Why Chapter 5 is so disappointing. [SPOILERS]

[DarkSkull198]

(TL;DR at the bottom if you don't want to read all of this)

So the Chapter begins with Henry in jail. Allison Angel wants to let Henry out, but Tom doesn't trust him. Allison gives Henry a tool that lets him see hidden messages on the walls that seem to know everything that happens and will happen (how this tool was made and where it came from is unknown). When Bendy shows up near their safe house, Allison and Tom leave Henry behind, but with the help of the hidden messages, Henry also escapes. Henry drives a boat while avoiding a giant Bendy hand trying to grab him and goes to the Lost Ones village. Sammy shows up (more insane than before) and tries to kill him but gets killed by Tom. That's it. No build up and no explanation. Sammy is just....there. Tom finally trusts Henry and the three fight off the Searchers and Lost Ones that attacked over Sammy's death. They proceed to the next area, but Henry gets separated from the two and lands in a place with a vault and a tedious stealth objective. We learn more about Ink Bendy and how he was the first, failed and only attempt at bringing Bendy to life due to him being soulless. Once he opened the vault, Allison and Tom meet up with Henry again and they discover that Bendy has something that they need to defeat him. They go to his lair, which is a giant Ink Machine, and Henry goes inside since he's the only one that can defeat Ink Bendy. An audio tape from Joey tells him that the only way to stop Bendy is to show him "The End", which is on a reel. Ink Bendy confronts Henry and transforms into a hulking monster known as Beast Bendy. After a not-so epic "boss fight", Henry plays the movie reel and destroys Bendy...

...and then we end up in Joey's Apartment. We see a letter from Wally Franks, a letter from Allison Connor (she married Tom), a calendar that changes the date each playthrough and a drawing board with sketches of the ink monsters and Bendy. In a cutscene that contradicts the beginning of the game, we meet Joey Drew for the first time. He asks Henry about what they are and tells Henry that he made bad decisions that Henry would usually prevent, Henry having a loving family while Joey had a crooked empire. Joey tells Henry that he should've pushed him harder to do the right thing and invites Henry to the studio in order to show him something, which leads to the beginning of the game. After the credits, we hear a little kid saying "tell me another one Uncle Joey", implying that the whole game was just a story. The end. No resolution with Henry and the others, no questions answered like "who boarded up the Ink Machine room", nothing. Man, what a disappointment.

"But wait DarkSkull, you can now use the seeing tool in the previous chapters after completing Chapter 5, so surely there must be some secrets for a hidden ending, right?"

Here's the problem with that: the hidden messages don't give us much information other than Susie, Bertrum, Lacie, Grant and Norman having coffins and being dead (something we've known before Chapter 5), and they imply that Henry is stuck in some sort of time loop and he was the one who wrote those messages, but forgets everything each time it resets. Either way, both possibilities show that this whole thing was completely pointless since it's either an illogical infinite loop with no clear solution or a horror story that Joey told. Everything we know and experienced is utterly meaningless.

Henry trying to escape the studio? Pointless.

Henry's friendship with Boris? Pointless.

Henry trying and failing to save Boris? Pointless.

All of that information and plot from the other characters? Pointless.

All the lives Joey ruined? Pointless.

Bendy's fight with the Projectionist and sparing Henry's life in Chapter 4? Pointless.

The horror visions Henry had? Pointless.

The after-credits images? Pointless.

Henry talking about his wife and how he misses both her and Boris? You already know what I'm going to say.

So in the end, nothing was gained and nothing was lost because none of it apparently mattered.

tl;dr: Overall, Chapter 5 feels rushed, short and the ending is a complete mess compared to previous chapters, which is weird because it was delayed until the 26th of October, which makes me wonder if it would've been worse if it originally released on the 12th. Then again, maybe it was a bad idea to work on the Chapter while developing Chapter 4.

[Tatters]

Originally posted by Fierce1:

Originally posted by ElateKitty:

Oh my god, yes, this is exactly how I felt upon seeing the end of Chapter 5.

