FFVIII Philosophical Question [SPOILER]

[Gesthle]

I'm not a squealing fanboy or anything, but I do have a question that has plagued my mind since seeing it. If you have been living under a rock or still have yet to beat FFVIII or at least have not heard what happens, don't bother reading!


Not that it gives too much away or anything, but at the end of the game, we see events unfold after Squall is stuck in the void and Rinoa finds him there seemingly... well... dead.

My question is, with all that happens with the happy scenes, is it possible that when we see Rinoa in Balamb Garden, she is actually alone and imagining the warming presence of Squall? Is it a testimony to the love we hold in our hearts? (Seeing as how in the previous scenes, we see other moments reflecting the idea that each person - though having lost something important - still has the spirit to keep them going)

Is it possible that Squall did in fact die?

Your thoughts please, even if this kind of thing has been answered elsewhere I want to know what you guys think.  

[Cookie Icer]

I do think it is a possibility. People tend to look at things from a very literal point, They see Squall there with Rinoa at the ending hence they believe he was alive.

Yet we take a look at the movie 6th Sense, we saw Bruce Willis's character interacting with the young boy throughout the film, hence we presumed he was indeed alive through the movie, until the end when it was revealed that he was in fact dead the whole time.

FFVIII never really went into details in the ending exactly how it was possible Squall could have been saved, so it left more to the mystery as we progressed if he actually survived or not, until they finally showed him at the end smiling at Rinoa. (Which that alone I think proves he really wasn't there cause Squall is such an emo the thought of him smiling would have to come to a delusional girlfriend refusing to accept his death)

Seriously, when it comes to fantasy, and many times in Final Fantasy games, the director and writers never connect all the dots for you. How Squall survived is part of the fantasy or to a certain degree a faith element people have that there will be a happily ever after. Do I believe Squall survived at the end? Yes, but based on what we saw, and a lack of story telling elements showing how he could have been rescued, it could be interpreted by the gamer that all we saw was a figment of Rinoa's imagination at the end imagining Squall to be by her side. But I still believe it was the intent of the game developers to have Squall live in the end.  

[Gesthle]

Interesting analysis. I'd say for the most part that sounds about right.

In most movies or even critically acclaimed games such as these, I find that there are certain mental cues that lead me to a satisfying ending. In the event of this game, however, I found that things seemed too good to be true with Squall's survival. Rinoa is alone on the balcony, and suddenly in a single turn of the camera we find that Squall is there too. Suddenly, as though - dare I say - he were a ghost. I still felt a sense of loss or mourning despite this scene, which confused me because I could see perfectly well Squall was standing right there smiling. Alive or dead, it was a moving moment because Squall seems to acknowledge their feelings right then and there. I just can't help but feel that perhaps we were seeing how he lived on in her memories.

Or perhaps I'm looking way to deep into it, who knows. It's certainly interesting. We don't even see him interacting with anyone else, so who knows.  

[Todeskandidaten]

I agree with both of you. I hadn't thought of this before because although my brain wanted to believe he is alive, I have a feeling you may be right. But, there's a few more things you guys may want to think about.

In the ending, a myriad of scenes is shown, one with Laguna looking down upon Raine's grave and Ellone in the distance. Wouldn't Laguna, the president of Esthar who knew that Squall was his son, bury him next to his mother if he died? As there isn't another grave stone, it leads me to believe that some miracle happened and Squall really is alive. (Unless Laguna ditched his own son's wake and isn't sad about it. And even if there was a wake, wouldn't everyone be at the wake instead of partying in Balamb?)

Also, earlier on in the game (I forget which disk), Rinoa and Squall have a 'moment' in the flower fields at Matron's Edea's Orphanage. It's the scene where Squall reassures Rinoa that if they ever seperate and can't find one another, that they should return to these flower fields and they will see each other again. Is it a coincidence that when Squall "woke up", the two found each other in the flower fields? It may be that Rinoa looked for where the flower fields may be and found him lying there, and as she remembered, a burst of light came out of nowhere and revived Squall as they seperated from the Time Kompressed land. (Maybe I'm going too far with this..)

Though.. If that were to occur, I'd want to know how Rinoa found the flower fields at the orphanage. What I also want to know, is what happened to the rest of the party? Didn't they find each other and return to their time? Or were they all stuck in the Time Kompressed world? Why was she there in the first place? Did Ellone send Rinoa back to Time Kompression to save him?

This game... The logic is wayyy too complicated, although I do love it so... And sorry. I probably created more questions than answers.