodically from symptoms.

Wow, thank you a lot, with that detailed explanation of what you thought about it! One of my theories is that her taking Dillion's head is just further showcasing how crazy she has become. But yeah, really cool stuff. Thank you!

Edit: Oh yeah, something that I would like to add is that perhaps she actually may be psychic in some way or another. And the voices she can hear in her head, are actually voices of real souls and follow her around the place. This seems even more likely considering her and her culture was probably very religious and believed in these myths and such greatly, and having such strong emotions towards such other-wordly beings. Although, the warped visions she has of the enviroment around her is probably just her psychosis kicking in

[Killer Kitten]

Publicado originalmente por Megabotx7:

Publicado originalmente por Killer Kitten:

To the celts, the head had a lot of meaning. It appears an awful lot in their artwork and even after the conversion to Christianity, it remained a large part of their artwork. While scholars disagree on what exactly the head meant, they do agree it was significant. There were a lot of historic accounts of Celts removing the heads of their enemies. The game attempts to fill in the gaps by declaring the head the "seat of the soul." So while any kind of body mutilation might seem gruesome and taboo to us, it was common place in Senua's culture and she would have been seeing them since she was a child.

But even for a Celt, Senua's behavior of taking Dillion's head was unusual. While they took the heads of their enemies, they never took the heads of their lovers. So, why did Senua do it? That's hard to say. We do know people often do strange things when someone close to them dies. They might leave their room untouched. They might keep a newspaper that person read or a cigarette that person smoked. There have been documented cases of Widows eating the ashes of their husbands.

The explanation Senua gives for her behavior is vague and often contradicting. She believes she needs it to rescue her lover, but the game is never clear on how that was supposed to work. Is he going to come back to life? Is his soul somewhere and it's going to jump back to his head? Is it in the head? What exactly are you expecting, Senua?! And it's not meant to make sense.

While the game never pinpoints on what kind of mental illness Senua has, it does make clear that whatever it is, one of its symptoms is psychosis and she's suffering from a psychotic break. She might be a paranoid schizophrenic, where she constantly suffers from psychotic episodes, or only suffer periodically from symptoms.

Wow, thank you a lot, with that detailed explanation of what you thought about it! One of my theories is that her taking Dillion's head is just further showcasing how crazy she has become. But yeah, really cool stuff. Thank you!

Edit: Oh yeah, something that I would like to add is that perhaps she actually may be psychic in some way or another. And the voices she can hear in her head, are actually voices of real souls and follow her around the place. This seems even more likely considering her and her culture was probably very religious and believed in these myths and such greatly, and having such strong emotions towards such other-wordly beings. Although, the warped visions she has of the enviroment around her is probably just her psychosis kicking in

I love talking about this game, but I haven't found anyone who loves talking about it as much. I have some great fan theories, but no audience for them.

[Meatbug]

I don't know anything about real world beliefs, but at least in-game there's a pretty straight forward quote in the scene where Senua first walks up to Dillions corpse:

In the head of his corpse lies the seat of his soul. So you must carry his vessel to bring him back home

[WakkaBlitzBallChamp]

As Meatbug already wrote that was the main reason why Senua chopped Dillion's head off and took it with her on a trip to Helhaim.
I have other question and would like to know your theories on this: when Senua returned from the wilds and found out that all her village was massacred by vikings and her beloved Dillion killed in brutal viking way (blood eagle) did she completely lost it and all her trip to Helhaim was in her head or she actually went there physically?
My short theory: Senua's trip to Hel happened in her head. All those vikings and gods she met on her way were manifestations of her mind. Druth was the one who introduced Senua with Norse legends when she met him in the wilds and that's how she imagined everything. I do not say that my theory is just one and only and there are no other theories, this game can be interpreted in so many ways. So i want to know what do you think?

[Megabotx7]

Publicado originalmente por WakkaBlitzBallChamp:

As Meatbug already wrote that was the main reason why Senua chopped Dillion's head off and took it with her on a trip to Helhaim.
I have other question and would like to know your theories on this: when Senua returned from the wilds and found out that all her village was massacred by vikings and her beloved Dillion killed in brutal viking way (blood eagle) did she completely lost it and all her trip to Helhaim was in her head or she actually went there physically?
My short theory: Senua's trip to Hel happened in her head. All those vikings and gods she met on her way were manifestations of her mind. Druth was the one who introduced Senua with Norse legends when she met him in the wilds and that's how she imagined everything. I do not say that my theory is just one and only and there are no other theories, this game can be interpreted in so many ways. So i want to know what do you think?