I like FNAF, I still do. But it should have ended at FNAF 3. The story was done and you had recieved some closure. But from FNAF 4 onward, everything started to become too convoluted. This is what Chapter 5 felt like.

Chapter 5 completely ignores several events in the plot that were implied to have significance, but didn't. An example, Bendy saving Henry in Chapter 4. We thought this was supposed to mean something, but it didn't. It's never explained or brought up afterwards. You don't just show the audience an event like that and brush it off. That's poor writing.

The ending was also left way too open to interpretation. Very little was answered in this chapter, and we ended up leaving with more questions than answers. If your ending is so confusing that your audience has to come up with theories in order to fill the gaps, then that tells me that you did a poor job at telling your story.

It isn't even the "telling the story", because to this point the story was going along fine. It's how he chose to end it (or even call it an "ending"). As I've said, I don't believe the time loop idea anymore. It makes no sense. I think the stuff with Joey's apartment was a flashback to right before Henry visits the studio. Therefore the actual "end" of the game from Henry's perspective is actually right when Beast Bendy dies.
Just cuts to black.

I found a theory left by a youtube comment that seems pretty good. It states Henry might be in some sort of "rerun," of Bendy and the Ink Machine. Every time he defeats Bendy, the whole thing starts over. Using the lens from Chapter 5, we can see gold writing that seems to be Henry on past reruns. "I always fall" "She will leave you for dead" etc. along with a bunch of tallies in the first hallway of the game.

[Fierce1]

Originally posted by HyperGhost:

Originally posted by Fierce1:

It isn't even the "telling the story", because to this point the story was going along fine. It's how he chose to end it (or even call it an "ending"). As I've said, I don't believe the time loop idea anymore. It makes no sense. I think the stuff with Joey's apartment was a flashback to right before Henry visits the studio. Therefore the actual "end" of the game from Henry's perspective is actually right when Beast Bendy dies.
Just cuts to black.

I found a theory left by a youtube comment that seems pretty good. It states Henry might be in some sort of "rerun," of Bendy and the Ink Machine. Every time he defeats Bendy, the whole thing starts over. Using the lens from Chapter 5, we can see gold writing that seems to be Henry on past reruns. "I always fall" "She will leave you for dead" etc. along with a bunch of tallies in the first hallway of the game.

There's a problem with that:
How would Henry know he's caught in a loop without the lens? Which is to say, when you do the first run, you don't have the lens. The next time you start the game, which is NOT the time at the end, you have the lens and it shows you things Henry would have ONLY known and ONLY written if he was fully aware of what was happening every single time (and that he would KNOW he's in a video game). In which case, why would the moron keep doing this to himself? Just turn around and kick the stupid door out and walk away.
I see the "lens" run, as more like a breaking of the 4th wall. Like, "oh you didn't know THIS was THIS when you were playing, huh?" So I don't consider it a chronological event, but a behind the scenes thing, because by the logic of counting reruns as canon, does that make the Archives canon as part of the loop? Of course not.
It's like when you beat a game, and then unlock "NEWGAME+" it's (semi)canon, but not a loop per say.

[Tatters]

Originally posted by Fierce1:

Originally posted by HyperGhost:

I found a theory left by a youtube comment that seems pretty good. It states Henry might be in some sort of "rerun," of Bendy and the Ink Machine. Every time he defeats Bendy, the whole thing starts over. Using the lens from Chapter 5, we can see gold writing that seems to be Henry on past reruns. "I always fall" "She will leave you for dead" etc. along with a bunch of tallies in the first hallway of the game.

There's a problem with that:
How would Henry know he's caught in a loop without the lens? Which is to say, when you do the first run, you don't have the lens. The next time you start the game, which is NOT the time at the end, you have the lens and it shows you things Henry would have ONLY known and ONLY written if he was fully aware of what was happening every single time (and that he would KNOW he's in a video game). In which case, why would the moron keep doing this to himself? Just turn around and kick the stupid door out and walk away.
I see the "lens" run, as more like a breaking of the 4th wall. Like, "oh you didn't know THIS was THIS when you were playing, huh?" So I don't consider it a chronological event, but a behind the scenes thing, because by the logic of counting reruns as canon, does that make the Archives canon as part of the loop? Of course not.
It's like when you beat a game, and then unlock "NEWGAME+" it's (semi)canon, but not a loop per say.

The theory also claims Henry may lose his memory, hence why he HAS the lens but not the common sense to just turn back. He may dismiss the messages as the same crazy writing he sees elsewhere, just more hidden.

On a separate note, related to the lens... I managed to completely forget about them for 90% of chapter 5. After the Sammy fight, I just... forgot about them. Probably would've come in handy for the final boss.

[Fierce1]

Originally posted by HyperGhost:

Originally posted by Fierce1:

There's a problem with that:
How would Henry know he's caught in a loop without the lens? Which is to say, when you do the first run, you don't have the lens. The next time you start the game, which is NOT the time at the end, you have the lens and it shows you things Henry would have ONLY known and ONLY written if he was fully aware of what was happening every single time (and that he would KNOW he's in a video game). In which case, why would the moron keep doing this to himself? Just turn around and kick the stupid door out and walk away.
I see the "lens" run, as more like a breaking of the 4th wall. Like, "oh you didn't know THIS was THIS when you were playing, huh?" So I don't consider it a chronological event, but a behind the scenes thing, because by the logic of counting reruns as canon, does that make the Archives canon as part of the loop? Of course not.
It's like when you beat a game, and then unlock "NEWGAME+" it's (semi)canon, but not a loop per say.

The theory also claims Henry may lose his memory, hence why he HAS the lens but not the common sense to just turn back. He may dismiss the messages as the same crazy writing he sees elsewhere, just more hidden.

On a separate note, related to the lens... I managed to completely forget about them for 90% of chapter 5. After the Sammy fight, I just... forgot about them. Probably would've come in handy for the final boss.

That makes the hole even bigger. If he loses his memory every time, HOW would he know he's in a loop to where he'd write the messages, ESPECIALLY the one where he supposedly counts his attempts. In fact, why would he be all cryptic with himself? Instead of just writing "Dear Henry, congratulations you idiot, you're stuck in a haunted studio because your former friend is a jack@$$. If you want to save yourself a lot of grief, kindly turn around, break the door down, and just walk away. Seriously, walk away. Best wishes, Henry, aka myself/yourself."

[Tatters]

Originally posted by Fierce1:

Originally posted by HyperGhost:

The theory also claims Henry may lose his memory, hence why he HAS the lens but not the common sense to just turn back. He may dismiss the messages as the same crazy writing he sees elsewhere, just more hidden.

On a separate note, related to the lens... I managed to completely forget about them for 90% of chapter 5. After the Sammy fight, I just... forgot about them. Probably would've come in handy for the final boss.

That makes the hole even bigger. If he loses his memory every time, HOW would he know he's in a loop to where he'd write the messages, ESPECIALLY the one where he supposedly counts his attempts. In fact, why would he be all cryptic with himself? Instead of just writing "Dear Henry, congratulations you idiot, you're stuck in a haunted studio because your former friend is a jack@$$. If you want to save yourself a lot of grief, kindly turn around, break the door down, and just walk away. Seriously, walk away. Best wishes, Henry, aka myself/yourself."

He should definitely add an ending where, post-game, you can go back and kick the door into Joey's apartment and he acts all shocked.

[PresPy]

I've been a fan of Bendy ever since the Chapter 1 Prototype with Blob Bendy and Huge Boris way back in February 2017. I've been a loyal fan to this series from the very beginning, and Chapter 5 infuriated me.

-Sure, it explains a bit about Ink Bendy's creation, but it doesn't explain anything about Beast Bendy. Not to mention the horrible final boss fight, it was literally just pulling levers and then playing a tape to defeat the main villain.

-Sammy returning just shows how out--of-ideas the developers were: Sammy died in Chapter 2, you hear Ink Bendy kill him and there's ink that pours from out of the door. But all of a sudden in Chapters 3 and 5 he just..returned? No explanation, no reasons other than the fans wanted him to.

-Allison and Tom weren't as fleshed out as I would've liked. They only appeared in a handful of scenes, even though the trailers made them seem actually important.