I actually also think the same thing you do! I just find it makes the story a lot more unique in a way, by making it all seem like a figment of imagination. It's really cool

[Megabotx7]

Publicado originalmente por Meatbug:

I don't know anything about real world beliefs, but at least in-game there's a pretty straight forward quote in the scene where Senua first walks up to Dillions corpse:

In the head of his corpse lies the seat of his soul. So you must carry his vessel to bring him back home

Well I haven't played the game for 3 years, so can you really blame me for forgetting that line XD. I really gotta replay it soon anyway, cause of two reasons. The game is a good game and the 2nd one is coming out soon!

[lncosy]

I have some thoughts on this question, because I am not a native English speaker, so the name may not be accurate, I hope you can understand.
Senua's mother,Galina,became the healer.And have the ability to know everything.She knows that Senua is going to transform into Hera in the future.But she couldn't accept it.She wants to guide Senua out of this destiny.
The evidence is that when Senua first recalled his mother because of the statue,Mom said,"you have the same vision as me.Once you see the underground world,The soul of the underground world will see you,too.When they talk to you,don't be afraid.I'll guide you."But Galina also know that her husband,Senua's father, Simbel,actually,it's a beast.So she was burned to death in the name of mental illness because of resistance.Simbel's purpose is to guide the transformation of Senua.The evidence is that when Senua beat the beast,The narrator first said:"people pray to the gods for fear of evil,But evil may come from familiar hands behind the gods."
Soon the beast said:"forgive me,Senua.My mission is to inspire your hatred.So you can focus on this task."This reversal is also the most important evidence that Senua is Hera.
Hera sent his Norwegian men to burn down the village and kill everyone.And gave Dillian a "blood eagle"punishment to herself.And let Druce teach Senua how to find her and bring Dillian back to life,to guide Senua to come to herself.
Guided by the acting skills of Hera and the beast.Senua found the sword,And beat the beast to come to Hera.But he was stabbed to death by Hera.Actually,it's not an illusion.She was exactly stabbed to death by Hera.This sword was supposed to be used to stab Hera,But it was used by Hera to stab Senua.
In the end,although Hera killed Senua,But it's actually two people who swap and blend together.Each other's memories and feelings are also intertwined.That's why Hera cried and left Dillian's head.And then become Senua,suddenly accepted the Dillian's death,and realize that death and pain are also a necessary part of the world.This kind of great enlightenment that only God has,the dark forces in her hands are not suppressed,she can control this power.
Hera used this sword to complete the transformation and occupied for use.So the name of the game is "Hellblade"also have another meaning,it's "Hera's blade".

[lncosy]

As for Dilian's head, it may bring comfort to senua. It is also possible that she thinks that only Dilian's head can save Dilian, which is why senua has to fight the beast and go to the abyss to find her lover's head.

[WakkaBlitzBallChamp]

Publicado originalmente por ukpkmkk:

I have some thoughts on this question, because I am not a native English speaker, so the name may not be accurate, I hope you can understand.
Senua's mother,Galina,became the healer.And have the ability to know everything.She knows that Senua is going to transform into Hera in the future.But she couldn't accept it.She wants to guide Senua out of this destiny.
The evidence is that when Senua first recalled his mother because of the statue,Mom said,"you have the same vision as me.Once you see the underground world,The soul of the underground world will see you,too.When they talk to you,don't be afraid.I'll guide you."But Galina also know that her husband,Senua's father, Simbel,actually,it's a beast.So she was burned to death in the name of mental illness because of resistance.Simbel's purpose is to guide the transformation of Senua.The evidence is that when Senua beat the beast,The narrator first said:"people pray to the gods for fear of evil,But evil may come from familiar hands behind the gods."
Soon the beast said:"forgive me,Senua.My mission is to inspire your hatred.So you can focus on this task."This reversal is also the most important evidence that Senua is Hera.
Hera sent his Norwegian men to burn down the village and kill everyone.And gave Dillian a "blood eagle"punishment to herself.And let Druce teach Senua how to find her and bring Dillian back to life,to guide Senua to come to herself.
Guided by the acting skills of Hera and the beast.Senua found the sword,And beat the beast to come to Hera.But he was stabbed to death by Hera.Actually,it's not an illusion.She was exactly stabbed to death by Hera.This sword was supposed to be used to stab Hera,But it was used by Hera to stab Senua.
In the end,although Hera killed Senua,But it's actually two people who swap and blend together.Each other's memories and feelings are also intertwined.That's why Hera cried and left Dillian's head.And then become Senua,suddenly accepted the Dillian's death,and realize that death and pain are also a necessary part of the world.This kind of great enlightenment that only God has,the dark forces in her hands are not suppressed,she can control this power.
Hera used this sword to complete the transformation and occupied for use.So the name of the game is "Hellblade"also have another meaning,it's "Hera's blade".