-The ending was underdeveloped and rushed, it made little sense and answered nothing.

Now, just because Chapter 5 sucks doesn't mean I hate the series or theMeatly. I just feel it could've been better. I will continue to be a Bendy fan, but a dissappointed one.

[Smithsiblings4]

Originally posted by Fierce1:

Originally posted by HyperGhost:

I found a theory left by a youtube comment that seems pretty good. It states Henry might be in some sort of "rerun," of Bendy and the Ink Machine. Every time he defeats Bendy, the whole thing starts over. Using the lens from Chapter 5, we can see gold writing that seems to be Henry on past reruns. "I always fall" "She will leave you for dead" etc. along with a bunch of tallies in the first hallway of the game.

It's like when you beat a game, and then unlock "NEWGAME+" it's (semi)canon, but not a loop per say.

is this a reference to Prey? (it's the only game that I've actually played that's had a Newgame+ feature)

[Talon]

For those stating Bendy "saved" you in Chapter 4 I think is now false, there is evidence in chapter 5 he is collecting the heads to play his cartoon around his throne, he most likely heard Norman (I am calling his Norman I cannot spell the other word of what he is!) coming after you and went after all.

Why he did not appear in chapter 3 for Norman is most likely due to Alice's floor, he won't go to it because Norman's floor is past Alice's.

Reason Bendy did not open the door and kill you after most likely is due to he did not see you as what he was looking for at that time, he mainly wanted Norman enemies to be killed off. That and Norman has a loud noise when he sees you unlike other enemies which are more quiet.

[Tatters]

Originally posted by ★Karma:

For those stating Bendy "saved" you in Chapter 4 I think is now false, there is evidence in chapter 5 he is collecting the heads to play his cartoon around his throne, he most likely heard Norman (I am calling his Norman I cannot spell the other word of what he is!) coming after you and went after all.

Why he did not appear in chapter 3 for Norman is most likely due to Alice's floor, he won't go to it because Norman's floor is past Alice's.

Reason Bendy did not open the door and kill you after most likely is due to he did not see you as what he was looking for at that time, he mainly wanted Norman enemies to be killed off

For future reference, the word of "what Norman is"
Projectionist.

[DarkSkull198]

Originally posted by ★Karma:

For those stating Bendy "saved" you in Chapter 4 I think is now false, there is evidence in chapter 5 he is collecting the heads to play his cartoon around his throne, he most likely heard Norman (I am calling his Norman I cannot spell the other word of what he is!) coming after you and went after all.

Why he did not appear in chapter 3 for Norman is most likely due to Alice's floor, he won't go to it because Norman's floor is past Alice's.

Reason Bendy did not open the door and kill you after most likely is due to he did not see you as what he was looking for at that time, he mainly wanted Norman enemies to be killed off. That and Norman has a loud noise when he sees you unlike other enemies which are more quiet.

But Bendy didn't take Norman's head. He took his body and left his projector head behind.

[Talon]

Originally posted by DarkSkull198:

Originally posted by ★Karma:

For those stating Bendy "saved" you in Chapter 4 I think is now false, there is evidence in chapter 5 he is collecting the heads to play his cartoon around his throne, he most likely heard Norman (I am calling his Norman I cannot spell the other word of what he is!) coming after you and went after all.

Why he did not appear in chapter 3 for Norman is most likely due to Alice's floor, he won't go to it because Norman's floor is past Alice's.

Reason Bendy did not open the door and kill you after most likely is due to he did not see you as what he was looking for at that time, he mainly wanted Norman enemies to be killed off. That and Norman has a loud noise when he sees you unlike other enemies which are more quiet.

But Bendy didn't take Norman's head. He took his body and left his projector head behind.

Good point, would say the ink around the throne is from the body but then again floor 14 is full of them. Maybe Bendy also needed special ink like Alice did.

[Fierce1]

Originally posted by ★Karma:

Originally posted by DarkSkull198:

But Bendy didn't take Norman's head. He took his body and left his projector head behind.

Good point, would say the ink around the throne is from the body but then again floor 14 is full of them. Maybe Bendy also needed special ink like Alice did.