That is actually very interesting theory of yours, I have never heard such a narrative of this game before. I have one question though, how do you interpret the very last tale told by Druth (if you happen to collect all the runes throughtout your trip): "But I wasn't the only one. Another came to the Northmen willingly, offering a bargain. A man in black from your lands. And he was offered safe passage for his treason. In the end, Senua, it isn't the gods who cause us so much suffering. But those closest to us." It is clear that Druth is reffering to Senua's father Zynbel who was responsible for Senua's village being massacred by vikings.

[Megabotx7]

Publicado originalmente por WakkaBlitzBallChamp:

Publicado originalmente por ukpkmkk:

I have some thoughts on this question, because I am not a native English speaker, so the name may not be accurate, I hope you can understand.
Senua's mother,Galina,became the healer.And have the ability to know everything.She knows that Senua is going to transform into Hera in the future.But she couldn't accept it.She wants to guide Senua out of this destiny.
The evidence is that when Senua first recalled his mother because of the statue,Mom said,"you have the same vision as me.Once you see the underground world,The soul of the underground world will see you,too.When they talk to you,don't be afraid.I'll guide you."But Galina also know that her husband,Senua's father, Simbel,actually,it's a beast.So she was burned to death in the name of mental illness because of resistance.Simbel's purpose is to guide the transformation of Senua.The evidence is that when Senua beat the beast,The narrator first said:"people pray to the gods for fear of evil,But evil may come from familiar hands behind the gods."
Soon the beast said:"forgive me,Senua.My mission is to inspire your hatred.So you can focus on this task."This reversal is also the most important evidence that Senua is Hera.
Hera sent his Norwegian men to burn down the village and kill everyone.And gave Dillian a "blood eagle"punishment to herself.And let Druce teach Senua how to find her and bring Dillian back to life,to guide Senua to come to herself.
Guided by the acting skills of Hera and the beast.Senua found the sword,And beat the beast to come to Hera.But he was stabbed to death by Hera.Actually,it's not an illusion.She was exactly stabbed to death by Hera.This sword was supposed to be used to stab Hera,But it was used by Hera to stab Senua.
In the end,although Hera killed Senua,But it's actually two people who swap and blend together.Each other's memories and feelings are also intertwined.That's why Hera cried and left Dillian's head.And then become Senua,suddenly accepted the Dillian's death,and realize that death and pain are also a necessary part of the world.This kind of great enlightenment that only God has,the dark forces in her hands are not suppressed,she can control this power.
Hera used this sword to complete the transformation and occupied for use.So the name of the game is "Hellblade"also have another meaning,it's "Hera's blade".

That is actually very interesting theory of yours, I have never heard such a narrative of this game before. I have one question though, how do you interpret the very last tale told by Druth (if you happen to collect all the runes throughtout your trip): "But I wasn't the only one. Another came to the Northmen willingly, offering a bargain. A man in black from your lands. And he was offered safe passage for his treason. In the end, Senua, it isn't the gods who cause us so much suffering. But those closest to us." It is clear that Druth is reffering to Senua's father Zynbel who was responsible for Senua's village being massacred by vikings.

Now this quote has made a very interesting thought come to mind! What if perhaps, the person that exposed the village to the Northmen, was actually Dillian? Seeing how Durth says "But those closest to us" would make me think that perhaps it wouldn't be her father, considering the kind of relationship she had with him.