It sure would've been nice if they'd have actually ANSWERED questions like these.

[Pumpkin Potion]

It's because for the first four chapters there was the build of mystery and suspense. We found ourselves asking and trying to follow theories and ideas of who certain characters were and their motives. There were 'hints' and 'hidden messages'; all designed to get our brains in gear for anticipation into something spectacular.

Only Chapter 5 was just... grossly disappointing to the point where I almost regret the journey to get there. It was building up to a huge climax of storytelling and just... fell flat on its face at the finish line. Why bother build and hype up four entire chapters to face Bendy and garner our resolution to the story, only to slap a "The End" film reel on it and suddenly the 'scary end boss' melts away because... reasons. Bendy simply goes away somewhere, I guess? No fixing anything, no spoken word, no reverting the damage.

It's akin to stopping a serial killer in his tracks at the climax of a movie by holding up a sign that says, "Stop". And the murderer vanishes with no effort. Roll credits. ??

It's PAINFULLY underwhelming and I'm so stunned; at first I thought it was a joke cutscene. But it wasn't. (And that's the most unsettling thing about the entire chapter.)

Not only was Bendy's final form mediocre in design, it was ineffective. The design had been warped and changed so much that it didn't resemble what made the creepier, earlier designs of Bendy so chilling. This was just... a visually unidentifiable mass of teeth and muscles. It lost its familiarity-- a key element of a horror antagonist's appeal. I think the modeler/designer forgot this. Horror is not about 'the monster'. It's the psychological connection TO the monster-- and they dropped the ball.


The concept of throwing a time loop in there is also underwhelming. There's no closure. After being excited for months because each chapter deliberately set us up to believe there was some 'big revelation' at the end of Bendy and the Ink Machine, we're left with a long journey of absolutely pointless puzzles just for the sake of doing puzzles... that meant absolutely nothing.

Like climbing a roller coaster with no drop; they just stop it at the top and you take the stairs back down. Like being excited for your birthday, but nobody remembers it.

Jfc, it's so unsatisfying.
Glad to see I'm not the only one.

[Ink Hyaena]

I think everyone is taking the game a litle too literally. And that's why everyone is so disappointed. I think I understand the real meaning of the game....and it's honestly flooring me. Still working some things out, but I think I understand, for the most part. Look beyond what your eyes are telling you and maybe you guys can see what's really going on.

[Ink Hyaena]

Originally posted by ElateKitty:

Originally posted by Ink Halloyeen:

I think everyone is taking the game a litle too literally. And that's why everyone is so disappointed. I think I understand the real meaning of the game....and it's honestly flooring me. Still working some things out, but I think I understand, for the most part. Look beyond what your eyes are telling you and maybe you guys can see what's really going on.

I don't think you understand why so many people are disappointed in Chapter 5's ending.

People were looking for some closure in this chapter. To build up the narrative in the previous chapters and then answer barely anything slaps the audience in the face. The ending doesn't have to answer everything, but it at least needs to answer some of the main questions, such as what Bendy's motives were and why Joey invited us back to the studio. Chapter 5 doesn't answer any of this, and instead ends with a mediocre boss fight and a lazy defeat for the game's title character.

The timeloop theory is also lazy as well, and it isn't coherent with the what the narrative had shown us previously. If the Seeing Tool had been implemented beforehand and given us clues about the timeloop, then the ending wouldn't have been as jarring. But that didn't happen.

If your conclusion is so confusing and incoherent that your audience has to create theories in order fill the gaps, then you've written a terrible ending.

If you want a better explaination, read this Reddit post, it perfectly explains everything wrong with Chapter 5's ending.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BendyAndTheInkMachine/comments/9s3sli/spoilers_bendy_and_the_ink_machines_narrative/

I do understand why they're disappointed. But they're missing the bigger picture, I believe. There's a lot more going on here than people realize and when you stop and just think about things, it all falls into place. The majority only seem to be taking in what they see in game, looking for the answers the game led you to believe. But when you look past that, you can see what the ending really is. It's not to be taken literally and realistically.